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Script kiddies are individuals who are not experts in the field of programming and therefore use programs developed by experts to attack systems and computer networks. Most of the script kiddies are teenagers without the ability to develop complex programs for hacking systems. Most of these juveniles perform these acts with an intention to gain popularity or just to make their friends happy especially in communities where individuals are computer enthusiastic. These individuals are not recognised as real hackers since they use programs that are not developed by them and they are immature in as far as computer crimes are concerned. The young individuals use the programs to crack the system and gain access to website privileges that only belong to the websites administrators (Harold & Micki 2006). Some of them do it due to boredom and lack work while others are competing with friends to see who can crack the highest number of sites.
Other than website cracking, the individuals also use programs that allow them to access remote computers in an internet and use these remote computers without the knowledge of the owners of the computer. The individuals will then infect the computers with viruses, corrupt the system, erase the information in the hard drives, steal personal information, and so on. The script kiddies can also crash the computers in an entire private network if they access a computer in the network. The programs available also allow the script kiddies to prompt the programs to conduct operations in the background where the users are not aware of the multiple operations that are taking place in the computers. The system will get overloaded and eventually crash. Some kids have used the distributed denial of service attacks and have crashed systems belonging to large corporations (John 2004).
When script kiddies attack computer systems, they cause great damage especially loss of information if the owner did not have some back up. These individuals will be forced to format the whole system which is wastage of time that could have been used in doing other important things. Again, the computers are carrying large amounts of data thereby making it difficult to back every information in the system. Other damages involved in crashing websites may amount to millions just because of the bored individuals actions. The script kiddies take the distributed denial of service attacks and the cyber vandalism for fun but this is very dangerous for them. The actions are taken as crime and can easily land the juvenile in jail. Several young people have found themselves in jail and have been fined and received sentences in courts for similar actions. It is therefore important for experts to keep those programs that help the kids make damages away from the kids and help save the damages (John 2004).
Hacking in Russia
Hacking is one of the most common crimes in Russia but it is never taken seriously. It is a crime that is organised where experts are composing complex programs with intentions of gaining money at the end of the day. Viruses are written and the individuals threaten to infect systems belonging to large corporations if they are not paid. The companies have no options especially when they count on the damage that the viruses may cost the company. The internet is used by the individuals to access networks belonging to large companies and those that are insecure are attacked. Some of the experts develop programs that allow them to access administrative information of companies and they threaten to deny the companies access to their information if they are not paid (Kayne 2009).
One of the reasons why hacking is not taken seriously in Russia is the fact that experts and criminals use the programs to crack systems belonging to corporations in other countries and not Russia itself. When the country does not incur any losses or expenses in activities going on in the country, the concern is expected to be low. Most of the reported cases have traced individuals from Russia hacking websites for big corporations in large countries like the United States. The government in Russia may be also unaware of the vices that individuals in the country are doing. Computer crime is an activity that is carried on in the internet and therefore becoming aware can only be revealed by corporations whose systems have suffered in the different countries (Kayne 2009). This creates a safe haven for the hackers where they access websites for corporations in any countries and fail to be identified. The issue is also not taken seriously in the society since in comparison to violent crimes that are quite frequent in Russia, it is viewed as a very minor crime. The laws available only apply within the borders and therefore concern about issues outside the country might just be wastage of time. The government may also be reluctant in investigating these cases because after all, individuals from the country are gaining while the country is not going through any losses.
Whereas holding a program that can be used to hack systems or websites in some countries is a crime that many are worried about, the case is very different in Russia. Magazines and software that can be used to crash computer systems and networks are readily available in the streets (Kayne 2009). The availability of such magazines and software educate even those individuals who didnt have an intention to hack the computer systems and networks. Desperate individuals who are educated but unemployed will find an opportunity to try gaining money using the programs. An individual need not be an expert in order to use the software because the magazines provide all the information needed for the exercise. The script kiddies also access the software and now that the businessmen selling the magazines and software are interested in profit, they will sell them to the kids not minding the damage that the kids might cause even to internets in the country. If the country took the issue seriously, the sale of such magazines and software in the market could have been fought against and many individuals arrested for the sale of the illegal software. If the laws against the sale of such magazines and software were well implemented, the individuals selling them would be selling them in hidden places and not in the streets. This is a clear indication that hacking is not taken seriously in Russia.
It is ironical for a country that has laws against hacking, cracking, and virus development to have licensed schools to offer classes educating individuals on how to develop software to perform the same vices. Russia has a school that educates individuals on how to develop hacking software and how to apply the software (Kayne 2009). This leads to development of more hackers and as a result more criminal activities. It is quite unfair to help individuals to become criminals just because the issue does not affect the corporations in the country. The presence of the hacking school in Russia is an indication that the issue of hacking is not taken seriously. If the government was serious on the issue, such schools could have been abolished so as to minimize the number of hackers in the country.
Problems in Prosecuting Hackers
Hacking a corporations website or an individuals system is illegal and the hackers caught performing such acts are arrested and taken to court. Performing actions that allow an individual to get money is stealing in addition to the hacking vice. In prosecuting hackers, the laws that are available in the home country of the hacker are used. The laws in different countries differ and this makes it quite difficult in prosecuting hackers. Some countries even dont have rules that are against hacking (Kayne 2009). The hackers have adopted a system where they use such countries in launching the viruses and then the viruses are used to infect computers in a different country from this country where there are no rules. This makes it very difficult to track the origin of the virus. The individuals are aware that trying to track the origin will definitely lead to the country where the virus was launched. The fact that the country has no rules against cyber crime makes it very safe for the individuals are aware that the moment that the origin will be traced in a country where there are no rules, the investigators will be frustrated and will give up. The process is also expensive and such frustrations might make the investigators fail to risk investigating again for the losses previously incurred. This makes prosecution quite hard since the rules in a country are used in prosecuting individuals from the particular country.
Prosecution is also difficult because the local investigations in countries like Russia are not taken seriously. The investigators argue that there are more important issues that require priority than investigating cyber crime. As a matter of fact, the local authorities are very important in investigations since tracing the specific individuals carrying on the actions would be easier for them than for them than the investigators from other countries who are even not aware of the processes in the country. The negligence by some countries makes it hard to identify the criminals and eventually hard prosecuting them. The little concern also make difficult because such countries may not even not have time to amend the laws regarding cyber crime if they lack time to do investigations. This provides the hackers with the best environment to perform their acts since they are aware that the authorities are not concerned with their business. With the internet, the activities of the hackers are even enhanced since the internet allows them to access any websites belonging to any country as long as the company is connected to the internet and the world wide website.
The internet also makes investigations very difficult because tracking the path from which the threat came is a long process and may be interpreted in different ways. To trace the origin of a virus, the means through which it was propagated must be investigated. The traffic that the data followed should be investigated where the different internet service providers are touched. The process of tracing the origins especially if they are traced in a different country becomes quite hard. As a result, prosecuting hackers becomes very hard. The international laws also find it difficult in dealing with the issue since the definition of cyber-crime is different in different countries. The internet is also viewed as a borderless medium and therefore the application of national borders to the internet becomes quite hard. Another difficult issue is on the specific way that the hackers should be punished. All these are problems that make it very difficult in prosecuting hackers. Before prosecution, thorough investigations need to be done so that the company is sure before proceeding to the court. The process of investigation and prosecution is very hard especially considering the above named process where virus developers use different countries in launching it and distribute it to the target countries, some countries giving the investigations a lower priority, the process of tracing the path that a virus followed, etc.
Measures to Help in Dealing with Cyber-Crime
Cyber crime has been an issue of concern to many individuals and corporations but the way it has been dealt with in different countries has made it very difficult in stopping it. The best way out to help in reducing it is by harmonising the laws in all the countries (Kayne 2009). The different countries will revisit their rules regarding computer forensics and come up with some standard rules that will help in the investigation of suspected individuals. The laws regarding the standard punishments that can be applied on hackers will also be developed. The countries without rules regarding the same will also develop some standard rules to help in reducing the vice. The laws will also give some standard punishments that can be applied on the individuals found guilty of committing such crimes. This will help in that the individuals who use those countries that have no laws regarding cyber crime will have no such options.
A special global cyber crime task force may also be established to deal with the crime. The individuals in the task force will be from different countries and the laws applied by the task force will be applied to everybody in the world. This might make investigations easier because the different individuals in the different countries will help in tracing the paths the virus followed which has been very difficult. The involvement of all the countries will also help in the standardisation of rules regarding cyber crime in the different countries. However, the best solution is for the computers users to ensure that their systems and networks are well protected (Kayne 2009). This can be done in the development process where strong programs will be used and individuals from the entire corporations will be using passwords to access the information in the corporations website. Other means of protection such as the use of fingerprints, iris scanning, pupil scanning, etc. This allows only the individuals who have been accepted in the website to access the information in it. This way attacking the computers will be a bit hard and very complex software will be required in crashing the systems.
Reference List
Harold, F. T. & Micki, K., 2006. Information Security Management Handbook. NW: Taylor & Francis Group.
John, B., 2004. Computer Weekly. Russia: A Happy Haven for Hackers. UK: Reed Business Information.
Kayne, R., 2009. What are Script Kiddies?
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