In 1996, the Council of Europe, together with representatives from Canada, Japan and the United States drafted a preliminary international treaty covering computer crime. There was some rebellion to this though, as the civil libertarian groups did not approve of the provisions in the treaty which required internet service providers to store customer transactions and be able to turn them over on demand. However, work on the treaty proceeded. This led to the International Convention on Cybercrime in Budapest in 2001; which was signed by thirty countries, including Japan, South Africa, Canada and the US. The convention authorizes a global cyber police force to investigate cyber crime. This meant that investigators had the power to track down network communications and to store intercepted data across countries. For this to work, nations must cooperate with each other by sharing gathered information and evidence related to cyber crime. Additional protocols covering terrorist activities and racist and xenophobic cyber crimes were proposed in 2002. The Convention did not necessarily guarantee that the issue of cyber crime would have an immediate solution. The provisions could come into full effect only if they were approved by that country’s national legislature. Despite all of the controversy surrounding the Convention and the surveillance powers given to the nations who adopt it, the treaty is still a step ahead in the capturing and prosecution of cyber criminals. Since then, a plethora of laws have been adopted across the different countries of the world reinforcing them against the threat of cyber crime. Illegal or unauthorized use of a computer system, theft of private data and digital fraud are considered acts of felony in the US. Organizations without a viable network security program can be held responsible for negligence in the event of a cyber attack.