NCJ Number
154618
Journal
European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Volume: 2 Issue: 3 Dated: (1994) Pages: 252-277
Date Published
1994
Length
26 pages
Annotation
This article assesses how existing and proposed Irish criminal law measures up to the Council of Europe Select Committee's report on minimal and optional measures necessary to counteract computer-related crime.
Abstract
The only empirical study that has sought to determine instances of computer crime in Ireland is the 1993 KPMG Stokes Kennedy Crowley Fraud Awareness Survey. The study aimed to determine the incidence of fraud perpetrated against Irish companies. There was no specific attempt to classify the means of effecting the fraud through computer misuse. Some 40 percent of respondents had experienced a fraud in the last 3 years, and approximately 63 percent of respondents speculated that fraud would become a more significant problem in the future. This suggests that the Irish business community is sensitive to incidents of computer misuse. An analysis of Irish law's addressing of computer-related fraud focuses on computer-related fraud, computer forgery, damage to computer data and computer programs, computer sabotage, unauthorized access to programs or data, and complementary measures against unauthorized access to computerized information. Also considered are the unauthorized interception of communications, the unauthorized reproduction of a computer programs, and unauthorized reproduction of a topography. The study concludes that despite the structural difficulties that Irish law may have in addressing computer- related crime, the movement toward creating specific offenses, which is evidenced in the Criminal Damage Act, 1991, is significant. Many of the Council of Europe's minimum-list offenses are adequately addressed under existing law, but greater attention must be given to abuse in the areas of telecommunications and the use of computer equipment for unauthorized purposes. The author recommends that Irish copyright law be strengthened to encompass computer software in accordance with the Council of Europe's Software Directive. 110 footnotes