The focus on this section is on the likely targets of computer criminals. The particular criminals centred on are professional computer criminals. This is so because their activities are by far the most difficult to investigate. As has been mentioned before, they use highly sophisticated technology and they go out of their way to cover and conceal their tracks. They are usually aware of possible investigation and will often use staging to misdirect the course of investigation. In countries where these offences are rampant, many investigators have engaged in wild goose chases as a result of this staging. However, just like any other investigation, there is never a completely organised crime hence there will always be leads that a seasoned investigator can pick and follow up on.

In this section we examine probable motive as a criminalistic guide to ‘mens rea’ (guilty mind) a legal necessity for there to be a crime. Further in this chapter we discuss probable motives that should be investigated when certain key institutions are hit. Note that the listed down institutions are not exhaustive on probable targets of hackers, but they only set examples upon which investigators can use to infer motive when other installations are hit.

The following motives should be considered for investigation;

MISCHIEF;

A growing number of especially young computer experts find a degree of psychological arousal from breaking into secured systems. After they break into systems they do nothing harmful. This people trespass into systems and are only mischievous.
Others write viruses and spread them among systems. They do not stand to gain anything but only to test the work of their genius; they commit the offence of software vandalism out of sheer mischief as a motive.

ENTERPRISE;

By far the most common motive of computer crime is profit. People break into systems for what they can get out of them. The targets are usually business institutions that deal with especially large sums of money. Banks, Insurance companies, financial institutions, stock brokerage firms, multinationals, hospitals and hotels are prime target for this motive. It is envisioned that once the crime comes of age, the land registry, the examination council, tax authority, pension schemes, shall be amongst the targets of enterprise criminals.

CONCEALMENT;

People under investigation may try to conceal evidence or even cover-up their dirty dealings. Consider a case of land dispute between two persons. One may hack into the land registry records to alter records to his favour. (Whereas Kenyan land registry records are almost entirely manual, there are increasing trends towards computerisation hence such will be the cases of the future). This is not an argument against computerisation for even in the manual system files have been known to disappear. This kind of motive can target virtually all sector of the economy including financial institutions, government records, criminal records office, pension fund administrators etc.

ESPIONAGE/ NETSPIONAGE

Businesses in competition may often seek to get an edge (advantage) over their competition. Breaking into their databases may just offer the required impetus to gain the said advantage. Moreover, by breaking into the competitions system, a company may alter records hence creating problems. For example, if goods of a certain amount were due to be delivered to a client, one can change the data so that less than or more than the transaction amount are actually delivered. Which ever is the case, the company gets a big problem. Consider where this is done to over a hundred clients, the company can suffer immeasurable damage.

Where competitors with sabotage as a motive fail to hack into the competitors system, they may send viruses to disable their systems.

Netspionage is a word used in the computer world to mean espionage in the net. Competitors will keep trying to steal information from their rivals using all mean, viruses, hacking and spywares (industrial espionage). The motive is sabotage as above .Countries also engage in Netspionage to sabotage each other or spy into especially the military installations of each other (international espionage).