What is a Computer Crime?
A computer crime is any illegal act that involves the computer either as the target of the crime or as a tool used in committing the crime.
Types of Computer Crime
- Hacking: the unauthorized accessing of a computer or network; the individual who does this is referred to as a hacker.
- Spamming: the act of sending unwanted bulk e-mail messages for commercial purposes.
- Cracking: the unauthorized or illegal accessing of a computer or network with the intention of destroying data, stealing information, or other malicious action. The individual who does this is referred to as a cracker.
- Data diddling: the process of modifying data before or after it is entered into a computer system.
- Denial of Service (DoS) attacks: a malicious attempt to make a computer’s resources (usually an internet service) unavailable to its intended users.
- Plagiarism: the act of copying someone else’s work and presenting it as one’s own.
- Software piracy: the illegal copying, distribution, or use of computer software; it is the most widely practiced type of computer crime.
- Cyber terrorism: the use of the internet or a network to destroy or damage computers for political reasons; an act of terrorism conducted by means of computer resources.
- Scamming: a fraudulent business activity conducted on the internet.
- Masquerading: when an unauthorized person uses someone else’s identity to access a computer.
- Harassment: the process of sending threatening email messages to people on networks or bulletin board systems.
