RP may turn into cybercrime haven

He opened the eyes of Philippine authorities to the potential dangers of the Year 2000 computer glitch last year. Now, United States-based Filipino computer expert David Paraiso is back, warning about cyber terrorism.

Paraiso, who serves as consultant to big companies and government agencies in the US, said the Philippines can become a haven for cyber terrorists if the government does not do anything to provide opportunities to young computer hackers here.

"The Love Bug has shown that we have in our midst very young computer enthusiasts who are capable of doing harm. What we do with these kids is crucial not only to their future but to our future as well," he said.

The Philippines was thrust into the computer crime limelight early last month with the spread of the ILOVEYOU virus which the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) blamed on Filipino programmers in Manila.

Also called the Love Bug, the ILOVEYOU virus jammed millions of computers in Europe, the United States and many countries in Asia and caused some $10 billion in damage.

Paraiso noted that suspected Love Bug authors Onel de Guzman and Michael Buen, both computer science students, could be just two of the hundreds of "talented" computer programmers the Philippines now has.

"These boys need an outlet for their creativity. If you don't provide them with a venue for their talents, they might use those talents for criminal activities," he said.

Speaking at an exclusive gathering of local IT professionals at the National Computer Center last Wednesday, Paraiso revealed that there is a rising trend in cyber terrorism around the world.

However, he said governments rarely acknowledge this trend and even downplay the threat cyber terrorists pose to their computer networks.

"The Pentagon itself was hacked 350,000 times last year yet the US government never mentions anything about it," he said. "For every attack reported, there are about a thousand unreported."

Internet reports revealed that a recent survey showed US companies losing more than $266 million to cyber attackers. And experts say that high-profile attacks such as the ones that paralyzed major commercial Internet sites including Yahoo! and Amazon.com last February are likely to multiply as online services migrate to new platforms such as mobile phones.

Paraiso noted that traditional terrorists are now beginning to take their fight to cyberspace since many of their targets are known to maintain vulnerable computer systems.

He said the US government, particularly the Department of Defense, knows this but will never acknowledge it.

There have been reports in the past that the US government itself had used computer technology to "blind" its enemies. Two particular cases have been cited, the Gulf War and the Kosovo bombings.

In both cases, the US reportedly used computers to disable the security networks of their enemies and paralyze their radars.

Paraiso refused to comment on these reports, although he admitted that some countries in the Middle East are reportedly forming their own "army" of computer experts in preparation for a cyberspace war in the future.

"What would stop these countries from employing Filipinos?" he asked. "And what would stop these countries from using the Philippines as base for their cyber terroristic activities?"

The world's leading industrialized countries met recently in Paris to address global Love Bug-style computer attacks, aiming to seek the private sector's help in combating cybercrimes and closing so-called "digital havens" that protect hackers.

The Reuters wire agency reported that the meeting, which brought together about 300 law enforcement and government officials and business leaders, opened with a call from host France for a world convention on cybercrime to crack down on hackers, authors of viruses, software pirates and criminals engaged in fraud through the Internet.

"Government and high-tech firms should co-regulate the Internet," said French Interior Minister Jean Pierre Chevenement during the meeting. "The idea is to produce a global text so there cannot be digital havens or Internet havens where anyone planning some shady business could find the facilities to do it."

All of those who attended the meeting acknowledged that the ILOVEYOU virus showed how vulnerable computer systems are to attacks from anywhere.

The Group of 8 (G8), for one, which is composed of the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy, Canada and Russia, is planning longer term efforts to fight international computer crime.

Leaders from these countries are expected to take up the issue at their annual conference this July in Japan.

Chevenement is hoping, though, that countries such as India, South Africa and Israel would join in the effort to curb cybercrimes.

These countries are known to host many of the world's cybercriminals.

Meanwhile, Paraiso said the biggest loser in the ILOVEYOU virus attack was not the expensive computer networks in other countries but Filipino computer programmers working here and abroad.

He revealed that the day the virus started to spread, a student of his who works in the Pentagon called him up to complain that he was being suspected of having a hand in the virus.

"My student was suspected because he is a Filipino," he said. "And many Filipinos were ostracized after news spread that the virus emanated from the Philippines."

Paraiso said he himself lost a number of contracts with American companies for being a Filipino. These contracts, he said, involved hiring Filipino computer experts here for jobs in the US.

"The Love Bug is not something we can be proud of," he said. "It cast us in a bad light in the computer world. Now companies have second thoughts when someone from the Philippines applies for a job with them." -