On Wed, Nov 12, 2008 at 11:30:45AM -0600, Kee Hinckley wrote:
The article expressed a good deal of frustration with the (lack of) speed with which law enforcement has been tackling these issues.
Law enforcement is almost a complete non-factor in dealing with online abuse. Action is erratic, slow and incompetent at best; it tends to only happen when one of four things is true: (a) someone's running for office (b) positive PR is needed (c) a government has been publicly embarrrassed and needs a scapegoat or (d) someone with sufficient political connections, money, and/or power wants it. And even when it happens, it's ineffective: for example, token prosecutions of spammers have done nothing to make the spam problem any better. Multiple spyware vendors have settled their cases for pitifully small sums and then gone right back to work. But even if that weren't true, even if law enforcement worldwide had adequate staff, resources, training, clue, etc. to attempt something useful -- the necessary legal framework really doesn't exist. Abusers can dissolve their shadow companies, form new ones, relocate (possibly across international borders), modify their tactics, etc. Peer-to-peer action continues to be the best available option -- one that needs to be exercised far more often. ---Rsk