card fraudThe U.S. Secret Service believes that half a billion dollars may be lost annually by consumers who have credit card and calling card numbers stolen from on-line databases. Security measures are improving, and traditional methods of law enforcement seem to be sufficient for prosecuting the thieves of such information. Bulletin boards and other on-line services are frequent targets for hackers who want to access large databases of credit card information. Such attacks usually result in the implementation of stronger security systems.Since there is no single widely-used definition of computer-related crime, computer network users and law enforcement officials must distinguish between illegal or deliberate network abuse versus behavior that is merely annoying. Legal systems everywhere are busily studying ways of dealing with crimes and criminals on the Internet. Currently, the prosecution of cybercriminals is handled differently from one jurisdiction to another. The results of high-profile cases involving Kevin Mitnick, Jake Baker, and Dave LaMacchia could have significant ramifications for the legal world. Kevin Mitnick, alternately described as anything from a genius to a menace, was arrested on February 15, 1995, for allegedly breaking into the home computer of Tsutomu Shimomura, a well-respected member of the computer security world. Known to hackers around the planet as "Condor," a name taken from the Robert Redford movie" Three Days of the Condor," Mitnick was suspected of spoofing his way through Shimomura's elaborate blockade and stealing computer security tools to distribute over the Internet. By July 1, Mitnick's lawyer and federal prosecutors had reached a plea bargain agreement whereby Mitnick would admit to "possessing unauthorized access devices" and the prosecutors would drop the other 22 charges brought against the renowned hacker. Mitnick's admission of guilt carried a maximum prison sentence of eight months. Dav...
