Computer Crime
| Pages | 28-31 |
| Published date | 01 July 1987 |
| Date | 01 July 1987 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb057486 |
| Subject Matter | Economics,Information & knowledge management,Management science & operations |
Computer Crime
Recorded cases of system penetration have nearly doubled
in the last three years according to a survey on computer
crime published by BIS Applied Systems.
In an analysis of over 140 crimes documented in the
Computer Crime Casebook it was found that the greatest
rise in crime was in the area of system penetration which
rose from 10 to 18 per cent. The survey points out that this
increase — explained by the proliferation of distributed
processing and PCs — is of great concern to security
conscious organisations which now need to ensure a
consistent security policy in every division.
PCs and lightweight portable equipment are also high on
the risk list when it comes to computer theft. This is now
the most common computer crime, running at 40 per cent
of all those recorded.
The casebook describes the background to each of the 140
crimes, tells how they were discovered, the penalty given
and suggests preventative measures that could be taken.
The amounts concerned vary — one crime involved £2.25
million worth of software when an airline's seat reservation
system was plagiarised. Extracts of the Casebook are set
out here.
The General Picture
The current version of the Computer Crime Casebook
contains over 140 cases which have been compiled from
1965 to 1986. Although computer fraud has been regarded
as the fastest growing business, the incident of computer
crime has also been increasing.
The collection of cases documented in the 1986 edition of
the Computer Crime Casebook relates to incidents of
deliberate sabotage, misuse, abuse and theft of computer
equipment, files and software, disruption to processing
through arson or deliberate tampering with programs and
environment control equipment as well as hacking. The
cases have been compiled from various sources ranging
from public media to private communication with injured
parties. As with computer fraud, many cases of computer
crime are not publicised and the real extent of crime is
difficult to ascertain. Nevertheless, the report attempts to
illustrate by case examples the different instances of
computer crime.
With the recent proliferation of distributed processing and
the phenomenal growth of personal and business
microcomputers, which do not enjoy the same level of
access control and fire protection afforded to traditional
mainframe computers in data processing, the cases of
computer crime in this area can only be expected to
increase in future.
Lightweight portable equipment has prompted an increasing
number of cases of burglary and theft of micros. The
number of potential computer criminals is also growing as
a result of better general public appreciation and knowledge
of the use of computers for business and leisure. Computer
literate people are to be found in every walk of life.
The purpose of the Casebook is to alert corporate and
computer management to the nature of computer crime
experienced by others, and to the possible extent of damage
inflicted on victim organisations. The findings should
provide useful input for management to take precautionary
measures through the careful design and implementation
of proper control procedures and contingency plans. Such
measures should aim to reduce risk and alleviate potential
losses arising from both direct equipment damage and any
consequential loss due to business interruption and
increased cost of working.
Analysis of the crime statistics helps the security manager
to obtain a perspective of the type of crimes committed,
the perpetrators and the trend. Figure 1 shows the reflective
distribution of computer crime for 1986.
As can be seen (Figure 2) there are some significant
changes in the trends.
Current Concerns and New Security Products
However ineffective the current UK Data Protection
legislation may appear in practice, nevertheless senior
management have been made aware of their legal
obligations to give reasonable care to the protection of
personal data in the company. Many organisations are also
aware of potential weaknesses in, for example, the CICS
on-line and TSO time-sharing systems for medium to large
IBM computers. As a result the majority of large IBM users
are using one of the many access control software packages
on the market to bolster access protection to sensitive
corporate and personal data. The majority of such packages
Table I. The Cases by Year and Type
Arson
Covert sabotage
Theft of information
System penetration hacking
Logic bombs
Overt damage
Theft of equipment
60s
1
2
0
0
1
0
0
4
70-74
2
3
0
1
0
2
2
10
75-79
4
5
4
4
1
1
5
24
80-82
5
4
3
3
3
8
1
27
83
1
0
1
4
4
1
10
21
84
0
2
4
4
1
2
8
21
85
0
1
4
4
2
1
4
16
86
1
0
6
6
0
1
5
19
Total
14
17
22
26
12
16
35
142
%
10
12
15
18
8
12
25
28 IMDS • JULY/AUGUST • 1987
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