Firms need to step up their IT security to prevent attacks, as police are unable to cope with the growing problem of computer crime. This was the message given to delegates at April?s E-Crime Congress in London.

Howard Schmidt, eBay's chief security strategist and a former security advisor to the White House, warned delegates that law enforcement agencies do not have enough resources to cope with the increasing amount of electronic crime.

As a result, organisations should do more to protect themselves, according to Schmidt. He cited the validation feature in eBay's desktop toolbar as an example of how safeguards could be improved.

The eBay Account Guard function can help to detect scam web sites used for phishing attacks. The toolbar has a colour-coded system to indicate whether users are browsing the official eBay site, or potentially a spoof version.

Schmidt added that such tools should be used in conjunction with more traditional approaches, such as firewalls and email filtering. But he added that a global system where browsers are updated as soon as each new phishing site is discovered could greatly reduce the number of phishing attacks. And it could free police to concentrate on more serious crimes.

The UK National Hi-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU), which hosted the event, argued that more co-operation between law enforcement agencies and industry is needed. Len Hynds, outgoing head of the NHTCU, called on big businesses to "put aside personal and aspirational agendas" and share their expertise and knowledge of IT crime prevention with police.

"I guarantee that if we all work together, we will have organised crime surrounded, but at the moment it just isn't joined up," he added. Project Endurance, an internet security education campaign targeting consumers and backed by vendors such as Microsoft and Lloyds TSB along with government organisations, was hailed by Hynds as a good example of a public/private partnership to help combat computer crime.

Detective chief superintendent Sharon Lemon has been appointed as Hynds' successor as head of the IT crime unit.