Specifications

- The European ministers of Foreign Affairs are expected to decide to lift all barriers to the

export of encryption software to countries outside the European Union. Till now, companies

wanting to export encryption products had to ask for permission. The authorities first investigated if

the buyer was 'secure'. Intelligence services also investigated the products, which made it possible

to copy the keys or demand weakening of the encryption standard as a condition for approval.

Decisions could drag on for months, which hampered the trade in encryption software. Besides

that, the European industry has asked repeatedly for secure and good encryption, as a condition

to boost ecommerce. They want to develop, use and export their own encryption products, as

there is mistrust towards American encryption products which are believed to be weakened by the

American intelligence agencies, or have secret backdoors. According to the spokesman of

commissioner Liikanen of the Information Society, secret services still can ask companies to the

destination of their export.

United States - Canada

- Adding new teeth to federal laws governing high-tech crime, the U.S. Sentencing Commission

has sent Congress guidelines for judges that would substantially increase penalties for such

crimes as credit card and identity theft, using computers to solicit or sexually exploit minors and

violating copyrights or trademarks online. Most of the new standards will take effect Nov. 1 unless

Congress strikes them, which it rarely does. The copyright and trademark provisions take effect

immediately because Congress gave the commission authority to act quickly to stem a practice

that one trade association estimated costs the software industry $11.4 billion each year.

- Consumers who have bought into a phony investment scheme on the Internet or who have

had strange charges appear on their credit card statements after buying something through a Web

site can now report the crime online. With literally a click, victims can send an e-mail to local, state

and federal officials if they think they have been the victim of a scam or theft through the Internet.

The Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC), launched by the FBI and the Virginia-based National

White Collar Crime Center, will help law enforcement and regulators track and investigate cases of

Internet fraud as Americans start to spend more time in cyberspace.

- Opening a political can of worms, the Federal Trade Commission today said it would embark

on a major policy shift, asking Congress to enact stronger legislation to oversee online privacy.

The commission voted 3-2 to release a report concluding that "legislation is necessary" to ensure

Internet privacy protections and that "industry alone have not been sufficient." That position is in

marked contrast to the agency's prior stance, endorsed by the Clinton administration, of allowing

corporate self-regulation on privacy. Although privacy legislation is unlikely to come this year, the

commission's change in focus could put new pressure on policy-makers and might even play a

role in the upcoming presidential contest between Vice President Al Gore and Texas Gov. George

W. Bush, experts said.

Asia - Pacific

- China has toughened regulations against computer viruses, mandating fines and up to five

years imprisonment for people who spread the bugs, an official newspaper reported. The China

Daily said the regulations were issued by the Ministry of Public Security and were made public,

after the ILOVEYOU virus crippled e-mail systems worldwide. The regulations require “workplaces

using computers” to install virus prevention systems, scan their computer networks, train their

workers on how to prevent viruses and only use officially authorized anti-virus products, the

newspaper said. The report also said people will be fined up to $3,600 for spreading viruses “if

commercial operations are involved.” Violators could also face maximum prison terms of five

years, it said.