ORGANIZATION-LEGAL PROBLEMS: PREVENTION

OF TRANSNATIONAL COMPUTER CRIME

Vladimir Golubev The global network Internet, comprising mullions of computers, Internet, provides unheard-of opportunities to communicate and obtain information and is increasingly used for criminal purposes.

The advent of electronic money and virtual banks, exchanges, and shops, which, however, supply real services and commodities, is just one factor promoting new crime - "transnational computer crimes". Today, together with traditional activity, law-enforcement agencies face new types of crime – "cyber crimes".

Cyber crimes is a new and unusual concept to law-enforcement agencies, but criminal activities, involving Internet are the most dangerous to society. And it many states already have understood.

The transnational nature of network crime suggests that the development of common policies on key issues should be part of any control strategy. Such common policies are important to prevent the occurrence of “legal havens” in jurisdictions where certain activities have not been criminalized, for example.

In the United States, for example, Presidential Decision Directive 63 (a white paper on critical infrastructure protection) states, “Addressing these vulnerabilities will necessarily require flexible, evolutionary approaches that span both the public and private sectors, and protect both domestic and international security. … The Federal Government shall encourage international cooperation to help manage this increasingly global problem” [1].

In the Decree of the President of Ukraine № 928/2000 from July 31, 2000 Is told, that an overall objective of development of a national global network Internet in Ukraine is the decision of tasks of information safety of our state and perfection of legal regulation of activity of the subjects of the information relations, amplification of the responsibility for computer crimes.

Certainly, as all other types of offences, cyber crime presents great threat for people and the extent of such threat, to our opinion, is not fully recognized and evaluated by the society. However, that insignificant existing experience in this sphere, not to mention the experience of leading countries of the world, obviously shows the doubtless vulnerability of any state. Moreover, the transnational computer crime is not limited by state borders and criminal is equally capable to threat the information systems located practically in any place of the world. This crimes, as a rule, are extraordinary and often present irresolvable problem for legislation in force. Special concern is problem of investigation the crime, which tracks and evidences have been erased or terminated by computer criminals. Other peculiarity of cyber crime, making its investigation even more difficult, is the use of small-sized satellite systems communications , so such crime may be committed significantly far from the object of offence within seconds. However, investigation of such crimes may take weeks, even months, giving criminal the destroy traces of a crime and to avoid punishment.

For the last few years transnational crimes have achieved menacing measures. As professor Louisa Shelley mentioned, “Transnational organized crimes will become one of the main problems governments will face in the 21^st century. It will be the crucial problem for the 21^st century, as the cold war for the 20^th and colonialism for the 19^th centuries” [2].

In the Viennese declaration “About criminality and justice: the answers to the challenges of the 21^st century” which was adopted in Vienna at the Tenth Congress of the Organization of the United Nations, 10-17 April,2000, there was also expressed concern about transnational organized crimes and intercoupling between various kinds of them [3].

Due to the prompt development of information technologies on the basis of Internet network the geographical obstacles which for a long time restrained the growth of crimes of this kind have disappeared. Today, transnational crimes connected with the use of the global Internet network occupy a significant share in the total volume of criminal offences. Their growth and development are promoted by the very nature of this kind of crimes characterized by availability of the Internet network and impunity of the offences because of inadequate preparation of law-enforcement agencies in investigating such crimes.

To a certain extent, one of the factors promoting the increase of this new kind of crimes is the absence of proper interaction within law-enforcement agencies while preventing and investigating such crimes.

The efficiency of prevention and investigation of cyber crimes depends much on co-ordinated international approach to the problem at different levels. At the state level there is required a well prepared staff, as well as modification of national legislation aimed at creating legal base to provide with law-enforcement agencies as well as judicial authorities dealing with offences in information sphere and transnational computer crimes. At the interstate level investigation of cyber crimes requires coordinated efforts of national centers dealing with cyber crimes with similar international centers in other countries.

In order to regulate informational relations at the state level, there appeared a demand to set legal norms for their participants so that to make it possible to confront crimes related to global Internet network.

While interested countries have considered the problems arising from cyber crimes, there has not been much attention paid to it at the interstate level. Reasons for the lack of attention to cyber crimes may include relatively low levels of participation in international electronic communication, low levels of law-enforcement experience and low estimations of the damage to society expected to occur from electronic crimes. In global computer Internet network, the criminal policy of one State has a direct influence on the international community. Cyber criminals may direct their electronic activities through a particular State where that behaviour is not criminal and thus be protected by the law of that country. Read the entire article ...