Digital Crimes and Terrorism

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The current threat posed by cybercrime and cyber-terrorism is a very real and present threat. Many types of these crimes exist in the world today including viruses, spyware, network intrusion, online fraud, pornography, and ID theft, which are all forms of criminality perpetrated upon unwitting victims who are victims of this type of crime. These crimes have been able to matriculate into the nation's psyche as a result of the advances in information technology as the World Wide Web and the interne, which are one and the same, have altered the course of human history. Technology has allowed for reduced transmission time in communication, so that members of criminal organizations all over the globe may coordinate their tasks and further their criminal activities with much ease.

The history of these crimes can be chronicled with the rise of the internet itself as the internet has been instrumental in facilitating cybercrimes such as identity theft, lottery scams, and other forms of crime that afford anonymity for criminals who engage in these types of crimes. Once the internet became available to most people within the world, criminals began to utilize the capabilities to take advantage of the many different forms of criminal activities available that were mentioned above in the previous paragraph. Identity theft is one of the biggest forms of crime in the world today and is facilitated largely by the use of computers wherein criminals obtain credit card information fraudulently from victims and are able to spend the victims' money online.

Viruses are used to exploit computers that lack firewalls and other software is also employed to obtain credit card information illegally in the pursuit of victim's information such as their social security cards, credit card information, and any vital information that will enable the criminals to exploit the victim. Other crimes that are committed through the use of the computer and internet include the exploitation of women through pornography wherein unwitting women are targeted and have their pictures posted online for purposes of porn as well as child pornography. Prostitution has also become an online phenomenon wherein previous "street walkers" now advertise their services online as opposed to searching for "johns" on the streets.

In addition to these non-terroristic cybercrimes, is another crime that is potentially debilitating for the entire United States and many other countries. The use of cyber-terrorism is a present and real threat that is becoming more and more of a threat to the social fabric of ...