Response to terrorism must be International

Council of Europe Secretary General Terry Davis warned that Europe’s dependence on new information technologies has made it very vulnerable to cyber attacks.
Speaking at last week’s two-day conference in Spain on terrorism and cyber security, Mr Davis said: “Terrorists using the Internet are not restricted by geographical limitations or national boundaries.
“The first objective of this unique joint conference is to share our experiences in preventing the use of the Internet for terrorist purposes and ensuring the protection of the Internet and critical infrastructure from cyber attacks by terrorists.”
It has been recommended that member states establish a national computer security incident response team (CSIRT) to serve as a focal point for the exchange of information regarding cyber incidents affecting critical information infrastructure, and to coordinate incident response and mitigation among affected stakeholders. Furthermore, experts believe that the transnational nature of cyber threats means that there needs to be effective regional and international networks to promote cooperation and information-sharing among these national CSIRTs.
The Secretary General also called on all member states present to ratify without delay the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime.
The conference was jointly organised by the Council of Europe and the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism.