DOS (Denial of Service) Need To Be Punished By The Law (Essay Sample)

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Cyber Crime and Criminal Justice System
Forum 1
Viruses and DOS (Denial of Service) need to be punished by the law
Cyber criminals nowadays use sophisticated software that is injected in the target computers or networks to cause potential risks. The risk is not only in the data, but personal accidents can also be caused as well as financially loses. The virus executioners, as well as the DOS operator, have to be punished by the law if found guilty of any risk caused by their actions. For instance, the JP Morgan Chase Bank was once hit by a cyber-attack; this caused a massive loss of customer data as well as denial of service in the bank. In this capacity, it is a crime to prevent one from executing services illegally. The viruses also enable private data to become exposed and may be available for everyone; this is the infringement of ones’ privacy, it should be punished.
Cyber Stalking
Cyber-stalking is an act of using the internet to spy on someone and cause fear or annoyance by sending threats. A cyber-stalker is usually not identified by the victim as a stalker but may have earlier connections such as a former friend, neighbor, and a former lover. However, a cyber-stalker may be a completely new stranger who is out to execute cyber-crimes. Cyber-stalking offenses may include public exposer of ones’ private life, insults, threats, and sending obscene videos and pictures.
Prevention of Cyber-stalking
One has to make immediate reports to the law enforcers any time he/she suspects that someone is stalking them. One needs to be cautious while using the internet; it would be very risky to keep communicating with strangers over the internet. The anonymity power of the internet need to be understood; one should not be very quick in accepting friendships, gifts, offers from strangers on the internet since they may be using fake identities. Once again, securing your internet communication is of paramount importance; it helps to reduce the probability of risky engagements (Pittaro).
Forum 2
The Inherent Conflicts associated with the police as the Evidence Gatherers
The police ought to act as the independent evidence gatherers; following a set of code of act as outlined by law. However, in the process of gathering, storage, as well as a presentation of evidence, including also handling of the crime scene and exhibits, many of the cyber-criminal cases, have collapsed due to disclosure or poor following of the procedures. For instance, the criminal may be unnecessarily be alerted by the police via the search warranties, if the police fail to carry out the right procedure, the criminal may destroy the evidence that may lead to prosecution.
On the other hand, the laws in some countries give little if any attention to cyber-crimes. For this reason, the police may be in a position to carry out proper investigations and table evidence against the criminal, but the law may be too lenient in fighting the crime. The cyber-criminals may either table a plea of no guilty since the law has no provision for the purportedly committed crime.
Wiretap Statute and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act
The Wiretap Act is a law that regulates gathering of the real content of electronic/ wire communication. The act prohibits any intentional interception, disclose or use of electronic and wire communication unless if there’s an existing statutory exception. The restrictions generally apply to the third parties inclusive of the government. In a nutshell; the statute bars the wiretapping, electronic sniffers of internet traffic as well as any other technology that may be used by the third parties to collect information from wire communication.
However, if the Justice Department authorizes and the US District Court or even the Court of Appeal judge signs a wiretap order, the law gives the mandate for wiretapping for a limited period of thirty days.
The ECPA (Electronic Communications Privacy Act) was enacted in 1986 as a revision and expansion of the federal wiretapping as well as electronic eavesdropping strategies. The ECPA was enforced to promote the privacy of the citizens as well as the expectations of law enforcement. The Congress was in the front line to ensure that there is a creation of new technologies that would ensure that consumers’ personal data would remain safe. The ECPA encompassed the amendment of the famous Wiretap Act, the establishment of the Stored Communication Act and also developed the Pen Register Act.
Any individual who is convicted guilty for violation of the ECPA would face an incarceration term not exceeding 5 years, and a fine of maximum $250,000. The victims of the violations are also entitled to file civil suits as well as recovery of actual damages together with the attorney’s fees. The US is supreme over ECPA. However, the illegally gathered evidence cannot be used in a court.
There have been several cases that include the violation of ECPA as well as the Wiretap Act by the federal, individuals as well as business corporations. For instance, in 2003 Helen Remsburg filed a case against Docusearch Inc, an information broker. The plaintiff alleged that the Docusearch disclosed a decedent’s information to another client, the client later used the information to track the decedent and murder her. Remsburg alleged that the defendant violated the privacy act as well as other laws. The Hampshire Supreme Court ruled that the suit was valid in the sense that the broker should have been responsible for ‘foreseeable harm.' However, the court defined the harm as only including stalking and theft of identity. The court ruled that the broker was liable for the damages as a result of the sale of the personal information (EFF). It is of paramount reasoning that the ruling did not base much weight on whether or not there was the legal acquisition of the information such as the personal address. By considering the legal implication of the acquisition of the personal address, it would require the consent of both parties of which one may give false information. The court ruled in the right manner; the companies ought to keep clients information private, and if it must be disclosed, then the client has to authorize the disclosure.
Forum 3
Federal Agencies that deal with Cyber fraud and example cases
The FBI is charged with the investigation of fraudulent cyber activities in the United States. The FBI has Cyber Divisions that investigate cybercrimes such as fraud, cyber terrorism, and other cyber threats. There have been several cases whereby people, as well as companies, have lost millions of dollars through cyber-attacks that target stealing of credit card information and causing fraud. Some of these cases have been discovered, and the perpetrators have been charged. However, many of these cases have never been discovered, and the victims continue to suffer. For instance, in June 2016, Abdul Sani and Alizabeth Sani, a Hermitage couple was arrested and arraigned in court for stealing credit card numbers and doing transactions with them. The court ruled that they remain in the County Jail after both failed to raise a bond of $250,000 each. The ruling was fair since the victims suffered financial loses and the perpetrators were aware of the crime. Such case should be used as benchmarks for promoting the fight against the stealing of personal data and cyber frauds (Staff).
Preparing for Crime Investigation
One has to consider several factors in the preparation of investigation especially when dealing with a cyber-crime. The rule of evidence is essential when preparing for the cyber investigation. The investigator has to ensure that there is an availability of the professionalism as well as the technology that will bring about undisputable evidence. The investigator must be in the position to locate as well as collect actual evidence. The investigator has to possess the experience needed for data extraction, device operation as well as dissemination of device parts to collect data.
Other than evidence collection, the investigator must also be conversant with an appropriate method of preservation of evidence so that it remains valid. Preservation would also need the proper transportation to assure that the evidence is tamper-free. The investigator must have the necessary packaging, storage and transportation equipment for the gathered evidence material (Moreilly).
Forum 4
Preservation of Verifiable Integrity of Digital Evidence
Digital media is susceptible to several damages such as environmental, human or operational damages. The media need to be store in appropriate temperature, humidity as well as electrical supplies for a period that is relevant for the investigation. The digital media also has to be handled within the appropriate chain of custody so that it is never accessed by unauthorized persons. There should be presence of all the necessary factors that ensure that the data is not modified or lost. An investigator may discover that the data has been modified ...