HB 308-CALLER ID HACKERS  8:39:52 AM CHAIR RALPH SEEKINS announced CSHB 308(JUD) am to be up for consideration. REPRESENTATIVE BOB LYNN, bill sponsor, introduced the bill. He warned the committee that the telephone caller identification (ID) system is no longer to be trusted. Both private individuals and commercial "spoofers" can now cause false caller identification to be displayed on any caller ID screen. The power to create serious mischief with caller ID spoofing technology is almost unlimited. It can facilitate fraud and be potentially dangerous. Scam artists who appear to be phoning from a reputable agency can defraud victims with ease. There is also potential for hoax emergency calls with false caller ID to law enforcement or the fire department. Anyone with sufficient computer and telephonic skills can spoof telephone caller ID systems. In fact, an entire telephone spoofing industry has emerged and is growing daily. CSHB 308(JUD) am would make it a class B misdemeanor for any person who inserts false information into a caller ID system, except for legitimate reasons. 8:43:28 AM SENATOR HOLLIS FRENCH asked whether there has been any spoofing done in Alaska. REPRESENTATIVE LYNN said probably but he had no evidence of it. SENATOR FRENCH asked Representative Lynn whether he checked with the Consumer Protection Agency and law enforcement agencies to see whether this is a problem in Alaska. REPRESENTATIVE LYNN said no. SENATOR FRENCH asked whether the attorney general or any law enforcement agency has contacted him regarding the issue. REPRESENTATIVE LYNN said no. DIRK MOFFATT, Staff to Representative Lynn, directed committee members to a letter of support in the bill packet from the Alaska Network for Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. He said it was a new issue. Anyone can purchase what is called a "spoof card," phone into a call center, enter the phone number they want displayed on the caller ID, enter a name, and even select a change of voice. It takes no special skills to do so. 8:46:43 AM SENATOR GRETCHEN GUESS joined the meeting. SENATOR FRENCH asked whether a person wanting to protect their identity could still do so. MR. MOFFATT said that option is available through the regular phone company service. The bill is trying to stop people from pretending to be an institution such as "Bank of America." REPRESENTATIVE LYNN added that entering the false information would be the crime. Caller ID spoofing is very easy to do using voice-over technology. SENATOR CHARLIE HUGGINS asked Mr. Moffatt how detectable the spoofing is. MR. MOFFATT said it is very difficult to catch someone doing it. 8:49:39 AM SENATOR HUGGINS asked whether it was easy to ensure that an innocent person was not charged with the crime. REPRESENTATIVE LYNN responded that the call would not be emanating from an innocent person's phone. It would just appear that it was coming from someone else's phone. United States Congressman Tim Murphy was a victim of caller ID spoofing and is currently encouraging all fifty states to enact legislation of the same type. CHAIR SEEKINS noted he uses a calling card to make long distance calls and the number displayed on the caller ID system is not the number from where he is calling. He asked whether that would be a violation of the law. REPRESENTATIVE LYNN said he did not think so because in that situation there would be no intent to impersonate somebody. 8:51:46 AM ROBERT DOUGLAS, Information Security Consultant, informed the committee of his background as a private investigator with experience in political corruption and international terrorism. He said he testified before the United States Congress on information security issues, such as obtaining phone records with deception, and caller ID spoofing. He testified in support of HB 308. MR. DOUGLAS gave an example where a swat team was forced to shut down a neighborhood in New Jersey after receiving what seemed like a legitimate distress call. It was later determined to be a spoof. It is also possible to cause a call to appear as if it is coming from a person's home and with a little personal information, a "spoofer" is able to move money from one bank account to another. 8:58:18 AM Senator Gene Therriault joined the meeting. CHAIR SEEKINS closed public testimony. SENATOR HUGGINS moved CSHB 308(JUD) am from committee with individual recommendations and attached fiscal notes. Hearing no objections, the motion carried.