Cybercrime, computer crime, e-crime, hi-tech crime or electronic crime generally refers to criminal activity where a computer or network is the source, tool, target, or place of a crime. These categories are not exclusive and many activities can be characterized as falling in one or more. Additionally, although the terms computer crime and cybercrime are more properly restricted to describing criminal activity in which the computer or network is a necessary part of the crime, these terms are also sometimes used to include traditional crimes, such as fraud, theft, blackmail, forgery, and embezzlement, in which computers or networks are used. As the use of computers has been growing day by day, computer crime is becoming more pervasive.
Computer crime can broadly be defined as criminal activity involving an information technology infrastructure, including illegal or unauthorized, illegal interception, data interference or unautho- rized damaging, deletion, deterioration, alteration of computer data, interfering with the functioning of a computer system by inputting, transmitting, damaging, deleting, deteriorating, altering or suppressing computer data, misuse of devices, forgery or ID theft, and electronic fraud.
Computer crime issues have become high-profile, particularly those surrounding hacking, copyright infringement through softwares, child pornography and child grooming. There are also problems of privacy when confidential information is lost or intercepted, lawfully or otherwise.
Spam, or the unsolicited sending of bulk email for commercial purposes, is unlawful to varying degrees. Computer fraud is any dishonest misrepresentation of fact intended to induce another to do or refrain from doing something which causes loss. Other forms of fraud may be facilitated using computer systems, including bank fraud, identity theft, extortion, and theft of classified information. The content of websites and other electronic communications may be distasteful, obscene or offensive for a variety of reasons. In some instances these communications may be illegal.
Many jurisdictions place limits on certain speech and ban racist, blasphemous, politically subversive, libelous or slanderous, seditious, or inflammatory material that tends to incite hate crimes. Whereas content may be offensive in a non-specific way, harassment directs obscenities and derogatory comments at specific individuals focusing for example on gender, race, religion, nationality, sexual orientation. Drug traffickers are increasingly taking advantage of the Internet to sell their illegal substances through encrypted e-mail and other Internet Technology. Government officials and Information Technology security specialists have documented a significant increase in cyberterrorists. A cyberterrorist is someone who intimidates or coerces a government or organization to advance his or her political or social objectives by launching computer-based attack against computers, network, and the information stored on them.