COMPUTER SABOTAGE

Abstract

There is a growing interest among lawyers in computer crime, otherwise known as cyber-crime. Since it is increasingly developing together with the development of innovations in the field of information technologies, legislative measures are necessary to regulate and sanction this type of crime. Nowadays, computer sabotage appears as a frequent criminal offense, which is incriminated by the Criminal Legislation of the Republic of Serbia. Since it is very generally defined by the Criminal Code, it is necessary to determine the very notion of computer sabotage as well as its types, i.e. it is necessary to present some of the many possibilities for the execution of this crime. International legal regulation is of great importance because the criminal offense in question is the one where the perpetrators may be from different countries and thus work together. The International Convention on Cyber Crime defined terms that are important for determining the concept of computer sabotage. Certainly, computer sabotage and other criminal acts of cybercrime are mutually intertwined, and it is necessary to connect them, compare the similarities and differences and analyze in what relation they stand to each other. It is of particular importance to distinguish computer sabotage from cyber terrorism, which is one of the biggest dangers in the world of computers, computer networks, the internet, and social networks. Given that nowadays it is impossible for an individual or a country to function without the use of computers and modern technologies, it is important that the awareness about the danger of those above-mentioned spreads, and it is, therefore, necessary that countries take significant steps towards regulating computer sabotage and other dangerous activities that are carried out through computer technology.