Taking a Bite out of Cyber Crime

By James Vicini

W A S H I N G T O N, March 9  The Clinton administration said today that Internet businesses, many of which have long been suspicious of government regulation, need to cooperate with law enforcement to fight online crime.

We are not asking businesses to be online cops. But we want them to be online neighborhood watch groups, Commerce Secretary William Daley said at a Justice Department news conference in releasing a report on unlawful Internet conduct. Highlights of the Report

The 60-page report recommended more resources and training for law enforcement, urged greater promotion of cyberethics and concluded the existing laws should be adequate to protect against most unlawful online activities.

The report by a working group led by Attorney General Janet Reno was requested by President Clinton in August last year. The report was essentially completed before last months denial-of-service attacks that shut down some of the Webs most popular sites.

The FBI has been investigating the attacks, but has yet to make any arrests or bring any charges in what officials admit could be a lengthy investigation.

Online Neighborhood Watch

Daley said government and industry worked together on the Y2K problem. I think if companies can help nail hackers who threaten our networks, its not just good for fighting crime, its good for the future of e-commerce, he said.

Businesses can do for the Internet what neighbors do for each other across the country, making communities safer by keeping an eye on each other. I think they should share their experiences and technologies with law enforcement, he said.

Businesses must step up their own efforts to make the Internet more secure and not wait for cybercops to be expanded, Daley said.

Reno acknowledged that some industry representatives had been concerned about government regulation, but said the distrust was beginning to vanish.

I think there are still some  perhaps its a little like the wild West in the development of America  who say, Let not let government be involved. But there was also the marshals and Wyatt Earp and others who brought some order to it, she said.

Fourth Amendment Concerns

A leading civil liberties group said the report raised privacy concerns and warned that it could result in expanded police powers.

The American Civil Liberties Union said in a letter to Reno that the report contained virtually no statistics on the extent of computer-related crime or whether such activity posed a truly significant threat to the nation.

The ACLU objected to the reports description of anonymity of Internet users as a thorny issue. The ACLU said, An end to Internet anonymity would chill free expression in cyberspace and strip away one of the key structural privacy protections enjoyed by Internet users.

At the news conference, John Ryan, America Online Incs assistant general counsel, said the report was meant to offer a framework to continue the dialogue between the ... partnership that exists between private industry and the governmental agencies.

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/tech/DailyNews/cybercrime000309.html

-- Jen Bunker (jen@bunkergroup.com), March 09, 2000