From: William Knowles <erehwonat_private> 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- Subscribe: mail majordomoat_private with "subscribe isn". Today's ISN Sponsor: Internet Security Institute [www.isi-sec.com]
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