Team for Research in
Ubiquitous Secure Technology

Citation
UK House of Lords. "Personal Internet Security". Technical report, UK House of Lords, August, 2007; TRUST faculty briefed the House of Lords Science and Technology committee when they visited UC Berkeley on March 7,2007. Summaries of their talks can be found on pages 103-106 of the final report.

Abstract
The Internet is a powerful force for good: within 20 years it has expanded from almost nothing to a key component of critical national infrastructure and a driver of innovation and economic growth. It facilitates the spread of information, news and culture. It underpins communications and social networks across the world. A return to a world without the Internet is now hardly conceivable.

But the Internet is now increasingly the playground of criminals. Where a decade ago the public perception of the e-criminal was of a lonely hacker searching for attention, today’s “bad guys” belong to organised crime groups, are highly skilful, specialised, and focused on profit. They want to stay invisible, and so far they have largely succeeded. While the incidence and cost of e-crime are known to be huge, no accurate data exist.

Underpinning the success of the Internet is the confidence of hundreds of millions of individual users across the globe. But there is a growing perception, fuelled by media reports, that the Internet is insecure and unsafe. When this is set against the rate of change and innovation, and the difficulty of keeping pace with the latest technology, the risk to public confidence is clear.

The Government have insisted in evidence to this inquiry that the responsibility for personal Internet security ultimately rests with the individual. This is no longer realistic, and compounds the perception that the Internet is a lawless “wild west”. It is clear to us that many organisations with a stake in the Internet could do more to promote personal Internet security: the manufacturers of hardware and software; retailers; Internet Service Providers; businesses, such as banks, that operate online; the police and the criminal justice system.

We believe as a general principle that well-targeted incentives are more likely to yield results in such a dynamic industry than formal regulation. However, if incentives are to be effective, they may in some cases need to be backed up by the possibility of direct regulation. Also, there are some areas, such as policing, where direct Government action is needed. So Government leadership across the board is required. Our recommendations urge the Government, through a flexible mix of incentives, regulation, and direct investment, to galvanise the key stakeholders.

The threat to the Internet is clear, but it is still manageable. Now is the time to act, both domestically, and internationally, through the European Union and through international organisations and partnerships.

Electronic downloads

• HTML

  UK House of Lords. <a
  href="http://www.truststc.org/pubs/281.html"
  ><i>Personal Internet Security</i></a>,
  Technical report,  UK House of Lords, August, 2007; TRUST
  faculty briefed the House of Lords Science and  Technology
  committee when they
  visited UC Berkeley on March 7,2007.
  Summaries of their talks can be found on
  pages 103-106 of
  the final report.

• Plain text

  UK House of Lords. "Personal Internet Security".
  Technical report,  UK House of Lords, August, 2007; TRUST
  faculty briefed the House of Lords Science and  Technology
  committee when they
  visited UC Berkeley on March 7,2007.
  Summaries of their talks can be found on
  pages 103-106 of
  the final report.

• BibTeX

  @techreport{HouseofLords07_PersonalInternetSecurity,
      author = {UK House of Lords},
      title = {Personal Internet Security},
      institution = {UK House of Lords},
      month = {August},
      year = {2007},
      note = {TRUST faculty briefed the House of Lords Science
                and  Technology committee when they
  visited UC
                Berkeley on March 7,2007. Summaries of their talks
                can be found on
  pages 103-106 of the final report},
      abstract = {The Internet is a powerful force for good: within
                20 years it has expanded from almost nothing to a
                key component of critical national infrastructure
                and a driver of innovation and economic growth. It
                facilitates the spread of information, news and
                culture. It underpins communications and social
                networks across the world. A return to a world
                without the Internet is now hardly conceivable.
                <p>But the Internet is now increasingly the
                playground of criminals. Where a decade ago the
                public perception of the e-criminal was of a
                lonely hacker searching for attention, today�s
                �bad guys� belong to organised crime groups,
                are highly skilful, specialised, and focused on
                profit. They want to stay invisible, and so far
                they have largely succeeded. While the incidence
                and cost of e-crime are known to be huge, no
                accurate data exist. <p>Underpinning the success
                of the Internet is the confidence of hundreds of
                millions of individual users across the globe. But
                there is a growing perception, fuelled by media
                reports, that the Internet is insecure and unsafe.
                When this is set against the rate of change and
                innovation, and the difficulty of keeping pace
                with the latest technology, the risk to public
                confidence is clear. <p>The Government have
                insisted in evidence to this inquiry that the
                responsibility for personal Internet security
                ultimately rests with the individual. This is no
                longer realistic, and compounds the perception
                that the Internet is a lawless �wild west�. It
                is clear to us that many organisations with a
                stake in the Internet could do more to promote
                personal Internet security: the manufacturers of
                hardware and software; retailers; Internet Service
                Providers; businesses, such as banks, that operate
                online; the police and the criminal justice
                system. <p>We believe as a general principle that
                well-targeted incentives are more likely to yield
                results in such a dynamic industry than formal
                regulation. However, if incentives are to be
                effective, they may in some cases need to be
                backed up by the possibility of direct regulation.
                Also, there are some areas, such as policing,
                where direct Government action is needed. So
                Government leadership across the board is
                required. Our recommendations urge the Government,
                through a flexible mix of incentives, regulation,
                and direct investment, to galvanise the key
                stakeholders. <p>The threat to the Internet is
                clear, but it is still manageable. Now is the time
                to act, both domestically, and internationally,
                through the European Union and through
                international organisations and partnerships.},
      URL = {http://www.truststc.org/pubs/281.html}
  }
  

Posted by Christopher Brooks on 15 Aug 2007.
Groups: trust
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