They've even acquired enough a patina of credibility through longevity that they can get celebrities and the occasional politician to participate in their "interviews." On the other hand, as they've grown more popular they've had less and less original editorial content, and really have been reduced to a "gatekeeper." They won't link to commentary, even when it's original, only the source story. I've submitted things only to have them pull my words out, put them in the "firehose" where noone sees them (or my work) and just write their own summary and link to the story I found them.
And occasionally they link to total sensationalist trash like this. A former FBI agent named Patrick J. Dempsey has made a startling discover: criminals can use networks to cover their tracks.
Although the Internet may be considered the greatest achievement of the past 50 years, the technology behind it has created a sanctuary for various types of computer criminals. The unfortunate and ugly truth is that the Web is providing a brand new "world" where international cyber criminals can thrive, and the world's numerous criminal justice systems just aren't ready to address these crimes in their entirety.
Cyber criminals don't necessarily need to leave the comfort of their homes to commit their crimes. Today, for example, bank robberies can be committed in Southeast Asia via a computer that's being controlled by an individual in Russia. Identity theft is achieved through a complex network of individuals residing in North America, Europe, and Africa, all effectively working together on the Internet to profit from shared information. And organized crime has ties to spam campaigns, identity theft, denial-of-service attacks, and organized hacking rings.
Is this a joke? This guy's job is "Chief Information Security Officer" at Janney Montgomery Scott, a financial services firm. He has also apparently been living in a cave since 1999 or so. On the other hand, Osama bin Laden lives in a cave and probably knew that the Internet had unsavory elements back when he was using it to plan attacks. The fact that he's using the term "cyber-" anything makes him horribly dated.
Also, tying organized crime to "spam campaigns, identity theft, denial-of-service attacks, and organized hacking rings?" Did he get his education in Information Security by watching Sandra Bullock in The Net? Also, why is he a "former" FBI agent? Did he retire, or was he fired? Does he have any experience in investigating computer crimes? Does he know anything about computers? I'm curious as to his credentials, because it sounds like he has no clue what he's talking about, or he's using a really outdated Buzzword Bingo card.
Oh, so it's not that you can't cooperate, it's those pesky laws...or does he mean lawyers? Maybe Mr. Dempsey was one of those guys that wanted to throw Phil Zimmerman in prison for writing PGP back in the '90s. One more thing. Investigating crimes and prosecuting them are two completely different tasks. I am guessing this man has no law degree, and knows very little about prosecuting criminals.But the problem with investigating international cyber crimes and capturing criminals on the Internet is not necessarily due to lack of cooperation among international law enforcement bodies. The issue has much more to do with the fact that the legal systems throughout the world vary greatly and take a very long time to change. These two facts make it extremely difficult for law enforcement to cooperate, investigate, capture, and ultimately prosecute the cyber criminals today.
Either way, Mr. Dempsey has come up with a solution. We need a "new" "more secure" Internet where people will "register" with some kind of "authority." What, like old style AOL? Has he heard of Kerberos or Virtual Private Networks? All those things allow "registration" with "authority." There's a difference between registration and monitoring...
He throws around terms like spoofing and InterNIC (which by the way hasn't existed since ICANN took over running the world's domain registration system) and talks about "managing a more secure Internet." Whether or not he has a clue what he's talking about, I don't know. It doesn't look that way. His article looks like a cut and paste job from a bunch of sensationalist puff pieces from the Bubble pre-2001 era.
If Mr. Dempsey had done any research he would understand and be able to articulate the Internet is built on 1970's technology designed to survive a nuclear war, that operates based on open protocols and a degree of trust between systems, and requires skilled network managers to keep running. When he talks about a "new internet" he means a more tightly controlled network with systems built in for monitoring and controlling its' use.
What does that mean? Governments and legislative bodies? You mean there is a difference? The biggest change that needs to hit the Internet is adoption of IPv6. If he wants some kind of ubermensch system to keep bad things from happening and bad people from using networks, he's going to have to go back in time or move to China.The fight against international cyber crime is going to take a concerted effort from large and small corporations, law enforcement in all countries, as well as the governments and legislative bodies of those same countries. Most importantly, the average end user will have to join the fight to bring about change on the Internet, or create a "new" Internet using the lessons we've learned.
I don't think I'm going to read Slashdot as much anymore.
