Comment Of Sen. Patrick Leahy, Democratic Leader, Senate Judiciary Committee, On Recent Computer ‘Hacker' Attacks On Websites February 9, 2000

February 09, 2000

"It is a constant challenge for our laws to keep pace with ever clever hackers who abuse technology for their own gains or amusement. Staying current with law enforcement is also a constant challenge. There is no one cure-all to prevent future attacks on commercial and government websites, but pushing forward on several pending fronts would help.

"We should promptly move ahead with our computer crime legislation that would download a wealth of expertise to states who don't always have the resources to prevent or prosecute cyber crimes.

"Given the global nature of the Internet, we should give law enforcement agencies here and abroad new tools to better share information critical to unraveling a hacker's web."

[Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) is the Democratic Leader of the Senate Judiciary Committee and author of a bipartisan bill introduced last July, the "Computer Crime Enforcement Act," which would set up a new $25 million grant program within the U.S. Department of Justice for states to tap for improved education, training, enforcement and prosecution of computer crimes. Leahy is pushing to pass the bill, co-authored by Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio), in the next few months. Leahy also co-authored a 1996 law, the "National Information Infrastructure Protection Act," that helps curb computer crime against governmental websites and stiffened penalties for federal employees who violate individual privacy through their access to government records. Leahy, joined by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), has also authored a comprehensive international war criminals bill that includes new provisions to expedite the sharing of information and witnesses among international law enforcement agencies -- especially important tools given the global nature of the Internet, where hackers in one country can manipulate or hide behind systems in another country.]