Citation of the case
Ethics denote unwritten rules that people in a certain professional sector should follow. In the cyber space, many users have overlooked ethical values. This has culminated in cyber malpractices and vices. Some of the frequent cyberspace vices include hacking and bullying (Curtis 34). Owing to the increase in cyber crime, many federal authorities have stepped-up the battle against cyber criminals.
One of the most successful litigation against a cyber criminal was United States v. Ivanov. The defendant alongside his accomplice was found guilty and served sentences in American correctional facilities. However, the litigation resulted in many legal experts raising queries about the application of the statutes on cyber malpractices.
The victims of the cyber crime were American entities and federal authorities. The defendant accessed their databases illegally. This breached confidentially since most of the data entailed private information. Subsequently, the data should be accessed after obtaining clearance. Furthermore, the defendant altered the data, which compromised the integrity of the information to the detriment of the organizations involved.
Facts
In this litigation, Aleksey Vladimirovich Ivanov was the defendant while the American government was the plaintiff. The defendant faced various charges, which entailed breach and sabotage of American cyber infrastructure. The charges also included conspiracy and cyber fraud. Ivanov was accused to have in his possession devices that would enable him access various databases illegally.
His transgressions were against the Online Information Bureau (OIB) based in Connecticut. However, the defendant committed the crimes while in a foreign country Russia. Ivanov has accessed their database and altered the information stored. The information distorted by Ivanov’s pertained to credit transfers and the credit status of clients.
The company later encountered numerous challenges when undertaking its core operations owing to the distortion of data. Law enforcement authorities had been tracking Ivanov for a lengthy duration. He has accessed several federal databases in his hacking sprees.
Overtime, federal authorities had gathered evidence on the databases he had accessed. Federal authorities had challenges gathering proof that would lead back to him. This is a key challenge that authorities encounter when combating cyber crime (Gustin 136).
Positions of parties
Since the defendant committed the crimes while in Russia, he pleaded that the American court system had no jurisdiction. This was a credible argument since the US constitution is not applicable in Russia. However, his plea based on jurisdiction was dismissed by the court.
The court overruled the defendant’s motion on the basis that Ivanov’s actions would have repercussions in America, though they were committed on Russian soil. The relevant clauses in this litigation were applied in an extra-territorial manner. Consequently, the legal clauses disregarded the place from which the crime was committed.
This case raised various concerns owing to the application of the law. For the first time, the American government was able to prosecute foreigners who had breached its law from foreign territories. This was a great win for the government since cyber crime had become a major concern for the government.
Previously, criminals outside America breached various databases in America without fear of any legal repercussions. Subsequently, they would alter data contained in such databases for their own purposes.
The issues of the case
The major concern in this case pertained to extra-territorial application of the legal statutes. In previous suits, most defendants were freed since the American constitution lacked jurisdiction in foreign countries. However, in United States v.
Muench, the judge overruled that the American court system lacked jurisdiction on cyber crimes committed form outside the nation. Therefore, criminal who acted against American statutes while in other nations can also be tried by the American legal system. Gathering evidence against tech-savvy criminals was challenging owing to the nature of crimes (Curtis 215).
Moral and ethical principles
This case raised many moral and ethical concerns. First, accessing information illegally breached both moral and ethical principles. Hacking entails accessing information that one has no clearance to view. In United States v. Ivanov, the defendant accessed databases belonging to various institutions illegally. Most of the information contained in those databases was confidential. It is illegal to access such information.
Breach of privacy is a disregard of ethical principles. In some nations, it also has legal implications. Privacy refers to a sense of autonomy, which is central to dignity and personality. People require solitude in their lives. Thus, it is imperative to guard this right. Intrusion of privacy has various repercussions on the victims since it may endanger their lives.
Breach of privacy makes people vulnerable to impersonation and identity theft. These are serious crimes, which makes victims vulnerable to countless crimes. Impersonation has become a major concern since people’s private information is readily available in the internet.
Charges against Ivanov specified that he committed a variety of financial crimes, which included extortion. To commit such crimes, he accessed databases in various organizations. Subsequently, he would alter the data stored. This enabled him to extort money from clients of various companies such as OIB.
Accessing such databases allowed Ivanov to tamper with the integrity of the data. Tampering with the integrity of the data is a breach of ethics. Integrity is crucial in data management since it is utilized in decision making by various institutions, the government and individuals.
Ethics denote desirable values that people should abide by. Hence, altering data for egocentric reasons breaches ethics. Data has become a vital resource whose integrity should be guarded (Gustin 189).
Ruling’s impacts on information technology
In the past, many cyber criminals have gone scot free despite committing serious crimes. However, in this suit, the defendant encountered the full force of the legal statutes. Ivanov, the defendant was guilty of six crimes. The charges related to extortion, damaging of cyber infrastructure and fraud. The court convicted Ivanov and he served a jail sentence of three years.
This ruling has contributed massively to the security of various databases. Foreign cyber criminals are more unwilling to vandalize American cyber infrastructure. Criminal outside America were previously immune from the American legal system.
However, the judicial precedents set in United States v. Muench and United States v. Ivanov have made criminals that attempt to breach or attack the American cyber space from outside the nation also answerable to the American legal statutes. This law should be replicated in other countries. This would make securing the global cyber space a collective undertaking for all nations.
This litigation acts a deterrent to many criminals globally. Nonetheless, it reveals the vulnerability of our cyber infrastructure. Companies and the government should coordinate efforts to secure the systems in companies and federal authorities. Fighting cyber crime will require constant research into applications that will guard against cyber criminals.
Works Cited
Curtis, George.The Law of Cybercrimes and Their Investigations. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis, 2011. Print.
Gustin, Joseph. Cyber Terrorism: A Guide for Facility Managers. Lilburn, GA: Fairmount, 2004. Print.