Forwarded From: William Knowles <erehwonat_private> TOKYO (December 27, 1998 8:52 p.m. EST http://www.nandotimes.com) Japanese police are gearing up to tackle a recent onslaught of computer crimes, including illegal hacking into government computers and fraud on the Internet, a daily newspaper reported Monday. The National Police Department is to set up 13 special investigation teams against hackers and two other teams against computer-related terrorism, the mass-circulation Yomiuri Shimbun said. Police plan to spend 1.95 billion yen ($17 million) for the measures in the year starting next April. In Japan, the number of computer crimes last year stood at 262 cases and has multiplied eight times in the past four years. The report came after Japan was shocked by an Internet-based delivery service that supplied cyanide capsules for people wanting to commit suicide. A 24-year-old woman died earlier this month after taking cyanide, which police believe she obtained from the Internet service. A 27-year-old man suspected of running the Internet site and allegedly mailing cynaide to the woman also killed himself on Dec. 15. Japanese police Sunday raided the man's home in Sapporo, northern Japan, seizing a desktop computer, about 570 floppy disks and two hard drives. The man, whose name was withheld, gave extensive advice on suicide methods on the Internet and some young adults visited his Web site, the Mainichi Shimbun said, quoting investigators. The Web site was entitled "Dr. Kiriko's Examination Room," in reference to a character in a popular comic series, the daily said. During a 50-day period beginning November 5, a total of 21 people, all believed to be young adults, visited the home page, the investigators were quoted as saying. -o- Subscribe: mail majordomoat_private with "subscribe isn". Today's ISN Sponsor: Internet Security Institute [www.isi-sec.com]
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