Unnamed Administration Sources forwarded this message about a new Internet-based terrorist group in Offshore Northwestern Europe: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Britain deploys 'cybercops' to fight Internet crime By NICK HOPKINS The Guardian November 15, 2000 LONDON - The rising tide of Internet crime - hacking, porn rackets, extortion and fraud - is to be tackled in Britain by a squad of "cybercops." British Home Secretary Jack Straw said the unit will be headed by 80 officers recruited from the police, customs service, national crime squad and National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS). Money is also being provided to help fund a 24-hour international hotline for detectives from different countries to "trade information on potential attacks on the national infrastructure." The initiative follows intelligence that shows terrorists are increasingly using the Internet for recruitment and planning. Internet crime has soared in the last three years as criminals have begun to realize the opportunities it offers. The dissemination of computer viruses, such as the "I Love You bug," which wreaked havoc last summer, is also on the rise. Medium-sized businesses are particularly vulnerable to these kinds of attacks because they cannot afford protective filtering systems. Recent research showed that 60 percent of Britain's online businesses have suffered hacking while worrying new trends include evidence of an international Internet trade in body parts. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service. For more Guardian news go to http://www.guardian.co.uk/) _________________________________________________________________________