Re: Anti-Electronic Racketeering Act of 1995 (fwd)

[Allen Robinson <sebaygo@intellinet.com>]

I'm posting this again, not because I think it contains any
particularly profound insights, but rather because I initially
sent it around midnight last night and it was not reflected
here so I suppose it did not make it out.

AR

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 14 Jul 1995 00:12:14 -0500 (CDT)
From: Allen Robinson <sebaygo@intellinet.com>
To: Ray Arachelian <sunder@escape.com>
Cc: Cypherpunks Mailing List <cypherpunks@toad.com>
Subject: Re: Anti-Electronic Racketeering Act of 1995 (fwd)

On Thu, 13 Jul 1995, Ray Arachelian wrote:

> On Thu, 13 Jul 1995, L. McCarthy wrote:
> 
> > Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I rise this evening to introduce the
> > Anti-electronic Racketeering Act of 1995. This bill makes important changes
> > to RICO and criminalizes deliberately using computer technology to engage in
> > criminal activity. I believe this bill is a reasonable, measured and strong
> > response to a growing problem. According to the computer emergency and
> > response team at Carnegie-Mellon University, during 1994, about 40,000
> > computer users were attacked. Virus hacker, the FBI's national computer
> > crime squad has investigated over 200 cases since 1991. So, computer crime is
> > clearly on the rise.
> 
> Eh, what do "virus hackers" have to do with encryption, why is it these 
> morons justify the destruction of encryption by mentioning hackers and 
> viruses?

The use of terms such as "virus" and "hacker" in a context such
as this has little or nothing to do with what the terms actually
mean.  It's palpably obvious that they are being bandied about
here solely for the knee-jerk emotional reactions they evoke.
Even those more computer/net clue-impaired than Grassley (assuming
that such is possible) know from watching TV and the movies that
a virus is a Bad Thing (tm) and that hackers are evil!
Pseudo-digital demagoguery.
 
> Additionally, does this mean that someone outside of the USA is in danger 
> of being grabbed by RICO armed thugs from Uncle Sam's cadre for writing 
> crypto software and publishing it in the open?  After all, once it winds 
> up on some USA site, how do we know that someone outside the USA got his 
> copy of SuperDuperNSASpookFree from a non-US site?  Just to be sure, 
> we'll bust both the site operator and nab the guy who wrote it next time 
> he drops in, or hell, we'll have him extradited.  

Or simply kidnap him and escort him back to the U.S.
 
<snip>

> > I believe we need to seriously reconsider
> > the Federal Criminal Code with an eye toward modernizing existing statutes
> > and creating new ones. In other words, Mr. President, Elliot Ness needs to
> > meet the Internet.
> 
> Where is Elliot Ness?  I don't see any mafia.org on the net.  Anyone here 
> see any such site?

It might be even more beneficial if Senator Grassley and the other
members of our august deliberative bodies would meet the internet.
My gut reaction to the recent tide of legislation is that they are
seeking to stangle what they fear and that they fear what they do
not understand.  (Too melodramatic?)
 
> > Mr. President, I sit on the Board of the Office of Technology Assessment.
> > That Office has clearly indicated that organized crime has entered cyberspace
> > in a big way. International drug cartels use computers to launder drug money
> > and terrorists like the Oklahoma City bombers use computers to conspire to
> > commit crimes.
>
> Was it not proven that McVeigh and Co. >DID NOT< use a computer?  THe AOL 
> account was a hoax, no?  Where are the hoardes of anti-USA terrorists, 
> and drug pushers on the net? 

You don't recognize them because they are masquerading 
as "virus hackers".

Again, the main reason for playing the "terrorist" card is
for the emotional hot-buttons they can push by so doing.
Since Grassley didn't use it, look for someone to introduce
something this session titled, "The Avenge Those Poor,
Innocent, Bloody Dead Children Act of 1995".

AR

%#%=%#%=%#%=%#%=%#%=%#%=%#%=%#%=%#%=%#%=%#%=%#%=%#%=%#%=%#%=%#%=%#%=%#%
"Government is not reason... it is force.  Like fire, it is a dangerous
servant and a fearful master."                      - George Washington
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Allen Robinson...................................sebaygo@intellinet.com
PGP public key AD022AA9   fingerprint 5A3BC05B2EC67724 F5664A20AEEAB07A