[iwar] [fc:International.Cyber-Sleuths.Demand.New.Powers]

From: Fred Cohen (fc@all.net)
Date: 2001-11-08 05:03:42
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From: Fred Cohen <fc@all.net>
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Date: Thu, 8 Nov 2001 05:03:42 -0800 (PST)
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International Cyber-Sleuths Demand New Powers

By Bernhard Warner, Reuters, 11/7/2001
<a href="http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011107/tc/tech_cybersecurity_policing_dc_1.html">http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011107/tc/tech_cybersecurity_policing_dc_1.html>

It has become a familiar tactic in a criminal investigator's arsenal:
the seizure of a suspect's personal computer for the purpose of
dissecting the hard drive for possible clues or motives.

FBI (news - web sites) agents did just that in the days after the
September 11 plane hijack attacks on America, when they confiscated two
computers from a Delray Beach, Florida public library that were
allegedly used by suspects.

A subsequent computer search revealed a host of clues from the
electronic footprints left behind by hijacking suspects that pointed to
a worldwide web of conspirators that stretched to Germany, Saudi Arabia
and ultimately, Afghanistan (news - web sites).

The suspects had downloaded a ``significant amount of information''
about crop dusting, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft (news - web
sites) told a Congressional committee in September. The discovery
prompted U.S. officials to temporarily ground all crop-dusting planes.

In the world of cops and robbers, cyber-sleuthing has become an
essential part of the job. Police organizations such as Spain's Guardia
Civil use its official Web site to alert the public to new criminal
threats and solicit tips, while governments of Japan and South Korea
(news - web sites) have begun working with the business sector to crack
down on hacking attacks. At the same time, the medium's global reach has
created a new variety of borderless crimes, authorities say.

``What will be interesting to see is the upcoming generation,'' said an
investigator at National Crime Information Center (NCIC) in London, who
asked not to be named. ``Once they start going through the prison
system, Internet-related crimes will get really interesting.''

But, authorities add, because so many incidents go unreported, there are
no reliable statistics on cybercrime.

WANTED: SUSPECT WITH MOUSE

Detective work is increasingly moving from seedy back alleyways to
Internet chat rooms and back onto the streets, essentially following in
the footsteps of criminals who use the Internet to plan all manners of
crimes -- from credit card fraud to murder, investigators say.

Last year, incoming Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble identified
high-tech crime as ``one of the new security threats.'' In one of his
first acts, he tripled the size of the force's cybercrime unit and
increased its budget, said Michael Holstein, crime intelligence officer
at Interpol.

Holstein said a main function of the unit is to establish for its 179
member states a standard procedure for digital evidence collection.
Investigators lament that it can be difficult to get digital evidence
admitted into a court proceeding.

To stay ahead of the changing face of crime, law enforcement officials
and politicians are seeking greater powers to conduct online
surveillance. Ashcroft, for instance, has asked a House Judiciary
committee for increased authority to conduct telephone and Internet
wiretaps to aid in ``the war on terrorism.''

Congress did pass a law expanding security powers, though that specific
request was turned down. But civil liberties groups believe growing
public sentiment to step up homeland security could result in the
creation of greater police powers.

EUROPE STEPS INTO GLOBAL CYBERCRIME DEBATE

In September, the Council of Europe approved the Convention on
Cybercrime, a historic treatise that lays the foundation for legislation
allowing for a greater sharing of information between countries to
combat the rise of cybercrime.

The treatise isn't binding, but instead would have to be adopted into
law by its 43 European member states and five outside countries
including the United States, Canada and Japan.

The treaty is broad, covering crimes committed on the Internet such as
fraud, child pornography and violations of computer network security. It
also sets up global policing procedures for conducting computer
searches, interception of e-mails, and extradition of criminal suspects.

``What the treaty does is to bring together law enforcement power with
defining offenses, and it adds international cooperation so that
countries can assist one another,'' Peter Csonka, director general of
legal affairs for the Council of Europe, told Reuters.

Yaman Akdeniz, director of Cyber-rights.org, a U.K. human rights group,
fears the treaty may be too broad. ``It's not balanced. It's too
favorable to the law enforcement community,'' said Akdeniz.

It may take years before most countries actually adopt the Council's
recommendations into law. But observers point out that the effects are
already evident. Since September 11, criminal investigators are sharing
information with greater regularity.

``Our concept is to have as many member states get involved in an
investigation as possible,'' Interpol's Holstein said.

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