Germany to Ratify Cybercrime Pact

SSL - Washington.   The Internet's borderless approach to information and commerce continues to push the boundaries of international cooperation. In this spirit, the The Challenge of Cybercrime Conference September 15th through 17th 2004 in Strasbourg, France. The Conference's key goal was to promote the prompt ratification of the Council of Europe's Cybercrime Convention. The Convention aims to standardize international laws on computer-related crime and allow for cross border investigation of criminal activities. Cybercrime, whether threatening privacy, committing fraud, copyright infringement or content-based offenses, continues to expand exponentially. The nature of the medium allows for a disproportionate affect. Germany, for instance, cites economic crime, often in the form of cybercrime, as accounting for 1.3 per cent of total crime, but 57 percent, or 6.8 billion Euros, of financial damage, according to the Organized Crime Situation Report 2004: Focus on the Threat of Cybercrime. Despite the obvious risks of cybercrime the Convention is not without its critics. Some cite the loss of privacy, but others point to the forced cooperation and unregulated information sharing with so-called oppressive regimes. Despite these concerns 30 nations have signed the convention, including the United States, Germany and Britain and 8 nations have thus far ratified it. Germany plans to ratify the convention during the current parliamentary term. The UK is still studying the policy implications and while the President of the United States has recommended the proposal to the Senate there has been no response (6). The CoE's latest push hopes to encourage more wide-spread ratification and effective implementation of the Cybercrime Convention.