Follow us on Twitter

Access our Document library

Meet the team

MPs say digital by default has to be about 'safe' as much as 'cheap'

Posted by Gary Flood on Fri, 03/02/2012 - 11:14
Printer friendly


cybercrime.jpg
A cross party group of MPs is urging the government to do more to help the public understand how to stay safe online.
 
MPs on the Science and Technology Select Committee say better public information about computer safety could save huge numbers of people the hassle of having their personal details stolen.
 
Its latest report into malware and cybercrime, published this week, calls on the state to launch a prolonged awareness raising campaign to increase public understanding of personal online security.
 
According to the report, eighty per cent of protection against cyber-attack is routine IT hygiene. But the absence of a single first point of advice and help for consumers, and the fact that much information about Internet security is shrouded in jargon, isn’t helping the situation.
 
'Scaring' 
Andrew Miller MP, its chair, said the government should focus on raising awareness of how to stay safe online, rather than “scaring” people about the dangers of cybercrime.
 
“In response to this report, we are asking the government to provide details of how it intends to engender greater trust in online products and services within the UK population. We are also demanding an assurance that the ‘digital by default’ approach will mean better and more secure, rather than merely cheaper, government services," Miller said.
 
The Committee has pledged to work with ISPs on a new voluntary code of conduct to help people identify if their computers have been compromised and offer advice on what they can do about it.
 
Meanwhile, a new cybercrime unit set up with the National Crime Agency is due to be up and running by 2013 and will give police forces across the country the necessary skills and experience to handle cybercrimes. At the same time, a new single reporting system will be introduced to report financially motivated cybercrime through the existing Action Fraud reporting centre.
 
Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos, said: "We are keen supporters of the government-backed GetSafeOnline http://www.getsafeonline.org/  website.  A key challenge however for sites and resources like this, is that they tend to be known about only by those already involved in IT security, rather than the average person in the street. 
 
“The only way to change this is by a properly funded broad awareness campaign.”
 
More GetSafeOnline money, please
Cluley said tackling cybercrime at an international level was the only way to address the problem effectively. “A computer crime committed in Solihull could be perpetrated by a hacker based in St Petersburg, for example. Investigating crimes with an international element is inevitably costly and complicated - but as this is the nature of the criminal behaviour, it must be addressed.”
 

Chris Hardy, regional director UK Public Sector at security giant McAfee, said encouraging the development of standards would help the public recognise when appropriate levels of protection are in place: “As more information moves online through the ‘digital by default’ approach to public services it is important for the government to work on equipping the population with the right intelligence to gain their trust and make the Internet a safer place.”