From U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno's weekly press conference, held this morning at the Department of Justice. She's speaking about an upcoming meeting of the G-7 nations and Russia:
At this meeting we will be discussing ways in which our countries can work together to better identify and locate cybercriminals. Automation, computers, the Internet have now made boundaries, in many instances, meaningless. As I have said on a number of occasions at this table, a man can sit at a computer in Europe and steal from a bank in the United States. Someone in Germany can get a list of credit card numbers here and try to extort people for money on the threat of using these credit cards. I think it is imperative that we develop practices, procedures, and laws that will enable these countries - and indeed other countries throughout the world - to work together to focus on criminals who are exploiting the new technologies that so many of us are relying on. The solution is working together as nations. Our law enforcement agencies must learn to work together more closely on these issues and more quickly than ever before, since a split-second response can help catch a hacker while he is still online. The fight against lawlessness on the Internet will be one of the greatest law enforcement challenges of the next century. By working on agreements to help meet that challenge, we won't be left fighting 21st century threats with 20th century solutions. I think it is going to be incumbent upon us all to develop the expertise on the part of law enforcement, both at the federal and state level, to make sure that we know who our counterparts are around the world and that we come together on this issue. I guess this is the Department of Justice's response to "cryptoanarchy." -Declan