Silicon Valley, Irish Police Connect to Fight High-Tech Crime Matthew B. Stannard, Chronicle Staff Writer SEPTEMBER 14, 2000, THURSDAY, FINAL EDITION Copyright 2000 The Chronicle Publishing Co. The San Francisco Chronicle Silicon Valley police met their peers from Silicon Isle yesterday as a delegation of Irish police visited San Jose for a meeting on high-tech crime. Four members of Ireland's National Bureau of Criminal Investigation represented their own country and the European Union at the event, billed as an "informational b symposium" sponsored by the High Technology Crime Investigation Association, the San Jose Police Department and several high-tech firms. They had plenty of information to share. Understandably, some of the top high-tech law enforcement specialists in the United States, whose skills are regularly tapped by other U.S. law enforcement officials, make Silicon Valley their base. But Ireland has also seen its software industry boom in the past 20 years, from having a few hundred people employed by software companies in 1980 to more than 15,000 today. In fact, more than 40 percent of all packaged personal computer software sold in Europe comes from Ireland, which makes understanding high-tech crime essential, said Detective Sgt. Eamon O'Grady. "Ireland and the United States are the two biggest exporters of software in the world, neck and neck," O'Grady said. "That's why we're here." O'Grady's American counterpart is San Jose Police Sgt. Nick Muyo, a member of the Rapid Enforcement Allied Computer Team (REACT), which investigates high-tech crime in Alameda, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara and, more recently, San Mateo counties. To Muyo, much of the benefit of the symposium was the chance to expand his day-to-day task of networking with other investigators in the United States to include Ireland and the 11-member European Union. "The bad guys are all networked," said Muyo, who gave O'Grady a disk containing the names of 400 cyber criminals wanted in the United States. "The cops aren't as networked as the bad guys are." That has long been a problem, especially as the Internet and increasingly sophisticated methods of pirating software and smuggling stolen hardware make jurisdictions meaningless, said Thom Quinn, a program manager for the state Department of Justice. "The borders have disappeared as far as (stolen) products are concerned," Quinn said. "This is something if we don't keep after, if we don't keep a handle on, if we don't cooperate, we're going to lose." O'Grady and his fellow Irish officials will depart tomorrow for New York to meet with officials there. But next March, Dublin will be host to a meeting of police from the European Union and the United States to discuss high-tech crime by international criminals. Building on that cooperation is just a matter of applying the principles of old-fashioned community policing to the cybercommunity, according to San Jose Police Lt. Stephen Ronco. "Anywhere a cable, telephone, modem reaches to -- that's our community," said Ronco, president of the Silicon Valley chapter of the High Technology Crime Investigation Association. "There are crimes that are occurring in Ireland that could very well have connections in the United States --- Sponsor's Message -------------------------------------- Get email and like it! Upgrade your brain with informative newsletters from IDG. From hot products to high-speed LANs, Linux to Novell, we’ve got the email you want--FREE at Topica! http://click.topica.com/aaaaBHb1dhr0b1uN1Ic/PCWorld ------------------------------------------------------------ to unsubscribe send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] to subscribe send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] more good stuff at http://theMezz.com/alerts ___________________________________________________________ T O P I C A The Email You Want. http://www.topica.com/t/16 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics
