Reno Unveils Global Plan To Fight Computer Crime

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, Dec. 10 ) -- Eight of the world's industrialized nations have united behind a plan to fight international computer crime, Attorney General Janet Reno announced today.

"Today, we reached agreements that will boost our ability to combat international high-tech and computer-related crime and help us better assist each other in a broad range of law-enforcement matters," Reno said during a news conference.

U.S. officials have been meeting over the past few days with interior and justice ministers from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia.

In addition to the ways new technologies improve daily life, Reno said that preparations must be made for the dangers of the computer age. "Computers and networks are also opening up a new frontier of crime," she said. "Criminals no longer are restricted by national boundaries."

To stop global digital crime, nations "must work together as never before," Reno said.

The attorney general outlined several steps the eight countries have committed to to facilitate the investigation and prosecution of high-tech crimes.

Among them are supplying enough trained and equipped law-enforcement personnel. Global contacts reachable on a 24-hour basis will also be established to allow the immediate tracking of computer criminals and to provide support.

The development of faster ways to trace hackers coming through computer networks is another of the group's priorities.

The nations also agreed that when extradition of a criminal is not possible because of nationality, the accused would be prosecuted by his or her native country with the same intensity a victim nation would have devoted. This agreement was extended to all extraditable crimes, not just computer crimes.

"This is important," Reno explained, "because too often a criminal will flee a country and return to his or her homeland, hoping to escape justice if extradition is not possible. Now, that will change."

The nations also agreed they must work with the computer industry to develop new solutions to "detect, prevent and punish computer crimes," Reno said.

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