Napolitano asks for broad laws on `cybercrime'
Offenses aren't covered by state criminal code

http://www.azstarnet.com/public/dnews/LX7683.html
Thursday, 9 December 1999

By Howard Fischer
Capitol Media Services

PHOENIX - Attorney General Janet Napolitano wants broad new laws to crack down on ``cybercrime,'' from hacking to kiddie porn.
Napolitano said the state's criminal code has not kept pace with the rapid advances in technology - particularly the popularity of the Internet.
The result, she said, is that some people are getting away with fraud, stalking and criminal mischief because the laws don't cover what they have done.
Even when an existing law can be applied, Napolitano said, prosecution can be difficult. She also said the punishment may not fit the crime.
Key on her list is making certain forms of computer hacking a Class 2 felony, a punishment normally reserved for people convicted of manslaughter or having sex with a minor.
Napolitano noted that hacking - cracking into someone else's computer by phone lines - is not an idle nuisance.
She cited an incident last year in which someone broke into a billing database of the Salt River Project looking to cancel an account.
Once in the system, though, the hacker gained access to the computers that control the entire irrigation canal system, creating a potential danger.
The attorney general also wants to create a new crime of ``cyberstalking.''
She said existing anti-stalking laws require some sort of physical contact. On the World Wide Web, she said, that contact may never take place.
Other types of computer harassment also need new laws, Napolitano said.
Earlier this year, a young man, angry at his former girlfriend, posted pictures of her and assumed her identity on the Internet, Napolitano said.
Then, using her identity, he exchanged sexually explicit e-mail with others, putting the woman in danger of assault by inviting people to her home and office.
Napolitano said there also are gaps in the law in the area of child pornography.
She wants to protect repair technicians and others who report finding child pornography on a computer. Another change would make it illegal to lure a child online with the intent of sexual exploitation.
``You don't solve a problem by writing a law,'' Napolitano acknowledged. She said, though, that police and prosecutors can't arrest and punish people if what they do is simply not covered by existing statutes.
In some cases, Napolitano said she simply needs better legal tools.
For example, she said, tracking down the person responsible for sending computer messages is now difficult since each message goes through so many different computers - with her office needing a new warrant every step of the way.
One proposed change would allow a single warrant to be used to track a message back to its source, no matter how many computers and systems are involved.



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