Philippines, like most other countries, lacks resources to fight cybercrime

[Patrick Oonk <patrick () PINE NL>]

Philippines, like most other countries, lacks resources to fight
cybercrime


By OLIVER TEVES, Associated Press

MANILA, Philippines (May 9, 2000 5:38 p.m. EDT
http://www.nandotimes.com) - Like many nations, the Philippines churns
out
plenty of computer programmers these days but is seriously handicapped
in fighting cybercrime, as chagrined authorities discovered
in pursuing suspects in the "ILOVEYOU" virus case.

Federal agents were forced to delay a raid on an apartment where the
virus is believed to have originated for days as prosecutors first
searched for laws that could apply, then tried to persuade judges to
issue a search warrant.

Finally, on Monday, a judge agreed to issue a warrant under a 1998 law
regulating the use of "access devices" such as credit cards
or equipment to obtain money, goods or services.

They arrested Reonel Ramones, a bank employee, but released him Tuesday
because of insufficient evidence. National Bureau of
Investigation agents who raided his apartment found neither a computer
nor a modem.

"This is a new type of crime and the law applicable is not so clear,"
said NBI director Federico Opinion, who admitted that his own
office has no computers, and whose agency was assisted by the FBI in the
so-called Love Bug case.

Scores of nations, especially in the developing world, lack laws
governing cyberspace crimes and are woefully short on the
computer-savvy investigators and technology required to go after
sophisticated hackers.

"The scary thing about the Internet is that somebody with a computer in
a jurisdiction where there are no cybercrime laws can get on
and wreak havoc around the rest of the world," said Susan Brenner, a
cybercrime expert at The University of Dayton Law School in
Ohio.

Thirty-seven countries now have statutes dealing with "unauthorized
access" to computers and computer systems, according to a
list compiled by Stein Schjolberg, a Norwegian judge active in computer
justice issues.

But the laws are anything but uniform and there are no international
treaties governing cybercrime. The European Union released a
draft treaty last week, said Brenner, adding that it would not be
approved until next year at the earliest.

In the meantime, the lack of global legal standards for combatting
malicious hackers is "going to cause delays in cooperation, with
investigators floundering around as to what they should try to do," said
John F. Murphy, a Villanova University law professor who
specializes in international terrorism.

"The delay can be fatal because of the nature of technology," Murphy
added.

In the Philippines, legal experts predicted the Love Bug virus case
would prompt lawmakers to finally pass legislation that would
punish computer break-ins with a fine equal to the amount of damage
caused plus a mandatory prison term of up to three years.

As it is, a sponsor of that legislation, Sen. Ramon Magsaysay Jr., said
the NBI was wrong to use the "access devices" law against
Ramones "because they may be violating citizens' civil rights."

Even with such laws, locating and successfully prosecuting cyber
culprits "is like tracing vapor" because skilled hackers can make it
difficult to establish their identities on the Internet, said Philippine
law professor Josephine Victoria T. Yam.

The Net's global nature can even frustrate law enforcement cooperation
among countries that have cybercrime statutes because of
their lack of uniformity.

There is, for example, great potential for disputes regarding
admissibility of electronic evidence, which is weighed differently in
different countries.

There are also disputes over which country should have jurisdiction over
an offender - the hacker's home country or those of his
victims.

Take the case of the Love Bug virus, which struck millions of computers
worldwide when it was unleashed Thursday, causing
hundreds of millions of dollars in damage.

"Is the crime the creating and setting loose of the thing or is the
crime the damage committed and where?," posed Brenner, the U.S.
cybercrime expert. "In that case we have millions of cases of damage."

The United States has not said whether it would seek the extradition of
the Love Bug virus authors. But if Washington were to do so,
the lack of Philippine cybercrime law could be an impediment.

Although the United States and the Philippines have an extradition
treaty, Philippine law requires that laws exist in both countries
recognizing a given offense.

The United States could, however, still request - but not demand - that
a suspect be turned over to U.S. courts, said Franklin
Ebdalin, foreign assistant undersecretary for legal affairs.

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