Journal # 8 Due Date Mar.7 2010

Is it just as important to chase a theft online as it is on foot? The article that Ive read is speaking of the police actually catching the three men behind the largest virus in the world, reported by spanish authorities. It is said that the virus "botnet" infected approx. 13 million computers worldwide. The network built was Mispora which means butterfly in spanish. The network was built to steal financial information and other personal information from over one hundred countries. The arrest of the men is stated a break through in catching other online criminals. In the article it states that the United States is doing more to fight against cyber crimes, although cybercrimes arent a priority. It is close to impossible for authorities to catch and prosecute cybercriminals, because it is difficult to trace the virus back to one computer. Even if the authorities have found the source they would have to have the jurisdiction to prosecute the cyber theft. It also states that its not a crime to create a bad network but to use a bad network. In the article numerous suggestions are made on how to protect ourselves from becoming victims of cyber crimes. One suggestion was to educate internet users on protecting ourselves by security. The inventor of Symantec is in the process of inventing a behavioral dectecting network, that will dectect a virus by its behavior this will help determine whether the network is a virus or not.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/03/05/cyberattack.prosecute/index.html

I do feel that its just as important to catch and prosecute a cybertheft as it is to catch a person who robs a bank. I do agree that you dont hear much about authority catching those who commit crimes and scams on the internet, I think that it should be taken as serious. I understand that there is no easy way to trace the network or virus back to it original source. If there was a program set or a law stating that no one could create bad network, it would be less crimes on the internet. I think that it is very important for every individual that uses the internet on a daily basis to be educated on ways to protect themselves. The program to detect the behavior of a network is a brillant idea, but what do you do when the next mastermind creates a program to device the detector. I believe the day that one police is assigned to each computer all over the world is the day cybercrimes will no longer be committed. Until all we can do is protect ourselves with anti-virus downloads. Stay protected!