Computer Crimes

With the development of the magnificent World Wide Web (WWW) and the migration from mainframe to client server, the need for increased awareness and security measures has become imperative. Computer crimes account for losses of more than one billion dollars annually. Computer criminals manifest themselves in many forms including co-workers, competitors and "crackers". What really is a computer crime, why do they occur, how do they occur and most importantly how does one prevent them? …

…investigated in 1993 involved the unauthorized access to computers via the Internet. The infamous hacker turned "cracker" Kevin Mitnick used IP (Internet Protocol) spoofing through the Internet to break into Tsutomu Shimomura's computer network. Shimomura, an expert on computer security, used a program that he had written to detect Mitnick's movement through his network and ultimately apprehend him. The average businessman does not have the expertise to accomplish this feat nor the capital to afford it.