[prev in list] [next in list] [prev in thread] [next in thread] 

List:       isn
Subject:    [ISN] Wanted: Hacking Victims
From:       mea culpa <jericho () dimensional ! com>
Date:       1998-10-31 1:34:48
[Download RAW message or body]


Forwarded From: phreak moi <hackerelite@deathsdoor.com>

http://www.idg.net/idg_frames/english/content.cgi?allowFeedback=false&referer=&outside \
_source=cnn&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2ecomputerworld%2ecom%2fhome%2fonline9697%2ensf%2fall%2f980410wanted1E65A&doc_id=27627


Wanted: Hacking victims
Matt Hamblen

More companies need to come to the FBI or local police when hackers try to
break in to their networks, an FBI agent overseeing white-collar crimes
told computer executives this week. 

Only 17% of 520 computer technology companies surveyed said they had
reported evidence of hacking to police, said Richard D.  Watson, FBI
assistant special agent in charge of white-collar crimes in Boston. He
delivered a keynote address to software executives at The Enterprise
Security Seminars in Cambridge, Mass., earlier this week. The event was
sponsored by Bull Worldwide Information Systems in Billerica, Mass. 

"If somebody hacks, we need to know that," Watson said. "Are they just
kids or more nefarious? Is it Saddam or somebody who would commit another
World Trade Center bombing?" Watson said FBI officials understand that
companies are reluctant to report computer network break-ins because they
want to avoid embarrassing publicity or potential litigation and financial
losses if investors find out. But he pointed out that federal rules allow
judges to shield the identity of a company making a hacking complaint, at
least until the matter is resolved. 

As an example, he pointed to a recent case involving a teen-ager who
hacked a Bell Atlantic Corp. phone switch that closed down communications
at the Worcester, Mass., airport. He said the phone company wasn't
identified in reports of the incident until federal officials had warned
other voice and data carriers so they could take steps to defend against
similar hack attacks. 

Watson's remarks had an impact on listeners, but only to a point.  "I can
see the FBI's side," said Ted Hoffman, information systems director at
Graybar, a wholesaler of telecommunications devices in St. Louis, Mo. "As
a citizen, I can see how the FBI wants to protect others, but this is a
huge responsibility for a company to tell ... the police you have a
hacking problem," he said. 

Watson also defended the FBI stance on exports of 128-bit key encryption
software, saying agents feel frustrated that companies would want to
undermine their ability to decode messages that could protect U.S.
security or lives. 

On that point, however, the audience was overwhelmingly opposed.  Several
executives pointed out that sophisticated encryption software is available
throughout the world. The only result of the U.S. policy banning
encryption sales is that the software sales are being made from other
countries rather than U.S. firms, analysts and businessmen in attendance
said. 

-o-
Subscribe: mail majordomo@repsec.com with "subscribe isn".
Today's ISN Sponsor: Repent Security Incorporated [www.repsec.com]


[prev in list] [next in list] [prev in thread] [next in thread]