Fraud Techniques, Research Paper Example

Introduction

Data and information security as well as network security is a current major challenge in the field of Information Technology (IT). There are many reported cases of computer crimes all over the world. These crimes take a number of forms and become more sophisticated as time goes by. Many organizations remain vulnerable to the social evil that comes in with new technologies. The risk levels of these organizations can be measured on the basis of security measures that are put in place to control the levels of cybercrimes (Comer, 1997).

Fraud Techniques

Fraud may take different forms depending on the type of crime to be committed. In most instances, online crimes are aimed at acquiring some information or stealing cash from the financial reserves. From this point of view, financial institutions like the banks have been proven to be the most vulnerable of all organizations. There have been organized crimes that have led to huge financial losses. Some of the institutions have faced the risk of liquidation due to the losses that they have undergone as a result of criminal activities in their systems.

Hacking

Hacking is the most popular of all the crimes that are committed to organizations. There is no one conventional way of hacking. The definition leaves it subject to many techniques. In the recent past, there have emerged special Key-Logger software that are used break password and gain access to the most important accounts of organizations. This type of crime has been in existence from the time of invention of the very first information systems in the Information Technology society. Wiring of money from bank reserves to different networks has been facilitated through hacking activities.

The practice mainly takes the form of interruptions. Having accessed the most important files and tracks of the organizational records, the criminals are in a position to interrupt and suspend the normal operations within the system. Despite the security standards that have been installed in the information systems, once access is granted to such criminal activities, any attempts to save the situation often has remote impacts.

Eavesdropping

This kind of fraud technique is used to acquire important information that is considered top secret to an organization. The fraud stars use timing skills to gain access to the information system records and copy or tamper with such information. Backdoors have been used for this purpose. It is one of the hardly noticed forms of fraud, but its impact is widely felt by the associated organization. In banks, for example, there are sessional breaks. During such breaks, the criminals, who are always on survey, will make use of the breaks to gain access to important documents and activities that are being undertaken by the banking institutions.

Business organizations have suffered the negative impacts of eavesdropping. Some competitors have put into use this kind of fraud to steal the business secrets of some of the organizations. Trade secrets are the major determinants of the competitive success of the organization. When these are violated, the business may not in a position to effectively compete among others within the same environment.

Cyber Terrorism

Indeed cyber terrorism poses great threats to the society. From the two types that are discussed above, business organizations have been closed down as a result of financial losses and lost competitive power. In this aspect, the economic positions of the employees within such institutions have been tampered with. Unemployment as a result of enterprise closure has negative economic implications on the society. When these criminal events take place, there are hardly traces of finances left to run the business and financial organizations.

Prioritization of Measures taken to Store Evidence

The security systems put in place by some of the organizations have enabled them to track and arrest some of the fraud stars. The field of forensic science is an important area that deals with cyber terrorism cases. The necessary files and evidence, including the criminals’ biometric traces are used for defense against them. Any available traces are collected and stored to be used as evidence against them. Once this information is acquired, it is stored in a read-only format to avoid any changes that might be made to it.

The information, in case in soft copy, is duplicated and stored in multiple locations for back-up purposes. To ensure that there is no tampering with any of its content further, there are passwords that are created and used to defend it against unwanted access. These passwords are constantly change to limit the effectiveness of Key-Logger software that are used to access the information.

Legal Solutions to Computer Crimes

Upon prosecution, the criminals are subjected to the conventional hearing procedures by the courts (Wells, 2009). All the evidence that is available is used in the defense. Forensic information forms a larger portion of the evidence material used to prosecute the criminals. This should be the case since these are similar to any other crime. The only difference is that they take more complicated and professional forms.

References

Comer, M. J. (1997). Corporate fraud. Aldershot, Hampshire, England: Gower.

Goldmann, Peter, & Kaufman, Hilton. (2009). Anti-fraud Risk and Control Workbook: Epub Edition. John Wiley & Sons Inc.

Organizing for computer crime investigation and prosecution. (1993). U.S.A.: Diane Publishers.

Wells, Joseph T. (2009). Computer Fraud Casebook: The Bytes That Bite: Epub Edition. John Wiley & Sons Inc.