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Famous Criminal Opines that Technology Breeds Crime
Posted by
Zonk
on Sun Oct 21, 2007 04:36 PM
from the not-the-only-thing-that-breeds-online dept.
from the not-the-only-thing-that-breeds-online dept.
jcatcw writes "In an interview with Computerworld's editor in chief, Don Tennant, Frank Abagnale spoke about his life of crime and crime prevention. Abagnale is a notorious criminal, whose exploits were portrayed in the movie 'Catch Me If You Can.' Abagnale claims: 'It would be 4,000 times easier to do today, what I did 40 years ago, and I probably wouldn't go to prison for it. Technology breeds crime — it always has, it always will ... I really think the more technology there is in the world, the more you have to instill character and ethics. You can build all the security systems in the world; you can build the most sophisticated technology, and all it takes is one weak link — someone who operates that technology — to bring it all down." This would seem to echo commentary in a New York Times article about the rise of Russian hackers in recent years.
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Nature of Things (Score:5, Insightful)
Take that back! (Score:5, Funny)
I will not stand for your impugning politicians in that manner!
Parent
Re:Nature of Things (Score:5, Interesting)
Ignoring the pedantic difference of "breeds" vs "feeds" (both of which are metaphors anyway), it's essentially "technology facilitates crime" vs "criminals utilize technology", which both describe the exact same thing. You can't have one without the other.
I realize you are reacting against the fear that people will hear this and fight against technology instead of fighting against crime, but that's them being irrational. The best way to fight irrationality is not more irrationality, and the claim that technology does not help criminals is irrational. Teach them to oppose the crime, not the technology. But also accept that sometimes the best way to oppose the crime is to limit the technology.
A very good example is credit card receipts. Presently, receipts are not allowed to contain a certain amount of data. This all but eliminates one avenue of identity theft/credit card fraud.
Parent
Language (Score:3, Interesting)
Language attempts to convey limited information about reality. That information is not just conveyed through the explicit meanings of individual words, but also through more complex means such as context, emphasis and innuendo.
"Technology Breeds Crime" places the emphasis on technology whereas "Crime Feeds On Technology" places the emphasis on crime. I would say this is a story more about crime than about technology, so the second is more appropriate.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
"Technology Breeds Crime" places the emphasis on technology whereas "Crime Feeds On Technology" places the emphasis on crime.
Agreed.
I would say this is a story more about crime than about technology
I don't think so. It's equally dependent on crime and technology. Remove either one and the article makes absolutely no sense.
so the second is more appropriate.
I fully disagree, which is the exact point I'm trying to make. If you treat this primarily as a problem with the criminals, you will be less likely to make beneficial technological changes (which is, in fact, the primary motivation for slashdot-types to say, "it's not the technology, it's the criminal") for fear of the potential for irrational changes. And a very rational f
Re:Nature of Things (Score:5, Insightful)
The other thing is that these are nonviolent crimes that technology is presently abetting, even though they are still serious crimes, they can at least be largely cleaned up and resolved.
I don't think that anybody would really should argue that technology is the problem, as there were far more violent crimes prior to the modern police force and all the improved investigative techniques that have been found since. Its just that people who are victimized get far more attention now than they did 100 years ago, so it seems like crimes are higher than they were.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
I think what a lot of people miss is that technology really only changes affects the types of crimes that are being committed. Sure forgery and ID theft are probably far easier now than they were 40 years ago, but 40 years ago it was far harder than it had been 150 years ago. These things come in waves, and it'll take some time before law enforcement and the legal system really catch up with them.
From the first page of the article, this 'famous criminal' seems to think that all this great technology like photoshop and colour laser printers and the intarwebs are a mystery to the cops. He says he can forge a convincing-looking cheque far more easily now than then, sure, but now it will be laughed out of the bank rather than cleared. Its most likely use is to scam third parties that would probably fall for any cheque not actually drawn in crayon.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
You have no idea who he is, do you? He really is a world class expert in this subject. It's like you just read an article about Einstein and said "this 'famous physicist' seems...".
This man managed to fake the qualifications to pass as a commercial airline pilot, and drew a paycheck for it, for several years, got certified on new planes, etc. (he was 15 when he started this). Then he did the same thing as a fake doctor, pr
Re:Nature of Things (Score:5, Insightful)
Come on, don't be a simpleton. You don't see the difference in the reversal of cause and effect?
If "technology breeds crime", then every sufficiently advanced country in the world would be a hotbed of criminal activity. How much crime is there in, say, Japan? In fact, their crime rate is dropping as technology advances - and that includes white collar crime. If the adage that "technology breeds crime" were assumed to be true, then even one exception would prove it false. And there's your exception.
In countries where there is already a large criminal element, technology may enable them to more easily commit crimes, or to commit crimes that were never possible before. But technology is not "breeding" that crime; that crime already existed. Russia has been basically a lawless society in a lot of ways since the fall of the Soviet Union (and probably even before; we just didn't know it) - it didn't take the internet to put it in that state. There are all sorts of forces that create criminality; technology, though, is not one of them.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Here's the problem with wording: Foxnews and George W Bush.
Yes. That's exactly what I stated the problem was: the irrational people. Without the irrational people, Fox News and GWB would be impotent.
"criminals use technology" means [1] that technology can be a neutral thing in which can both benefit and harm society.
"technology breeds criminals" means [2] the loopy fuckers in power will send us into another dark age, all in the name of security.
Nice try.
You're swapping definitions.
means [1]: is defined as
means [2]: leads to
If you re-read my post, it will be *extremely* clear that I'm referring to "means [1]", and point out that the problem caused by "means [2]" is not the wording, but the irrational people.
My solution is to teach people to think. Your solution is to trick people with wording. My solution sol
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
No it doesn't. If that's what you infer, you're jumping to conclusions.
Actually, you're the one who is wrong. To breed means to create. Saying that technology breeds criminals means that it creates them where they wouldn't otherwise be, and that implies that technology is to blame. Therefore, if it is the cause of creating criminals, it must somehow be held in check.
It's a pretty clear implication.
By contrast, saying that c
Re:Nature of Things (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
Re:Oh fuck. Here comes the correlation != causatio (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Oh fuck. Here comes the correlation != causatio (Score:4, Insightful)
Because even if you create identical access to all parts of the school-system and job-market, having rich parents will still be a great help. It'll allow you to study full-time and not need part-time jobs on the side. More importantly, having *educated* parents means you have the kind of parents who think that education matters. Which transfers to the kids in a million little ways.
The school-system in my part of the world already works pretty close to identical-access. There's still a large (not as large as in USA, but still large) difference between how kids of well-off parents do and how kids of poor parents do.
Parent
Tech does not "breed" crime. (Score:5, Insightful)
When you had to walk into a bank to empty someone's bank account, you were limited by how far you could travel.
Now, when you can do it across the 'Web, you are not limited in the same way.
The problem is that the security model has not kept pace with the concept of "web services" offered by the banks. But if the banks were 100% liable for any loss, you'd see them focusing on the security.
Re:Tech does not "breed" crime. (Score:5, Funny)
Are you a communist? Regulating business is bad you communist leftist vagina. : P
Parent
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
https://www.tdcanadatrust.com/ebanking/guarantee.jsp [tdcanadatrust.com]
Re:Tech does not "breed" crime. (Score:4, Interesting)
Sean
Parent
Wrong way to look at it. (Score:5, Insightful)
It isn't that technology breeds crime; it is that technology is a form of human enhancement, and some humans are criminals. However, technology also enhances law enforcement, brings new ethical and moral issues to the table for society (or the ruling political junta) to rule on, and empowers people further and further down the economic scale as technology itself becomes inexpensive.
I don't think we ought to be "criminalizing" technology as a whole. We simply need to keep considering, and re-considering, the ethical and moral issues of the day in the light of what our current society can tolerate without infringing on the liberties of individuals and the security of the group.
If we have a fault, it is an inability to change quickly when we see social regulation - like the drug war, or the current pogrom against sexuality - isn't working. That's a political problem, and one we (speaking as a US citizen) have been roundly unable to address.
Re:Wrong way to look at it. (Score:5, Interesting)
It's not just "ethical and moral" issues, it really changes the battlefield. It's not that morality has changed, only that people have gotten the ability. For example, notice how many people are very rude in imperonal conversation, the way they'd never speak to you on the phone or face to face. Why? Because the way we communicate has changed. Same with the respect for copyright law - I don't think the morality or ethics was that different in the days of mix tapes. They've just gotten new opportunities to carry them out. Sometimes technology enables behavior we don't want, but there's just no turning back time.
Parent
There is nothing new here. (Score:3, Interesting)
The internet and digital music are NOT new concepts. The ONLY difference is the speed and ease by which these things may be done. The legal concepts, the morals, and the ethics are all the same as they were 150 years ago!!!
The only difference today is the degree to which the public has accepted th
Yeah... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Yeah... (Score:5, Insightful)
But he does have a point: today's technology separates people. I see the point of your joke: people used to rob banks. But now, if you can simply click and hack your way to a robbery, more people would do this rather than hold someone at gun point.
It is the criminal equivalent of how online discourse is so much more harsh than in real life: people do things they wouldn't think about doing in person.
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
And the fact that the criminals are the government.
Criminals make bad sociologists. (Score:5, Insightful)
The better a tool is a doing crime, the more we need to ask: who designed it and why?
Do computers make some crimes easier? Yeah. But they also make detecting and preventing crimes easier. They're general-purpose tools.
Nothing has changed in 2000 years about how much character it takes to avoid criminality. So if there's more crime, there's less instilling or more unbridled greed.
I'd blame the latter. Leadership sets the example.
Re: (Score:2)
Things have changed in the last 2000 years about how much character it takes to avoid criminality. The state of being a criminal is defined solely by law. In the last 2000 years, laws have become increasingly broad. It takes an increasingly restricted character to abide by the laws of the land, where ever you are.
Just don't attribute crime a
Technology may make crime easier... (Score:5, Insightful)
For one simple example, what about the trail that your mobile phone leaves with the network when you leave it switched on and are travelling somewhere?
This isn't even counting the fact that with future improvements in technology, it's quite feasible that activities that you can "get away" with today could leave a trail that is inciminating with tomorrow's forensics and analysis technology. I'll bet that people who committed murders 30 or 40 years ago didn't even consider the possibility of their getting nabbed by DNA tests in the future.
And in all honesty, even if the data we have available to us today isn't able to tell us much, this might change with improved data mining/analysis tools. Something that someone does today might not be enough to get them prosecuted immediately, but what happens when improved tools come along in the future and spot things that had been missed previously?
Oh, FFS (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:It's scarry (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
You want moonbat? (Score:5, Funny)
Let us take the name
President Hillary Rodham Clinton
We rearrange the letters and the truth comes to light!
Rapid hell Antichrist demon, no rly
We further rearrange these letters to complete the damming message:
Antichrist lol no rly I'd dampen her
Ignore the evidence at your own peril. Vote Ron Paul!
Parent
Notrious Criminal? (Score:3, Funny)
Rubbish (Score:2)
Amazing how many people (Score:2)
Uhhh Actually... (Score:2, Insightful)
logic flaw (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:logic flaw (Score:5, Insightful)
Well, since people are quite good at taking their own situation and projecting it to the world, you can see how he'd figure that others have no ethics and that it has to be taught. After all he has no ethics. To the extent he's gotten any it is because he believes that obeying these rules is better for him.
While I think he's got a bit of truth overall, in that the Internet in particular is making it easier for certain kinds of sociopaths to commit crimes without fear of being caught, I wouldn't give his analysis of humans any weight.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Ethics and honesty are too different things.
How many people would steal $5 from someone's wallet? And if they did, how likely are they to admit it?
How about complaining about food at a mom & pop restaurant for the sole purpose of avoiding payment? And again, how likely are they to admit it?
And finally, how about realizing that the cashier at Wal-Mart forgot
So are you saying... (Score:2)
technology as an afterburner (Score:2)
Technology breeds governments and control as well: The more technology there is, the more control governments seek to have over their subjects.
Technology also breeds more effective community action: The more technology there is, the more easily people can form communities and co-operate more effectively.
So, technology is an afterburner: It speeds up all existing social processes, including law enforcement, community cooperation, crime... anything.
Therefore saying that 'technology helps X' is devoid
Russia may be a particular problem... (Score:3, Insightful)
The Russians may be especially vulnerable to this, coming down as they are from a fully-controlled society. Under Communism, individuals must be taught from childhood to ignore their inner moral voice and instead follow the orders coming down from above. Inner sensibility is bred out, because it can only interfere with a command economy.
But then the command structure toppled, and all of its cogs were set loose in "freedom, horrible freedom". No more orders coming down from above... and no inner voice (or at least an abnormally quiet one) and not much of a national religion to forcibly install one. Perhaps such people are therefore more likely to become free-riders, or worse, as the opportunities arise.
whiners (Score:2)
Laws breed crime (Score:2)
Technology doesn't cause crime (Score:3, Insightful)
Technology is a tool (Score:4, Interesting)
Weapons are of course an easy example, but everything human ever invented works. It is something that gives the one able to use it a power edge over someone not equipped with it. Knowledge works a similar way, but to a lesser degree.
And having more power than someone else can be used to exploit him. Ever been that way, ever will be. Technology is power. Superior technology allowed the exploitation of Africa and Asia as colonies. Superior technology (or rather, superior knowledge of technology) allows a trojan writer to exploit the "clueless" user with his infected machine.
But that doesn't make technology a device for more crime. It makes technology a device of power. Not more, not less.
2 thoughts (Score:3, Insightful)
that's why i've always said we should never have electronic, or even mechanical, voting systems. that even the most technologically advanced society should still use paper ballots. yes, you can still mess with paper ballots, but only in a small number of ways. anything more complicated than that, and you've just introduced 1,000 more ways to tamper with voting. the trust in the voting system is just too vital to imperil and be technophilic about it just to make it more "convenient"
2. technology, yes, makes crime smarter... and this, on its flip side, is actually a GOOD thing. bear with me here:
say you want to steal a guy's horde of gold in rome in 100 BC. ok, you have to actually kill a few people to get to it. bloody, messy, ugly, brutish. but the criminal doesn't necessarily want to kill to get the cash, but he will if he has to. now fast forward to the 20th century, a criminal just wants some money, so, like frank abignale, he merely manipulates the trust system of the technology involved in financial transactions. ie, he forges checks, and gets people money without actually causing a drop of blood to flow
in other words, more technology turns crime from a game of violent sociopathic brutal physical force to one of subtle mind games and con artists. not that it's ok that you are left without your money, but it's better to be penniless and alive than penniless and dead
it's still stealing your dough, but it's stealing it without turning you into a corpse. so it is progress, in a twisted way
all it takes is one weak link (Score:3, Funny)
Quite right. That is why Microsoft is a weak link.
Abagnale has some good points. (Score:5, Insightful)
Abagnale has some good points. Forgery is much easier than it used to be. Printing and paper quality are no guarantee of anything.
A point Abagnale didn't make to the interviewer is that social engineering is easier, too, because people are more used to remote requests for information. Many of Abagnale's scams required him to physically go someplace and deceive someone. Most people can't act well enough to pull off a con like that. Now, much more can be done remotely. "Identity theft" barely existed before the Internet; a few times a year somebody might pull something off, but it wasn't widespread.
No Rules, Just Write (Score:3, Insightful)
Let's look at Russia. Back in the cold war era, there were technology export restrictions in place. With the fall of the Iron Curtain, those restrictions were relaxed. By the time we in the United States started going online en-masse in 1995, upgrading our computer systems to Pentium machines running Windows 95 - our old computer systems didn't go into the garbage, they were sold into the huge technological vacuum of the former Soviet Union.
Who are the early adopters of technology? Kids of course! And Russia was no exception. Like a 16-year-old with a hot rod, the youths started souping up computers that we considered garbage. They got on to the internet using whatever they could, and once they connected to our information flows, they started teaching themselves programming. Because they were learning to program on outdated equipment, this forced them to become very, very good. There was no such thing as code bloat. Then you add 5 years to the calendar and what do you have? Little Ivan is no longer 15, he is 20 and has 5 years experience - and therein lies the rub - Ivan cannot go out and get a job in information technology, there is no economy to support his skill set. So, he goes about earning a living any way he can. I call it "N0 RUL3Z, JU5T WR1T3". Ivan sets about writing spam software, creating Trojan horses, worms... this is where we see the emergence of the botnet.
Brazil wasn't far behind. In 2004-2005 we saw an uptick in the botnet wars arms race with Russia being one-upped by Brazil with the Beagle/Bagle, Mydoom and Sasser botnet pissing contest.
There is a tide shift taking place. Putin has implemented a 12% flat tax which is bringing revenues flowing into the Russian economy for the first time in 15 years. They are reviving their legal system because they want to attract the Foreign Direct Investment dollars which will never come if they have no legal system which can enforce a legal contract. Along with the civil justice and FDI dollars, criminal justice must reign in corruption otherwise the FDI dollars will quickly disappear. So, Russia is growing out of the script kiddie phase and reemerging onto the world scene. Its good to have Mother Russia back.
I could go on providing details of history and economics, but I will leave that for the book I'm writing. But I will pose this question for you to think about: What do you think the outcome of One Laptop Per Child will have on the future of cybercrime? If connectivity absent a legal system is the breeding ground for crime, what do you think will happen as the bottom billion in Africa gets online?
Computer security is all about dealing with the unintended consequences. Every computer and every system that was ever built was first done to share information, not secure it. Security only came after we got everything connected, then had the collective "awww crap!" moment.
Regards,
Joel R. Helgeson
Re: (Score:2)
To be fair to the judge, it is a vague term, bandied around rather loosely. What's a web page? What's the difference between that and a web site? Is it still a web page if it's not just static HTML, but is dynamically generated from a database and might never display the exact same content twice?
In a court of law, it's important that everyone be clear on what is being discussed. Plenty of people use the internet every day a