Cybercrime treaty gets green light

[InfoSec News <isn () c4i org>]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1651000/1651381.stm

12 November, 2001

A controversial treaty that tries to tackle cybercrime has been
adopted by the 43-nation Council of Europe.

The treaty outlaws some online activities such as fraud and child
pornography, clarifies some jurisdictional issues and outlines what
police forces can do when pursuing computer criminals.

A controversial treaty that tries to tackle cybercrime has been
adopted by the 43-nation Council of Europe.  The treaty outlaws some
online activities such as fraud and child pornography, clarifies some
jurisdictional issues and outlines what police forces can do when
pursuing computer criminals.

The treaty is due to be signed by member states later this month, but
it will take years to be formally adopted and influence legislation in
the individual countries taking it up.

Critics say the treaty grants sweeping snooping powers to police
forces, but does little to protect online privacy and liberty. An
early draft of the treaty was condemned as "appalling" by pressure
groups.

Cybercrime blueprint

The treaty tries to standardise just what constitutes cybercrime and
allows national police forces to ask their overseas counterparts to
help with investigations or even detain suspects wanted in connection
with the crimes they commit overseas.

The treaty passed through more than 27 drafts before reaching its
final version.

The final document is widely seen as a blueprint that will be followed
by other regional organisations and governments when updating existing
laws or drafting similar legislation.

Member states will get a chance to sign the treaty at a cybercrime
conference taking place in Budapest on 23 November.

The treaty comes into force once five nations, including at least
three that are CoE members, have ratified it. Already the US, Japan
and Canada have been invited to adopt the treaty.

Democratic conflict

Critics of the treaty have few complaints about what it categorises as
criminal, but they do worry that the powers it grants to police forces
could erode online privacy.

Many nations, such as the UK, already have in place legislation that
lets police forces monitor online life, and some experts fear that
these powers will be extended by nations adopting the treaty.

Early drafts of the treaty brought the condemnation of the Global
Internet Liberty Campaign - a broad coalition of more than 30 groups,
which includes civil libertarians, think-tanks, ethical hackers and
academics.

GILC expressed its misgivings about the treaty in a letter released
late last year.

It said the process by which the treaty was drafted was "at odds with
democratic decision making" because much of it was done in secret.

The letter said the treaty's "lack of consideration towards civil
liberties was appalling" and called on the Council to redraft it.




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