TABLE OF CONTENTS One of the major goals of information collection and analysis is to improve capabilities for attack attribution and response before, during, and after an incident. In many cases this may require international cooperation between law-enforcement agencies, as well as government and private-sector organizations of all types. The FBI and NIPC have participated with international partners to investigate many cyberthreats during the last several years. The following examples were presented on the FBI Web site.
Evidence of the prevalence of computers as tools in crime is apparent in the case of the Phonemasters, an international ring of hackers who were able to gain access to major telephone networks, portions of the national power grid, air traffic control systems, and numerous databases. This hacker ring provided calling card numbers, credit reports, criminal records, and other data to individuals in Canada, the United States, Switzerland, and Italy who willing to pay for the information.
The investigation of this case required the capture of Phonemasters data communications under a Title III order and was successfully accomplished by collecting and analyzing the analog modem signals from the target phone lines. Phonemasters suspects Calvin Cantrell and Cory Lindsay were convicted in September 1999 for theft and possession of unauthorized access devices and unauthorized access to a federal-interest computer. Cantrell was sentenced to two years in prison while Lindsay received a sentence of 41 months.
Another example is the Solar Sunrise case, the code name for a multiagency investigation of intrusions into...
