Government Intervention Needed to Stop Hacking

Advocates of government intervention on hacking emphasize that hacker attacks have threatened government institutions, private businesses and countless home computer users. In order to suppress attacks, Congress needs to pass new legislation that would ban certain hacking techniques and set tougher penalties for convicted hackers, supporters say. On the related issue of cyberwarfare, advocates of government action stress that Chinese hackers represent a genuine threat that needs to be taken seriously and countered if necessary.

Up to now, Congress has been too sluggish in addressing the problem of hacking, supporters complain. Writing in the San Jose Mercury News, journalist Ryan Blitstein faults "Congress' lumbering response to Internet crime. Dozens of bills aimed at outlawing phishing, botnets and many forms of hacking have stalled short of the House floor....Those bills that survive are often watered down." Blitstein notes that large corporations often lobby to block hacking-related laws because they want to avoid making the expensive computer security improvements that such legislation typically mandates.

Another reason why legislation on hacking sometimes fails is that critics are concerned that too much government oversight of the Internet will stifle its technological development. But Richard Clarke, formerly the top cybersecurity adviser to Former President Bush (R), ridicules that mentality. "What you've got now in Washington is this belief that federal government regulation is some kind of original sin," he says, adding, "It's especially true in the area of cyberspace." Advocates maintain that increased government regulation would actually help the Internet's technological growth, rather than stifle it, by reducing the persistent threat posed by hackers.

Many observers note that tough new legislation would not just crack down on hackers; it could also put much-needed pressure on software developers and Internet-based businesses to improve their security procedures and make their products less vulnerable to hacking. "Congress needs to make software companies responsible for [security] vulnerabilities," says Adriel Desautels, chief technology officer of Netragard, an information security firm. "That should be our first line of defense."

Although companies are often reluctant to implement expensive computer security upgrades, advocates emphasize that it is almost always worth the effort. "[P]reventative measures clearly hit the bottom line less dramatically than the costs of delaying or ignoring security improvements," writes Ericka Chickowski in Baseline, a magazine that covers information technology issues. She points to TJX as an example, citing an estimate that the total cost of repairing its security breach could exceed $250 million--far more than it would have cost for the company to implement adequate security measures before its systems were hacked.

Meanwhile, other observers urge the government to take the potential of cyberwarfare seriously, especially where China is concerned. "Can one nation deliver a crippling blow to another through cyberspace?" wonders O. Sami Saydjari, founder of the Cyber Defense Agency, a computer security group. He concludes, "The answer is a definite yes. The Chinese know we are much more dependent on technology [than they are], and the more you depend on it, the more vulnerable you are."

While some experts downplay the threat of cyberwarfare--noting that it cannot cause physical destruction on the same level as conventional warfare--others stress that a cyberwar could still cause chaos and even death. "Cyberwarfare has been sold as cleaner, but things like power plants and air traffic control systems are vulnerable to attack," says Thomas Wingfield of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. "Cyberweapons are now rising to the level of weapons of mass destruction," he suggests.

Like other advocates of government action, Wingfield characterizes hacking as a serious threat that needs to be actively monitored and addressed. According to many observers, tough legislation is the only way to ensure that hacking is suppressed and the Internet remains relatively safe.

Sources

Corcoran, Elizabeth; Shannon, Victoria. "Battling Cyber Saboteurs." Washington Post (January 31, 1997): E1.

Freedman, David. "Easy Prey On-line." New York Times (February 11, 2000): A31.

Hafner, Katie. "In World of Hackers, Good Guys and Bad Guys Are Often a Blur." New York Times (February 12, 2000): A1.

Hamilton, David; Cloud, David. "The Internet Under Siege: Stalking the Hackers." Wall Street Journal (February 10, 2000): B1.