EU to tackle internet security

Alarmed at the disclosure of the existence of a controversial email and telephone eavesdropping network, Echelon, the European Commission has already taken the step of urging the public to encrypt all their emails.

There is deep concern within the European Union (EU) over the implications of Echelon, especially as the US will not openly admit to the existence of the spy network. This is exacerbated by reports that Echelon, said to have been set up at the start of the Cold War, is only operated by five principal countries: the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK.

This has lead to the Commission calling for a collaborative approach between EU member states and other countries. This will look at the interception of data, as well as what it says are the other main security threats - viruses, hacking and denial of service attacks.

"We need a strategy at European level to tackle existing and emerging security threats," said a spokesperson.

According to the Commission, technical solutions will solve some security problems but more collaborative work needs to be done to develop common standards and solutions. It is no good encrypting documents and emails if the software is not interoperable so that the recipient does not have the capability to decode them.

Because the Commission believes that individual governments must lead the way in the systems they use, it is proposing to strengthen the co-operation of national computer emergency response teams. It will also overhaul the legal framework and is advocating a legislative measure relating to attacks against computer systems, including hacking and denial of service attacks.

However, the Commission will not work alone - international partners will help ensure that common standards are global rather than purely European.

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