ASIS International, Business Software Alliance, Information Systems Security Association, Information Technology Association of America, and InfraGard have signed onto the initiative, which CSIA has been touting for several months.
CSIA executive director Paul Kurtz said: This is an opportunity for the US to show strong leadership in the area of cybercrime. The ratification of the Convention assures that all nations can respond to criminal activities beyond its boundaries.
Nations that ratify the Convention on Cybercrime agree to provisions on international cooperation on internet crime, and agree to make certain general activities illegal. The US claims that no major legislation would be needed to conform to the treaty.
President Bush, along with representatives of about 30 other countries, signed the convention in November 2001. In the US, Senate action is required before the treaty is fully ratified. The Senate has yet to provide such approval.
The Convention is without controversy. Civil liberties groups in the US and overseas have expressed concern that the treaty would infringe upon privacy rights.
The American Civil Liberties Union’s web site says it would allow for real-time collection of internet transmissions and would force ordinary internet users to turn over decryption keys and other personal information to the government.
But the US Department of Justice says the Convention contains safeguards, such as judicial supervision, on these matters, and says the data preservation requirements are substantially the same as current US law.
The CSIA, launched in January, was founded by BindView, Check Point, CA, Entrust, ISS, NAI, NetScreen, RSA, Secure Computing, PGP Corp, Qualys and Symantec. The CEOs of each firm sit on the group’s board of directors.
