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The nature of hacking

Nuisance or crime?

Criminal hacking

Introduction

This brief looks at sentences imposed in New South Wales for the offences of possessing child pornography under s 578B(2) Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) and publishing child pornography under s 578C(2A) Crimes Act 1900 (NSW). The maximum penalty for the possession offence is the equivalent of $11,000 or two years imprisonment or both, and for the publishing offence it is $110,000 or five years imprisonment or both.

Identity crime and phishing

Phishing has emerged as a major problem on the internet. The object of phishing is usually to obtain information about people in order to commit fraud. Phishing fits within a broader category of identity crime in the digital age.

Malware refers to malicious software. Software is potentially malicious if it can be used to harm either the computer on which it is hosted or another computer. Software may also be considered malicious if it is designed to install itself on a computer without the permission of the owner of that computer, particularly if it does so in a way that may compromise the security of the computer. Malicious may be loosely interpreted. A piece of software may be considered malicious even though it may have been launched with the intention of providing an arguable benefit.

Potentially damaging forms of malicious software (malware) such as viruses, worms and Trojans infect large numbers of computers around the world and interfere with internet-based telecommunications (High Tech Crime Brief no.10). Other forms of intrusive program, not necessarily as damaging as, but potentially hiding these more virulent types of malware, circulate as adware, spyware, spam and spim.

High tech crime (HTC), also known as technology-enabled crime, makes use of information and communications technologies to infringe criminal laws. A range of methodologies is used, often employing tools which enable or enhance the commission of the offences in question. Online tools are those digital goods or services that can be obtained from the internet. They can be categorised as follows.

Illegitimate technologies

Some of the commonly seen programs that have no legitimate purpose and are used to commit HTC include bot and malware programs.

High tech crime (HTC) tools are programs, devices or services that facilitate HTC. A brief overview of these tools is presented in High tech crime brief no. 12.

In recent years, electronic-based transactions have increased considerably in countries such as Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom. This is not surprising due to the reduced cost and increased speed of internet-based transactions in comparison with bricks-and-mortar-based transactions.

Electronic payment systems

Electronic payment systems can be broadly categorised as follows:

Advances in information technology and the internet have revolutionised the way we communicate, enabling borderless data transfer in real time. This significantly influences the way in which commerce operates, for example, electronic payment systems, and online auction sites. This is hardly surprising as the financial incentive in today's highly competitive market is significant, with the cost of an online transaction often being a fraction of the cost of a non-electronic transaction (De Young 2001).

The use of people to transfer drugs and/or money, a long standing practice of the criminal fraternity, is being replicated in the high tech crime environment. 'Money mules' (people unrelated to the criminal activity that creates the illicit funds) transfer relatively small amounts of money lodged in their bank accounts to criminals overseas. Money mules are a consequence of the need for criminals to transfer, and disguise the origins of, illicit proceeds of crime.

Information and communications technologies (ICT) have created a new space of opportunity where children can learn, play and develop, but may also risk becoming the victims of crime or engage in illegal behaviour themselves. The types of offences relevant to online child exploitation include producing, possessing and disseminating child pornography, grooming children for the purposes of sexual contact, and displaying live images of child sexual abuse.