Lords react angrily to government response

The House of Lords is not happy with the government's response to its calls for more net security

The Lords have reacted angrily to the government's response to their recent Science and Technology Committee report on personal internet security. The report made several radical calls in areas such as vendor liability for flawed products, data breach notification laws and centralised e-crime reporting.

In its response, the government acknowledged the good work carried out by the
Committee, but denied its suggestion that "the public has lost confidence in the internet and that lawlessness is rife".

The government dismissed the idea of holding banks responsible for losses resulting from internet fraud, and said there was no need for a kitemark scheme for ISPs to ensure they include a good standard of security as part of the service.

It also deferred the question of vendor liability to "European-level" discussions, and said it was still too early to see whether data breach notification laws would "immediately lead to an improvement" and said instead organisations should be routinely encouraged to report breaches to the Information Commissioner's Office.

“Throughout our inquiry we tried to think outside the box, to look ahead ten years at what the internet might be like, taking into account the emerging risks and challenges today," said co-author of the report, Lord Erroll, in a statement. "We must ensure that everyone is motivated to improve security. Unfortunately, the government dismissed every recommendation out of hand, and their approach seems to solely consist of putting their head in the sand.”