From: William Knowles <erehwonat_private> http://www.wired.com/news/news/technology/story/19191.html Detectives in the Digital Age 3:00 a.m. 19.Apr.99.PDT A computer virus writer with the stolen America Online user name "Sky Roket" turns up on a computer bulletin board in Norway and is arrested in New Jersey. A North Carolina computer engineer using an anonymous Web site service is linked to a stock hoax in California. Cybersleuths are catching perpetrators of hoaxes and malicious acts on the Internet more quickly, helped by growing cooperation between the online industry and law enforcement agents. "We're getting past the age of denial," said Richard Powers of Computer Security Institute in San Francisco. "People are realizing there's a problem and that we have to work on it together." But even after a string of high-profile takedowns of alleged Web criminals, the security experts championed as the Sam Spades of the digital age are warning about the future. Computer crime is growing, and smart criminals are avoiding prosecution, they say. Computer Security Institute surveys show that over the past year, "online intrusions" doubled as a percentage of computer crime. The reason it's happening, say the computer experts, is "that's where the money is." "Now that e-commerce is coming online and getting bigger and bigger, the fraud and criminal activity that used to be committed with fax and phone is moving onto the Internet," said George Vinson, a former FBI cybercrime unit member who is now with Deloitte & Touche's computer security practice. The experts say their search for perpetrators has gotten a boost from some less-than-clever methods used by hackers and hoaxters. For example, David Smith, the 30-year-old New Jersey man charged with creating Melissa "actually signed his name to some of the online documents he created," noted Richard Smith, the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based cybersleuth who was credited with the key breaks in cracking the Melissa case. The Melissa virus disrupted and crashed some e-mail and computer networks at thousands of companies and government agencies by overloading their systems. Smith, who was charged last week with violating an array of New Jersey computer laws, faces up to US$480,000 in fines if convicted. Cyberleuth Smith, who works for software company Phar Lap, found clues when he tracked the online postings linked to the suspect. "David Smith was a very good macro virus writer, but not a terribly good hacker," said security expert Michael Zboray of Gartner Group. "He could have done a much better job of covering his path. The next time this happens it might not be so easy." Perpetrators of cybercrimes have felt safe in the anonymity of cyberspace. But Internet service providers are growing more eager to hand over user logs in criminal investigations. And investigators are becoming better at searching the scenes of virtual crimes for clues to a perpetrator's identity. [snip...] -o- Subscribe: mail majordomoat_private with "subscribe isn". Today's ISN Sponsor: Hacker News Network [www.hackernews.com]
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