Cybercrime, DR originated

WebDev

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Spreading Computer viruses, it' a crime in DR???
What is the law in DR, regarding this, in U.s. is as follow:

"Today, in the U.S., the most likely avenue of prosecution is the Federal Computer Abuse Act of 1994 (18 U.S.C. Sec. 1030). Amending the earlier 1986 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the new Act is much clearer and more encompassing than the older act.

Seeking to avoid hypertechnical arguments about what is and is not a "virus" -- or a "worm" or a "Trojan horse," etc. and whether they differ from "viruses" -- the new Act outlaws the "transmission of a program, information, code, or command" that "cause damage to a computer, computer system, network, information, data or program." 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1030(a)(5)(A). As intended, this language should encompass both existing viruses and any future virus-like creations. The earlier law, which focused on the unauthorized access to a computer system, proved to be ineffectual at times because it focused merely on the crossing of a system-level boundary and also became outdated as technology advanced. The new law is an improvement because it's directed against the act of transmitting the virus. Prosecutors are no longer strained to argue that the viral release constitutes an unauthorized entry, instead the deliberate transmission of a viral release is a crime unto itself.

The 1994 Computer Abuse Act tries to deal differently with those who foolhaeartedly launch viral attacks and those who do so intending to wreak havoc. To do this, the the Act defines two levels of prosecution for those who create viruses.

For those who intentionally cause damage by transmitting a virus, the punishment can amount to ten years in federal prison, plus a fine.

For those who transmit a virus with only "reckless disregard" to the damage it will cause, the maximum punishment stops at a fine and a year in prison."

Can a vandal(base in DR), keen to cause havoc by sending Computer viruses, be prosecuted in DR, or any other place in the world?
WebDev
 

Jim Hinsch

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"... outlaws the "transmission of a program, information, code, or command" that "cause damage to a computer, computer system, network, information, data or program."

That means that <pick a vendor> is in big trouble. They sold me that last upgrade and it wiped out my personal settings from before!

And Microsoft is in trouble too. I was running that new version of Windows they sent me on CD and it crashed, "Damaging" the data I had just typed into a word document.

I was joking. On a serious note:

If the DR authorities want to arrest and charge somebody, they'll arrest them and worry about evidence and charges later. They don't screw around when somebody gives the order.

If the USA govt. asks just about ANY friendly country to assist in "getting" the perp, they have and will. A little internet search will reveal countless articles of techies in various foreign nations being arrested for all kinds of computer hokey pokey. I use Google.com.

I assisted American Express in the tracing of a computer thief that stole my credit card number and used it for long distance calling cards and purchasing web sites. They were located in Indonesia and I had to write a statement for Amex after the Indonesion authorities got the perp.

You can be arrested in the Dominican Republic for calling someone a bad name, or if someone "says" you did something bad, or for just about anything if someone plops down some dinero. What does that tell you?
 
Last edited:

Marlin Hunter

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May 18, 2002
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Hmmmmm! I was downloading an upgrade from Microsoft when the electricity went off. Apparently, with the electrical problems, the batteries in my UPS were low and the computer crashed.

When I re-booted, Windows was almost completely destroyed and the only thing I could do was save everything I could then "restore".

Who would the police go after?

Microsoft? It was their upgrade that I was installing when the power failed. Should they have provided some kind of protection for power failure?

The power distributor? I would like that.

The manufacturer of the UPS? Should they have provided batteries that would last forever no matter how many times, or how long, the power fails?

The power generators?

The Dominican government for not paying the power generators?
 

WebDev

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Thanks Jim,
I found this on Codetel site, on "Pol?tica de Uso Aceptable del Servicio Internet" http://www.codetel.net.do/politicas/politicas.htm . I just wonder how Codetel is enforcing this policy, are they disconecting the services to the perpetrators or in case of a big company LAN, what action they take. Are there any case history that you know? or any DR lawyer know of any cases pending? Is Codetel liable, or the actual owner of that terminal who is sending viruses?

"Est? prohibido a los usuarios interferir o tratar de interferir con los servicios de cualquier otro usuario, host o red dentro de Internet ("Denial of Service Attacks"). Ejemplos de estas actividades prohibidas incluyen sin limitaciones : (a) env?o de cantidades excesivas de data (como el rebozar con cualquier tipo de tr?fico que exceda las normas aceptables en cuanto a tama?o y/o frecuencia) con la intenci?n de sobrecargar los sistemas, llenar los circuitos y/o hacer fallar a los hosts; (b) tratar de atacar o deshabilitar a un usuario, host o site; (c) uso, distribuci?n o propagaci?n de cualquier programa, script o comando dise?ado para interferir con el uso , funcionalidad o conectividad de cualquier usuario, host, sistema o site dentro de Internet (como el propagar, v?a email o Usenet, mensajes conteniendo virus, car?cteres de control, etc.)"

thanks,
WebDev