99 lines
5.2 KiB
Plaintext
99 lines
5.2 KiB
Plaintext
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FEBRUARY 1990
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FLORIDA'S COMPUTER CRIME
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In an attempt to gauge the impact of computer crime in the
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State, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE)
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conducted a comprehensive survey of the local law enforcement
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community, State Attorneys' Offices and area businesses. The
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survey was part of FDLE's continuing goal of assessing changing
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crime problems and trends in Florida. The primary purpose of the
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study was to determine the extent of computer crime in Florida
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and to assess the impact it may be having on law enforcement
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agencies and prosecutors in the State.
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For purposes of this study, computer crime was defined as
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any crime in which the computer was either the tool or the object
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of the crime. In other words, the computer had to be an
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essential part of the crime.
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A total of 1,300 surveys were sent to law enforcement
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agencies, State prosecutors and businesses. Three different
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survey questionnaires were developed for each of the three groups
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included in the study. All police, sheriff and public safety
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departments in Florida received questionnaires, as well as 20
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State Attorneys' Offices and 898 public and private Florida
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businesses. The rate of return was 73.6% for law enforcement,
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90% for State Attorneys, and 44.9% for businesses.
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The businesses surveyed consisted of organizations that had
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computer systems currently in operation at their facilities.
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Included in this group were universities, defense firms,
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government agencies, service industries and companies from other
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fields. A formula was used to ensure a representative sample of
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businesses. One business per 40,000 county population was
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selected, with a minimum of 2 businesses selected from counties
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with a population less than 40,000.
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The State Attorneys' Offices surveyed indicated a steady
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rise in the number of computer-related crimes prosecuted by their
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offices. The study revealed, though, that the number of cases
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handled by prosecutors is still much lower than the actual number
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of computer crimes reported. The report attributes this
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discrepancy to the fact that in many computer-related cases, no
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suspect is identified, thereby precluding the need for further
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legal action in the case.
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Of the business respondents, 24.2% indicated that within the
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last 12 months, they had experienced some type of verifiable
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computer crime, ranging from theft of computer soft/hardware,
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unauthorized use of computer resources, to destruction/
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alteration of computer data. One-fifth of the businesses
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reported verifiable monetary losses attributed to computer
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crime.
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Perhaps the most disturbing findings of the survey concern
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the ability of law enforcement to adequately combat computer
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crime. Business respondents were asked to rate the ability of
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Federal, State and local authorities to effectively investigate
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computer crime based on the previous experience of the
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respondent. Federal agencies were given a fair to good rating,
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and State law agencies received a fair mark, while local law
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enforcement was given a poor rating. This response would perhaps
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explain another finding of the survey: 65% of the business
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respondents said that they do not report any type of
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computer-related crime to authorities.
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The survey revealed that among local law enforcement
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agencies, 64% handled computer-related crimes using standard
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investigative procedures.
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One-fifth of the responding departments assigned computer
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cases to an investigator with special expertise in computer crime
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investigation.
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Among the law enforcement and State Attorneys' respondents,
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there was an overwhelming consensus that there was not adequate
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computer crime training available to local law enforcement
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agencies. These respondents also indicated that if a case does
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go to trial, juries have difficulty understanding the
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complexities of computer crime.
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The Florida Department of Law Enforcement recommends some
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steps for departments interested in improving computer-related
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crime investigations. These include sponsoring enrollment in
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basic computer operations courses to orient investigators to the
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many functions and uses (and potential misuses) of computers. In
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addition, the study concludes, successful prosecution depends on
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improving specific computer crime investigative techniques.
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ABOUT THE ARTICLE:
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This information, provided by Special Agent Jeff Herig,
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Florida Department of Law Enforcement, was compiled into a report
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entitled Computer Crime in Florida, 1989.
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