Cyber Crime
If you are facing allegations of the serious offence of cybercrime, it’s essential to seek the advice of a specialist solicitor as soon as you possibly can. The white collar solicitors at Purcell Parker are able to provide you with expert defence in this complicated and ever-evolving area of the law.
Cyber crime solicitors in Birmingham and beyond
Purcell Parker’s central Birmingham location means we are conveniently located for clients in the city and beyond. However, our remit when it comes to white collar crime extends beyond the city and we are happy to discuss your case in a place and at a time of your choosing. Discretion will always be key in our discussions about an accusation made against you at work, and we will use a plain-English, non-judgemental approach to ensure you are kept fully up to date with every part of the process.
Financing a cyber crime case
Where legal aid is not applicable, we will endeavour to provide you with a competitively-priced fixed-fee quote for your defence. We can also provide reasonably priced advice should you require guidance regarding worries about a potential investigation against you. It is always better to seek legal advice at the earliest possible opportunity as the sooner our cyber crime lawyers can provide advice, the more likely you are to achieve the most favourable possible outcome for your case.
What is cyber crime?
When most people think of cyber crime they imagine criminal gangs operating in the shadows to con legitimate businesses out of their hard-earned cash. While this is often the case, it’s also true that accusations of cyber crime are often directed at people within an organisation who have access to sensitive company information.
Cyber crime in a business context can be defined as follows:
- Cyber-dependent crime – hacking and disruption using malware and Denial of Service (DOS) attacks
- Cyber-enabled crime – using computers and other devices to commit crimes that haven’t traditionally depended on this technology such as fraud and intellectual property crime.
In short, the term cyber crime encompasses any criminal act that is carried out using an ICT device. This means it can cover a whole host of offences including:
- Hacking and malware attacks
- Using technology to sell stolen goods or illegal items
- Harassing others
- Altering records in order to gain more holiday time or other benefits
- Fraudulent payments to yourself or another individual
- False accounting, theft, tax evasion and embezzlement
- Identity theft
- Sophisticated cyber scams which can involve a network of conspirators
- Stealing intellectual property such as copyrighted software from a business
- Spamming in breach of the Data Protection Act
- Phishing scams
Penalties for cyber crime
As cyber crime becomes more of an issue in today’s tech-dependent workplace, the consequences can be severe. Sentences can vary between two and ten years’ imprisonment for serious offences. In the most serious of cases of all, for example when a cyberattack causes a breach to the UK’s security, a life sentence is possible.
As cyber crime often involves various criminal activities it is not always covered by just one Act, although the Computer Misuse Act of 1990 is often invoked. Every cyber crime case is unique and the team at Purcell Parker will work on your behalf to build the best possible case for your defence, designed to secure the best possible outcome for your case.
Expert defence against cyber crime charges
Please fill in our contact form or give us a call on 0121 236 9781 to find out more about how the experienced criminal defence solicitors at Purcell Parker can help.