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Analysis of computer abuse experience is valuable in threat and risk studies performed to develop appropriate safeguards in computer use. A profile of computer abuse perpetrators has been developed on the basis of interviews with 17 offenders involved in a total of 15 cases. Common characteristics, occupations, and modus operandi are documented and analyzed. Computer systems' and user organizations' vulnerabilities that facilitated perpetrators' actions are also described, based on study of 375 reported cases of abuse. Eight main vulnerable functions and nine main vulnerable functional locations are identified and ranked by incidence of occurrence. Each vulnerability is described by examples in the form of brief case descriptions. Finally, priorities for safeguards are deduced from the results of the study.
Donn B. Parker (Thu,) studied this question.