Case of Vasiliy Gorshkov and Alexey Ivano Essay

Case of Vasiliy Gorshkov and Alexey Ivano - Essay Example There are readily available hacker tools that can be used by unskilled people to wreak havoc for financial gain or just for fun. The disturbing reality is that many people are not aware they are actually committing a crime until it is too late. This has been a serious problem for teachers, parents, governments and businesses trying to work hard to protect children and the general public from online threats. The best way to protect people from computer crime is by letting them understand what computer crime is all about. Computer crime can be viewed in three ways. The first one is attacking computers of other people by spreading malicious viruses. The second one is using a computer as a weapon to commit crime like illegal gambling or fraud. The third one is storing information in a computer illegally. Introduction In this case study of Vasiliy Gorshkov and Alexey Ivanov we are going to examine whether the FBI investigative techniques went too far in apprehending the two Russian cyber criminals. In addition to this, we will also investigate how the FBI used the law to apprehend the cyber criminals and whether their actions should stand scrutiny under the current U.S. cyber law. Furthermore, more case studies will be examined and the impact of cybercrime investigations of non-U.S. citizens will be discussed and analyzed. The overview has looked at what computer crime is all about and the definition can summarize computer crime as attacking computers of other people by spreading malicious viruses, using a computer to commit crime, and storing illegal information on a computer. Case study Ivanov a 20 year old computer programmer from Russia flew to Seattle in November 2000 to apply for a job in a company called Invita Security. He was promised a dream job and took with him Vasiliy Gorshkov, a fellow programmer. After their arrival in Seattle airport they were given interviews of hacking other networks which they proved to be very successful. They were later arrested by the FBI. In Washington on October 10, 2001, a jury found Vasiliy of Russia guilty on 20 counts of conspiracy on fraud and computer crimes. The targets of the computer crime include Nara Bank, Speakeasy Network, PayPal, National Bank of Waco, and many other companies. He faced a maximum prison term of five years on each count, and a possible prison sentence of 100 years and a fine of $250,000 on each count, although he was sentenced to three years in prison. Ivanov was also charged with conspiracy, hacking, extortion and computer fraud and was given a prison term of eight months and owes in excess of $800,000. Analysis of case study The Federal Bureau of Investigation in the case study did not follow any International Law in their pursuit of the two cyber criminals however the deceit to get them into America is commendable because it allowed the FBI to exercise the right legal justice system in apprehending them. This was done by using a fictional company called Invita that lured the two Russians and their success in hacking into Invita proved they were guilty of cyber crime. According to the United States law the right way in obtaining evidence is not by deceiving computer criminals into committing a crime rather it should be to catch criminals in the act of committing a crime