Jon's Network

A computer crimes agent from the FBI told Richard Bejtlich that a company can reduce vulnerabilities, but it is up to the FBI to reduce threats.

In other words, it is beyond the legal or practical capability of most computer crime victims to investigate, prosecute, and incarcerate threats.

Richard points out this CDT press release that explains the State’s inability to protect consumers from online criminals.

Victims of computer crime are at the mercy of the government when it comes to hunting down their criminal. But the government has little to no incentive to do so. If a victim instead decided to track down the criminal and obtain restitution, it would likely be deemed illegal by the same government whose protection services were inadequate for the victim in the first place.

What we have then is a law enforcement monopoly – a protection racket – that makes us all less safe, because the monopolist doesn’t have any incentive to protect us. In the case of the government, they get more funding if they make mistakes. When they do catch criminals, the criminals pay restitution to the government, not the victim, or are incarcerated at the victims expense.

Better technology can only go so far to protect us from online crime. A better legal and law enforcement system would help far more. A free market in law enforcement and protection is the logical alternative.