Police in Boston had reached a dead end. They had a murder suspect, but not nearly enough evidence, and the investigation was growing cold. But a computer-trained ATF agent went undercover, and for once, used the Internet's anonymity to law enforcement's . . .
Police in Boston had reached a dead end. They had a murder suspect, but not nearly enough evidence, and the investigation was growing cold. But a computer-trained ATF agent went undercover, and for once, used the Internet's anonymity to law enforcement's advantage. After all, if the good guys can do it, so can the bad guys. Welcome to the brave new world of cyber-policing.

If computer hackers can swap information in secret chat rooms and hold training conferences, so can computer cops. This week, over 400 computer-savvy law detectives, government agents and security industry professionals are gathering in Connecticut at "Cybercrime 2001" to swap stories about fighting crime using the Internet.

Among the more telling was Sgt. John J. McLean's story of undercover work performed by a clever ATF agent hunting down a murder suspect last year.