On the Web, the Patrolmen Will Be Private

In December, Commerce Secretary William Daley urged the President and Congress to create a national cyber-security center, in which private firms could exchange information on Internet security threats and strategize to prevent them. Following last week's spate of attacks against major web sites, it's an idea whose time has come — President Clinton endorsed the proposal Tuesday and asked Congress to rubber-stamp $9 million in funding. The creation of the center is an acknowledgment that the federal government is going to act more as jailkeeper than patrolman in policing the Internet. The major leads in the case so far, which have zeroed in on a sophisticated West Coast-based cyber-vandal, a copycat in Canada and a German hacker, have been produced by either private firms or web surfers.

"The FBI is depending heavily on advice and consultation from the technical people at the victim companies in this case," says TIME Justice Department correspondent Elaine Shannon. "Nobody knows these systems and their weaknesses better than the people who design and maintain them." After wrangling with top e-commerce sites over how to best guard against security breaches, the Clinton administration adopted the view that too much regulation and oversight would inhibit dynamism in a sector that's fueled the U.S. economy's record growth. What's more, firms that do business on the Web, particularly financial institutions, are reluctant to divulge any information on their online practices with federal regulators. The proposed center is an attempt for the government to remain hands-on while making it easier for the private sector to police itself.

This has freed the FBI to do what it does best — track criminals through old-fashioned tips and legwork. "They regard this as a crime not much different from a bank robbery," notes Shannon. "Their philosophy's very simple: If you interview enough people, eventually you'll find somebody who knows something. They do not think this is a perfect crime. At some point, they believe, the people who perpetrated this will be bragging either to people they know or in postings on the Web. If you start leaving your handle around, you're leaving a trail the FBI can follow."