Cybercops hired to stem internet fraud
Cybercops hired to stem internet fraud
EDITION: 2
SECTION: FEATURES:COMPUTERS
Seeking to stem a "climate of lawlessness" on the internet, the US
securities and exchange commission has filled about half of some 60
new jobs for cybercops to patrol the World Wide Web.
The announcement came after hackers' attacks the week before, that
disrupted several popular Web sites, including that of E*Trade Group
-- the No 2 US online broker firm.
The commission plans to add up to 100 people to its 850-member enforcement
staff of lawyers and analysts, with 50 to 60 of them dedicated to
combating burgeoning internet fraud, the commission's enforcement
director, Richard Walker, said.
Commission chairman, Arthur Levitt, had declared the fight against
internet fraud to be a top priority for the securities' regulator.
The ease of spreading false information through e-mail, chat rooms
and Web sites had made the internet fertile ground for stock fraud.
"We have filled about half the positions, although many of the positions
have been filled with existing staff. We have also hired some new
people," Walker said.
Officials said the internet had become an extraordinarily efficient
and cheap method of conducting stock frauds that used to be the domain
of old-fashioned "boiler rooms" and other scams.
"There is a sort of a climate of lawlessness. `Let's try this, let'
s try that'," Walker told delegates at the conference. "You can't
play games on the internet. It's not Gameboy."
Officials said the commission had a cyberforce of some 250 investigators
who spend part of each week surfing the Web looking for fraud.
The agency oversees some 8500 brokers, 63,000 branch offices of brokerage
firms and more than half a million registered representatives.
Walker called "frightening" a case that came to light this week, in
which someone hacked into a publicly-traded company's Web site and
posted a false notice.
The suspected hacker boosted the stock of Aastrom Biosciences by posting
a fake press release on the company's Web site announcing a merger
with Geron Corp.
"We have to locate the hackers and bring them to justice," Walker
said.
The commission had expressed particular concern about "momentum" sites,
where investors were urged to buy a certain stock at a certain time
in a bid to build momentum to drive its price higher and about "cybersmears"
, in which negative news about a company was disseminated on the internet
to drive down its stock price to enrich short sellers.
A short sale involves selling a borrowed stock in hopes of buying
it back later at a lower price. -- NZPA
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CAPTION:
HACKED OFF: US President Bill Clinton meets with industry leaders
to discuss the computer fraud problem. PICTURE: Reuter
Supplied by New Zealand Press Association
KEYWORDS: GOVERNMENT COMPUTER MISUSE SECURITY INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
USA
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