From: William Knowles <erehwon@kizmiaz.dis.org>
Janet Reno launches anti-hacking initiative
WASHINGTON (March 15, 1999 4:36 p.m. EST http://www.nandotimes.com) - A
new public-private alliance to curb online crime will teach children "that
hacking is the same as breaking and entering," Attorney General Janet Reno
said Monday.
Educating children about acceptable online behavior is among three
initiatives under the Cybercitizen Partnership, an initiative of
government and the high-tech industry to promote cyberspace ethics and
help law enforcers track down online criminals.
"All children know it's wrong to break into a neighbor's house or read
your best friend's diary. Unfortunately, fewer realize that it's wrong to
break into their neighbor's computers and snoop through their computer
files," Reno said.
The Cybercitizen Partnership also will feature a "personnel exchange
program" between private business and federal agencies in which both will
learn how the other responds to threats and crimes over the Internet.
Companies can find out how best to help law-enforcement agencies, and
government officials will learn what business interests and influences
drive industry decisions.
The campaign also will create a directory of computer experts and computer
security resources so that "law enforcement will know where to turn," Reno
said.
The partnership was announced, along with Reno's comments, during a
high-tech industry summit sponsored by the Information Technology
Association of America.
"A decade ago, cybercrime and cyberterrorism didn't really exist outside
of Hollywood movies. Today, they are very real threats," Reno said.
"We cannot allow cyberspace to become the Wild West of the information
age."
Last week, a top Pentagon official warned members of the Senate Armed
Services Committee about an electronic Pearl Harbor by cyberterrorists
more likely to go after commercial targets than military ones.
Deputy Defense Secretary John Hamre said he worries increasingly about the
vulnerability of commercial and financial interests.
"This Pearl Harbor's going to be different," he said March 9. "It's not
going to be against Navy ships sitting in a Navy shipyard; it's going to
be against commercial infrastructure, and we don't control that. And
there's been little progress on that."
-o-
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Received on Tue Mar 16 08:58:52 1999