A computer virus falls under the following general category of computer-related crimes: crimes in which a computer is the subject of a crime. Another term is cybercrime. The term describes a crime that involves a computer and a network.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) divides computer-related crimes into three categories: category in which the computer is the object of a crime, category in which the computer is the subject of the crime and category in which the computer is the “instrument” used to commit traditional crimes .