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Guest Commentary June 29, 2002
E-Mail Security
The Honorable Orrin Hatch
In the wake of the September 11th and anthrax attacks, much of our attention has been focused on national security issues. The interruptions in traditional communications systems like the phone and traditional mail systems underscore the wisdom of the founders of the Internet, which began as a Defense Department project to develop a communications system that would be flexible and decentralized enough to withstand attacks that might cripple other systems.
Internet technology is continually changing, and we need to be aware of its capabilities as well as any signs of vulnerability that can be exploited by those bent on using Internet access to attack the integrity of communications or vital data. In particular, since the anthrax attacks the nation has come to rely even more heavily on e-mail. There is no doubt that trust and confidence in e-mail, especially between businesses and consumers, is critical to the vital role such mail has played during recent months in keeping the channels of commerce and communication open despite blows to telephone service and traditional mail.
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Yet, the Internet is vulnerable in its own ways. The Internet itself can be used by terrorists as well as by those of good intentions. While e-mail cannot be used by criminals and terrorists to spread harmful biological or chemical agents, there are risks in the way most e-mail is generated and transmitted. We have all been familiar with the various viruses that have been sent via e-mail and affected many computer systems. Among some of the risks are loss of privacy through unauthorized access to e-mail in transit and through invasions of e-mail host databases. Another technique is "spoofing," in which messages are sent purporting to be from a trusted sender in order to deceive the recipient, especially individual consumers and other citizens. We are increasingly threatened by viruses and other malicious code that can be carried on e-mails and unwittingly activated by the recipient.
We need to review industry's ongoing efforts to answer these challenges, and assess what individual consumers and policy makers can do. Some of these threats are familiar, others are just emerging. For example, by sending messages with spoofed false send identities and misleading subject identifiers, hackers and unethical marketers can overcome the reluctance of even experienced e-mail recipients to open mail from unknown sources. As users are hurt or inconvenienced by falsified messages, their trust and confidence in the medium is damaged, and the usefulness of e-mail for all legitimate senders declines. We addressed some of these concerns in the Patriot Act last year, as we included a number of reforms to our computer fraud and abuse laws. It will be easier to investigate and prosecute unauthorized access to computer systems and to prevent cyberattack with these changes.
America has deep strategic interests in advancing the Internet, and especially its most frequently used service: e-mail. I am hopeful that, and have read about, new technologies and practices that can help improve sender accountability for e-mail, empower recipients to screen e-mail by assuring them of its real sender, and deliver on the promise of greater privacy for personally identifiable data.
It is important that we continue our efforts to keep our laws updated with new technologies and threats that could be posed using such new technologies. We should also take actions to motivate industry and the public where more needs to be done. Over the years, the public has come to value e-mail's convenience and speed, and to trust it as an alternative to the traditional postal envelope.
Orrin Hatch, a Republican, is a U.S. Senator from Utah. The above commentary has been adapted from a speech Sen. Hatch delivered on the floor of the Senate, June 24, 2002. To contact him, Click Here.
The above column has been distributed by PoliticsOL.com.
