Leahy Offers Bipartisan Bill To Help States Fight Computer Crime......‘Taking a byte out of cyber crime'

July 06, 1999

Sen. Patrick Leahy has introduced a bipartisan bill that charters a $25 million grant program to help states better fight the costly and growing problem of computer crime.

States are increasingly hard-pressed to keep up with new laws that target mounting incidents of computer crime. For example, in Vermont, which recently enacted a law to crack down on computer hacking, the threat of computer crime is an increasing point of concern for business leaders and law enforcement officials. Despite the tough provisions of Vermont's new cyber crime law, few detectives are experts in this highly specialized and complex field, and the law provides no funds to train law enforcement officers in combating computer crime. The Chittenden Unit for Special Investigations reports that only six law enforcement officers out of 900 in the state have the expertise to investigate computer crimes and evaluate the evidence.

That's where the Leahy bill comes in. The "Computer Crime Enforcement Act" sets up a $25 million grant program within the Department of Justice for states to tap for improved education, training, enforcement and prosecution of computer crimes.

"States are moving swiftly to address the growing threat of computer crime, but they often lack the specialized training needed to catch and try these sophisticated hackers," said Leahy, the Democratic leader of the Judiciary Committee. "This legislation will enable states to mount a full-scale counter attack so they can take a byte out of cyber crime."

Leahy noted that a recent survey by the FBI and Computer Security Institute found that 62 percent of information security professionals reported computer security breaches in the past year. These breaches in computer security resulted in financial losses of more than $120 million from fraud, theft of proprietary information, sabotage, computer viruses and stolen laptops.

The "Computer Crime Enforcement Act" is cosponsored by the Sens. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) and Charles Robb (D-Va.). The proposed legislation will be referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.