Criminal justice and cyber crime are two directly related topics because cyber crime is in essence the expansion of the criminal capability envelope. With the advent of a connected world fueled by computers the internet and great leaps in technological advancements, the ability for people to devastate on a far greater scale without ever coming face to face with their victims has become even easier than ever before. Cyber crime has become a very popular method in which to commit crimes simply because of their ease of access and the difficulty authorities tend to have when tracking the suspect committing these crimes. The criminal justice system at large is trying to catch up with this growing and evolving threat. And they are trying to decide how to punish those who commit these crimes. The solution in my mind is simple. The people responsible for cyber crime must be punished based on their ability to inflict damage and because of the inherent difficulty that comes with tracking these individuals and bringing them to justice. Robbing someone of 50 dollars is a crime that carries a harsh sentence. Stealing someone’s identity by hacking into their computer can be far more damaging to the victim as a whole and therefore should carry an even harsher sentence than a simple strong armed robbery.  The criminal justice system will need to develop new standards of punishment for theses individuals as the threat evolves. However the impact 1 cyber criminal could have if successful could completely alter or ruin thousands of lives at a time and that must be considered.