Location: http://news.zdnet.co.uk/zdnetuk/news/story/0,,s2089675,00.html
Confidential reports to aid cybercrime crackdown
13:02 Friday 22nd June 2001

Wendy McAuliffe ([log in to unmask])

With companies failing to report IT attacks, no statistics exist to prove
the extent of the cybercrime problem

The head of Britain's National High-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU) is calling for a
confidential channel for UK businesses to
report cybercrime attacks.

Speaking at a global law enforcement conference in Edinburgh on Wednesday,
detective chief superintendent Len Hynds
admitted that the true scale of Internet crime in Britain is unknown. The
culture of secrecy surrounding cybercrime means that
many attacks go unreported, with businesses being unwilling to risk
publicity for commercial reasons.

"Understanding the level of the problem is crucial for developing polices
and legal responses to cybercrime", said Yaman
Akdeniz, director of Cyber-Rights & Cyber-Liberties. "We need reliable
statistics to back up calls for greater powers and
resources."

The NHTCU was launched in April to combat the rising levels of crime on the
Internet. Its remit is centred around
investigations of serious or organised crime using IT, such as hacking and
fraud. In its first year, the Unit has pledged to
actively investigate the scale of IT-based criminality in Britain, and
assess the nature and extent of the problem and so gauge
the impact of their strategy.

"No statistics currently exist, and we can't do this overnight," said a
spokesperson at the National Crime Squad (NCS). "But
we still want people to report cybercrime attacks with a view to
prosecution."

The Computer Misuse Act 1990 made it possible for companies to file reports
of traditional cybercrime attacks such as
hacking and viruses, but few businesses have chosen to take advantage of
this legal provision.

Thomas Raschke, programme manager for European Internet security at analyst
firm IDC, believes that small and medium
sized businesses are the main culprits for failing to report Internet
crimes. "They don't have the IT resources to make these
reports, and often don't even have security policies in place," he said.
Akdeniz also pointed out that larger companies are
often concerned about receiving bad publicity for their system being hacked
into, or customer data being stolen.

Hynds told the conference that a confidential channel for reporting computer
crimes would serve to establish "an environment
where industry, government and law enforcement work together".

************************************************************************************
Distributed through Cyber-Society-Live [CSL]: CSL is a moderated discussion
list made up of people who are interested in the interdisciplinary academic
study of Cyber Society in all its manifestations.To join the list please visit:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/cyber-society-live.html
*************************************************************************************