Enforcers seek funding to combat computer crime

[InfoSec News <isn () C4I ORG>]

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0500/052600t1.htm

By Bara Vaida, National Journal's Technology Daily

With threats from computer viruses and computer theft accelerating,
law enforcement officials told the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday
that they need more funding to combat computer crimes and expressed
support for an Internet security bill (S. 2448) that would toughen
current enforcement laws on computer crime.

Michael Vatis, director of the FBI's National Infrastructure
Protection Center, and James Robinson, assistant attorney general for
the Justice Department's criminal division, both expressed support for
the bill's intentions but had some concerns with it.

Vatis and Robinson said S. 2448 would not sufficiently take into
account changing technology in the telecommunications field and could
make quick searches in computer crime cases more challenging.
Specifically, Robinson said the existing language in the bill related
to the use of pen registers and "trap and trace" devices used in
investigating computer crimes is "obsolete." Pen registers collect
numbers dialed on outgoing phone calls. Trap and trade devices collect
incoming calls, but they don't help law enforcement seeking to monitor
Internet traffic. Robinson said he believes the bill should be to
clarified ensure that Internet traffic could be traced as well.

Robinson also criticized the bill's call to cooperate, detect and
investigate international computer crime, saying its language was too
weak to significantly promote international cooperation. He urged the
provision be removed from the bill.

Additionally, Robinson took issue with a provision in the bill that
aims to prevent the fraudulent collection and dissemination of
consumers' personal information by requiring companies give notice of
collection and dissemination of information to online users.

Robinson said the administration believes that industry
self-regulation on the collection of personal data ought to be given a
chance and if such legislation were necessary, that should "recognize
and provide incentives for self-regulation, such as by granting
participants in effective self-regulatory programs a 'safe harbor'
from regulation."

Jim Dempsey, senior staff counsel at the Center for Democracy and
Technology, said he is concerned that S. 2448 would result in the
expansion of government surveillance of computer activity and that
citizens could be surrendering some of their privacy.

"Internet security is not a problem primarily within the control of
the federal government," he said. "Particularly, it is not a problem
to be solved through the criminal justice system."

S. 2448 was introduced by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin
Hatch, R-Utah, and Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.

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