No Nation Can Combat Cybercrime Alone, Attorney General Says
By Anastasya Lloyd-Damnjanovic
Staff Writer
Washington - Emphasizing that no nation or government can combat cybercrime
alone, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder urged greater international cooperation
in developing a global strategy to fight a variety of Internet- and
technology-based crimes at the Singapore Academy of Law in Singapore July
19.
"In this new era of seamless commerce and instant communication, we've seen
businesses prosper and innovation thrive unlike ever before. But the
cutting-edge technologies that we now rely on have also created new
vulnerabilities," he said. "And a growing number of criminals are actively
seeking to exploit them in ways that can inflict significant, lasting harm on
innovators, consumers and entire countries."
Holder's speech at the academy was part of a two-day stop in the Southeast
Asian city-state that included meetings with his Singaporean counterpart and
other government officials. During the trip, Minister for Law K. Shanmugam and
Holder signed the Preventing and Combating Serious Crime (PCSC) agreement, which
increases information-sharing between the two governments to more effectively
respond to transnational organized crime and terrorism. After Holder's meetings
with the minister for foreign affairs and the minister for law, both sides
reaffirmed their commitment to enhancing the strong legal partnership between
the United States and Singapore.
Greater international cooperation in fighting cybercrime is vital because
cybercriminals can perpetrate crimes with devastating consequences against any
country or company in the world, but unlike criminals on the street,
cybercriminals are not deterred by the physical presence of law enforcement
officials.
"Cybercrime knows no boundaries - attacks launched in Southeast Asia can
disrupt financial systems in America; counterfeit products manufactured in China
can be made available for sale to anyone on the Internet," he said. "And
cybercriminals can now operate beyond the reach of traditional law enforcement
mechanisms - using technology to steal information and commit financial fraud
half a world away, and with just a keystroke can mount cyber attacks against
infrastructure networks that span numerous countries."
A coordinated international response to cybercrime is also necessary to
protect common values like personal privacy and personal freedom, Holder said.
Some progress toward achieving this goal has already been made. The Department
of Justice's efforts to deepen bilateral engagement with such partners as
Germany, Brazil, Hungary, Hong Kong, China and now Singapore in the past three
years have yielded constructive dialogue on the development of a global strategy
for cybercrime. The Justice Department has also increased outreach and exchange
programs with allied countries' legal officials, beefed up its international law
enforcement efforts, participated in cyber or intellectual property enforcement
training and educational programs, and assembled task forces for a variety of
cyber-related crimes.
Holder praised the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime's mutual legal
assistance framework and provisions that give signatories the tools to fight
cybercrime as "the most important of these international collaborations [on
fighting cybercrime]." Acknowledging Japan's ratification of the convention last
month, he urged Singapore to follow suit but expressed optimism about measures
against cybercrime already under way in the Southeast Asian city-state, such as
the construction of the INTERPOL Global Complex for Innovation. Scheduled to
open in 2014, the complex will enhance the global response to cybercrime by
training law enforcement officials in police tactics, forensic analysis and
database capabilities.
Nations must come to terms with the fact that cybercrime will continue to
evolve and develop a comprehensive strategy to fight the shape-shifting threats
in order to protect national security and civilians.
"Today, together, it's time to ask: What can we do to confront the shared
threats that we face? How can we ensure that our partnership and coordination
remain an example for other nations around the world?" he said. "'And perhaps
most importantly, we must consider: How can we achieve these objectives while
safeguarding civil liberties and honoring our democratic institutions?"
An appropriate balance between security and liberty must be achieved,
Holder emphasized. Because democratic values are often a nation's most valuable
tools for ensuring peace and security in times of crisis, they cannot and must
not be compromised in a country's efforts to fight cybercrime.
(This is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs,
U.S. Department of State.)
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