Over the past few years, the Internet has grown explosively. Compared to only 26 million users in 1995, over 200 million people now communicate, shop, pay bills, do business and even meet with their doctors online. As the Internet has expanded, so has its misuse.
Computer criminals are as diverse as the offences they commit.
They may be students, terrorists or members of organized crime. In an effort to curb this growing threat, a special workshop will be held at the United Nations Tenth Congress for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders in Vienna, 10-17 April. Hacking, sabotage and stalking Hacking into unauthorized sites with the help of sophisticated techniques to mimic passwords or bypass other security measures has become a popular cyber offence. Once they have access, hackers may plant viruses, post insulting messages or steal valuable data, including credit card information and company secrets. These card numbers may be sold for sizeable amounts to counterfeiters, who use special programmes to encode them on credit and bankcard magnetic strips, the UN Manual notes.