Cybercrime: more funds are unlikely

Businesses must take more responsibility for corporate security because funding for electronic policing will not increase, economists have warned.

Organisations must work on the basis that prevention is better than cure and not rely on over-stretched police resources, said Peter Sommer, senior research fellow at the London School of Economics.

'The implication for corporate security is that you can't expect the police to address all problems of security failure,' said Sommer. 'Prevention is much better, and you need to consider what it's like to be a security victim.'

'You also have to know that very substantial real funding for cyber crime is unlikely,' he said.

Some £9bn is spent on UK policing annually, with computer units, such as the National High Tech Crime Unit vying for funding, along side scores of other divisions.

When it comes to cyber crime the average person would rather see money spent on solving crimes like child pornography, rather than nuisance hackers, Sommer says.

The National High Tech Crime Unit is reluctant to talk about funding, but a spokesperson said: 'Funding is absolutely critical in the fight against crime, particularly hi-tech crime.'

'The NHTCU has invested in the process of cooperation with industry, particularly the security industry, in an effort to understand their needs and expectations as well as for them to understand ours,' it said.