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Want to be a cybercop? Uncle Sam needs you
By Lisa M. Bowman
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
June 18, 2002, 12:45 PM PT
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-937112.html

SAN FRANCISCO--Hoping to appeal to a post-Sept. 11 sense of patriotism, the 
Secret Service is imploring corporate America to help it nab cybercriminals.
John Frazzini, a special agent with the Electronic Crimes Branch of the Secret 
Service, told attendees of the NETSEC 2002 conference here that an attack on 
the nation's electronic payment systems could damage faith in the U.S. economy.

He said companies must band together in a national neighborhood watch to 
protect the country's networks from terrorists who hope to hobble them. 
Frazzini also attacked hackers, accusing them of threatening the nation's faith 
in its networks.

"If you're a U.S. citizen and you're breaking into computer networks, not only 
are you criminal but I think you're unpatriotic," he said.

"We should be working together to address this problem," Frazzini added. "Law 
enforcement alone cannot solve this problem."

Frazzini noted that the private sector controls most of the nation's IT 
resources, making its cooperation essential in stopping Net criminals.

U.S. officials have stepped up efforts to fight cybercrime in recent months, 
including moving the Secret Service and organizations designed to protect 
national infrastructure under the auspices of a new Homeland Security Agency.

In addition, the terrorist attacks accelerated the development of Electronic 
Crime Task Forces in major cities across the country. The FBI also announced 
plans to assign more agents to Internet-based activities during its 
restructuring.

Tech companies have long had a strained relationship with law enforcement, 
mainly because they're sometimes placed in the awkward position of turning over 
private customer information to the police. For example, law enforcement began 
asking Internet service providers for a vastly greater amount of data about 
terrorist suspects following Sept. 11, forcing the companies to divert 
resources from their core businesses to handle the request load.

Corporate America also has been notoriously lax in contacting law enforcement 
following computer break-ins, partly because of a fear that a publicity 
nightmare will adversely affect their bottom line. Robert Rodriguez, the 
special agent in charge of San Francisco's field office who accompanied 
Frazzini, said a 1997 survey showed that 80 percent of companies failed to call 
the police following a cyberattack, although more are cooperating these days.

"The government cannot do it alone anymore," Rodriguez said. "The importance of 
partnership cannot be understated."

Some in the NETSEC audience wanted to know why they should work with law 
enforcement if it would only lead to bad publicity. But the agents assured 
attendees that the Secret Service is charged with keeping all types of 
information under wraps, including the private conversations of the U.S. 
president.

Others quibbled with the agent's comparison of a computer break-in or virus 
with the tragedy of Sept. 11. Frazzini acknowledged that "cyberterrorism is 
more economic- than violence-based." But he warned that a cyber break-in still 
could have grave consequences for U.S. citizens, either by ruining the economy 
or allowing hackers access to sensitive information that could threaten 
national security.

Frazzini played the patriotism card by including in his slide presentation a 
quote attributed to Osama bin Laden in December, roughly translated as: "It is 
very important to concentrate on hitting the U.S. economy through all possible 
means...look for key pillars of the U.S. economy. The key pillars of the enemy 
should be struck."

Frazzini then told the audience, "When you look at this slide, it should piss 
you off."





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