They know they must take care of their own security. For the past four years, the Clinton administration has asked Congress for additional staff to prosecute computer crime. To date, the answer has been a consistent refusal. There was just one cybercrime prosecution for every 50 private industry complaints in 1998, according to the latest Justice Department figures. Computer crime skyrockets While funding for prosecutors remains static, computer crime has quadrupled over the past three years, according to a survey by the FBI and San Francisco's Computer Security Institute.
Hackers know authorities are overwhelmed.
EBay, the leading Internet auction site with more than 4.1 million items up for sale at any given time, fights a constant battle against hacking, fraud and illegal deals. If the government is going to come out and vow action in these sorts of cases, they need to provide resources, not just the promises. Companies are understandably reluctant to share sensitive proprietary information about prevention practices, intrusions and actual crimes with either government agencies or competitors. No Share your thoughts about corporate snooping habits of e-mail, phone, and web surfing. More NewsCenter Forums.