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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Federal Bureau of Investigation is fighting on behalf of a new type of crime victim: PC owners.

Anyone with a computer is a potential victim of crimes like hacking, viruses, or cyberterrorism, and FBI Director Louis Freeh called the recent increase in such offenses an "epidemic" that has gained his agency's attention.

Cybercrimes have become a priority for the FBI, Freeh said, addressing members of the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce gathered Wednesday in McLean, Virginia. In fact, when new agents graduate from the bureau's training, each gets a laptop computer along with a badge and firearm, he said.

The FBI is improving its ability to handle computer-related crimes, Freeh said. In addition to 16 offices with computer squads and 200 agents nationwide working full-time on computer issues, the bureau has established new laboratory units to deal with confiscated cyberevidence, he said.

The effort is already yielding big numbers, he noted. The FBI's Internet Fraud Complaint Center has fielded 28,000 complaints and has conducted 700 investigations since last year.

But agents can't fight computer crime without help, Freeh said.

"Cooperation between the FBI and the private sector is needed to deal with the significant changes in law enforcement with the advent of new technologies," he added.

Help, at Your Own Risk

Alerts to computer crime often originate from companies, Freeh said, and the FBI relies on the companies to supply the computer logs, codes, and insight into their systems that aids a criminal investigation.

Yet while the FBI requests businesses' cooperation to combat computer crime, such teamwork may not always be in a company's best interest, he admitted.

"We need to reach a balance between privacy issues and property protection, with the ability of law enforcement to act in a cyberenvironment," Freeh said.

"The balance we're looking for in 2001 is to make sure that Fourth Amendment rights are secure while also making sure constables have the ability to function."

Encryption Dilemma

One of the greatest challenges the FBI faces today is dealing with information that a company or person has encrypted--rendering it unreadable without the proper key.

"We're losing our edge due to encryption," he said. "We're having a hard time finding information and understanding it."

Encryption, however, is vital to the security of many businesses. Legitimate companies use it to prevent criminals from spying on Web transactions, said Richard Power, editorial director for the Computer Security Institute, an information-privacy advocacy group.

Encryption also protects stored data from unauthorized use and can authenticate or identify people, he added.

"It plays a critical and essential role, but it isn't the defining element or the only essential. Encryption is just one aspect of security," Power said. Intrusion detection systems (the digital equivalent of an alarm system), firewalls, and Smart Cards are other important technologies.

Too Much Surveillance?

Some privacy advocates suggest the FBI is using the encryption issue to increase its surveillance capabilities.

"I don't know of any bank or stock exchange that would want the FBI to have their keys--especially in light of the Hanssen spy case," said Wayne Madsen, from the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

Freeh also noted that the conflict between public and private interests can become an issue when it comes to hiring computer-savvy individuals. The FBI often competes with companies for talented workers, and the bureau is at a distinct disadvantage, he said.

"We have to be able to hire the same people you hire, although we don't pay them as much as you do. Luckily for the country these men and women come despite leaving six-figure jobs for our yearly salary of $40,000," he said.

Freeh joked that since he couldn't prosecute a 14-year-old boy who recently hacked into company computer systems, he should have been able to hire him instead.

Conflicts aside, Seva Raskin, marketing director for software developer Completed Systems, said Freeh's remarks addressed her cybercrime concerns.

"A year ago we had a virus and it brought our entire system down. We have basic protection, Norton Anti-Virus, but we don't have anything advanced," Raskin said.

"[Freeh's remarks] seemed like a good reminder of how easy it is to get into a company's system. You always hear about it in the paper, but then you forget about it."

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