* subscribe at http://techPolice.com Washington Is Unprepared to Fight Cybercrime Brandon Musler Copyright 2001 Computerworld, Inc. A federal investigation that caught "Mathias Thurman" in its web [Security Manager's Journal, June 18] begged the question: How much encouragement do government agencies deserve in combating cybercrime? Computer cracking, once a tribal status-marker, has gone mainstream. It's so rampant that the unofficial scorekeepers of the hacker wars at Attrition.org have stopped mirroring Web site defacements. They burned out. On some days in May, three times as many Web sites were tagged as in all of 1995 and 1996 combined. Like tattooing or body piercing, hacking is becoming pedestrian. The media and Washington have been following this trend. The FBI, which enforced Prohibition and prosecutes the war on drugs, wants in. Addressing "cyberterrorism" offers a way to capture headlines, influence legislatures and secure more money. That's a godsend for any federal agency, especially the beleaguered FBI. The June issue of CIO magazine contains a wrong-headed article suggesting that corporate America invite the FBI to investigate all cybercrimes. That's akin to writing a blank check to an investigative agency and praying that it develops technology expertise. The General Accounting Office recently criticized the efficiency of the FBI's National Infrastructure Protection Center. Its director, Ronald Dick, didn't deny it. Instead, he cried out for more resources, meaning, of course, a bigger budget. Compare the hacking epidemic to the war on drugs. For decades, Washington has commissioned task forces, executive studies and special agencies, without stemming the tide. This centralized approach failed despite international borders, a multitude of police forces and endless prevention programs. Most narcotics are grown in known areas; there are relatively few suppliers at the source. Substance abuse is a finite problem compared with hacking because illicit drugs can't be electronically replicated. The hacker wars are taking place in our living rooms and offices. Hacker traffic flows unimpeded until it arrives at your electronic doorstep. It's not checked for contraband at geographical boundaries. Law enforcement agencies can't compensate for inadequate laws. Kids learn to hack in school because understanding computer networking is a valuable skill. Thus, there are more potential computer crackers than crackheads, the difference being that every high school hacker is simultaneously a supplier and consumer of the electronic "illegal substance." They can get as much as they want, for free, forever. Yes, we must keep international hackers-for-hire out of defense, power and air traffic control infrastructures. But we don't understand the prosaic "packet kiddies" problem yet, let alone have solutions. It makes little sense to involve the FBI every time an electronic graffiti artist hits a local business. Heaping money on federal agencies will not generate results until we address root causes. Washington should prioritize funds for successful nongovernment organizations such as the SANS Institute and CERT Coordination Center before artificially donning the mantle of leadership. CERT has extended a response model originally evolved by antivirus vendors to the larger Internet community. This proved invaluable during the Melissa virus rampage, when the center coordinated the efforts of commercial and not-for-profit organizations. If we really want to, we can still buy illegal drugs. It's a lot harder for surveillance aircraft to spot a bad packet header than it is to identify a drug-carrying Cessna crossing a border without a flight plan. If you're confused, don't feel bad, because your congressman may not have a clue either. Tell him that until he can explain it to you, he should "just say no" to tackling the hacker menace with your tax dollars. Brandon Musler is a freelance IT writer and consultant in New York. Contact him at [EMAIL PROTECTED] ============================================================ Deal with it! Make life easier (and cheaper) to deal with by signing up for great offers from Topica and our partners. Click now to sign up! http://click.topica.com/caaacRab1dhr0b2EDp2f/TopOffers ============================================================ --via http://techPolice.com archive: http://theMezz.com/cybercrime/archive subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] --via http://theMezz.com ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?b1dhr0.b2EDp2 Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: archive@jab.org T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
