Reno Looks To Curb Internet Crime
Reno Looks To Curb Internet Crime
By EUN-KYUNG KIM=
Associated Press Writer=
WASHINGTON (AP) _ A new public-private alliance to curb Internet
crime will help 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.'litary 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 last
Tuesday. ``It's not going to be against Naontrol that. And there's been little progress on
that.''
