New alliance to fight cybercrime

The International Cyber Security Protection Alliance has been set up to fight cybercrime on a global scale. Launched in London, the new body unites governments, international businesses and law enforcement agencies, including Europol.

The new International Cyber Security Protection Alliance (ICSPA) is focused on taking the fight to cyber criminals. It plans to disrupt their activities by providing more resources, tools and expertise to law enforcement agencies in countries that face the greatest challenges or potentially act as hosts; helping them be more successful in their fight against cybercrime.

Home Secretary Theresa May said last week that more must be done to tackle the threat of radicalisation on the Internet, as the Home Office published details of its revised counter-terrorism strategy (CONTEST).

This new strategy will take account of new terror threats the UK now faces. Mrs May said there are a number of technologies terrorists are using to coordinate and plan their activities, including Google Earth and Street View.

“Software to encrypt mobile phone voice and text functions is widely available and improving,” she said. “Peer-to-peer networks can be used to distribute files and information rapidly and securely.”

Mrs May added: “Cloud computing offers new means for storing, sharing and distributing material online. It can be encrypted and configured to work with mobile devices, leaving little or no trace of the data behind.”

Founding member companies of the new alliance include McAfee, Cassidian Systems (an EADS company), Trend Micro, Visa Europe, Yodel, Transactis, Core Security technologies and Shop Direct Group.

Cassidian’s cyber experts from its International Cyber Security Centre will collaborate with the ICSPA to assist law enforcement agencies in the areas of cyber policy and legislation, cyber attack prevention and rapid response solutions.

Cassidian delivers specialised training courses and technical solutions that help governments and enterprises increase their cyber awareness, understand the latest forms of cyber attack, identify their risks and vulnerabilities, establish prevention strategies and implement solutions that quickly identify and mitigate cyber attacks.

Prime Minister David Cameron said: “Our government has already injected an additional £650 million to help improve our national infrastructure and protect against cybercrime, but the very nature of this threat calls for more than a national response; it demands a truly global response and that is what the ICSPA is all about.

“By forging new relationships between businesses, governments and law enforcement officers all over the world, by investing in new training and by building an international exchange of expertise, the ICSPA is forming a network powerful enough and wide enough, to face down cybercrime.”

James Brokenshire, Home Office Minister for Crime and Security, added: “Cybercrime is a truly global problem and to tackle it we need strong partnership between countries and across private and public sectors. I welcome the launch of the ICSPA. Its partnership with Europol will bring together a range of resources, tools and expertise to crack down on cybercriminals and strengthen our response to online crime.”

The ICSPA is chaired by former Home Secretary, the Rt Hon David Blunkett MP, who said: “This partnership approach will aim to combine both the resources and the knowledge-base of those engaged in this collaborative venture to the mutual benefit of all. The intention is to add value, to respond by identifying specific law enforcement need and, over time, to demonstrate by outcome the way in which international links can be extended.”

Rob Wainwright, director of Europol, commented: “This is a vital partnership which will bring governments, business and law enforcement agencies together to address key issues such as the harmonisation of cybercrime training for law enforcement officials, providing advic