A Strong Defense For Computer And Cybercrimes

If you’re not a criminal defense lawyer, you don’t know how often normal, everyday people are charged with distribution and possession of child pornography. Our society is drifting more and more toward time spent with our computers. We mistakenly believe that anything we do in the privacy of our home or business is something the state or federal government is not part of. In fact, our computers are monitored in many ways by the police, and individuals are charged every day with allegedly possessing illegal material. More and more, these criminal charges involve computers and the Internet.

Whenever you are accused of a computer crime, the first step we take is to set up your defense team. Many times, actions can be taken to thwart a charge or conviction, depending upon how quickly you contact a computer crimes defense attorney and begin taking steps to protect yourself. Your defense team will immediately review the state’s evidence against you and go into action. That evidence may include information collected from your computer’s hard drive, cache, programs, individuals who claim they saw illegal material on your computer or handled mail sent from your e-mail account, and sites you visited on the Internet.

Prosecutors have upgraded their charges to account for new technology, even as the laws have lagged behind. The attorneys at JC Law are experienced in the defense of computer and internet cases in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and DC, and on the federal level:

• Possession, receipt, distribution, or manufacturing of child pornography
• Solicitation of minors or assignation via the internet
• Identity fraud
• Online fraud
• Hacking or breaking into computer files or email
• Internet stalking and harassment
• Social media hacking or stalking

The police, as well as many counties, have specialized programs that collect information from your computer in a forensic fashion and use that data to prosecute you. As a potential defendant, you need to take steps such as the following to win your case:

• Hire forensic experts to analyze your computer and combat the state or federal government’s claim.
• Dig deep into potential ways that other individuals could have used or placed the material on the computer in question.
• Understand that technology is moving faster than it ever has. URL designations can be manipulated by other individuals.
• Mistakes by servers and other providers can occur and need to be fixed.

We handled internet crimes for decades. Our lead attorney, James Crawford, was at the forefront of and evolution of these prosecutions. His team has garnered the knowledge and experience to handle these matters aggressively and successfully. For the last 30 years, we’ve developed a reputation for handling these matters in a diligent and successful manner.

JC Law understands how modern computer and internet use can impact criminal charges, and we’re ready to defend your right to a trial unbiased by technology skepticism and misunderstandings.

What Is Considered A “Computer Crime” Or “Cybercrime” By Federal Law?

Basically, computer crimes are any illegal action that uses a computer. Cybercrimes are similar but have the additional requirement of using the internet.

Computer and cybercrimes can include:

• Creating and infecting other computers with viruses
• Distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) and other attacks
• Phishing scams, which trick users into giving personal information and login credentials
• Embezzlement
• Credit card fraud
• Dark web activities
• Cryptocurrency theft—and yes, it’s a crime, even if it’s not regulated by the government
• Identity theft, including theft of personal information by hacking into and accessing another person’s email messages
• Child pornography distribution, including sexting
• Chat room offenses, including online solicitation of a minor
• Cyberbullying
• Illegally downloading music and movie files
• Theft of trade secrets, such as customer lists or product specifications, from an employer’s computer system

What’s The Difference Between Computer Crime Charges And “Regular” Federal Charges?

Often, very little—except that a computer or the internet is involved.

Take phishing scams, for example. They pretend to be someone’s service provider or other legitimate, known entity and ask for access to their profile or even extremely personal information.

Back in the day, this type of fraud would be conducted by phone, then on paper forms. It might take months for someone to notice the scam, let alone investigate it. By then, the trail’s cold, and the damage may be done.

Now, it can be much faster to discover when something goes wrong or is used where it shouldn’t be. However, evidence is much harder to collect in some ways, as investigators search for the smoking gun in an internet-sized haystack, to mix metaphors for a moment.

Is The Dark Web Illegal?

The dark web—a portion of the internet only accessible through special encryption processes—is not illegal, in and of itself.

However, because the dark web is so difficult to access, it becomes a favored meeting ground for those who don’t want to be found. Often, those individuals are doing illegal things, such as obtaining child pornography or purchasing illicit drugs.

For example, the summer 2020 Twitter hack by a Florida teenager was facilitated through meetups and brokers on dark web forums. Going to and speaking with his accomplices may have been suspicious, but wasn’t necessarily illegal until they began to plan—and actually carried out—their cyber attack.

What Are Possible Federal Sentences For Computer Or Cybercrimes?

Because many of these tech-based activities end up crossing state lines via computers or the internet, that can mean that federal sentencing guidelines are in play, not states.

However, due to the rapid advance of technology and the comparatively slow legislative process, few federal statutes proactively address computer or cybercrimes directly.

Instead, most prosecutors charge for more traditional offenses, whose definitions and sentences are already on the books. For example, those who commit a phishing email scam may be charged with fraud, not necessarily a more specific computer crime.

Crimes And Consequences

DDoS—a distributed denial-of-service attack that shuts down a victim organization’s network, paralyzing entire companies—can be charged as a terrorism attack or perhaps blackmail.

A federal prosecutor may consider a hack for stored credit card information to be identity theft (if the hacker personally uses the information) or simple theft (if the hacker sells that information as a valuable item elsewhere).

The main thing to remember with computers and cybercrimes is that because they’re electronic-based, it’s more likely for the prosecutors to come from the federal, rather than the state, government. That could mean lots of trouble for someone caught up in law enforcement’s dragnet.

How Can A Criminal Defense Attorney Help Defend Against Computer Or Cybercrime Charges In Federal Court?

Technology is moving more quickly than laws and regulations can keep up. With so many inconsistencies, the approach to defending these cases requires innovative criminal defense attorneys who can develop comprehensive defenses to the allegations. Our history of success has earned reviews like:

“Hands down one of the best law firms in Maryland. Very helpful and trustworthy. Would highly recommend!”

Consider the dark web. It is as illegal as driving your car around in the middle of the night. Is that technically illegal? No, but it’s really suspicious to law enforcement.

There are defenses to computer-related crimes. For example, someone else may have had access to your computer or wireless network. Police may have used questionable tactics such as entrapment to charge you with a crime.

That’s where a great criminal defense attorney experienced with cybercrime cases can really help their clients. They can show how prosecutors and law enforcement’s stereotypes about certain types of internet or computer behavior taint the investigation and the collection of evidence—throwing their whole case into doubt. To avoid incriminating yourself, it’s important to talk to a lawyer before you say anything to the police about the charges.

Evidence may also not demonstrate the accused’s intent to commit a crime, even if law enforcement finds traces of criminal activity on their computers. Many hackers redirect their attacks through multiple computers and IoT (Internet of Things) devices to erase their tracks, leaving innocent, ignorant bystanders holding the metaphorical bag.

Let Our Team Defend Your Rights

Many of these charges are also based on more traditional crimes; prosecutors simply allege the activity took place on a computer or through the internet.

Therefore, the priority for clients may be to find an experienced criminal defense attorney who also understands modern law enforcement investigations, rather than focus too much on a “computer attorney” who’s never set foot in a courtroom. For experienced defense, call us at 888-525-2910 or send us an email.