News

USIS Washington File

21 March 2000

Text: U.S. Department of Justice on Cybercrime

(DOJ launches worldwide web site focused on cybercrime)(920)

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has launched a site on the
Worldwide Web that is intended to serve as a clearinghouse for
information on computer related crime, or cybercrime. According to a
March 13 DOJ press release, information on the site will focus
especially on computer hacking and intellectual property crime.

"Law enforcement wants to work with the public and industry to fight
computer crime," said Martha Stansell-Gamm, chief of DOJ's Computer
Crime and Intellectual Property Section.

The site contains a variety of information on the subject including
government documents and reports, as well as advice for the public
about avoiding and preventing Internet crime. The site can be found at
WWW.CYBERCRIME.GOV

Following is the Department of Justice text:

(begin text) 

U.S. Department of Justice
Washington, D.C.

Monday, March 13, 2000

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT LAUNCHES WEB SITE TO ADDRESS CYBERCRIME 

"WWW.CYBERCRIME.GOV" 

Provides Information On DOJ's Efforts to Stop High-Tech Crime

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Department of Justice today launched a Web
site devoted exclusively to cybercrime at "www.cybercrime.gov." This
resource, created by the Criminal Division's Computer Crime and
Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS), provides information on the
growing area of crimes related to the Internet, focusing on hackers
and intellectual property crime.

"WWW.CYBERCRIME.GOV provides information that can be useful from the
classroom to the courtroom," said James K. Robinson, Assistant
Attorney General for the Criminal Division. "There is a growing
interest in cybercrime from a variety of perspectives ranging from
children, parents and teachers to lawyers, law enforcement, and the
media. This new Web site allows the public to easily access a wide
range of information about the Justice Department's efforts to attack
computer crime."

The Web site includes a wide variety of materials, including: press
releases, speeches by Justice Department officials including the
Attorney General, Congressional testimony, letters and Justice
Department reports. In addition, there is material to help the general
public and law enforcement, including information on how to report
Internet-related cybercrime. Because cybercrime is of special interest
to children and parents, the site also provides a direct link to the
"Internet Do's and Don'ts" section of the Department of Justice's
Kids' page.

Materials on WWW.CYBERCRIME.GOV are organized by subject in 12
"channels." The channels span a broad range of issues related to
computers and crime, including information on prosecuting computer
hacking, intellectual property piracy and counterfeiting, legal issues
related to electronic commerce, freedom of speech, searching and
seizing computers, encryption, privacy, and international aspects of
cybercrime.

"Law enforcement wants to work with the public and industry to fight
computer crime," said Martha Stansell-Gamm, chief of the Computer
Crime and Intellectual Property Section. "By providing easy access to
materials, we hope to inform the public about the special issues
related to cybercrime. Being connected to the World Wide Web also
facilitates our work with law enforcement agencies all over the
world."

Channels on the site include:

--Documents http://www.cybercrime.gov/docs.html

Provides direct links to press releases, speeches, testimony, letters
and reports;

--Investigating and Prosecuting Computer Crime
http://www.cybercrime.gov/compcrime.html

Provides computer crime laws and legislative history, as well as press
releases regarding significant hacker cases;

--Protecting Intellectual Property Rights
http://www.cybercrime.gov/crimes.html

Provides a fully Web-accessible version of the Department's 200-page
manual on "Federal Prosecution of Violations of Intellectual Property
Rights," as well as information on the Justice Department's
Intellectual Property Initiative, announced on July 23, 1999;

--Electronic Commerce http://www.cybercrime.gov/ecommerce.html

Provides materials including Justice Department officials' testimony
on Internet Gambling and the Sale of Pharmaceuticals over the
Internet;

--Speech Issues in the High-tech Context
http://www.cybercrime.gov/speech.html

Provides a variety of reports related to prosecution of
Internet-facilitated hate speech, the availability of bombmaking
materials via the Internet, and cyberstalking;

--Protecting Critical Infrastructures
http://www.cybercrime.gov/critinfr.html

Provides information on addressing the federal government's efforts to
protect the national infrastructures that provide the efficient
delivery of essential services;

--Prosecuting Crimes Facilitated by Computers and by the Internet

http://www.cybercrime.gov/crimes.html

Provides information about the many crimes that are not specifically
related to computers but which are substantially facilitated by the
use of computers;

--Searching and Seizing Computers
http://www.cybercrime.gov/searching.html

Provides Web-based access to the Department of Justice's 1994 manual
on Searching and Seizing Computers, as well as the two subsequent
updates;

--Encryption and Computer Crime http://www.cybercrime.gov/crypto.html

Provides the Department's responses to Frequently Asked Questions
(FAQ) on encryption;

--Privacy Issues in the High-Tech Context
http://www.cybercrime.gov/privacy.html

Provides information on referring potential privacy violations to the
Department of Justice for investigation and prosecution, as well as
testimony of the Department's Chief Privacy Officer on digital
privacy;

--International Aspects of Computer Crime
http://www.cybercrime.gov/intl.html

Provides access to a variety of international materials, including
Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder's remarks from the Vienna
International Child Pornography Conference, September 29, 1999, and
information on efforts of international groups, such as the G-8 and
the Council of Europe;

--Law Enforcement Coordination for High-Tech Crimes
http://www.cybercrime.gov/enforcement.html

Provides information and links to the National Cybercrime Training
Partnership and the National Infrastructure Protection Center and a
link to the Attorney General's speech on January 10, 2000, introducing
the Law Net Initiative;

Assistant Attorney General Robinson praised CCIPS for their leadership
efforts on prosecuting cybercrime, and thanked CCIPS attorney David
Goldstone and Michele Friend, a contractor for the Criminal Division's
Management Information Staff from Logicon Systems, for their efforts
developing the Cybercrime Web site.

(end text)

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: usinfo.state.gov)