On Wed, 21 Jul 1999, Frank Knobbe wrote:
> And that is the problem. The Internet community has no solid, unified
> (global) laws regarding various aspects of the 'Net, including cyber
> crime. Laws are shaped and revised over time. Instead of standing by,
> we, members of that Internet community, and especially individuals
> with security/legal interests, have to actively participate in this
> process. We can try to behave a common way, make something our
> unwritten rule. Over time, these rules will be incorporated into law.
No, the problem really is that even among us "educated professionals"
there's a difference of opinion as to what should or shouldn't constitute
a computer crime. This is demonstrated beautifully by this thread. If
*we* can't decide what a computer crime is, how do we expect our
non-techno savvy lawmakers, who don't really understand the issues, to get
it right.
> As you said, use what is available right now. We need the support of
> the judicial systems, which are coping with various aspects of cyber
> crime. Together, government, justice and industry will shape and
> refine cyber laws.
It's that middle one that concerns me the most... from various reports
that I've read, it seems that in many cases the severe crimes go
under-punished and in some cases the relatively trivial cases are too
harshly punished. This problem isn't specific to computer crime though,
it's endemic to our entire criminal justice system. That's another
argument... :)
> This may sound bold but I think we *need* the hackers. Let the purps
> commit crime. We will deal with them, and over time, once we
> standardize the law, we will archive a higher conviction rate and
> higher deterrence/prevention of cyber crime. This was the case with
> drugs, theft, witchcraft, you name it.
This just seems silly to me. It's like saying "I think we need
murderers." If we had no crackers, we wouldn't need to worry about
security. I dunno, call me idealistic...
> But I do think that folks like me need to voice their opinion and
> present ideas. Only that way, with participation, can solutions be
> created.
I agree with you here. Good dialogue on the problem is essential to
solving it.
--
Derek D. Martin | UNIX System Administrator
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