Most Americans concerned about computer attacks, poll says

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http://www.techserver.com/noframes/story/0,2294,500218308-500310484-501730384-0,00.html

By DAVID HO, Associated Press

HERNDON, Va. (June 19, 2000 6:04 p.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) -
More than two-thirds of Americans worry about the threat of computer
hackers and cybercriminals, according to a poll released Monday at a
conference of technology executives and law enforcement officials.

"Americans are not satisfied with existing protections from computer
criminals," said Dick Brown, chairman of the technology company EDS,
which commissioned the poll. "The future of the cybermarketplace will
depend, to a large degree, on safety and security."

But some technology companies have expressed reluctance to report
hacker attacks because of the inconvenience and embarrassment of an
investigation.

Attorney General Janet Reno told the conference in Herndon, a
Washington suburb, that law enforcement would minimize the disruptions
to business when investigating cybercrimes.

"We must share information about vulnerabilities, so that we can each
take steps to protect our systems against attack," Reno said. "We have
a common goal: to keep the nation's computer networks secure, safe and
reliable for America's citizens and its businesses."

Reno said dealing with Internet attacks was similar to fighting
traditional crime.

"When someone's home is burglarized, it's important that the victim
notify law enforcement as quickly as possible," she said.

However, most people feel hackers are more elusive than burglars. The
poll found nearly two-thirds of Americans feel computer lawbreakers
are less likely to be caught than real-world criminals.

In the latest such incident, America Online Inc. confirmed Friday that
hackers had gained access to the personal information of some of its
users.

While AOL will cooperate with government agencies to track down the
hackers, the company won't involve law enforcement until their
internal investigation is complete, spokesman Rich D'Amato said.

These incidents are occurring as the global marketplace for
information-related technology has grown to $2.1 trillion and is
expected to surpass $3 trillion by 2003, said Harris Miller, president
of the Information Technology Association of America.

Miller said preventing Internet crime by educating children about
ethical behavior for the online world was as important as enforcing
existing laws.

"We need to educate their parents too because we find that some
parents think, 'Isn't Johnny or Susie cute because they brought down
the Pentagon Web site,'" Miller said. "We have to teach them that's
not cute, that's not appropriate."

Reno said actively recruiting young people into Internet crime
fighting could also help offset a lack of skilled government employees
lost to better paying jobs in private industry.

"We can attract people to government for a longer period of time in
return for assistance such as what ROTC produced," she said.

Computer crime has quadrupled over the past three years, but funding
for prosecutors hasn't changed, according to a survey by the FBI and
San Francisco's Computer Security Institute.

Last month at a meeting in Paris the world's most powerful industrial
nations - desperate to combat global Internet attacks - appealed to
the business world to help police the Web.

In October, the leaders of technology companies from around the world
will discuss security issues at their own global summit in Washington.

The EDS poll, which has an error margin of plus or minus 3 percent,
was conducted by Fabrizio McLaughlin & Associates, who interviewed
1,000 adults nationwide this month.

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