His motivation was simple. The upshot is that the Internet has such a complicated construction, and the world's countries have such widely different attitudes and laws on policing, that it would be virtually impossible for a group of engineers to promote a solution. But there is a nagging belief that government leaders are in way over their heads, and therefore probably won't be able to decide on anything constructive. For example, Scott Bradner, a senior technical consultant at Harvard University , spoke at G8 and came away less than impressed with the level of discussion. A lot of the speakers didn't have a clue.
Statistics also point to increased incidents of cybercrime.
The Computer Security Institute reports that 70 percent of computer systems used by Fortune 500 companies and government organizations have recorded unauthorized use of some sort, compared to 42 percent in 1996. At the G8 conference, representatives called for a standard of traceability . The volatile issue of wiretapping also is being debated on the email list. For example, Bellovin said, governments do not understand that the Internet cannot be wiretapped in the same way as a telephone. In a traditional phone network, authorities can trace who makes the call and where it is going.