Cybercrime Treaty Bibliography -- By Date

2004

U.S. Considering Ratifying Cybercrime Treaty
Posted by timothy on April 25, 2004
"SecurityFocus has a new article on the Council of Europe's "Convention on Cybercrime". The U.S. has already signed the treaty, but it has not yet been ratified by the Senate (although President Bush has written a letter urging the treaty's passage). This treaty, among other items, would require the U.S. to "cooperate with foreign authorities" in conducting surveillance on American citizens who have committed no crime under U.S. law, but may have broken another country's law (selling historic Nazi posters on Ebay? Germany might have you wiretapped), prohibiting the "production, sale or distribution of hacking tools", whatever that means (would Nmap be illegal?) and require the U.S. to pass laws to "force users to provide their encryption keys" and the plain text of their encrypted files. Canada is a signatory as well."

US defends cybercrime treaty
Kevin Poulsen Apr 23 2004
Critics took aim this week at a controversial international treaty intended to facilitate cross-boarder computer crime probes, arguing that it would oblige the US and other signatories to cooperate with repressive regimes - a charge that the Justice Department denied.

Council of Europe ratifies cybercrime treaty
Estelle Dumout March 22, 2004
An 'anti-cybercrime treaty' designed to impose penalties on those breaking the law via the internet, originally adopted in November 2001, is finally to get the green light. It just needed to be ratified by a minimum of five countries in order to come into force and Croatia, Albania, Estonia, Hungary and Lithuania have signed on the dotted line.
The Convention on Cybercrime will come into effect on 1 July next year. The document, touted as the "first international treaty" to deal with breaches of law "over the internet or other information networks" was originally adopted over two years ago. The convention is the fruit of four years of negotiations at the heart of the Council of Europe, a consultative assembly of 43 countries, based in Strasbourg.

Cybercrime Treaty Goes Live
March 19, 2004
Via Michael Geist’s newsletter on Internet law, I learn that the Council of Europe’s cybercrime convention has entered into force due to its fifth ratification — from Lithuania. The US has signed but not yet ratified. The key aspect of the convention is that it imposes a duty on signatories to do Carnivore-like snooping on domestic internet users at the request of a foreign government…so long as the snooping method is consistent with domestic law.

2003

The Seven Reasons Why The Senate Should Reject The International Cybercrime Treaty
December 18, 2003
Reason #1: The treaty lacks privacy and civil liberties protections
Reason #2: The treaty is far too broad
Reason #3: The treaty lacks a “dual criminality” requirement for U.S. cooperation with foreign police
Reason #4: Protection for political activities is too weak
Reason #5: The treaty threatens to further unbalance U.S. intellectual property law
Reason #6: The treaty would give police invasive new surveillance powers
Reason #7: The treaty was drafted in a closed and secretive manner

US cybercrime push ‘imperils personal security’ of Americans
By John Leyden 20th November 2003
White House plans to ratify a Council of Europe Cybercrime treaty will be a disaster for the privacy and security of Americans, Privacy International (PI), the human rights watchdog, claims.

Bush pushes for cybercrime treaty
Declan McCullagh November 18, 2003
In a letter to the Senate on Monday, Bush called the Council of Europe's controversial treaty "an effective tool in the global effort to combat computer-related crime" and "the only multilateral treaty to address the problems of computer-related crime and electronic evidence gathering."
Even though the United States is a nonvoting member of the Council of Europe, it has pressed hard for the cybercrime treaty as a way to establish international criminal standards related to copyright infringement, online fraud, child pornography and network intrusions. The U.S. Department of Justice says the treaty will eliminate "procedural and jurisdictional obstacles that can delay or endanger international investigations."

International Convention on Cybercrime Could Chill Computer Security Research
Carolyn Meinel
The end of today's freedom (or anarchy, depending on one's point of view) to create or possess exploit proof of concept code may now be within sight. Nov. 17, 2003, President George W. Bush submitted the Council of Europe's Convention on Cybercrime to the U.S. Senate. If ratified, this could mean the end of the era of full disclosure of computer exploits. This could mean the end of Happyhacker.org. The end of Zone-h.org. Bye bye, Bugtraq.

Lawmakers finally give cybercrime measure a push
By Erwin Lemuel G. Oliva Sept. 09, 2003
Forty-three member states of the Council of Europe -- including the US, Japan and South Africa, drafted the Budapest cybercrime treaty. The treaty was opened to any country who wishes to sign it

Can Europe block racist Web sites from its borders?
Anita Ramasastry February 6, 2003
Based on a treaty that went into effect in January, Europe is attempting to shut out racist and xenophobic "hate" Web sites. Meanwhile, a new contact network "operating round the clock and seven days a week," is being set up to provide European police forces with immediate assistance with their investigations.

2002

'T0rn' Arrest Alarms White Hats, Advocates
A raid on the alleged author of a well-known hacker toolkit is raising eyebrows among electronic civil libertarians, and putting security researchers on guard
SEPTEMBER 25, 2002
It's not a trend yet, but outlawing hacker tools has never been far from law enforcement thoughts. Last year 33 countries, including the UK and the U.S., signed the Council of Europe's international cybercrime treaty, which recommends prohibiting the creation or distribution of a hacking tool with the intent that it be used to commit a crime, though a last minute change to the treaty allows signatory countries to opt out of the provision.

Will Canada's ISPs become spies?
By Declan McCullagh Staff Writer, CNET News.com August 27, 2002
The Canadian government is considering a proposal that would force Internet providers to rewire their networks for easy surveillance by police and spy agencies.
A discussion draft released Sunday also contemplates creating a national database of every Canadian with an Internet account, a plan that could sharply curtail the right to be anonymous online.
The Canadian government, including the Department of Justice and Industry Canada, wrote the 21-page blueprint as a near-final step in a process that seeks to give law enforcement agents more authority to conduct electronic surveillance. A proposed law based on the discussion draft is expected to be introduced in Parliament late this year or in early 2003.
Arguing that more and more communications take place in electronic form, Canadian officials say such laws are necessary to fight terrorism and combat even run-of-the-mill crimes. They also claim that by enacting these proposals, Canada will be following its obligations under the Council of Europe's cybercrime treaty, which the country is in the process of considering.

Europe Continues Work on Cybercrime Treaty
Posted by michael on Slashdot February 23, 2002
Tosta Dojen writes: "I haven't seen this posted yet, but the Council of Europe is proposing a ban on Internet 'Hate Speech'. Fortunately it looks like some intelligent comments are already being made." This is a continuation of the Cybercrime treaty, which we've mentioned before. Wired had a story about this a few days ago.

Move to Ban Net 'Hate Speech' Draws Praise, Concern
By Bernhard Warner, European Internet Correspondent Feb 22, 2002 (Reuters)
Authors of emails and Internet postings that contain racist or xenophobic material may face criminal charges under a proposed European treaty that is dividing the Internet and law enforcement communities.
The proposal, drafted by the Council of Europe, would essentially outlaw the publishing of "hate speech" on the Internet. Welcomed by law enforcement agencies, it has been slammed by Internet firms as impossible to enforce.

Beefed-Up Global Surveillance?
By Declan McCullagh Feb. 20, 2002 WASHINGTON
An addition to an international treaty could permit police to cooperate more closely on intercepting and decrypting the communications of suspected terrorists.
The Council of Europe, which includes nearly all European nations, is meeting this week to prepare additions to a controversial "cybercrime" treaty that would cover decoding terrorist messages. The United States, Canada and Japan are non-voting members of the council.
Peter Csonka, the head of the Council of Europe's economic crime division, said when the drafting process for the so-called Second Protocol is complete, the document will address "how to identify, how to filter, and how to trace communications between terrorists."

2001

European Union Holds Cybercrime Conference
By Staff, Newsbytes WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 27 Nov 2001
The European Union today organized a conference in Brussels to address online crime issues, after 30 nations on Friday signed the Council of Europe's controversial Convention on Cybercrime treaty, designed to harmonize laws that fight Internet crime.
The E.U. Forum on Cybercrime's Brussels conference was organized as a first plenary session, and invited industry members, as well as law enforcement authorities and privacy protection groups and other parties to comment on E.U. policymaking in the online crime arena.

Thirty Nations Sign Global Cybercrime Treaty
By Brian Krebs, Newsbytes WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 26 Nov 2001
The United States and 29 other nations signed a treaty last Friday establishing common tools and rules for fighting Internet crime. Later this week, all 15 European Union states are expected to introduce a proposal to ratify the core elements of the treaty. The EU hopes to complete the ratification process by June 30, 2003.

30 states sign the Convention on Cybercrime at the opening ceremony
Budapest, 23.11.2001
The Convention on Cybercrime was opened for signature today in Budapest. It is the first ever international treaty on criminal offences committed against or with the help of computer networks such as the Internet.
Ministers or their representatives from the 26 following Member States signed the treaty: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Moldova, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, "the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", Ukraine and the United Kingdom. Canada, Japan, South Africa and the United States, who took part in the drafting, also signed the treaty today. Other non-member States may also be invited by the Committee of Ministers to sign this treaty at a later date.

Anti-terror law bad news for foreign hackers
By D. Ian Hopper Nov. 23, 2001
The Justice Department, using the recently approved antiterrorism law, can now prosecute foreign hackers when they attack computers in their own or other countries outside the United States.
Critics said Wednesday the change could make the United States the world's Internet policeman and set a precedent that would apply American values to the worldwide network.
Prosecutions can occur if any part of a crime takes place within U.S. borders. A large part of the Internet's communications traffic goes through the United States, even in messages that travel from one foreign country to another.

Council of Europe welcomes cybercrime signatures
23rd November 2001
The Council of Europe has confirmed 30 states have signed its treaty on internet crime.
The 26 European members were joined by Canada, Japan, the US and South Africa at a ceremony at the Hungarian parliament in Budapest.
The Convention provides a framework for the fight against hacking, fraud and other crimes committed on computer networks.
The Convention still awaits ratification by at least five states - three from Europe - before it formally comes into force.

Cyber crime treaty signed
James Middleton , 23-11-2001
Thirty member states today signed the first ever international treaty on cybercrime. The Council of Europe's (CoE) Convention on Cybercrime opened for signature today in Budapest and attracted 26 European members as well as Canada, Japan, the US and South Africa.
The CoE said that other non-member states may also be invited by the Committee of Ministers to sign this treaty at a later date. Seventeen European countries including Russia, Denmark and Ireland were among those who did not sign the convention.

Cybercrime pact to target terrorists
November 23, 2001 Agence France-Presse BUDAPEST
European officials backed by the US, Japan, Canada and South Africa signed an unprecedented convention on cybercrime Friday, saying it will help the global anti-terrorist war launched after Sept. 11.
The convention, which will clamp down on online criminals ranging from hackers and terrorists to virus producers to Internet pornographers, was formally opened for signature in a ceremony in Budapest.
In all 29 countries were scheduled to sign the convention immediately. To come into force the convention must first be ratified by at least five countries, including three Council of Europe members.

Cybercrime Treaty Signed
Posted by michael on Slashdot November 23, 2001
lam0r writes: "I can't find a newslink for this, but CNN had on their news ticker that 37 nations, including the United States, had signed a treaty designed to make tracking and prosecuting 'hackers' easier and more efficient. What exactly is defined as 'hacker' is something I haven't been able to find out. ... Why was the public not made aware of this until it was done? Anyone know more about this item than me?" This is the Cybercrime Treaty, which was signed today by 30 nations and which we have posted about before. This analysis is probably the best so far - it might be a little out of date since the treaty has been revised once or twice since it was written, but the basics are still the same.

Europe says cybercrime treaty not ``Big Brother''
BUDAPEST (Reuters) Nov. 23, 2001
A European treaty to combat the growing menace of cybercrime will give law enforcers broad international reach but will not be a ``Big Brother'' type agency, the Council of Europe said Friday.
``Contrary to what has been said in certain circles, we are not going to set up a `Big Brother','' Guy de Vel, CoE's legal affairs director, told a news conference after 30 countries signed the new convention in Hungary's Parliament.

Thirty countries sign cybercrime treaty
Sarah Left November 23, 2001
Thirty countries completed four years of negotiations today by signing a Council of Europe (CoE) convention that gives international law enforcement officers greater powers to coordinate and prosecute computer-assisted crimes.
The anti-cybercrime treaty - the first of its kind - covers 26 European countries as well as the United States, Canada, Japan and South Africa.

Cybercrime Treaty to Be Signed
Posted by michael on Slashdot November 21, 2001
texchanchan writes: "Yahoo reports that "Interior ministers and law enforcement officials from Europe, South Africa, Canada, the United States and Japan will sign the milestone cyber-crime convention.... [because] computer criminals... have moved on from ``innocent'' hacking to fraud, embezzlement and life-threatening felonies."" Feel the spin in that article, from the anonymous "official". We've posted about this treaty before; read the final draft and note it well, particularly the extradition provisions, mutual assistance (some other country gets your country to tap your phones, and send them the data) and the requirements to disclose passwords.

Cybercrime Treaty May Save Lives as Well as Money
By Denes Albert BUDAPEST (Reuters) - November 21, 2001
A European convention to be signed on Friday aims to unite countries in the fight against computer criminals, who have moved on from ``innocent'' hacking to fraud, embezzlement and life-threatening felonies.
Interior ministers and law enforcement officials from Europe, South Africa, Canada, the United States and Japan will sign the milestone cyber-crime convention, which has taken four years to draft, in the Hungarian capital.

Cybercrime Treaty Finally Ready
Reuters Nov. 21, 2001 BUDAPEST
A European convention to be signed Friday will unite countries in the fight against computer criminals, who have moved on from "innocent" hacking to fraud, embezzlement and life-threatening felonies.
Interior ministers and law enforcement officials from Europe, South Africa, Canada, the United States and Japan will sign the milestone cybercrime convention, which has taken four years to draft, in the Hungarian capital.

Cybercrime treaty: Lives at stake too
By Reuters November 21, 2001 BUDAPEST, Hungary
A European treaty to be signed Friday aims to unite countries in the fight against computer criminals, who have moved on from "innocent" hacking to fraud, embezzlement and life-threatening felonies.
One area that is excluded is incitement to racial hatred. Europe is as keen to ban racial hate from the Internet as it is to fight child pornography, but the United States is concerned that including racist and xenophobic Web sites in the agreement would go against the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution on freedom of expression.
Under a compromise deal, racial hatred will be covered by a side protocol to be drafted by next July.
"Europe could ill afford not to mention racial hatred in such an international treaty," the official said. "On the other hand, it could not leave the United States out of such a crucial piece of international Internet legislation."

Cybercrime treaty gets green light
BBC News 12 November, 2001
A controversial treaty that tries to tackle cybercrime has been adopted by the 43-nation Council of Europe.
The treaty tries to standardise just what constitutes cybercrime and allows national police forces to ask their overseas counterparts to help with investigations or even detain suspects wanted in connection with the crimes they commit overseas.
The treaty passed through more than 27 drafts before reaching its final version.
The final document is widely seen as a blueprint that will be followed by other regional organisations and governments when updating existing laws or drafting similar legislation.

Council of Europe - Convention on Cybercrime -- Final Version
[Budapest, 23.XI.2001]

Council of Europe Pushes Net Hate-Speech Ban
Posted by timothy on Slashdot November 10, 2001
omnirealm writes: "The N.Y. Times is reporting that the 43-nation Council of Europe is trying to ban racist and hate speech from the Internet by adding a protocol, or side agreement, to its cybercrime convention, which was stamped for ratification on Thursday."

Europe Moving Toward Ban on Internet Hate Speech
By PAUL MELLER RUSSELS, NYT Nov. 9, 2001
The 43-nation Council of Europe is trying to ban racist and hate speech from the Internet by adding a protocol, or side agreement, to its cybercrime convention, which was stamped for ratification on Thursday. The convention is scheduled to be formally ratified at a meeting in Budapest Nov. 23.
The main text of the convention defines as cybercrimes activities like online child pornography, online fraud and electronic vandalism or hacking, and it sets rules for signatory nations on how the Internet should be policed.
The protocol would add racist Web page content and hate speech over computer networks to the list of cybercrimes, the Council of Europe, a club of European democracies that aims to protect human rights, said.
The United States, which is a signatory to the convention, resisted European moves to include the issue of racist Web sites in the main agreement, because doing so would conflict with the free-speech protections in the First Amendment.

Cybercrime and Patents in Europe
Posted by michael on Slashdot November 09, 2001
Hairy1 writes: "The Council of Europe has been working on a Cyber Crime Treaty for some time. The final version is now available, and makes interesting reading." The submitter points out that treaty signers will be obligated to create legislation, as the UK already has, to force people to disclose passwords and encryption keys to the authorities. The U.S. may well sign this treaty - we've participated in the drafting process. On a slightly different note, people are up in arms because the European Patent Office has decided, apparently on its own, that software programs are patentable.

International Cyber-Sleuths Demand New Powers
By Bernhard Warner, European Internet Correspondent 11/07/01
In September, the Council of Europe approved the Convention on Cybercrime, a historic treatise that lays the foundation for legislation allowing for a greater sharing of information between countries to combat the rise of cybercrime.
The treatise isn't binding, but instead would have to be adopted into law by its 43 European member states and five outside countries including the United States, Canada and Japan.
The treaty is broad, covering crimes committed on the Internet such as fraud, child pornography and violations of computer network security. It also sets up global policing procedures for conducting computer searches, interception of e-mails, and extradition of criminal suspects.

Council of Europe approves cybercrime treaty
Wendy McAuliffe 21st September 2001
The Council of Europe Ministers' Deputies has approved the first international convention on cybercrime, which will set a common criminal policy on the misuse of computer networks and electronic information for terrorist or illegal activity.
The draft will be presented to a meeting of foreign affairs ministers in Strasbourg on 8 November, with the so-called "opening for signature" by member states taking place at an international conference in Budapest at the end of November. The Convention will enter into force when five states -- which must include at least three member states of the Council of Europe -- have ratified it.

International cybercrime treaty gets go-ahead
ZDNet (UK) September 21, 2001 LONDON
The Council of Europe Ministers' Deputies has approved the first international convention on cybercrime, which will set a common criminal policy on the misuse of computer networks and electronic information for terrorist or illegal activity.

First international treaty to combat crime in cyberspace approved by Ministers' Deputies
Strasbourg, 19.09.2001
The Council of Europe Ministers' Deputies have just approved the Convention on Cybercrime.
The Deputies decided to present the Convention for formal adoption to Foreign Affairs Ministers meeting in Strasbourg on 8 November, with the opening for signature by member states taking place at an international conference in Budapest at the end of November. It will enter into force when five states, at least three of which are members of the Council of Europe, have ratified it.

Cybercrime Sanctions
By Alexandra Robbins PC Magazine September 4, 2001
In late June, the U.S., Canada, Australia, Japan, and the 43 member nations of the Council of Europe approved the 27th and final draft of a treaty they believe will make the online world a safer place. But many organizations aren't so sure.
The main purpose of the 113-page International Cybercrime Treaty, the first international agreement on Internet-related criminal offenses, is to provide comprehensive global laws governing Internet use. The treaty covers a range of crimes, including hacking, virus writing, and online copyright infringement. The call for worldwide law enforcement will allow cybercrime violators to be extradited to other nations and will make searching for and seizing evidence from abroad easier for foreign governments. "If we don't have a way to catch these folks, we're making them heroes, because they hack and then get good tech jobs," says Harris Corp. chief security engineer Bill Wall.

Surveillance by Design
WILL A NEW CYBERLAW BYPASS THE U.S. CONSTITUTION?
BY WENDY M. GROSSMAN Scientific American Sept 2001
A legislative move in Europe that would also affect the U.S. is threatening the sometimes controversial ability of Internet users to mask their real-world identities. The move, which is heavily backed by the U.S. Department of Justice, is the cybercrime treaty, designed to make life easy for law enforcement by requiring Internet service providers (ISPs) to maintain logs of users' activities for up to seven years and to keep their networks tappable. The Council of Europe, a treaty-building body, announced its support of the cybercrime effort in June.

Cybercrime treaty flawed, but needed
It may be controversial, but the COE treaty is desperately needed to battle global cybercrime.
By Mark Rasch July 22, 2001
In June 2001, the Council of Europe (COE) meeting in Strasburg adopted yet the latest iteration of the proposal to establish a continent-wide agreement on cybercrime. While the proposal has some flaws -- most notably in the areas of protection of individual privacy and the creation of a new crime of "possession of hacker tools," -- I believe it is a generally moderate proposal, which is necessary to assist governments in protecting their citizens from criminal activity in the new electronic frontier.

Council of Europe Signs Draft Cybercrime Treaty
By IDG, THESTANDARD.COM BRUSSELS June 22, 2001
The blueprint for a global code on cybercrime was agreed on in Strasbourg, France, Friday, paving the way for international rules governing online copyright infringement, online fraud, child pornography and hacking.
The 41 members of the Council of Europe (CoE), plus the U.S., Canada and Japan, signed on to a draft convention on cybercrime that is set to be rubber-stamped at ministerial level in September.

International cybercrime treaty finalized
By Robert Lemos Special to CNET News.com June 22, 2001
A committee on crimes for the Council of Europe signed off Friday on the final draft of a broad treaty that aims to help countries fight cybercrime, but which critics say sacrifices privacy protections.

CyberCrime Treaty
Greg Paulson June 12, 2001
This paper will introduce you to a report highlighting the current state of computer cyber laws in 52 countries. The paper will then examine a proposed new international treaty referred to as ‘Draft Convention on Cybercrime’.

Treaty 'could stifle online privacy'
By BBC News Online Mark Ward 11 June, 2001
Changes to a controversial treaty on cybercrime have done nothing to improve it, say civil liberty campaigners.
In 1997, the 41-nation Council of Europe started work on a cybercrime convention to provide a starting point for countries drafting laws covering malicious hacking, writing and spreading computer viruses, the online dissemination of child pornography and fraud.
In December 2000, 23 organisations, banding together under the banner of the Global Internet Liberty Campaign (GILC), signed a letter condemning the 25th draft of the treaty as "appalling", and warned that it handed law enforcement agencies sweeping powers to snoop and could seriously erode online privacy.

Industry brands cybercrime treaty 'a con trick'
6/8/2001
IT industry gurus have branded the Council Of Europe's Convention on Cybercrime 'foolish, unworkable and a legal con trick'. The controversial treaty provides a blanket legislation to deal with all forms of internet crime from hacking to online pornography.

Comments of the American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Privacy Information Center and Privacy International on Draft 27 of the Proposed CoE Convention on Cybercrime
June 7, 2001
We are offering this letter of comments to the U.S. Department of Justice and the CDPC of the Council of Europe in order to voice our continuing concerns regarding the development and form of the draft Convention on Cybercrime. While we were advised to reserve our comments to optional text and footnotes in order to conform with the interests of the CDPC, we also present our continuing concerns generally in the hope of promoting democratic debate. We represent Non-Governmental Organizations, which are members of the Global Internet Liberty Campaign. This letter addresses only certain portions of the draft Convention and individual signatories may have additional concerns.

Endgame for Cybercrime treaty
A few feel-good touches can't redeem the COE treaty, or the closed-door process that produced it.
By David Banisar, special to SecurityFocus.com June 4, 2001
A few weeks ago, the Council of Europe's (COE) Committee of Experts on Cyber-crime working group met in a closed meeting in Rome to put the finishing touches on the ever-troubling "Draft Convention on Cyber-crime". The touches were light: little more than a feather dusting with a couple of feel-good changes thrown in for good measure.

Will a controversial new cybercrime treaty cause more problems than it solves?
By Dave Cook Originally published in eCFO, June 2001
If cybercriminals are free to cross national borders by venturing through cyberspace, shouldn't law-enforcement agencies be equally free to pursue them? That's the idea behind a controversial treaty currently being considered by members of the Council of Europe (http://conventions.coe.int). The proposal, called the Convention on Cybercrime, is set to be finalized this summer. Council member states from Eastern Europe and the European Union will then have a right to sign, as will the United States.
By signing, countries will be agreeing to define certain activities as cybercrimes. Moreover, each country will ensure that it has authority to take investigative and enforcement measures within its borders, and each will put itself at the service of other signatory countries.

Cyber-crime justifies world government
By Thomas C Greene in Washington Posted: 31/05/2001
The Council of Europe, enthused by considerable American guidance and support, has issued a proposed final draft for an international cybercrime treaty to harmonize statutes related to electronic criminal activity, cross-border police cooperation, and judicial policy throughout Europe and North America, more or less along lines preferred by the United States.

Cyber Crime Treaty Final Activity Report
Strasbourg, 25 May 2001

Cybercrime treaty's a secret policemen's ball
John Naughton Sunday May 13, 2001 The Observer
Is the net a genuinely subversive technology? The honest answer is that we don't know yet. Early signs were promising. Email and the Web enabled new and less restricted forms of communication and publishing. Thomas Paine's dream of a society in which everyone could have their say seemed about to be realised. The traditional gatekeepers of opinion could be sidestepped or marginalised. Communities of activists could be organised and co-ordinated via the net.

Dark side of cybercrime fight
An international treaty on law enforcement for the web poses unsettling questions about civil liberties
Published: May 9 2001 Last Updated: May 10 2001
Now even that most perfectible of criminal technologies, the free and lawless internet, is about to be nabbed. Perhaps as early as Thursday, European negotiators will finish the final draft of a treaty on law enforcement in cyberspace under the auspices of the Council of Europe, a 43-nation intergovernmental body. Several other non-European governments, including the US, have worked on the treaty with the aim of eventually signing it.

Cybercrime Treaty Underway
by Jovi Tanada Yam REPRINTED FROM: BusinessWorld MAY 3, 2001 ARTICLE ID: 729
The Cybercrime Treaty is an international law enforcement regime that makes it easier for prosecuting countries to get evidence from abroad and to extradite and prosecute foreign nationals for certain kinds of crimes. The treaty has three primary sets of provisions. All three are aimed at setting basic computer -related criminal law standards for signatory nations.
First, it would require nations to outlaw such things as unauthorized computer intrusion; the release of viruses; and the use of a computer to commit acts that are already crimes, such as fraud and the distribution of child pornography. Moreover, there is a move to bring copyright under criminal law and the expansion of child pornography statutes to so-called virtual child porn.
Second, the treaty requires nations to develop standard procedures to capture and retrieve online and other forms of information. Nations would have to be able to issue "retention orders" that would "freeze" data on any computer. Governments would also need the ability to capture in real time the time and origin of all traffic on a network, including telephone networks.
Third, national governments would have to cooperate with other nations in sharing electronic evidence across borders. And this cooperation requirement would apply to all crimes - not just the cybercrimes laid out in the first section of the treaty, but crimes in every signatory country.

Cybercrime treaty a step closer to becoming law
By Rick Perera April 25, 2001
A CONTROVERSIAL INTERNATIONAL treaty aimed at combating online crime has entered the home stretch before ratification. The parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe issued its approval for the current draft of the treaty Tuesday, spokeswoman Sabine Zimmer said. It now goes back to a committee of experts for the creation of the final draft.
"The treaty could be open for signatures [by member nations] by the end of this year," Zimmer said.
The 43-nation Council of Europe, not affiliated with the European Union, has spearheaded the treaty, which will be open for non-European countries to join as well. Experts from Australia, Canada, Japan, and the United States are involved in the drafting process, Zimmer said. Signatory countries will be obliged to criminalize certain offenses and to cooperate internationally in prosecuting online crime.

Cybercrime treaty moves closer
April 24, 2001 PARIS, France
The Council of Europe has moved a step closer to finalising an international treaty on cybercrime.

Implications Of The International Cybercrime Treaty
Posted by timothy on Slashdot April 12, 2001
Saber Taylor writes: "Lots of good .signature material in this analysis: 'The treaty imposes criminal liability on businesses if they fail to supervise users who commit potentially illegal acts.', 'If you cable together two computers, you could be forced to comply with investigations that originated in Sofia or Riga.', etc." Maybe this is what's meant by "entangling alliances." Worth reading, wherever you fall on the paranoia scale.

International Treaty on Cybercrime Poses Burden on High-Tech Companies
Mike GodwinIP Worldwide April 5, 2001
Maybe you're a civil libertarian, and maybe you're not. Maybe you worry about how the United States exercises its vast investigative and prosecutorial powers, and maybe you don't.
But if you counsel U.S. corporations on computer-related issues, you should be concerned about a new proposed treaty known as the "Convention on Cybercrime." The Council of Europe, a 43-nation public body created to promote democracy and the rule of law, is nominally drafting the treaty. Curiously, however, the primary architect is the U.S. Department of Justice.

Treaty on Cybercrime Sounds Like A Great Idea Until You Read The Fine Print
By Mike Godwin IP Worldwide, April 2001
Maybe you're a civil libertarian, and maybe you're not. Maybe you worry about how the United States exercises its vast investigative and prosecutorial powers, and maybe you don't.
But if you counsel U.S. corporations on computer-related issues, you should be concerned about a new proposed treaty known as the "Convention on Cybercrime." The Council of Europe, a 43-nation public body created to promote democracy and the rule of law, is nominally drafting the treaty. Curiously, however, the primary architect is the United States Department of Justice.

Reading the Fine Print on the Cybercrime Treaty
Posted by michael on Slashdot March 24, 2001
Anonymous Coward writes: "Mike Godwin, Former Counsel to the Electronic Frontier Foundation and author of Cyber Rights writes about a new international treaty on cybercrime known as the "Convention on Cybercrime." The Council of Europe, a 43-nation public body created to promote democracy and the rule of law, is nominally drafting the treaty. The primary architect is the United States Department of Justice which is using a foreign forum to create an international law-enforcement regime that favors the interests of the feds over those of ordinary citizens and businesses."

International cybercrime treaty advances slowly
BY Bruce McConnell March 19, 2001
Early this month, I was the leadoff witness at the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly’s Legal Affairs and Human Rights Committee hearing on its draft treaty on cybercrime. The United States and other non-European countries have participated in drafting its text, which many other countries are expected to sign. Signers would then bring their national laws into conformance with the treaty. Thus, the council is creating a model law on cybercrime for the world.

Privacy groups beat up Net crime treaty
By Robert MacMillan March 09, 2001
With a predictable absence of law enforcement representation at the Computers Freedom and Privacy 2001 conference, privacy advocates took turns aiming blows at the Council of Europe's cyber-crime treaty.
The hotly reviled treaty, now in its likely final draft, is expected to come up for a ratification vote in the Council of Europe in September, at which time Banisar said opponents of the treaty would have to work country-by-country through the 41 members of the council to try to halt its spread in its current form.
Halpert and Banisar did not comment on which particular lawmakers they might approach in the Senate Foreign Relations and Judiciary Committees to mount opposition to the treaty, but Halpert noted that the Justice Department has insisted that it will not have to change current U.S. wiretapping and other surveillance laws to comply with the treaty.
Halpert, who represents the Commercial Internet eXchange (CIX) and the NetCoalition lobbying groups, told Newsbytes that the treaty would be a far better plan for trying to control cyber-crime across country borders if it were drafted on a far smaller scale.

Europe Slaving Over Cybercrime
Mar. 6, 2001 PARIS
As Europe moves closer to an ambitious international treaty on cybercrime, Internet industry specialists on Tuesday raised concerns that the final version might endanger users' privacy.
Four years in the works and now in its 25th draft, the Council of Europe's treaty is likely to be ready for signature by year's end. But some industry observers say the convention could stifle the Net's free-for-all nature by giving governments too much power.

2000

Cybercrime and Punishment
An international coalition is soon to pass a cybercrime treaty that will be good for online business. Here's why.
By Matt Gallaway, December 19, 2000
Hackers, beware. This month, the Council of Europe (comprising 41 countries, including all European Union members) -- along with the United States, Canada, Japan, and South Africa -- is putting the finishing touches on a treaty that will create international standards to enforce laws against crime on the Internet. The final version is scheduled to be completed by the beginning of next year, at which point participating countries must implement legislation to conform to requirements of the treaty.

Cybercrime treaty condemned
By BBC News Online internet reporter Mark Ward 18 December, 2000
A draft European treaty on cybercrime has been condemned as "appalling" by civil liberty groups around the globe.

Cybercrime treaty still horrible
The Council of Europe sees no problems, hears no problems, knows no problems.
By David Banisar December 14, 2000

Cybercrime treaty still doesn't cut it
By Robert Lemos, ZDNN December 13, 2000
The Global Internet Liberty Campaign says the latest iteration of an international cybercrime treaty falls short of the mark.

Cybercrime treaty may conflict with UN declaration
Will Knight 12 Dec 2000
Will the Universal Declaration of Human Rights be enshrined in international cybercrime law

Nations Urged Not To Sign Cybercrime Treaty
By Brian Krebs, Newsbytes WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 12 Dec 2000
An array of privacy and high-tech groups urged nations of the world not to sign the final draft of an international cybercrime treaty, saying the latest round of changes to the document would not dilute the agreement's threat to innovation and consumer privacy online.
In a letter to Council of Europe (CoE) Secretary General Walter Schwimmer and CoE Committee of Experts on Cyber Crime, the Global Internet Liberty Campaign (GILC) followed up on an Oct. 18 appeal to scale back certain aspects of the treaty.

Proposed cybercrime laws stir debate at conference
By Patrick Thibodeau (Dec. 08, 2000) WASHINGTON
Lots of countries still haven't updated their laws to cover Internet-based crimes, leaving companies in many parts of the world without legal protections from malicious hackers and other attackers who are looking to steal their data, according to a new report released yesterday by a technology consulting firm based here.

U.S. Chamber Opposes European Cyber Crime Treaty
Frank Coleman/Linda Rozett (202)463-5682/888-249-NEWS December 8, 2000

Privacy a Likely Loser in Treaty
by Declan McCullagh and Nicholas Morehead Dec. 7, 2000
A controversial cybercrime treaty supported by the Clinton administration likely will not be amended to include privacy protections, a key European official said on Thursday.

U.S. Embraces European Computer Crime Proposal
By Jim Wolf December 4, 2000 WASHINGTON (Reuters)
The United States has endorsed the gist of a controversial European drive to tighten cybercrime laws over the protests of privacy, civil liberties and human rights advocates.
The central provisions of the 41-nation Council of Europe's latest draft convention ``are consistent with the existing framework of U.S. law and procedure,'' the Justice Department said in a Friday posting on its cybercrime Web site.

Frequently Asked Questions and Answers About the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime (Draft 24REV2)
FBI, December 1, 2000

Tech Groups Still Wary Of International Cyber-Crime Treaty
By Brian Krebs, Newsbytes WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 01 Dec 2000
A coalition of high-tech companies voiced concern over the Council of Europe's latest revisions to its international cyber-crime treaty, saying the modified language still imposes burdensome data preservation requirements on Internet service providers, and could potentially restrict legal activities online

No ban on hacking tools
Daily News 30 November 2000
The Council of Europe has dropped proposals to outlaw the use of hacking tools by IT departments, following an intense lobbying campaign by businesses.
The proposals were contained in the Council of Europe’s Convention on Crime in Cyberspace, which aims to make it easier for law enforcement agencies to collaborate internationally. The council provoked a storm of protest by including proposals in the treaty that would have made it illegal for anyone to disseminate software and techniques that could be used by hackers to illegally access systems.

Cybercrime treaty gets a makeover
14 Nov 2000
Stunned by criticism from cyberrights activists, the Council of Europe works to revise the first worldwide treaty on Internet crime

Cybercrime Treaty Draft: Take 23
Reuters Nov. 13, 2000
The world's first cybercrime treaty is being hastily redrafted after Internet lobby groups assailed it as a threat to human rights that could have "a chilling effect on the free flow of information and ideas."
The Council of Europe, a 41-nation human rights watchdog based in Strasbourg drawing up the treaty, plans to issue a new draft late this week to clarify passages that led to what it sees as serious misunderstandings, a senior official said.

European Cybercrime Treaty 1.1
Posted by jamie on Slashdot November 13, 2000
(eternal_software) writes: "Reuters is reporting that the world's first cybercrime treaty is being redrafted after Internet lobby groups assailed it as a threat to human rights that could have 'a chilling effect on the free flow of information and ideas.'" The Council of Europe has added new passages to clarify, according to Reuters, "that 'cracking' computer systems to test security is legal and that ISPs would only be asked to store specific data related to a suspected crime."

Historic Cybercrime Treaty Gets Last-Minute Remake Broken Link
By Tom Heneghan November 13, 2000
The world's first cybercrime treaty is being hastily redrafted after Internet lobby groups assailed it as a threat to human rights that could have ``a chilling effect on the free flow of information and ideas.''
The Council of Europe, a 41-nation human rights watchdog based in Strasbourg drawing up the treaty, plans to issue a new draft late this week to clarify passages that led to what it sees as serious misunderstandings, a senior official said.
The civil servants negotiating the treaty, which is due to be completed next month, were inundated with over 400 e-mails after they published the text -- in its 22nd draft -- on the Council's new Web site in April.

Combating Internet crimes and threats
by Eric J. Sinrod November 07, 2000
With cybercrime on the rise, even more attention is being paid to using the law to fight the cybercrooks

Executives call for delay in cyber crime pact
By Rick Perera rick_perera@idg.net Nov. 6, 2000
THE Global Internet Project (GIP), made up of a group of business executives dedicated to fostering the development of the Internet, called Monday for more dialogue on a proposed convention on crime in cyberspace.
At a press conference here, the GIP urged the Council of Europe to delay its self-imposed deadline of December for completion of the treaty. The Council, which has 41 member countries and is not affiliated with the European Union, released a draft of the convention on Oct. 2. It is widely expected that other countries beyond Europe, including the United States, will also adopt the final convention
The draft convention would impose heavy record-keeping burdens on ISPs and make them liable for the actions of others, according to the GIP.
The draft would empower authorities to demand "subscriber information under (a) service provider's possession or control," and to "compel a service provider to ... collect or record or cooperate and assist the competent authorities in the collection or recording of content data ... transmitted by means of a computer system."

Council of Europe Cybercrime Treaty Analysis
by Jason Wallace November 2, 2000
If adopted, will its vague nature trample on your civil rights or protect you from villains on the net?

Cybercrime treaty gets it wrong ... again
By Weld Pond, @stake, Special to ZDNet November 1, 2000
The Council of Europe's latest cybercrime treaty, which bans "hacker tools," is another case of trying to solve society's problems with the legal system. Most of the laws passed over the last 20 years to protect privacy and security in this electronic age aren't really effective; preventative security measures are really the only viable solution.

Cybercrime Treaty Raises Concern
Associated Press Oct. 28, 2000
Critics of a proposed international cybercrime convention voiced fears Friday that the treaty might allow governments to ``wire tap'' information passing along the Internet and hamper companies from testing their own security systems.

Global hacker agreement could affect bug hunters
By Gwendolyn Mariano Staff Writer, CNET News.com October 27, 2000
An international treaty aiming to crack down on cybercrime could go too far by prohibiting tools commonly used by legitimate computer researchers to discover and fix software vulnerabilities, computer security experts say.

EU pact criminalizing security research?
At DEF CON in Amsterdam, computer security experts say the draft of Europe's Cybercrime Treaty could spark a 21st century witch hunt.
By Bob Sullivan, MSNBC October 25, 2000
Meet the world's newest class of persecuted artists: computer hackers.

'Hacking' To Be Declared Illegal
Posted by CmdrTaco on Slashdot October 25, 2000
Sowalsky writes sent us an MSNBC story that talks about hacking being declared illegal. Talks about the difference between hacking and cracking, but more importantly, how the Draft Cybercrime Treaty would make things like BugTraq illegal, as publishing exploits would be aiding and abetting.

Cybercrime treaty targets hackers
Computer scientists fear impact on security research
By Bob Sullivan © MSNBC AMSTERDAM, Oct. 24, 2000
Meet the world’s newest class of persecuted artists: computer hackers. European Union nations, and perhaps even the United States, are about to make nearly any form of hacking even security research illegal by treaty. The possibility scares a group of top European computer security experts gathered in Amsterdam this week so much that one declared, It’s the witch hunt of the 21st century.

Drafty Treaty
By Juliana Gruenwald, Inter@ctive Week October 22, 2000
U.S. high-tech companies and privacy advocates around the world are becoming increasingly alarmed about a European cybercrime treaty aimed at harmonizing laws and increasing cooperation among law enforcement.

Computer crime treaty threatens human rights
Will Knight 19 Oct 2000
Liberties groups take aim at Council of Europe over its draft cybercrime treaty

Cybercrime Treaty Fight Begins
Posted by Hemos on Slashdot October 19, 2000
Deskpoet writes "This article on ZDnet details how the Global Internet Liberty Campaign, based in Europe, is rising up to create awareness of this perfidy-in-action. There's also info about how it's really US law enforcement that's driving this thing. Your tax dollars at work."
David Brin's view, as expressed in The Transparent Society, was precisely this: the People need to watch the Watchers, and be every bit as vigilant as the Government is in their surveillence of us.

Coalition Slams Cybercrime Treaty
By Robert Lemos, ZDNet News October 18, 2000
A coalition of 28 international cyber-rights organizations have come out against a draft treaty on cybercrime that could broaden European and U.S. law enforcement powers online -- outlawing network security tools and requiring companies to keep extensive logs of the traffic on their systems.

Global Internet Liberty Campaign Member Letter on Council of Europe Convention on Cyber-Crime
Oct 18, 2000
GILC Members Release Letter Opposing Cyber-Crime Convention. Twenty-eight GILC member organizations from around the world have urged the Council of Europe to reject the current version of its Convention on Cyber-Crime. The letter from the organizations states that provisions of the treaty runs contrary to internationally accepted human rights norms and would infringe on the free speech and privacy rights of all Internet users.

Police Treaty a Global Invasion?
by Declan McCullagh Oct. 17, 2000
Civil liberties groups are vexed over a proposed treaty that would grant more surveillance powers to U.S. and European police agencies, and expand copyright crimes.

Council of Europe Cybercrime Treaty -- Draft
by Bruce Schneier October 15, 2000 Crypto-Gram

Interpol orders immediate cybercrime action
Will Knight 11 Oct 2000
International law enforcer calls for immediate co-operation to fight escalating cybercrime phenomenon

Europeans defining the long arm of the cyberlaw
Juliana Gruenwald, Inter@ctive Week 09 Oct 2000
Proposal calls on countries to pass uniform laws to ban hacking devices and require countries to allow law enforcement officers to conduct computer and network searches and seizures

Cybercrime Treaty : Take Two
The new, improved draft of the international Cybercrime treaty is out, and David Banisar says it's bigger and badder than ever.
By David Banisar October 8, 2000

U.S. And EU Ready International Cybercrime Treaty
Posted by Hemos on Slashdot September 26, 2000

Nations struggling to fight cybercrime
High-tech industry groups and privacy advocates are considering an international treaty on cybercrime. But, can we all agree on one plan?
Juliana Gruenwald, Inter@ctive Week 25 Sep 2000
European and US officials are moving toward a final draft of the world's first international treaty on cybercrime, a broad effort that high-tech industry groups and privacy advocates fear could intrude on personal privacy and hamper e-commerce.

Other International Cybercrime Treaty Movement
Contributed by: JasonW September 25, 2000

A Proposal for an International Convention on Cyber Crime and Terrorism
Abraham D. Sofaer Seymour E. Goodman Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar Ekaterina A. Drozdova David D. Elliott Gregory D. Grove Stephen J. Lukasik Tonya L. Putnam George D. Wilson August 2000 Jointly Sponsored By: The Hoover Institution The Consortium for Research on Information Security and Policy (CRISP) The Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) Stanford University

Panel: 'Cyberweapons' Control Needed
Government officials say a global cybercrime treaty won't chill legitimate security work.
By Kevin Poulsen September 12, 2000
An international ban on malicious computer code could be fully implemented in as little as two years, and would provide law enforcement agencies with a powerful tool in the war on computer crime, according to officials from the U.S. and Europe speaking at the InfowarCon 2000 conference here Tuesday.

The Convention on Cybercrime: Why It Will Do Far More Harm Than Good Link Broken
Kurt Seifried, seifried@securityportal.com July 19, 2000
The Council of Europe recently released a draft of a document called the "Draft Convention on Cybercrime." This document is meant as an international treaty governing "cybercrime" and an attempt to standardize law for easier prosecution of attackers (some countries have no laws specifically governing computer attacks).

Cybercrime Treaty Under Fire
The biggest names in computer security say an international agreement threatens to leave the criminals holding all the cards.
By Kevin Poulsen July 13, 2000

Cyber-crime laws emerge, but slowly
by James Evans IDG.net July 5, 2000
During May, representatives of the G8 group of nations, representing the world's leading industrialized countries and Russia, met in Paris and agreed to boost cooperation to fight cybercrime.
Participants there confirmed their support of the Strasbourg, France-based Council of Europe's efforts to finalize a Convention on Cybercrime, which will be the first international treaty to deal with the different forms of criminal activity in cyberspace. The 41-nation council opened its membership to Japan, the U.S., South Africa, Canada and Israel for development of the treaty.
The treaty would require countries to approve and enforce laws regarding interception of data, interference with computer systems and fraud and forgery via the Internet. It also requires them to provide national law enforcement the authority to carry out computer searches and seizures of computer data.

Fighting cybercrime worldwide
by Eric J. Sinrod May 23, 2000
Since the beginning of time, people have broken the rules for their own advantage or simply to wreak havoc on others. As more and more of us go online, criminal activity has infiltrated the Net.
In February, we witnessed the massive denial-of-service attacks on popular websites such as Yahoo (YHOO) and Amazon.com (AMZN). More recently, we have seen the worldwide impact of the Love Bug virus, which caused an estimated $10 billion worth of damages.
In the first week that the International Fraud and Complaint Center opened this month, the center reportedly received 3,700 complaints.

G8 agree to reinforce cooperation on cybercrime
by Elizabeth de Bony, IDG News Service\Brussels Bureau May 17, 2000

The Doghouse: Cybercrime Treaty
by Bruce Schneier May 15, 2000 Crypto-Gram

Rich Nations to Team Up Against Cyber Crime Broken Link
The Group of Eight, a consortium of leading industrialized nations, will discuss ways to fight sophisticated computer crime.
By Reuters May 15, 2000
Leading industrialized nations, faced with a growing threat from global computer viruses like the devastating "Love Bug," were set to meet Monday to discuss ways to coordinate their fight against cyber crime.
The Group of Eight (G8) meeting in Paris will exchange tips on how to combat increasingly sophisticated computer crimes which are capable of shutting down computers across the planet, threatening security and causing billions of dollars of damage.

Cybercrime summit on its way to Belfast
Original Link (not available)
By Aoidin Scully 12/5/00
A consortium of 41 international technology associations representing the global IT industry is to hold a major summit in Belfast next summer to tackle cybercrime.
A large number of cross-industry business executives and international government officials are expected to attend the World Information Technology and Services Alliance's (WITSA) Infosec Global Summit to be held in Belfast's Waterfront Hall on 31 May and 1 June, 2001.
The initiative follows a growing number of on-line banking, e-business security breaches and attacks on high profile Web sites including Yahoo and CNN.

Cybercrime Solution Has Bugs
by Declan McCullagh May. 3, 2000
U.S. and European police agencies will receive new powers to investigate and prosecute computer crimes, according to a preliminary draft of a treaty being circulated among over 40 nations.

Cybercrime treaty
cve-editorial-board-list@lists.mitre.org
Adam Shostack 3 May 2000

World Cybercrime Treaty May Be Underway
By Steve Gold, Newsbytes Special to the E-Commerce Times January 14, 2000
Unconfirmed reports circulating on the Usenet suggest that the U.S. government is working with the European Union (EU), Japan, Canada and other countries, including South Africa, on a draft cybercrime treaty that would try to ban hacking and Internet eavesdropping utilities.

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