For some observers, the Mitnick case is entertainment. The accounts of the clever cyberspace evildoer finally being outwitted by the quiet-spoken but dogged Tsutomu Shimomura, a security specialist at the San Diego Supercomputer Center, and the personable and quick-thinking Hua-Pei Chen, a technical manager at the Sausalito- based regional on- line forum, read like an engrossing detective novel.

The case even had a Hollywood climax, with Mitnick and Shimomura eyeball to eyeball at a pre-arraignment hearing in which the vanquished hacker admiringly acknowledges the cybersleuthing feats that brought him down. ``I respect your skills,'' he tells Shimomura. Shimomura says nothing.

The tale also is more palatable as entertainment because Mitnick, although accused of stealing 20,000 credit-card account numbers and millions of dollars in software, apparently did not use his booty for his own financial gain.

But unless Internet invasion moves in the minds of the public from novelty and diversion to serious crime, the country will make little headway in curbing this expand ing -- and, to many of us, still incomprehensible -- new branch of law-breaking.

Thousands of computer crimes remain unsolved, including a series of break-ins last fall on the Internet of newly-linked corporate systems like General Electric Company. Last summer, hackers were able to gain access to hundreds of sensitive but unclassified computer systems operated by the Defense Department. More than half of 1,270 corporate chief information officers recently surveyed reported a financial loss in the past year related to computer security.

And increasingly, there are cases like that of David Pogue, a Manhattan writer whose America Online account was commandeered by vandals who intercepted his electronic mail and basically assumed his on-line identity. Federal, state and local governments are taking steps to bolster their role as on- line police and prosecutors. San Jose has a four-person high-tech crime unit considered a model for other police departments. But budget constraints and the super-speed at which technology changes make it difficult for crimefighting agencies to keep up. No matter the extent of government enforcement, the consensus seems to be that individuals and companies will be their best defense against computer-related crime.

And that doesn't mean just changing passwords frequently, being careful about revealing credit card numbers, scrutinizing credit card bills and protecting communications with data encryption.

Parents, who often defer to their children in matters of modems and MACs, must create an atmosphere in which hacking is viewed not as a prank but as a serious, punishable breach. Companies must improve their computer security awareness. Unless they do, the brave new world of cyberspace will be a lawless place.

DAY: SATURDAY

DATE: 2/25/95

PAGE: A20

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