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Taking Advantage of the Internet

NCJ Number
165220
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 63 Issue: 1 Dated: (January 1997) Pages: 35-38
Author(s)
M Dobeck
Date Published
1997
Length
4 pages
Annotation
To continue to be effective in the 21st century, law enforcement must meet the challenge of cyberspace and learn to take advantage of the dedicated law enforcement resources and information available through the Internet.
Abstract
The evolution of the Internet has provided numerous commercial and financial opportunities, specifically in the areas of electronic commerce. With the exponential growth of the National Information Infrastructure, the same type of growth can be expected in high-technology crime around the world. This same information can be used in pursuing criminal investigations. The World Wide Web is the newest tool to be incorporated into traditional and cyber crime investigations. Many local, State, and Federal agencies currently have home pages on the Net. Law enforcement networking on a worldwide basis can be achieved through the Internet via the e-mail system and mail lists, actually saving the toll charges for long-distance communications. Credit card-number generators along with password cracking and encryption software can all be downloaded from hacking Web sites. Intelligence information can be obtained on organized groups, such as militias, gangs, pedophiles, and Asian and West African crime rings. Images of U.S. and foreign currency, postage stamps, food stamps, money orders, and pornography can all be found and downloaded from the Usenet news groups. Additionally, topics such as computer hacking, telecommunications "phreaking" (telephone hacking), cellular telephone fraud, and even counterfeiting of U.S. currency and commercial corporate checks can be found on the Usenet news groups. These are but some of the many resources law enforcement can find on the Internet. In addition to providing an overview of how law enforcement personnel can benefit from Internet use, this article details how the Internet works and what is involved in searching the Internet. One section of the article focuses on the kinds of information on individuals that is available on the Internet. Usenet news groups are also discussed.