BBC News Online: World

US targets cyber-crime

Business spent $300bn fighting cyber-crime last year

John Ashcroft said the new Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (Chip) units, to be based in cities across the USA from Los Angeles to New York, would be backed up by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Mr Ashcroft was speaking on the day that the White House web site was almost shut down by hackers.

And sceptics say the government is not up to the task of preventing cyber-crime - as illustrated by the latest attack on the White House site.

Jim Dempsey of the Center for Democracy and Technology, an organisation which fights for internet privacy, said, "There is a world of difference between web site vandalism and serious computer crime, like stealing money and stealing proprietary networks.

"You can lock up all the hackers you want, but it is not going to make the networks more secure."

Jail cells

Mr Dempsey believes there are far more hackers than jail cells.

According to a study by the US Justice Department, 85% of US companies and federal agencies have been victims of hackers in the past year.

There will be 48 prosecutors working in the Chip units, who will be targeting hacking, "copyright and trademark violations, theft of trade secrets and economic espionage, fraud and other internet crimes."

Mr Ashcroft justified the move by quoting a study by accountants PriceWaterhouseCoopers that said businesses spent $300 billion fighting hackers and computer viruses last year.

He was speaking in Silicon Valley after discussing security issues with executives of high-technology firms.