Legal challenges of fighting (against) botnets: a law enforcement perspective

Strengthening enforcement of cybercrime law is not a simple question of more legislation. Botnet investigations often intrude in the private sphere of third parties, possibly implicating access to large amounts of data related to innocent individuals and unrelated to the investigated offence. In addition, prior to entering the network, law enforcement may not be able to anticipate where data are located, posing a threat to the sovereignty of foreign States. The challenge to ensure the rule of law while enabling effective law enforcement revolves a difficult equalize between privacy, public security, and jurisdictional rules, explored in this paper by a comparative analysis of the United States and Dutch legal systems.
Keywords: Botnets, Criminal Law, Cybercrime.