Network vigilantes should get out of Dodge
By Douglas Welch
08/11/97
Recent events have once again shown that the Internet, despite its
high-tech commercial leanings, is still a lawless Wild West town.
Major Web sites are experiencing denial-of-service attacks, domain
names are being hijacked or turned off, and the common response to any sort
of mass e-mailing is a mail bomb that crashes the sender's mail server.
Meanwhile, the owner of AlterNIC, a company jousting for entrance into
the lucrative domain name assignment market, has been redirecting users
attempting to access the Network Solutions, Inc. Web site, which currently
holds the exclusive right to assign domain names (NW, July 28, page 10).
People are taking the law into their own hands when what is really
needed is a Marshal Dillon to clean up the town.
Obviously, no one wants to see the Internet turned into a police
state. However, we can't afford to become victims of network vigilantes'
misdirected attempts to enforce their interpretation of netiquette.
Vigilantes attack because they do not think their victims have any
legal recourse. So the first step in reducing network vigilantism is to
develop legal remedies.
If you're contemplating doing business on the Internet, have your
corporate lawyer investigate methods of applying current laws to Internet
attacks. There are laws that apply to forgery, libel, fraud and trespassing
in the real world that also should apply in cyberspace. The challenge is to
find the appropriate law and apply it. Better to prepare for such
occurrences now than when you're under attack from a network vigilante.
A few well-prosecuted cases involving application of existing laws
would do wonders to reduce the number of network vigilante attacks. It is
time to get corporate lawyers working with law enforcement agencies and
district attorney offices to provide a new rubric for Internet prosecution.
Legal remedies will require some sort of enforcement organization.
There are a number of excellent nonprofit organizations dedicated to
informing Internet users about viruses and system flaws. However, there is
no group in place to help law enforcement agencies work with companies that
are experiencing vigilante attacks.
Whether this group is an extension of the CERT Coordination Center
(www.cert.org), an organization that currently only warehouses and
disseminates Internet security information, or a newly formed consortium,
we need an enforcement branch that can take on Internet cases. By working
with local, state and federal authorities, this group could help develop a
method for dealing with vigilante-created problems.
For example, one method might involve creating an Internet liaison
within the local police department and district attorneys office. Local law
enforcement often develops liaisons with other law enforcement groups at
many different levels. These same connections could be used to effectively
investigate online attacks.
In addition, companies that use the Internet could help law
enforcement officials computerize their systems and increase their
technical knowledge. Think about donating equipment and offering to help
train law enforcement personnel to use it. The benefits will be returned a
hundredfold as law enforcement begins to understand the problems vigilante
victims face.
If local authorities are not up to speed on investigating computer
crime, there are private solutions for companies willing to pay. Private
investigation firms with computer skills could quickly develop a clientele
of high-tech companies concerned about 'Net vigilantism.
One problem that incites network vigilantism is the inability of
current government and business groups to solve the issues affecting
everyone on the Internet. We have all seen the fight over domain name
distribution, trademarks and the extension of top-level domains escalate.
Until these problems are resolved, the frustration level will continue to
grow and vigilantism with it.
Any solution will require Internet users to work within the existing
system as much as possible and cooperate with one another to resolve these
issues outside the courts.
Lashing out through false domain cancellations, domain spoofing and
other attacks could and should damage the perpetrator's reputation.
Such actions also slow down the acceptance of the Internet as a valid
commercial tool, affecting everyone's bottom line. More companies need to
look back at the cooperative history of the Internet and integrate these
benefits into their operations.
Network vigilantism grows out of frustration and the lack of means to
combat irresponsible, uncooperative or even criminal behavior. It also
grows out of the freewheeling history of the Internet.
Regardless of the cause, taking the law into your own hands is an idea
that should have died with the Wild West. We need to work together, through
proper legal remedies, to protect the Internet.
Welch is a computer consultant and freelance writer in Van Nuys,
Calif. He can be reached via the Internet at dewelch@earthlink.net or
www.digital-res.com/welchwrite/.
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