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Government ineffective in chasing Net crime, executives say 
By The Associated Press
Special to CNET News.com
April 6, 2000, 10:05 a.m. PT
URL: http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-1648223.html 

STANFORD, Calif.--Threats from cyberterrorists have become almost routine at
Oracle, the leading developer of database
software. 

Last month, someone in Sudan tried to blackmail the Redwood Shores,
Calif.-based company with a threat to break into its system unless it paid
an undisclosed sum of money. 

A clear case for the FBI? Not at Oracle--or at hundreds of other high-tech
victims of Internet cyberstalking. 

"We've notified them of a couple of threats, but we didn't expect them to
take any action," said Bill Maimone, Oracle's vice president of server
technologies. "It seems so unlikely that they'd be able to do something." 

As high-tech executives know, the Justice Department lacks the staff to
investigate and prosecute most hackers. Many companies also are reluctant to
undergo government scrutiny; they've got too many secrets. 

As a result, cybercriminals are breaking into or paralyzing Web sites with
little fear of retribution, costing the industry hundreds of millions of
dollars. 

At a Stanford University Law School conference on cybercrime yesterday,
Attorney General Janet Reno pleaded for greater cooperation between the
private and public sectors. 

"It seems to me that we all have a common goal--to keep the nation's
computer network secure, safe and reliable," Reno told the assembled CEOs
and prosecutors. 

Many company leaders were unconvinced. 

"High-tech businesses know they can't count on the Justice Department to
handle their complaints," said John Palafoutas, a senior vice president of
the American Electronics Association. "They know they must take care of
their own security." 

For the past four years, the Clinton administration has asked Congress for
additional staff to prosecute computer crime. To date, the answer has been a
consistent refusal. There was just one cybercrime prosecution for every 50
private industry complaints in 1998, according to the latest Justice
Department figures. 

"We're only able to respond to a limited number of the complaints we receive
because we're starved for resources," said Associate Deputy Attorney General
John Bentivoglio. 

While funding for prosecutors remains static, computer crime has quadrupled
over the past three years, according to a survey by the FBI and San
Francisco's Computer Security Institute. 

Of the hacking victims--most often corporations and government agencies--75
percent said it cost an average of $1 million per intrusion to investigate,
repair and secure their systems. Corporations spent $7.1 billion in 1999 on
security to protect themselves against cyberattacks, and the bill could
reach $17 billion by 2003, according to Internet analysts at Aberdeen Group
in Boston. 

Hackers know authorities are overwhelmed. 

Two months have passed with no arrests in the Feb. 8 electronic assault that
crippled Web sites at 10 major computer companies, including Silicon Valley
powerhouses eBay, Yahoo and E*Trade. 

eBay, an Internet auction site with more than 4.1 million items up for sale
at any given time, fights a constant battle against hacking, fraud and
illegal deals. 

"We only take the most serious matters to the FBI. They investigated a few,
but there haven't been any prosecutions," said eBay's general counsel,
Robert Chesnut. "If the government is going to come out and vow action in
these sorts of cases, they need to provide resources, not just the
promises." 

Companies such as eBay and Oracle rely on the help of private consultants to
combat hackers--a decision that also helps keep their problems from being
publicized. 

"Information-sharing is a risky proposition with less than clear benefits,"
said Harris Miller, president of the Information Technology Association of
America. "Companies are understandably reluctant to share sensitive
proprietary information about
prevention practices, intrusions and actual crimes with either government
agencies or competitors." 



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