Maggie

As everything in life, the internet has two sides; a good and a bad. According to Sans Institute, there are many federal laws against computer crimes. For example, identity theft, stalking, child pornography and scams are made easier by the internet. While Megan McMallister was planning her big day,her fiancee had other plans. Phiwas responding to an ad placed on Craigslist. He was trying to pay off student loans and had felt like there was no way out. He arrived at the hotel door of Julissa Brisman and was the last human to ever see her alive. He continued his rage and four days later Trisha Leffler was bound and robbed at gun point. Two days after that, another women was a victim of attempted robbery. Megan broke off the engagement. What would have been McMallister and Markoff's one year wedding anniversary Markoff was found dead by suicide. Philip Markoff had found all of his victims online. This is just one of many cases relating to computer crimes.

A young fourteen year old boy was charged with a $794. You could be charged at least 1,568 for downloading just one song. If refused to pay, the fine could double. This could happen to anyone. The New York Times states that people who illegally download movies or music could be banned from the internet under new legislator policies. ISPs will be forced to provide a "three strikes rule". Downloading music illegally is, in essence, stealing. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has the right to sue $150,000 per song. Next time you want to download a song, think, is paying $1.99 really worth the risk of $150,000? The choice is yours.

There is a whole unit in the FBI devoted to just cyber crimes. Their main objectives, as any unit of the FBI, are to protect the innocent and punish the guilty. But, this entirety is to catch people in fraud, help those who's identity has been stolen and many other cases. Last year, they cracked a case of over 2,100 ATMs getting hacked. This and many more stories are examples of how the FBI- Cyber Crime unit works. Click [|here] to know more about the FBI Cyber Crime unit!

Works Cited "FBI — Cyber Crime." //FBI — Homepage//. Web. 11 Jan. 2011. . "Illegal Downloads." //New York Times//. Web. "Philip Markoff - Craigslist Killer." Web. 11 Jan. 2011. //SANS: Computer Security Training, Network Security Research, InfoSec Resources//. Web. 11 Jan. 2011. .