When
children have unrestricted, unlimited, and unsupervised
access to the Internet they may get involved in behaviors
that are illegal. Some of the illegal activities include
hacking, malware creation and or distribution, copyright
infringement, and identity theft.
What
are Malware, Hacking, and Cracking?
Malware
is short for malicious software and is software that is
designed to change or alter the intended behavior of other
software causing harm or damage to a computer system. There
are three types of malware: boot-sector viruses, macro-viruses
found in shared documents and spreadsheets, and logic bombs.1
A boot-sector virus is typically found on a floppy disk
which is activated if the disk is left in the drive when
the computer is booted up. The virus then affects the local
drive.2 A logic bomb is software that sits idle
until triggered by something, such as the termination of
an employee. The software then typically destroys data as
retaliation for the termination.3
Hacking
is term that has changed meaning over time. Originally it
referred to someone who learned how to write a programming
language, but now it refers to someone who uses their programming
knowledge for illegal purposes whether for ideological or
financial purposes. Hacking commonly refers to bypassing
security measures to gain access to a system.
Cracking
can refer to breaking into a computer system as well as
breaking into a software program. Software cracking occurs
when changes are made to the original code to bypass copy
prevention, password protection, or the need for the CD
to be in the drive to operate the software. Often, cracked
software is made available for free from Internet sites,
but it is loaded with other code that runs on your computer.
This is an effective way of delivering harmful viruses to
your computer and you do the installation yourself. This
is known as a Trojan.
The
viruses may cause your computer to become a zombie. A zombie
is essentially asleep until it is called upon to perform
a service at the discretion of the hacker. Usually your
computer is called up on to repeatedly request a service
from a Web server along with thousands of other computers
that also have the virus. The sudden and massive requests
made to the Web server will cause the software to fail and
the system to crash making it unusable for anyone. This
is called DDoS or Distributed Denial of Service attack.
Title
I of the DMCA (Digital
Millennium Copyright Act of 1998) criminalizes
the "circumvention of technological measures used by
copyright owners to protect their works and ... tampering
with copyright management information—and adds civil
remedies and criminal penalties for violating the prohibitions."In
Title II of the DMCA a procedure is established so that
a copyright owner can get a subpoena demanding that an Internet
Service Provider (ISP) release the identity of a subscriber
engaged in copyright infringement.4
The
purpose of a copyright is to protect intellectual property
for a period of time in order to encourage more creative
work1. Intellectual property is one of the most
important products or assets held by American businesses.
Examples of copyrightable works are: music, movies, paintings,
sculptures, literary works, computer programs or industrial
design.2 The works must be in tangible form.
The copyright law establishes certain rights for the holder
of the copyright:
Reproduction
rights of the work
The right to create works derived from the original work
Distribution rights of the work
Performance rights of the work
Public display rights of the work
Performance rights through digital mediums of the work
A copyright notice is not required in order for the work to
be protected.
Copyright infringement is unauthorized use of a copyrighted
work that violates the copyright owner’s rights.
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998
In Title II of the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act)
a procedure is established so that a copyright owner can
get a subpoena demanding that an Internet Service Provider
(ISP) release the identity of a subscriber engaged in copyright
infringement.
The United States Copyright Office site http://www.copyright.gov/legislation/dmca.pdf
Fair Use Principle (part of the 1976 Copyright
Act (section 107)
The Fair Use Principle is an attempt to balance the restrictive
nature of the copyright laws with public need. Section 107
lists the ways a copyrighted work may be reproduced. A work
can be reproduced for research, scholarship, teaching, comment,
criticism, and news reporting. The four guidelines for determining
fair use are:
Whether
the purpose is commercial or nonprofit educational
The nature of the copyrighted work
How
the reproduction will affect the value of the copyrighted
work or its market
Intellectual
Property Protection and Courts Amendments Act of 2004 TITLE I--Anti-Counterfeiting Provisions
This provision established what constitutes counterfeiting
of Intellectual Property. An individual knowingly using
a counterfeit or illicit label attached to or enclosed with
the copy of the intellectual property. The penalty is a
fine and or not more than 5 years in imprisonment. TITLE II--Fraudulent Online Identity Sanctions
It is illegal to provide false information to a domain name
registration authority in registering, maintaining, or renewing
a domain name.
Identity theft happens when someone steals your identity
and impersonates you in order to open credit accounts, rent
apartments, and even engage in criminal acts. You don't
know when it happens. Then one day you are turned down unexpectedly
for a loan, you get a call from a collection agency about
an account you never opened, or worse yet, a call from the
police about a crime you didn't commit. Suddenly you are
a victim of identity theft.
Identity theft is one of the fastest-growing crimes in America
and has become a national crisis according to the Social
Security Administration's inspector general. The Privacy
Rights Clearinghouse estimates that there are between 500,000
to 700,000 identity theft victims a year.
How do I Protect Myself from Identity Theft?
Prevention is the first step in battling identity theft.
To minimize the risk of someone stealing your identity and
the pain of cleaning up the aftermath, follow these guidelines:
Carry
only the cards (credit and ID) that you need to have with
you; file others in a safe place at home.
Sign your credit cards immediately.
Do not carry your social security card with you. Keep
it in a secure, safe place.
Do not attach a pin number or social security number to
any cards you carry with you.
Do not attach or write a pin number or social security
number on anything you are going to discard (e.g. a receipt).
Shred any document that contains your credit card number
before you discard it.
Shred
any pre-approved credit card application or offers you
receive in the mail before discarding
Check receipts to ensure you received your own and not
someone else's.
Alert your card issuer if you do not receive your statements.
Someone could have taken them from your mailbox and could
be using your credit card number.
Do not give personal information or account numbers to
anyone until you have confirmed the identity of the person
requesting the information and verified that you need
to provide them with the information.
Frequently check your credit report or subscribe to Equifax
Credit WatchTM to monitor your credit file daily and be
alerted of changes that can be an early warning of identity
theft, such as new account openings or changes to your
address.
Visit
the US
Department of Justice website for more information
regarding how to protect yourself from Identity Theft.
