Principles Of Cybercrime

581 Pages·2015·2.885 MB·English

by  Jonathan Clough

PRINCIPLES OF CYBERCRIME
Digitaltechnologyhastransformedthewayinwhichwesocialiseanddo
business. Proving the maxim that crime follows opportunity, virtually
every advance has been accompanied by a corresponding niche to be
exploited for criminal purposes; so-called ‘cybercrimes’. Whether it be
fraud, child pornography, stalking, criminal copyright infringement or
attacksoncomputersthemselves,criminalswillfindwaystoexploitnew
technology.Thechallengeforallcountriesistoensuretheircriminallaws
keeppace.Thechallengeisaglobalone,andmuchcanbelearnedfrom
theexperienceofotherjurisdictions.FocusingonAustralia,Canada,the
UKandtheUSA,thisbookprovidesacomprehensiveanalysisofthelegal
principlesthatapplytotheprosecutionofcybercrimes.
Thisneweditionhasbeenfullyrevisedtotakeintoaccountchangesin
online offending, as well as new case law and legislation in this rapidly
developingareaofthelaw.
jonathan clough is a professor in the Faculty of Law at Monash
University,Australia.Heteachesandresearchesintheareasofcriminal
law and evidence, with a particular focus on cybercrime. In addition to
teaching cybercrime in the Monash LLM programme, he has written
numerous articles on the topic. He has also provided advice to govern-
mentoncybercrime-relatedissues,andwasamemberoftheCommon-
wealthWorkingGroupofExpertsonCybercrime.

PRINCIPLES OF CYBERCRIME
second edition
JONATHAN CLOUGH
UniversityPrintingHouse,CambridgeCB28BS,UnitedKingdom
CambridgeUniversityPressispartoftheUniversityofCambridge.
ItfurtherstheUniversity’smissionbydisseminatingknowledgeinthepursuitof
education,learningandresearchatthehighestinternationallevelsofexcellence.
www.cambridge.org
Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781107034570
©CambridgeUniversityPress2015
Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception
andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements,
noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten
permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress.
FirsteditionpublishedbyCambridgeUniversityPress2010
SecondeditionpublishedbyCambridgeUniversityPress2015
PrintedintheUnitedKingdombyClays,StIvesplc
AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloguinginPublicationdata
Clough,Jonathan,author.
Principlesofcybercrime/JonathanClough.–Secondedition.
pagescm
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-1-107-03457-0(Hardback)–ISBN978-1-107-69816-1(Paperback)
1. Computercrimes. I. Title.
K5215.C582015
3450.0268–dc23
2015018983
ISBN978-1-107-03457-0Hardback
ISBN978-1-107-69816-1Paperback
CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceoraccuracyof
URLsforexternalorthird-partyinternetwebsitesreferredtointhispublication,
anddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuchwebsitesis,orwillremain,
accurateorappropriate.
CONTENTS
Preface viii
Acknowledgements x
Table of legislation xi
Table of cases xxxvi
List of abbreviations lv
part i
Introduction 1
1 Cybercrime 3
1. Theevolutionofcybercrime 3
2. Thechallengesofcybercrime 5
3. Definingcybercrime 9
4. Cyberterrorism 12
5. Thescaleoftheproblem 15
6. Online/offlineconsistency 17
7. Virtualcrimes? 18
8. Aglobalproblem:theConventiononCybercrime 23
part ii
Computer as target 29
2 Computer as target 31
1. Introduction 31
2. Theprevalenceofcybercrime 45
3. Thelegislativeenvironment 47
3 Access offences 56
1. Introduction 56
2. Themeaningof‘computer’ 59
3. ‘Access’ 68
4. ‘Unauthorised’ 80
5. Faultelement 104
6. Additionalelements 107
v
vi contents
4 Modification or impairment of data 112
1. Introduction 112
2. Legislativeprovisions 113
3. Conductcausingmodificationorimpairment 117
4. Modificationorimpairment 123
5 Misuse of devices 133
1. Introduction 133
2. Australia 136
3. Canada 138
4. TheUnitedKingdom 141
5. TheUnitedStates 144
6 Interception of data 149
1. Thechangingnatureoftelecommunications 149
2. Thelegislativeframework 150
3. Themeaningof‘telecommunication’ 158
4. Whatisacommunication?(contentvs.metadata) 167
5. ‘Interception’(livevs.storedcommunications) 183
part iii
Fraud and related offences 207
7 Fraud 209
1. Fraudonline 209
2. Thescaleoftheproblem 228
3. Legalresponses 232
4. Identitytheft 238
8 Criminal copyright infringement 255
1. Copyrightinfringementis(not)theft 255
2. Legislativeprovisions 261
9 ‘Spam’ 272
1. Electronicjunkmail 272
2. Regulatingspam 275
3. Anti-spamlegislation 279
part iv
Content-related offences 287
10 Child pornography 289
1. Childabuseonline 289
2. Thecriminalisationofchildpornography 294
3. Definingchildpornography 297
4. Producingchildpornography 325
contents vii
5. Offeringormakingavailable 330
6. Distributingortransmitting 335
7. Procuringchildpornography 338
8. Possessionofchildpornography 344
9. Defences 368
part v
Offences against the person 375
11 ‘Grooming’ 377
1. Sexualpredatorsonline 377
2. Legislativeresponses 385
3. Transmittingindecentorobscenematerialtominors 389
4. Grooming 394
5. Inducingorprocuring 402
6. Travellingwithintent 413
12 Harassment 417
1. Harassmentincyberspace 417
2. Thescaleoftheproblem 420
3. Legislativeresponses 423
4. Formsofharassment 433
13 Voyeurism 454
1. Digitalvoyeurs 454
2. Criminalisingvoyeurism 455
3. Legislativeresponses 459
part vi
Jurisdiction 473
14 Jurisdiction 475
1. Crimeincyberspace 475
2. Prescriptivejurisdiction 475
3. Adjudicativejurisdiction 481
4. Enforcementjurisdiction 486
Bibliography 489
Index 513
PREFACE
It is a great privilege to be writing a preface to this second edition of
PrinciplesofCybercrime.Asonewouldexpectinsucharapidlydevelop-
ing area, much has changed since 2010. Terms such as ‘cyberbullying’,
‘sexting’and‘trolling’havebecomeestablishedinthelexicon.Technolo-
gies such as peer-to-peer networks and botnets continue to evolve and
facilitate a broad range of offending, from criminal copyright infringe-
mentto childexploitation. Newoffenceshave beenenacted and existing
offences amended, while courts continue to grapple with the interface
between legal doctrine and technological change. Of particular signifi-
cance, Australia and the United Kingdom joined the United States in
ratifying/acceding to the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime,
the most significant international instrument in this area.
Althoughtherehavebeensignificantchanges,inmanyrespectsthishas
beenevolutionratherthanrevolution;partofthenormalongoingdevel-
opmentofthecriminallaw.InrevisingthematerialforthiseditionIhave
been struck by how resilient the law has proved to be in many areas of
cybercrime, with both legislatures and courts able to confront novel and
challengingsituations.Inaddition,thereisclearlyanincreasedawareness
by governments of the various threats posed by cybercrimes, and the
importance of a multi-faceted approach. If the first edition hoped to
demonstratethatthecriminallawhadwellandtrulyarrivedincyberspace,
thissecondeditionillustratesthatithasachievedalevelofmaturity.
As with the first edition, this book is intended for anyone who wishes
to gain a deeper understanding of the legal principles which are applied
to ‘cybercrimes’, whether they be academics, legal practitioners, law
enforcementofficersorstudents.Asidefromjurisdictionalissues,itdoes
notaddressthelawofcriminalinvestigation,procedureorevidence.The
unique feature of this book is that the various offences are analysed
across four major common law jurisdictions: Australia, Canada, the
United Kingdom and the United States. These jurisdictions were chosen
for a number of reasons. First, they share a common law heritage.
viii
preface ix
Second, they are each advanced developed countries that have dealt
extensively with the challenges of cybercrime. Third, as noted above,
Australia,theUnitedKingdomandtheUnitedStatesareallpartiestothe
Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime, while Canada is a signa-
tory.Togetherthesejurisdictionsprovideawealthofinformationonthe
nature of cybercrime and the ways in which it may be addressed. This
collectiveexperienceisofinterestnotonlytoreadersfromtheserespect-
ivecountries,butfromanycountryseekingtounderstandthechallenges
of cybercrime.
Eachchapterbeginswithabackgroundtotheoffencetype,followedby
an overview of the legislative environment in each jurisdiction. The key
principleswhicharefoundwithineachoffencearethenanalyseddrawing
upon the law of each jurisdiction. In some cases, there is considerable
overlap, while in others quite distinct approaches are adopted. Where
possible, guidance is provided in the text pointing out these similarities
and differences. In this way, it is hoped that the book can be read by a
readerfocusingontheirownjurisdiction,whilealsofacilitatingcompari-
sonswithotherjurisdictions.Ihaveendeavouredtostatethelawtoatleast
June 2014, although some material was being added right up to the
submissionofthemanuscript.Anyerrorsareofcoursemyown.
This second edition is later than was anticipated, and I am grateful to
Cambridge University Press for their patience and persistence. In par-
ticular, I would like to thank Finola O’Sullivan, for commissioning the
first edition and for supporting the publication of a second. I am also
grateful to the team at Cambridge for their hard work throughout the
process, in particular Marta Walkowiak, Robert Judkins and Richard
Woodham for their guidance in bringing this book to fruition. I have
beenfortunatetohavetheassistanceofasuccessionofveryableresearch
assistants: Irene Argeres, Melissa Kennedy and Joshua Teng. Particular
thanksareduetoHelenaKantonforherresearchassistanceandalsoher
hardworkinhelpingtopreparethefinalmanuscript.Iwouldalsoliketo
thankmycolleaguesattheMonashLawFacultyforprovidingacollegial
researchenvironment.Onapersonallevel,abigthankyoutomyfamily
and friends who are a constant source of love, support and encourage-
ment. Most importantly, this book is dedicated to Natalia; a small
recognition of all the love and support she has given me.
Jonathan Clough
Melbourne, March 2015