U.S. message to Internet criminals: You can't hide

[Paul Howell]

At http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/000831/n3128281.html

Thursday August 31,
6:49 pm Eastern Time

U.S. message to Internet criminals: You can't hide
By Jim Wolf

WASHINGTON, Aug 31 (Reuters) - On the Internet as on the streets, 
you can run but you can't hide -- at least that was the message 
U.S. law enforcement trumpeted on Thursday.

Six days after a fake press release lopped about $2.5 billion
in market value off a California-based network equipment
maker's stock, the authorities touted an arrest in the case as
proof that they were as cyber-savvy as anybody.

``Anyone who would use the Internet to commit a crime
should also understand one thing: Do not count on the
Internet to serve as a shield for your illegal conduct,'' U.S.
Attorney Alejandro Mayorkas told a news conference in
Los Angeles.

``We in law enforcement can navigate the 'information
superhighway' just as we can beat the pavement to detect
and apprehend criminals,'' he added.

Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles filed a criminal
complaint accusing a 23-year-old college student, Mark
Jackob, of staging one of the biggest financial hoaxes on the
Internet so far by allegedly sending a bogus press release
showing that Emulex Corp. (NasdaqNM:EMLX - news) of
Costa Mesa was in dire straits.

He was arrested at his home on Thursday morning by FBI
agents after investigators traced the e-mailed release to a
computer at the library of El Camino Community College in
Redondo Beach where Jakob had been seen working late a
week earlier, when the hoax press release was sent.

Cyber-security experts said the success in tracking such
e-mail hinged largely on cooperation from Internet service
providers once a warrant was obtained.

Another critical element in such cases often is the ignorance
of those who think they enjoy anonymity if they use a false
identity on a free e-mail account with an outfit such as
Yahoo! or Hotmail.

EXPERT SAYS MOST WEB CRIMINALS ``NOT SMART''

``Most people doing these things are not smart,'' said Jeffrey
Schiller, network manager of the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology and a security expert who serves on the
Internet Engineering Task Force, a standards-setting body.

Every computer hooked to the Internet is assigned a digital
address that makes tracing most communications relatively
straight-forward, he said. One exception is a message sent
through specialised services called anonymous mailers that
render the origin virtually untraceable.

``The police are getting more technically savvy,'' said
Schiller, crediting the FBI and other agencies with building a
network of experts they can call on for help.

``Five years ago, the FBI didn't know what the Internet
was,'' he said. ``Today they have computer-crime squads in
most major cities.''

Joseph Patanella, president of TrustWave Corp. in
Annapolis, Maryland, and an 18-year veteran of the
National Security Agency, said reliable archiving and
logging of messages by Internet service providers meant
that they could supply data needed by law enforcement in
nearly all cases.

But he said a combination of cyber-sleuthing and
old-fashioned police work often was the key to solving
cases like those his company handled, including electronic
bulletin board postings bordering on crimes.

AUTHORITIES TOUT THEIR READINESS

The authorities used Jakob's arrest to ballyhoo their
readiness to tackle Internet criminals hoping to cloak
themselves in the relative anonymity of cyberspace.

``This is an example of the FBI's ability to bring to justice
criminals of the 21st century,'' FBI Assistant Director in
Charge James Desarno told reporters.

Federal prosecutor Mayorkas added, ``As technology
advances so (does) our investigative methods and our
abilities to protect the public.''

Valerie Capproni, Pacific regional director of the Securities
and Exchange Commission, said the Internet was a great
tool for investors.

``We will not allow it to become a deadly weapon for those
who want to use it to harm markets,'' Capproni added.

Earlier this month, the FBI drew attention to its role in the
Aug. 10 arrest in London of two Kazakhstan citizens
accused of breaking into Bloomberg LP's computer system
in New York and trying to extort money.

``Law enforcement agencies around the world are working
together to address cyber-crime, and that work is paying
off,'' Michael Vatis of the FBI, who serves as the top U.S.
``cyber cop,'' said in a statement at the time.

In another cyber-sleuthing success this year, a
15-year-old known as ``Mafiaboy'' was arrested and
charged in the February ``denial of service'' attacks against
major e-commerce Web sites, thanks to cooperation
between the FBI and Canadian law enforcement authorities.