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We Need International Treaty Or Convention To Put Down Hackers and Computer Viruses Statement by Dr Tan Seng Giaw, DAP National Vice-Chairman and MP for Kepong on the release of a man detained in Manila in connection with the destructive Love Bug yesterday. 10 May 2000 | |||||||
| On 4 May 2000, ILOVEYOU virus caused about US$10 billion in damage to Internet especially in North America. No immediate arrest was made. The culprit or culprits could have destroyed the evidence in the computers. Four days later, Philippine police detained a man and a woman. The man was released the following day because of lack of evidence. The police had no cyberlaws to make such an arrest. It had to resort to the Access Devices Act which is said to be designed to fight the cloning of cellular-phone number. Although the police continues to study the computers and software picked up from the suspects' office, it is a tedious job to sieve through the materials for evidence. In computer crimes, rapid actions are essential before the suspects expunge the evidence. The Philippines does not have appropriate cyberlaws to apprehend cybercrime suspects and culprits. Malaysia does have cyberlaws. Although the Energy, Pos and Multimedia Minister Datuk Leo Moggie has said with his tongue in his cheek that there is no need to revise these laws, we know that they have to be reviewed and amended to cope with increasing computer break-ins, diddling and other cybercrimes such as the LOVE BUG stampede. To identify and put down a hacker is very difficult, almost impossible. They can be hundreds or thousands of miles away from the place where the most damage is done. There are millions of computer in the world. Therefore, we require stringent cyberlaws which are constantly amended | |
to keep pace with the rapid advancement. Once a culprit is caught, can he or she be extradited to the country in which he or she has incurred the most damage? This is a gray area as there is no treaty or convention on cybercrimes. It is strange especially when the losses from such crimes are colossal. We have convention or bilateral agreement on extradition, dealing with escaped criminals, not cyber criminals. We have to make amend as soon as possible. A treaty is a formal agreement between two or more sovereign states. For it to go into effect, it has to be ratified. A convention is an agreement between states relating to a single topic such as extradition. We need a world cybercrimes summit, not just for seven industrialized nations only, as reported. Cybercrimes treaty or convention should be at the top of the agenda. As there are no international boundaries in these crimes, international cooperation is essential. For example, if the LOVE BUG is proven to be from the Philippines, immediate assistance can come from any country which has ratified the treaty or convention. If necessary, the culprit can be extradited to the country in which he or she has done the most damage. We shall continue to speak out on these gray areas within and outside Parliament. We believe that it is not just programmes for informaton technology development that matter. Enforceable cyberlaws and international treaty or convention on cybercrimes are equally important.
Dr Tan Seng Giaw | |||||
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