Theft of information usually involves the stealing of confidential records and then selling it, using it to accomplish unauthorized financial transactions or publishing it to cause embarrassment. Revenge for a perceived wrong, not profit, is most often cited as justification for the commission of such acts. The power and speed of modern computers has made them excellent tools in the commission of fraud on an increasingly grand and complex scale. Of course, the internet has opened up a number of new avenues for swindlers to reach many new potential victims. Accounting crimes are almost always committed by employees of the affected organizations.
Malicious mischief is the intentional use of the computer to cause harm, inconvenience or confusion.
The line that separates a simple prank from malicious mischief is very thin. Because individuals can easily hide their true purposes as well as their identities on the internet, all internet users must remember that the authenticity and accuracy of postings should always be questioned. Viruses are deviant forms of programs that can cause problems ranging from inconvenience to destruction. Because they usually spread by attaching themselves to other programs or files, most computers are infected via an infected diskette or file downloaded over a network. Worms replicate themselves in a computer's main memory.