Computer crime is a growing threat to society by the criminal or irresponsible actions of computer individuals who are taking advantage of the widespread use of vulnerability of computers and the Internet and other networks. It thus presents a major challenge to the ethical use of information technologies. e-computer crime poses serious threats to the integrity, safety, and survival of most e-business systems, and thus makes the development of effective security methods a top priority.
Computer crime is defined by The Association of Information Technology professionals (ATIP) as including:
• The unauthorized use, access, modification, and destruction of hardware, software, data, or network resources.
• The unauthorized release of information
• The unauthorized copying of software
• Denying an end user access to his or her own hardware, software, data, or network resources
• Using or conspiring to use computer or network resources to illegally obtain information or tangible property.