International cyber crime fighters join forces

Business leaders, government officials, law enforcers and security vendors have set up an international cyber crime-fighting group that aims to increase co-operations across borders.

The International Cyber Security Protection Alliance aims to enhance international information sharing across the globe, making it more difficult for crooks to escape justice.

It will also provide training and support for law enforcement teams in countries where additional support is required.

"The relentless growth in cyber attacks has made the case for international co-operation even more pressing," John Lyons, chief executive of ICSPA told Computing.

James Brokenshire, Home Office minister for crime and security, said the new alliance would help businesses and governments alike.

“The internet has brought great opportunities for individuals and businesses, but also for criminals to operate across national boundaries. Cyber crime is a truly global problem and to tackle it we need strong partnership between countries and across private and public sectors,” he added.

The European law enforcement agency Europol has already agreed to form a strategic partnership with the ICSPA. This partnership will focus on harmonising cyber crime training for police officials as well as providing advice to businesses.

The ICSPA is needed because of the international nature of cyber crime, said Rik Ferguson, a security researcher at antivirus vendor Trend Micro, which is backing ICSPA.

"We already have the support of Europol and the US Department of Justice," he added.

"Businesses and governments need to work together to help address the barrage of threat all of us face everyday," said Raj Samani, chief technology officer for McAfee Europe.

But while increased international co-operation is to be welcomed, there were still large discrepancies in the way different countries treat cyber crime, said Malcolm Marshall, UK head of information security at management consultants KPMG.

"The harmonisation of national cyber laws, while ideal, is still a long way off. In the meantime, organisations need to improve basic security standards, protocols and intelligence to ready themselves for inevitable attacks," he added.