Interview: Computer Crime Research Center director Vladimir Golubev
Date: October 15, 2003Source: Computer Crime Research Center
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... to criticism. Principles of Ukraine’s operators of the public internal and external telephone communication network of February 14, 2001, define the network monitoring as “a way of collecting, processing, storing and analyzing information on the system current condition without intervening into its operation”.
To our mind, the bill should establish the monitoring status, for example, as an investigating action or criminalistical procedure with introducing appropriate amendments into laws, for example, a clause that provides for destroying data obtained during the telecommunication system monitoring on a person against whom proceedings were not instituted. The information should be deleted six months after the monitoring was finished, an appropriate report being drawn up. If the monitoring is regarded as a crime-preventing step, it is expedient to supplement the Comprehensive program on preventing crimes for 2001-2005.
The information and cyberterrorism is a new form of the traditional terror. Could you give a more narrow definition of “cyberterrorism” and tell about ways of fighting it?
The cyberterrorism means a premeditated, politically motivated attack on information, computer systems and their programs that represents a mortal danger to people and causes material losses. The technical progress develops so quickly that the society realizes its negative consequences too late when considerable efforts should be required to correct the situation. Today the problem of cyberterrorism ought to be solved as that of the traditional terrorism and organized crimes at the international level. The effective cooperation of law enforcement agencies in fighting cyberterrorism worldwide can be achieved by simplifying the current procedure of making appropriate decisions, it being complicated by the necessity to adjust documents to be ratified. It could be made easier by rejecting agreements and using frame resolutions. The questions of internal security should be submitted to the Council of Europe and settled by a majority of votes.
The cyberthreat or cyberintervention is an unauthorized attempt to penetrate into computers, their systems and networks. Unauthorized penetrations are usually directed at facing a risk, satisfying interests, tickling a vanity or stealing information and money, taking revenge, blackmailing, disturbing or damaging computers and critical infrastructures (water and power supply systems).
Solving such juridical and technical top-priority problems connected with the lack of 1) laws regulating criminal and procedural actions, 2) specially trained experts in revealing and exposing information and telecommunication crimes, 3) necessary technical means of suppressing cyberattacks, 4) a reliable system of interaction at the national and international levels will make it possible for law enforcement bodies worldwide to coordinate their efforts on fighting cyberterrorism.
I think that passing the Convention on Cybercrimes will allow Ukraine’s law enforcement agencies to coordinate more effectively the investigation of, first of all, transnational computer crimes. The effectiveness of this coordination due to the Convention can be proved by time. It should be understood that the Convention is not a panacea. The mechanism of its realization ought to be worked through and, finally, it is very important to determine a circle of persons that will implement these regulations. Early in April 2003, Ukraine’s Parliament passed the bill “On Amendments to Ukraine’s Criminal-Procedural Code” thereby widely empowered Ukraine’s Security Service to investigate crimes committed in the computer systems. It is proposed to supplement Article 112, Ukraine’s Criminal-Procedural Code that permits officers from Ukraine’s Security Service to carry out pre-court investigations of crimes specified in Articles 361-363, Ukraine’s Criminal Code. Despite of the fact that the prepared bill is an urgent and timely legal step, some of its clauses require to be discussed and revised.
On September 26, 2003, the CCRC with the assistance of the Transnational Corruption and Crime Center at the American University (Washington, DC, USA) will hold the international scientific seminar on “Problems of Fighting Cybercrimes”. The seminar participants will discuss questions of fighting cyberterrorism; consider criminalistical methods of fighting cybercrimes, as well as criminal and legal, criminal and procedural, criminalistical problems of information security. We invite scientists, officers from law enforcement bodies, lecturers and post-graduate students to take part in it.
On September 19, 2003, N. Rosenfeld, the CCRC volunteer, is scheduled to defend the Ph.D. thesis “On criminal and legal characteristic of unauthorized penetration into electronic computers, their systems and networks”.
V. Polivanyuk, militia captain and the CCRC researcher, finishes his work on the Ph.D. thesis. The sphere of his scientific researches concerns problems of crimes committed in Ukraine’s banking system.
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