Computer crime has many forms. Some cases involve the use of a computer for theft of financial assets, such as money or equipment. Others concern the copying of information processing resources such as programs or data to the owner’s detriment.
Still other cases involve manipulation of data such as grades for personal advantage. By far, the majority of computer crimes are committed by insiders. The cost of compute crime to individuals and organizations is estimated at billions of dollars annually.
No one knows for sure what the exact figure is, because so many incidents are either undetected or unreported. As in many fields, a specialized jargon has evolved in the area of computer related crime.
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Following is a sampling of some of the specific forms computer crime can take.
1. Data Diddling :
Data diddling is one of the most common ways to perform a computer crime. It involves altering key production data on the computer system in some unauthorized way. Data diddlers often are found changing grades in university files, falsifying input records on bank transactions, and the like.
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2. The Trojan Horse :
The Trojan horse is a procedure for adding concealed instructions to a computer program so that it will still work but will also perform unauthorized duties.
For example, a bank worker can subtly alter a program that contains thousands of lines of code by adding a small “patch” that instructs the program not to withdraw money from a certain account.
3. Salami Shaving :
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Salami shaving involves altering programs so that many small dollar amounts- say, a few cents worth of interest payments- are shaved from a large number of selected transactions or accounts and deposited in another account.
The victims of a salami-shaving scheme generally are unaware that their funds have been tapped, because the amount taken from each individual is trivial. The recipient of the salami shaving, however, benefits from the aggregation of these small amounts, often substantially.
4. Super zapping:
Super zapping is a technique made possible by a special program available on most computer systems- a program that bypasses all system controls when the computer crashes and cannot be restarted with normal recovery procedures.
This program, in effect, is a “master key” that can provide access to any part of the system. The super zap program is a highly privileged “disaster aid” that very few computer system professionals are authorized to use. In the wrong hands, it can be used to perform almost any unauthorized task.
5. Trapdoors :
Trapdoors are diagnostic tools, used in the development of systems programs, that enable programmers to gain access to various parts of the computer system. Before the programs are marketed, these tools are supposed to be removed.
Occasionally, however, some blocks of diagnostic code are overlooked. Thus, a person using the associated systems program may get unauthorized views of other parts of the computer system.