The Computer Police

Key Terms and Concepts: cyberspace, criminal hacker, FBI, SPA, illegal, unethical

The E! Channel has the Fashion Police. Schools also have their own fashion police, usually a bunch of kids who declare what is cool to wear. Parents and teachers also act as fashion police. "Go upstairs and put on something decent young lady!" "You will not leave this house with your underwear showing." We have all been through it, no matter our age or what generation we grew up in.

The Music and Movie Police aren't really cops, but are ratings organizations who try to evaluate the amount of violence or sex or other adult-like content. My mom hated the Rolling Stones and the Beatles and preferred Big Band music, which I hated. Same thing, and your kids will listen to music and watch movies you hate, too. That's just the way it is.

But the computer police, that's a different matter. There is no such organization called the Computer Police. It just doesn't exist (but maybe, one day it will). Instead, police from all over the country work on computer crimes. Many police organizations have special units that go after child molesters, kiddie porn and other anti-kid sickos.


Some of the law enforcement agencies work together because the Internet is not in a single place. If a bad guy robs a store on Main Street, Rockville, the Rockville police will be in charge. Sometimes the State Police will get involved in other crimes. The FBI investigates stolen cars that cross state lines and kidnapping. The Secret Service looks into money counterfeiting as well as protects the President.

But in Cyberspace, when a crime takes place, who's in charge? That's a very difficult question - a good one - but the answer is not simple. If a criminal hacker in Florida breaks into a Florida computer, a Florida cyber-cop will likely take charge. But if a Florida resident breaks into a computer in New York to gain access to another computer in Colorado and then commits a serious crime against a computer in California, who's in charge?

The FBI and the Secret Service are the best equipped to deal with computer crimes today because State and local police do not live the money or the trained staff to investigate, although they do try. This is why 'task forces' are created to investigate,

On the other hand, if a bad guy breaks into a government computer, the military will take over, and groups like the Air Force Office of Special Investigations will get involved. You do not want to mess with these guys because they don't know if the attacker is a kid sport-hacking from his basement or if there is a serious threat to national security from a foreign power

The private Software Publishers Association investigates software piracy and is often called the Software Police. They go after large-scale software piracy (theft, bootlegging and illegal copying), generally at big companies, but also Web sites which cater to pirating, or illegal software distribution.


We have talked about a lot of the illegal and unethical things that kids and adults do on the Internet, but there are also many ethical questions that we have to think about when the police get involved. Your parents and teachers will probably have very different opinions than you.
These groups travel through Cyberspace in search of illegal activities. Sometimes they do it without using their real names. What rules should cyber-cops have to follow?

There are a lot of misconceptions about what a police officer is allowed to do when investigating a crime. For example, some people think that police officers are not allowed to lie. You might think that if you're telling on someone, you're a "narc," they have to tell you the truth.

Actually, police officers are allowed to lie. They are not allowed to encourage or persuade you to commit a crime you are not already inclined to do. That is called entrapment. But they can present you with the opportunity to commit a crime that you are predisposed to commit and if you take them up on the offer, you can be punished.
 

Questions To Think About?

Should the police be able to monitor e-mail traffic in search of criminals? Not just hackers, but organized crime and drug dealers?

Some police get on-line and pretend to be kids (especially girls) and wait for adults who prey on children to come-on to them. They have caught many perverts this way. Do you agree they should do this?

Is it OK for the police to masquerade (spoof) as a hacker in order to find other hackers who are breaking the law? Why or why not?

Should criminal hackers go to jail? What other punishments might be better?

Hackers stay a step ahead of China's cyber-police
http://www.landfield.com/ism/mail-archive/1998/Oct/0045.html

THE HACKER CRACKDOWN: Law and Disorder on the Electronic Frontier
http://dub.home.texas.net/sterling/crack3h.html

A Note About Computers
http://www3.sympatico.ca/jph/phs/info.htm

What Is Computer and Telecommunication Crime?
http://www3.sympatico.ca/jph/phs/info3.htm