Does Internet Increase Crime? Essay

In chapter 16, Oscar McLaren discusses how organized crime is â€Å"invading† the internet. One of Australia’s leading figures in online law enforcement says that the internet has so many opportunities for crime, and he believes that there will be a debate on the benefit of the internet at some stage. Organized crime is the biggest threat online or at least is emerging as it. The criminal gangs’ preferred weapon is referred to as botnets, which are groups of computers that have been infected with small computer programs known as malware. Malware has been effective to the point where it even infected the Sydney Opera House’s site. Malware can basically take your computer away from you. The criminal who infected your PC, will essentially own it and most of the time, steal bank account info from you. The Australian police covertly took control of a criminal online marketplace that was being run from Australia. Some even have a â€Å"delete, delete, delete† policy to any unsolicited email. Det Supt Hay says, â€Å"If everyone followed those three simple rules, that would reduce the chances of them falling victim online possibly as much as 80 per cent.† Achieving internet safety is hard. Mr. Ingram claims that you can’t just go around telling people not to click on links that you don’t know the meaning of, which makes the internet redundant. Based on what is said, it would seem that Australia has problems with internet crime quite a bit. My opinion: I believe that organized crime on the internet is pretty major. I never thought about the whole malware thing. If I were to give my opinion before I read about the topic, I would say it had no major connections with the web. But, now I believe otherwise. If any criminal desired to, they could communicate with possible members of a criminal group. They could, like said, use malware to create botnets and connect thousands of random computers to their web of crimes. All it takes is a simple click of the wrong link and your computer is as good as theirs. The internet does indeed make crime easier. Who needs robbing a bank when you can steal a bank account from a little hideout with a computer, right? Although, shutting the  internet down is not a good solution. I am not saying it was presented as a choice, but the idea was brought up. I think more people use the internet for good, than bad. If anything, programs should be capitalized on that trace the location of a sent malware to find and apprehend a criminal. Police can track phones, why not computers? Crime on the internet will definitely grow uncontrollably. Even if they make a program to fight back, the criminals can use the internet to find another way to hack into a network of computers. It is best to just be very careful what you do, and watch what you download on the internet. Always scan what you are doing to ensure the safety of your computer, and you.