Cybercrime - what types of acts exist and what punishments apply

The development of technology has opened up new opportunities for people to interact in the global world space. But at the same time, technology has provided new opportunities for crimes and deception of people in this cross-border world.

This is how a new type of crime appeared on the Internet – cybercrime. Now, attackers don’t even need to have personal contact with the victim in order to deceive her and take possession of her property. As a result, cybercriminals threaten both individuals and large companies.

What is cybercrime?

In order to understand the essence of this type of crime and develop effective methods of countering attackers, lawyers have developed a legal framework for classifying crime in cyberspace.

The concept of cybercrime comes down to any crime committed using or against a computer or computer network.

Features of this violation of the law:

• The hidden nature of criminal actions associated with the use of encryption and anonymity technologies;
• Transboundary nature. The criminal and his victim may live in different countries and not intersect in any way in real life;
• Automated nature. Crimes are committed using special algorithms of computer programs in automatic mode;
• Unconventional approach to crime. Attackers are constantly improving their schemes to deceive and bypass security systems.

How is the term “cybercrime” defined?

In order to be sufficiently “armed” in the fight against such acts, one should have an idea of ​​what cybercrime is and by what criteria it can be isolated from the group of other atrocities.

Cybercrime is any illegal act in the electronic sphere, committed with the help of special equipment or the Internet or against them. The following characteristics can be noted as features of criminal acts of this kind:

• all acts are very secretive, and today criminals use a wide variety of encryption and anonymity methods;
• the offender and the victim may be located at a very considerable distance from each other;
• the methods of committing a crime seriously differ from the standard ones;
• crimes are carried out using automated systems and certain algorithms.

Based on the above criteria, it is quite easy to determine whether a particular act is a cybercrime or another offense. Today, a criminal does not need direct contact with the victim in order to deceive or otherwise harm a person.

The openness and accessibility of the World Wide Web allows people located on the other side of the globe to commit criminal acts. As a rule, criminals target large corporations and even entire states, but there are also many small scammers.

Kinds

Today, cybercrimes cover completely different spheres of society. In this case, various special equipment is used, and the technologies of criminal activity are constantly being improved. Therefore, lawyers are faced with the task of classifying cybercrime. The Council of Europe Convention classified such offenses as follows:

• Crimes related to illegal access to data and systems;
• Internet fraud (forgery, extraction, blocking and modification of data for the purpose of obtaining economic gain);
• Crimes related to Internet content;
• Violation of copyright and related rights. This type varies significantly in the interpretation of the legislation of different countries;
• Use of the Internet for violent acts and terrorist acts.

In a nutshell

The number of Internet users is growing every day. In 2015, their number worldwide exceeded 3.2 billion . With such a large number of users, cyberspace is an ideal place for criminals. Cybercriminals can remain anonymous while obtaining personal information that we knowingly or accidentally leave online.

During this analysis, we will discuss what cybercrime is, what its types are, and how to avoid becoming a victim of cybercrime.

What are the responsibilities?

In recent years, the number of crimes in cyberspace has been growing - by about 10% per year. About 17 thousand cybercrimes occur annually.

Their scale and the damage they cause to people are growing. Therefore, in the laws of different countries there are more and more articles introducing criminal liability for acts of this kind.

In Russia, responsibility for cybercrimes is defined in Chapter 28 of the Criminal Code. The specific punishment depends on the amount of damage caused and is defined in articles No. 272, 273 and 274. Specific sanctions provide for:

• Fine from 100 thousand rubles;
• Correctional or forced labor (from six months to 5 years);
• Restriction or imprisonment (up to 7 years).

However, lawyers note that Russian legislation in this area is not yet well developed and requires improvement.

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Time is against you

If you crossed the line of the law (by negligence or intentionally), then neither tomorrow nor the day after tomorrow, most likely, they will not come for you. Even operational units are burdened with bureaucratic requirements and do not always live up to their name and act quickly.

In addition, all operational research guidelines recommend taking the time to ground yourself in the evidence. If you catch the attacker too early, then all the work will go down the drain: there will not be enough evidence, and he will have to be released.

Law enforcement officers are not always smarter than criminals, but they know how to wait. I have seen cases where cybercriminals thrived for over a year. Sooner or later, the attacker will lose his vigilance and make an obvious mistake. Here the entire crime can immediately be attributed to him. In the end, any theft or other activity is a separate crime, and it is always beneficial for the authorities to prosecute a person for 10-20 crimes, and not for one.

Methods of struggle at the state level

Since the actions of cybercriminals easily cross borders between states, the fight against them must be international in nature. Of course, we also need national programs to combat such offenders. In Russia, to solve these problems, the Bureau of Special Technical Events of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was created already in 1992. Representatives of this organization study at technical universities and also undergo training at large IT companies.

In addition to investigating crimes and catching attackers, this Bureau is engaged in preventing cybercrime and increasing people's literacy in this area.

Investigating the actions of cyber criminals is complicated because:

• Law enforcement officers need special education in the computer field;
• Since hacker technology is constantly being improved, experience in combating them is important, and this requires exchange with other specialists from different countries;
• Since the criminal and the victim may be in different countries, the investigation of a crime requires cooperation between the law enforcement systems of both countries;
• Criminals have the opportunity to choose in which of the countries involved in the investigation of their crimes they will be tried. That is, they can choose the country that is most loyal in terms of legislation.

History of cyber crimes

Hacking for malicious purposes was first documented in the 1970s, when the first computerized phones were targeted. Tech-savvy people known as "phreakers" have found a way to pay for long-distance calls by dialing a series of codes. They were the first hackers to learn how to exploit the system by modifying the hardware and software to "reset" long-distance telephone call times. As these crimes became known, people realized that computer systems were vulnerable to criminals, and the more complex systems became, the more susceptible they became to cyber crime.

And in 1990, a major project called Operation Sandevil was exposed. FBI agents seized 42 computers and more than 20,000 floppy disks that were used by criminals to illegally use credit cards and telephone services. The operation involved more than 100 FBI agents and took two years to track down just a few suspects. However, even the capture of some of the suspects was received with great delight by society, because law enforcement agencies showed the hackers that they would be monitored and prosecuted.

Later came the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which was created in response to threats to public freedoms that arise when law enforcement agencies make mistakes or overreact when investigating cyber crimes. The foundation's mission was to protect and protect consumers from unlawful retaliation. While serving a useful purpose, it has also opened the door to hacking loopholes and the ability to anonymously surf the Internet through which criminals carry out their illegal activities.

Crime and cybercrime are becoming a growing problem in our society, even with a criminal justice system. On both the public web and the dark web, cyber criminals are highly skilled and difficult to find. Below, learn more about how to fight cyber crime with cyber law.

How to protect yourself and your loved ones?

Prevention of cybercrime comes down mainly to holding special events with people and organizations. In particular, this applies to business structures.

and the already mentioned Technical Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs are issuing a memo for citizens, the purpose of which is to protect them from common deception schemes on the Internet.

Among the specific recommendations for protection against cybercrime, it is worth noting:

• Do not respond to messages about winnings sent online or via SMS. Never call back such unknown numbers or respond to messages from them;
• Do not provide your bank card details. For all questions, contact your bank only;
• Use good anti-virus programs on all electronic devices to access the Internet, update them and check devices regularly;
• Buy licensed software.

How can law enforcement agencies even find out about you?

The first “thread” can come from anywhere: informants, data from providers, some analytical results of traffic, or a message from citizens about an illegal action committed against them.

By what signs can you understand that you are “under the hood”? The main tool is intuition. But there are also more objective signs.

• Your phone started acting strangely; there are suspicions that you are being bugged.
• “New friends” appear who are interested in your activities.
• Strangers ask your neighbors about you - they could be law enforcement officers.

If you are actually doing something illegal, you still have a chance to stop in time. However, if government officials have begun openly interviewing neighbors or relatives, it means that your development is approaching the final stage and there is already verification material that they are preparing to hand over to the investigator to begin criminal proceedings.

Why is it so difficult to investigate cybercrime?

There are many difficulties in investigating such crimes:

• The secrecy of criminals. Many of their actions are not only not disclosed, but are not even taken into account by statistics;
• Transnational nature of atrocities;
• Large scale of damage;
• Highly qualified criminals in the field of computer technology;
• An increase in the number of such crimes;
• Legal and technical problems associated with the need to use special equipment and skills in the field of computer technology, as well as the need to develop international documents and cooperation in the investigation of cybercrimes;
• It is difficult to collect evidence online, as criminals can quickly destroy it.

However, investigations into offenses on the Internet and other computer networks are developing, as is the legislative framework for combating such criminals.

Spam

Spam is an extremely common and diverse type of cybercrime. This includes mass mailing via email, SMS, instant messengers and other communication channels. Any mailing without the consent of the recipients can be classified as spam.

Social and politically motivated cybercrimes

Some types of cybercrime are aimed at changing the mood of the political environment or intentionally harming or reducing the influence of individuals or groups of people.

Hate crimes and harassment

Hate mail crimes against an individual or group of people are usually committed on the basis of gender, race, religion, nationality, sexual orientation and other characteristics. Examples: harassment and sending offensive messages and spreading false news regarding a certain group of people.

The anonymity and easy accessibility of the Internet make combating hate crimes significantly more difficult.

Terrorism

Extremist groups and militant nations are increasingly using cyberspace to intimidate, spread propaganda, and sometimes harm IT infrastructures. An increase in the number of businesses, services and devices accessible via the Internet will undoubtedly provoke new cases of cyber terrorism.

Cyberbullying

The use of computers and connected devices to harass, humiliate and intimidate individuals falls under the category of cyberbullying. The line between cyberbullying and some forms of hate crime is often blurred. Some forms of cyberbullying (such as nude photo sharing) may fall under illegal activities (such as child exploitation).

Cybercrimes related to illegal activities

The underbelly of the Internet, also called the “dark web” (or deep Internet), is used to commit various types of illegal actions.

Illegal pornography

The distribution of pornography via the Internet is treated as a cybercrime in many countries, while in others only extremist content is banned. Distribution of child pornography images is prohibited in most countries.

Grooming

Online grooming is associated with sexual harassment of minors. Various communication methods can be used in the process: SMS, social networks, email, chats (for example, in online games) and forums. In many countries, grooming falls under the category of cybercrime.

Distribution of drugs and weapons

Various IT solutions used to distribute legitimate goods and services can also be used by attackers. For example, darknet markets that exist on the World Wide Web help smugglers sell weapons and drugs while remaining under the radar of law enforcement.

Criminal case

If a criminal case is opened against you, you will, of course, immediately find out. Most likely, the investigator will not even notify you by mail, but in his office, officially inviting you to investigative actions.

But there is a nuance - a criminal case may be initiated against an unidentified person. The investigation may not have sufficient evidence, or the criminal has not yet been identified. Or maybe you have already been “identified” informally, the investigator is simply using such a ruse to conduct operational searches and investigations while you remain in the dark.

Scenarios for interaction with investigators

Scenario one: you have learned that a criminal case has been initiated against an unidentified person. Personally, you are not affected by any active actions of the authorities, but you are indeed involved in the crime (if not, then there is nothing to worry about, I have not heard of innocent people going to jail for cybercrime).

Second scenario: you discover that an unidentified person is under investigation in a criminal case and take part in inactive investigative actions (interrogations as a witness, searches as a witness, etc.); in this case, you will have fewer rights than if you were a suspect, which simplifies the investigation.

Third scenario: when a criminal case has been opened against you or you are interrogated as a suspect (these events are equivalent - in both you have the status of a suspect).

In the first two scenarios, it is enough to build a line of self-defense and, if possible, discuss with a specialist how events might develop, what could mitigate and what could aggravate the punishment.

In the third case, you need to immediately enter into an agreement with a lawyer.

In any case, if you discover that something is being planned against you, even if it is a test action, you need to stop any illegal activity as soon as possible and take off your white hat once and for all, go to the light side. You may be lucky and get away with a wake-up call and waste your nerves.

Preliminary investigation

The preliminary investigation is divided into several stages.

the first stage - initiating a criminal case .

Interrogation

The second stage will begin soon - this is the interrogation. During the preliminary investigation, he will give you the status of a criminal: witness, suspect, accused.

Each of these statuses implies its own rights and obligations within the framework of a specific criminal case; you can familiarize yourself with them in the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation.

If the crime is not serious, you will be called in for questioning, a non-custodial precaution will be taken (remain where you are and behave appropriately), and if you are called in, you will be called in for other investigative activities.

In the case of a serious crime, you may be detained and even before criminal charges are filed. Officers of the operational services will pick you up anywhere except your home (after all, you need a court decision and will open a criminal case), take you to the investigator and draw up a detention report.

Detention

The staff can approach you at any time, even if you are walking slowly down the street. They will introduce themselves and say that you are under arrest. It’s better not to resist, because bruises on the body of a working employee are a crime.

You need to call your relatives or a lawyer, but do this without aggression, otherwise during a search your phone will be immediately confiscated.

You will be brought to the investigator, and he will draw up a detention report. During detention, the presence of a lawyer is not essential. All the same, you cannot influence the detention if it is legal. But it is legal in three exceptional cases:

• if the detainee is caught committing a crime or immediately after its commission;
• if victims or eyewitnesses point to him as the person who committed the crime;
• when obvious traces of a crime are found on a person or his clothing, on him or in his home.

The arrest report must be signed, since the investigator’s mark “refused to sign” will negatively affect the consideration of the criminal case by the court.

Make sure that the time of detention in the protocol matches the time of actual detention. From this moment, 48 hours count down, during which the investigator must appear in court with a request for arrest and prepare materials proving why deprivation of liberty is necessary for an objective investigation of the criminal case.

When detained, the investigator must give you the opportunity to call you; use this right wisely. Don't call your accomplices, because your entire conversation will be overheard by employees (and the call can be traced), and making up a word code on the fly is a bad idea.

It is best to call your loved ones so that they can bring you bedding and warm clothes as soon as possible so that you do not freeze alone. Investigators will meet you halfway and wait, because then it will be much more difficult to transfer things to the pre-trial detention center.

Search

During the early stages of an investigation, a site visit or search should be conducted with at least two witnesses. Any items under investigation will be searched and seized. You will not be able to leave the search area. At the end, the staff will prepare a search report, which you can read and photocopy.

If your equipment—whether it's a hard drive or an entire computer—needs to be shut down and removed, an IT professional (civil or forensic) should be present during the search. An operational employee, even if he is from department “K,” cannot replace such a specialist.

Expertise

If you are a suspect or a witness, further examination awaits you.

The examination can be different: from a computer to phonoscopy, fingerprints, biology. It all depends on the objects being tested. In any case, the suspect will be familiarized with the research. And the witness - only when samples were taken from him.

Other investigative actions

• Giving evidence on the spot: under video or photo recording, you will tell and show what you did and how you did it right at the crime scene.
• Investigative Experiment: Employees will recreate the conditions under which a crime was committed to ensure that their or your assumptions are realistic.
• Confrontation. Even if you have built an ideal technical defense, refuse to admit guilt, and the investigation has no objective evidence, your partner can always turn you in. In this case, the investigation will conduct a confrontation between you and your partner, where he will tell you “how it was,” and you will either stand your ground or agree with him. In any case, you will have a confrontation between versions, the purpose of which is to establish the truth.

Accusation

Eventually, once the survey has qualified your actions, you will be charged. You can agree with the accusation, partially agree, or disagree. At this moment, you will definitely be interrogated again - this time as an accused, in order to place emphasis on the “i” and understand your attitude towards the criminal case (whether you regret it or not) and the final position on your action with which you will appear in court.

The final part of the preliminary investigation

You will definitely be given all the materials of the criminal case for review, on which a protocol will be drawn up. You will be able to examine all the evidence that the investigator has collected and, together with your lawyer, choose the final line of defense for the trial. In the review protocol, you can apply for a choice of legal proceedings (for example, in a special order or by jury).

This concludes the investigative measures. The criminal case is then submitted to the prosecutor for approval and then to the court.

Confession of guilt, surrender and special procedure

Whether you admit guilt or not is up to you. The main rule: under no circumstances admit what you haven’t done. If you have been subjected to violence or threats (“confess, otherwise we will beat you”), threaten to write a statement to the investigative commission. This is where the threats will most likely end, since “extorting” testimony is a crime on the part of employees and entails severe penalties.

When you actually committed a crime, denying guilt is the worst option if the criminal case ends up in court. The court will give the maximum sentence, and even with imprisonment.

On the other hand, criminal proceedings are very humane in relation to those who confess. If you have committed a crime for the first time and confessed to it, there will not even be a trial, only a court fine. As a result, you will not end up with a criminal record. This is new in legislation. The application of a judicial fine has its own nuances; more details can be found in the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation.

What will help? Confession. She used to be the “queen of evidence”, but now it’s a life hack that allows you to remove the maximum punishment. Even if you wrote a confession, and then the whole investigation was rejected, and you were found guilty in court, your appearance will help you.

A special procedure is applied if the conditions for imposing a court fine are not met. Completely guilty? Ask for special order. Then the court does not consider the case on its merits, but only decides the issue of sanctions. In most cases, a special order will result in a suspended sentence or (if you also find yourself guilty) a minimum sentence.

Advocate

A lawyer is your main defense tool. You can hire one "by appointment" or hire a free lawyer provided by the state. The appointment of a lawyer is not just a formality, many of them defend in good faith, and the famous “pocket attorneys of the investigator” are a thing of the past, since they are appointed by rotation of the bar association, and not on the call of the investigator. . A qualified attorney is often sufficient, especially if your strategy is to plead guilty. In this case, it is more efficient to spend money not on a lawyer, but on compensation for losses.

If you realize you will have to pay more, hire a contract attorney. A good defense attorney is expensive and will never guarantee that you will not be held liable or even warn you directly. Of course, provided that this is a real professional, and not a marketing lawyer who simulates hectic activity and makes promises for your money. Unfortunately, there are no assessments of the professionalism of lawyers; you need to focus on lips, previous experience in the relevant category of cases and reputation.

General tips on how to communicate with investigators

They do not contradict state representatives; they always have more powers. This is especially true for the investigator, since this is the only employee who can really influence the fate of the criminal case. From “lack of evidence” to “maximum duration and worst conditions in the temporary detention center and in the zone.”

Subordination is an important point. How many times have I seen a suspect pay bitterly for his insolent behavior with an investigator? On the other hand, seeing respect and understanding on your part, the investigator will most likely respond in kind.

You shouldn’t give in to the investigation either, because their job is to send the most serious criminal cases to court to improve statistics.

The optimal model of behavior is subject to discussion. For example, the investigator often forgets to familiarize the suspect with his rights before the investigation begins. It is better not to write a complaint, but to mention it sympathetically. Ask him to meet you halfway to reduce your guilt. Your complaint will not be satisfactory in any case, but the location of the investigator will be helpful.

The investigator is also a human being and strives to do his job honestly. If you find that the investigator is torn between his conscience and the demands of the authorities to improve the indicators in terms of severity and number of compounds. Well, then show the best that you have. Tell him you just made a mistake. But now you are ready to become another “Kevin Mitnick” and teach young hackers not to make mistakes and not to break the law.

Check before initiation of criminal case

Before initiating a criminal case, law enforcement agencies study the inspection materials. If such material exists, it means that law enforcement agencies already have information about a possible crime.

One tactic is to collect all the evidence at this stage so that the criminal investigation does not drag on. Sometimes the investigator, after reviewing the inspection materials, can only process and transfer the criminal case to the court.

The trick is that the inspection lasts up to 30 days, so the officer makes a formal decision to refuse to initiate criminal proceedings, the prosecutor cancels the decision, and the inspection period begins again. Thus, you can look at the audit materials for a long time and look for evidence: I saw the audit materials five years ago, and this is not uncommon.

However, the criminal case cannot be prolonged indefinitely. Investigators intend to conduct an investigation within two months. Only cases that have received great public attention can be investigated for more than a year.

A number of investigative actions can be carried out even as part of an audit:

• inspections of the scene of the incident (for example, your apartment), during which equipment may be confiscated;
• interview (this is not an investigative action in the full sense, but the interrogation will be based on the testimony of the interview; also, if the article is suddenly under investigation by the body of inquiry, then the interview can be evidence);
• examination;
• obtaining samples of voice, handwriting, fingerprints and palm prints, genotype - for comparative research;
• requests to providers, banks, cellular companies and other organizations;
• orders to other services, including foreign ones through Interpol.

Inspection

The search will not take place unless a criminal case is initiated. However, if you have clear evidence of a crime in your home, they may do whatever they need to do as part of a routine crime scene investigation—and even against your will. The search must subsequently be legalized by the court so that the seized evidence can be considered legal. However, investigators take such a step only if they have specific grounds in their hands and the courts in most cases agree to legalize such measures.

In addition, if circumstances do not allow for delays, even a search can be carried out without prior permission from the court and subsequently legalized.

How is a home inspection different from a search? In any case, the action may be against your will and accompanied by the seizure of things, but according to the law, the difference lies in the goals. But there are no clear boundaries here either.

In practice, inspections, as a rule, are “softer”, they do not turn everything inside out, but simply examine the place. However, even during an inspection, employees can search anywhere and anything.

Survey

As part of the inspection, you may be asked to be interviewed (not interrogated!). You are allowed to take a lawyer with you to the interview. This is not necessary, but it is important to be realistic about the risks. Perhaps, immediately after the interview, a criminal case will be opened against you and your problems will suddenly become serious.

Be sure to find a good lawyer who will come to you urgently. Once in custody, you will not be able to leave the law enforcement building on your own.

Memo

• Crimes on the Internet carry harsher penalties.
• The police know how to wait, but criminals lose their vigilance.
• If you smell something burning, stop your dark deeds immediately.
• Each violation is a separate crime.
• Watch for signs that you're being developed.
• They can dig under you without initiating a criminal case.
• Consult a lawyer about tactics and arrange an urgent departure in advance.
• Being a witness does not guarantee your safety.
• An accomplice can set you up.
• Do not resist arrest.
• Don't call your accomplice, call your lawyer or relatives.
• Ask your relatives to bring you warm clothes for the isolation ward.
• Check the time of detention and sign the protocol.
• A special procedure, confession and surrender will reduce your punishment.
• Don't admit to something you didn't do, even under pressure.
• A free lawyer is not always useless.
• A paid lawyer is not always good, choose based on reviews.
• Do not conflict with the investigator, but negotiate with him!

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