C&P T1 (A)

Sim HaoCheng LeongMatthewJun Zhe

Cybercrime Cybercrime is defined as a criminal activity or a crime

that involves the Internet, a computer system, or computer technology – Dictionary.com

Cybercrime is one of the fastest growing areas of crime. More and more criminals are exploiting the speed, convenience and anonymity that modern technologies offer in order to commit a diverse range of criminal activities. These include attacks against computer data and systems, identity theft, the distribution of child sexual abuse images, internet auction fraud, the penetration of online financial services, as well as the deployment of viruses, Botnets, and various email scams such as phishing – Interpol

A changing nature

In the past, cybercrime has been committed by individuals or small groups of individuals.

Now there is an emerging trend with traditional organized crime syndicates and criminally minded technology professionals working together and pooling their resources and expertise.

This approach has been very effective for the criminals involved. In 2007 and 2008 the cost of cybercrime worldwide was estimated at approximately USD 8 billion. As for corporate cyber espionage, cyber criminals have stolen intellectual property from businesses worldwide worth up to USD 1 trillion.

Adapted from Interpol

Parliament reports system (1993) The following is an extract from the parliament on the

passing on the Bill of the Computer Misuse Act… “By way of introduction, may I say, Sir, that, as we all

know, computer technology today has a great impact on the economic life in our country. The technology is used in nearly all sectors of society – public sector, financial and banking community, service industries, manufacturing and trading sectors, and so on – in order to enhance productivity and business competitiveness.

While computers undoubtedly have much beneficial uses, they are also capable of being abused for criminal or selfish objectives. The widespread use of computer technology in Singapore and the growing reliance on it makes us more vulnerable to such abuses.”

Cybercrime in Singapore (Law) COMPUTER MISUSE ACT (Chapter 50A)

Unauthorised access to computer material  Access with intent to commit or facilitate commission of

offence Unauthorised modification of computer material Unauthorised use or interception of computer service Unauthorised obstruction of use of computer Unauthorised disclosure of access code Enhanced punishment for offences involving protected

computers Abetments and attempts punishable as offences

Emergence of Cybercrime

The emergence of cybercrime can be categorised into 4 areas of study Personal Structural Economic Ideological

Adapted from: http://science.opposingviews.com/causes-cyber-crime-1846.html

Personal Cyber criminals are still human beings and what they do

-- including their crimes -- is often the cause of personal emotions and vendettas. Many cyber crimes are essentially crimes of passion committed over the Internet. Kendrick Tan Cheng Kang, 33, a product development

officer, had been desperate to complete his purchase of a resale flat before his customary wedding ceremony. He felt that the housing board was slow in processing his application, and clicked repeatedly on the “Send” button of his email programme over 7,500 times. Three charges of interfering with the lawful use of HDB’s mail servers was filed against him, and he was fined S$10,000 on each charge

Economic motivation

Money is a major motivator for many cyber criminals. Especially because the dangers of criminality are less apparent when you're hiding behind a network, the perception of low risk and very high financial reward motivates the committing of cybercrimes In 1998, the offender Ooi May Ling Irene Maria authorised an

internal cash transfer of S$36,077.94 from her bank account to her personal savings account with the bank. The offender was a clerk in a bank and has unlawfully accessed the computer system to transfer the monies, and had intent to commit an offence of theft as a servant. She was then imprisoned to 12 months in prison.

Structural

Beyond the causes that motivate criminals, the environment in which cyber crime is committed also serves to explain the prevalence of the phenomenon. While more and more personal and sensitive information is stored online -- increasing the potential rewards for cyber criminals -- neither computer security nor applications like email filters have improved dramatically in terms of coverage. According to the anti-virus manufacturer Norton, for

example, as many as 41 percent of computers did not have up-to-date security protection in 2012.

Ideological

Cybercrime can be conducted for perceived ethical, ideological or moral reasons, damaging or disabling computer equipment and networks to express grievances against individuals, corporations, organizations or even national governments. After financial companies like Visa, MasterCard and PayPal

refused to let account and card holders make contributions to the controversial non-profit WikiLeaks, the "hacktivist" group Anonymous coordinated a series of bot attacks on the companies' servers, rendering them unreachable to Internet users.

2.5 year probation replaced with four month jail term

Singapore stats

More than 1 million people are estimated to have fallen victim to cybercrime in Singapore in the past one year as “new” forms of cybercrime surface, according to the Norton Cybercrime report for 2013.

The report calculates that the victims suffered about US$1 billion (S$1.25 billion) in direct financial losses as a result.

Death Penalties

Case study #1

Norway bombing and mass gunshot attack

Norway mass gunshot attack

Gunshot attack in Norway history with most devastating loss of lives

Date of event: 22 July 2011 Location: Oslo, Norway Perpetrator: Anders Behring Breivik, born 13 February

1979 Weapons utilised: Car bombs; Ruger Mini-14 Carbine

Process Breivik first bombed the government building in

Oslo which inflicted eight deaths. Within hours after the first attack he arrived at

Utøya island, the site of a Norwegian Labour Party youth camp, posing as a police officer in order to take the ferry to the island, before opening fire on unarmed adolescents present at the scene, reportedly killing 69 and injuring 67 more.

When an armed police SWAT unit from Oslo arrived on the island and confronted him, he surrendered without resistance.

Sentence

He was convicted of mass murder, creating a fatal explosion and terrorism on 24 August 2012.

His punishment was 21 years in prison, which amounts to less than 4 months for killing each people. This is the maximum penalty in Norway.

According to the law in Norway, he can leave the prison on weekends without being inspected after he serving at least one third of his sentence(7 years) and can apply for parole after finishing two thirds of it (14 years).

Is the sentence fair?

Breivik’s bombing and mass shooting caused the loss of 77 innocent lives, mostly teenagers.

While serving his time, he also enjoys decent accommodation including an exercise room and a study table with a computer in prison, and is even able to make complains about conditions such as the heating in his cell and the clothes he wears.

We believe that the resultant sentence indicted is not in proportion to the severity of crime committed, and in no way serves retributive justice.

Recommendation

The death penalty should be imposed, serving as a deterrent and incapacitation, as well as carrying out retributive justice

Purpose

IncapacitationRetributionCatharsis for victim’s families

Incapacitation Anders Behring Breivik electronically distributed a compendium of

texts entitled “2083: A European Declaration of Independence”, describing his far-right militant ideology on that day of attack.

He was proven to be in strong opposition of Islam. He posted a video 6 hours after the attack. In the video he put an animation depicting Islam as a Trojan horse in Europe. Analysts describe it as promoting physical violence towards Muslims and Marxists who reside in Europe.

Thus we consider him an extremist that may become an inherent danger to society if he is eventually released from prison.

While rehabilitation is arguably more humane, it assumes that the perpetrator is capable of feeling remorse and of psychological rehabilitation.

Capital punishment is a form of incapacitation that will prevent him from doing further harm to the society.

Retribution

Retribution demands that the gravity of a punishment received by a criminal should be in proportion to the severity of his crimes. Anders Behring Breivik mercilessly killed 77 innocents. Demanded by retributive justice and in line with the theory of Lex Talionis, he should get the punishment that is proportional to the crime he committed. Any lesser punishment dealt to him by the justice system only serves to undermine the value that society places in upholding justice.

Catharsis for victim’s families

Although the mental trauma of the bereaved families cannot be totally eradicated, the death of the perpetrator will act as a form of emotional catharsis for the victim’s families and provide closure, as it ensures that the perpetrator has paid a fair price for his actions and will not succumb to recidivism.

Unni Espeland Marcussen, whose 16- year-old daughter Andrine was one of Breivik’s last victims, said: “I think he should get 21 years for each he murdered.”

Case Study #2

Yong Vui Kong: Drug Mule

Background

Yong Vui Kong, born to a family of 6, went through a turbulent childhood when his parents divorced while he was very young. As a result his mother had to raise her kids singlehandedly. 

Being a dishwasher his mother brought home RM$200 a month, and the family had to scrap by at the most basic sustenance level. 

Eventually this paved the way for Vui Kong's departure for livelihood from their hometown of Sabah

Issue

Yong Vui Kong was working as a "runner" (meaning courier or mule) for an unidentified criminal boss when he was arrested in 2007 with 47.27 grams (1.667 Oz) of heroin but claimed that he was ignorant of what the package he was carrying contained.

He was 19 years old at the time of arrest, considered as a juvenile or young adult in Singapore but tried by the high court.

Sentence

He was 19 years old at the time of arrest and was sentenced the death penalty after being tried.

Human rights lawyer Madasamy Ravi took over Yong's case and succeeded in obtaining a stay of execution. However, on 14 May 2010, the Court of Appeal of Singapore ruled in his case that the mandatory death penalty imposed by the Misuse of Drugs Act did not infringe Articles 9 and 12 of the Constitution.

Resulting law reforms Defence lawyers have argued that Yong's execution

violates human rights and the separation of powers in government. M. Ravi has also asked Malaysia to bring the case to the International Court of Justice.

In July 2012 the Singapore government agreed to ratify changes to the mandatory death sentence for drug trafficking and murder offenses - those currently pending sentence of execution may apply to have their sentence of execution changed to life imprisonment.

On 14 November 2013, Yong's death penalty was officially lifted. He has become the first drug trafficker on death row to have his sentence reduced to life imprisonment and 15 strokes of the cane, under amendments made to the Misuse of Drugs act.

Necessity of Law reforms

Since society tends to change and evolve over time, so too do the views and values of its people. A challenge of law-makers is to identify shifts in values and expectations, so that they can pass new laws and amend existing laws. This is called law reform and it is a perpetual or ongoing process. The law must be flexible and receptive to change so that it is fair and up-to-date. Above all, it must serve the needs of the people. A law that is based upon outdated or irrelevant values is letting down those it is intended to serve and protect. The law must also be able to respond to the various situations and scenarios that are thrown up by a changing society, such as new forms of criminal activity.

Reading Up

http://science.opposingviews.com/categories-cyber-crime-1335.html

http://lawgovpol.com/why-is-law-reform-necessary/ http://

www.interpol.int/Crimeareas/Cybercrime/Cybercrime http://science.opposingviews.com/cyber-crime-1523.html http://

science.opposingviews.com/causes-cyber-crime-1846.html

http://science.opposingviews.com/different-types-cyber-crime-1981.html