Computer Crimes and Health & Safety

Objectives:Gain an overview of Computer Crime and Health & Safety issues so that you can write about them in your project

Computer Crimes

Hacking Theft of computer time Theft of software and data Software Piracy Viruses

Hacking

Unauthorised access to a computer and.or data

Why Hack? Just to prove that they can Industrial Espionage Attempt to destroy business/data Blackmail Grudge

Preventing Hacking

Secure Passwords Letters & Numbers Not real words Biometrics

Regular password changes Access Rights Firewall

Theft of computer time

Employees using computers for personal business NRA/CV Personal Letters/Email Run another business Games

Costs money System resources Lost Productivity

Computer Crime

COPYRIGHT

Theft of Software and Data Bespoke software is valuable to a business

May give a commercial advantage Has value to competitors

Same is true of data Ingredients for new chocolate bar Plans for new car

Difficult to prevent theft (usually done by own staff) Access Rights Passwords Escort sacked / redundant employees from building

Software Piracy

Software companies do not sell software – they sell a licence to use the software Single User Concurrent Users Network Stations Site Licence

Some licences will allow employees to have a copy of the software at home – most do not.

Software Piracy

Employees can be stopped from stealing software by: Prevent Access to original media Prevent access to Floppy/Optical disk drives Dongles

Bigger problem – large scale software pirates Action taken at Governmental level and by

specialist organisations.

What is software Piracy?

The use of Software without a valid licence Unauthorised copying of Diskettes or CDs Running pirated software Transmitting unauthorised software over a

telecommunications line.

How come this is illegal?

When you buy software you do not own it you only have the right to use the program by having a licence

Computer software is now covered by the Copyright Designs and Patents act of 1989

Why is it a problem?

Software companies do not get the profit they would get if every user bought a legitimate licence.

This can discourage future development.

How are software companies trying to stop copyright fraud?

Registration numbers before installing the product

“copy protection” on CDs or disks that makes it difficult to copy them

“dongles” (a piece of hardware that must be plugged into the back of the computer for the program to run)

How are software companies trying to stop copyright fraud?

Businesses, schools etc. can be inspected to ensure they have sufficient licences for their software.

On some games you have to enter a word from the manual each time you play. 

A "single user licence" allows you to run the software on one computer

A "network licence" allows you to run the software on a specified number of machines

A "site licence" allows you to run the software anywhere on the site

Licences

The penalty

Software piracy is a criminal offence you can be given an unlimited fine or sent to prison for 2 years!

Large companies can be fined greater amounts - depending on the scale of their business.

Large companies do commit software piracy!

Apple sued Microsoft because they claimed that Microsoft copied the "look and feel" of their operating system, however they were unsuccessful.

Other companies steal chunks of code from one program to use in their own programs.

Developers now insert hidden "fingerprints" into the code so they can see if they turn up in a competitors product.

Computer Crime

Viruses

Viruses

A virus is a program that affects computers and the software running on them. Attaches itself to a program or file Can cause damage & destroy essential

files. Can spread through an whole network

Viruses

A virus can be: Destructive Annoying

A virus may trigger immediately or not until a trigger date (e.g. Friday 13th)

Often infected files will have to be deleted – non-infected backups will be needed to restore the system

Other virus type programs

Trojan Horse Runs in the background and is designed

to collect passwords & ID’s Bombs

Program that will cause damage when triggered

E.g. could be triggered if an employee is sacked to destroy important file or to hide fraud

Preventing Viruses

Always run anti virus software Make sure the virus definition file is up to

date. Do not open emails or attachments from

unknown senders. Always virus check floppy disks when you

have been using them on a different machine.

REGULARLY BACK UP YOUR WORK!!!

Health & Safety

Health & Safety

Seating – Use chairs with adjustable height and

back-rest. When seated correctly, the lower arms

and thighs should be in a roughly horizontal position while working at the keyboard.

Health & Safety

Workstation – A fixed height between 660-730mm is

required (720mm is recommended). A desktop depth of 760-840 mm is

required to give the user sufficient distance from the screen while working.

Health & Safety

Lighting – Windows should be fitted with non-

reflective blinds. Positioning the screen away from light

reflection and glare. The optimum position is at right angles to

the source of natural light.

Health & Safety

Screens – Screens must be fitted with tilt and swivel

stands. Sufficient room is needed for the screen

to be moved back and forward. The top of the screen should be at eye

level.

Health & Safety

Power supply – Leads should preferably be in trunking

above the height of the worktops or be safely tied.

An adequate number of supply sockets should be provided to eliminate the need for trailing wires.

Mains plugs and leads must be checked for safety once a year.

Health & Safety

Fire precautions – A fire extinguisher suitable for electrical

fires (such as carbon dioxide) must be provided in all computer rooms.

The location of the nearest fire exit must be notified near the door in each room

Health & Safety

Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) Caused by repetitive finger movements

over very long periods of time. It can become quite serious for people

employed solely as keyboard operators. In order to reduce muscle fatigue and

strain, users should be encouraged to get up and move around at reasonably frequent intervals

Health & Safety

Eye Strain – To reduce eyestrain, look away from the

screen and focus on a distant object from time to time - this will relax their eye muscles.

Take regular breaks – This also helps to combat STRESS…

Health & Safety

Food & Drink It is not a good idea to eat and drink at

your computer. Spilling a drink over the computer or

keyboard won’t just break the machine, the resulting electric shock could kill you!