Police rail against computer crime

Date: April 05, 2005
Source: Haaretz
By: Galit Yemini

"We are seeing an increase in computer crime. More and more lawbreakers are operating in the field to get what they want faster and better," national fraud squad deputy chief Jackie Bray warned yesterday.

"Violations include Internet gambling and sting operations that glean personal information from individuals including bank account details, in exchange for the promise of huge sums of money. There are incitement and threats, as well as extensive activity by pedophiles," Bray told a press conference organized by Microsoft to mark Safe Internet Day.

"Physical violence is moving into the virtual world, and is no less dangerous and no less violent," Bray added. "It is therefore important to increase awareness of the dangers that exist on the Internet, despite all the positives."

Communications Minister Dalia Itzik sounded particularly militant. "The public doesn't always properly understand the risks of Internet," she said. "Most of the e-mail we get is made in Israel. We want to stop spam through legislation. We shall step up enforcement, add new regulations and allocate resources to fight spam, because the consumer is more important and we must protect his interests."

The Communications Ministry is responsible for granting licenses to Internet service providers, she continued, and it will crack down on them to prevent spamming in the future.

On Internet crime, Itzik said she would be meeting with Supreme Court President Aharon Barak to ensure the justices understand the gravity of such crimes and avoid lenience. "The judges will have to take a course to understand the seriousness of the hazards on Internet," she suggested.

Zuri Dar adds: Startup Blue Security, which develops solutions to fight spam and spyware, offers inclusion in lists of surfers who will be protected from junk e-mail, probably for a fee.

"In the U.S., there are Do Not Call lists designed to prevent companies sending actual marketing material via the mail or placing telemarketing calls," founder and CEO Eran Reshef explained. "We plan to create such a list for spam and spyware, which will hurt spammers' business model. We have the technological capability to enforce the no-spam orders," he assured listeners.

The company yesterday closed a seed financing round of $3 million from venture capital fund Benchmark Capital.

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2005-11-02 12:40:44 - Thank you for the info! Pisho

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