E.U. and Global Cyber Security Briefs
EU Pushes Anti-Terror Plans for Air Travel and Web
UN Approves Resolution Related to Cyber Attacks
UK Leads Demand for Data Security in Europe
Germany Seeks Expansion of Computer Spying
E.U. Cyber Security Briefs
EU Pushes
Anti-Terror Plans for Air Travel and Web
Reuters (11/06/07) Melander, Ingrid
European Union Justice and Security Commissioner Franco Frattini said on Nov. 6 that Europe should organize a crackdown on militant Web sites and compile U.S.-style profiles of air passengers in an attempt to bolster the fight against terrorism. The European Commission wants the EU's 27 member states to collect 19 pieces of personal data--including email addresses, phone numbers, payment details, and travel agents--on travelers flying to or from the bloc. The flight data proposal is similar to the U.S.'s Passenger Name Record (PNR) system and airlines that did not provide the information would not be allowed to fly in or out of EU countries. Data on passengers would be required at least 24 hours before departure and would be kept for 13 years. Frattini presented another proposal in which he advised EU states to criminalize all public incitement to terrorism and posting of recruiting and training information, particularly online. "The Internet serves ... as one of the principal boosters of the processes of radicalization and recruitment and also serves as a source of information on terrorist means and methods, thus functioning as a virtual training camp," the proposal stated. The proposal forbade the use of this technique to limit the spread of information for academic, scientific, or reporting purposes. The security proposals require unanimous approval by EU member states in order to become law.
UN Approves
Resolution Related to Cyber Attacks
eGov Monitor (11/05/07)
The United Nations Disarmament and International Security Committee on Nov. 1 passed a resolution that deals with international security developments in the IT and telecommunications fields. The measure contends with concerns that information or telecommunication technology can be exploited to compromise states' security. Upon the approval of the resolution, the European Union Presidency Portugal issued a statement highlighting potential cybersecurity threats that can be traced to terrorists, organized criminals, or coordinated attacks by individuals inspired by political propaganda. Cyberattacks against the Estonian government establishment, Web pages, and media in the spring are largely responsible for the resolution, says Estonian ambassador to the UN Tiina Intelmann. "For this, an international legal framework must be created," Intelmann says, verifying that both Estonia and the EU have urged all UN member nations to participate in the Council of Europe's Convention on Cybercrime. The resolution calls for the organization of a team of government experts in 2009, and this group will have the responsibility of investigating both existing and potential threats to information security and suggesting preventive measures. The team could also study assaults on vital national information infrastructures, and consider suggestions as to how these attacks could be probed and criminalized.
UK Leads
Demand for Data Security in Europe
VNUNet (10/11/07) Williams, Ian
Eighty-one percent of British consumers consider an organization's ability to keep their data safe to be a key attribute for building trust, compared to 42 percent of French consumers, 40 percent of Belgian consumers, and 35 percent of German consumers, according to a Unisys survey of eight European countries. Fifty-eight percent of Europeans cite a dearth of privacy protection to be a key factor in the erosion of trust, including 76 percent of British consumers, 62 percent of Spanish consumers, 58 percent of French consumers, 57 percent of Swedish consumers, 56 percent of Belgian and German consumers, and 54 percent of Italian consumers. "This research illustrates a distinct lack of awareness among consumers in many continental European countries about the true value of having personal data protected and the benefits that dependable IT can bring when they are shopping, banking, traveling or in hospital," says Unisys' Rene Head. "This is surprising when you consider the risks of poor IT, including online fraud and service delays." Head says consumers naturally expect businesses to safeguard their operations and provide quality services, and failure to satisfy these requirements will often cause consumers to look elsewhere for their business needs. However, about 89 percent of Belgian consumers, 82 percent of British consumers, and 65 percent of Spanish consumers think biometrics-based identity verification by entities such as credit card providers, banks, health care, and government organizations is acceptable.
Germany
Seeks Expansion of Computer Spying
Los Angeles Times (10/30/07) Murphy, Kim
German law enforcement authorities want to expand government-sanctioned computer surveillance, citing the case of an abortive bombing in which plans for the attack were on the laptop of one of the suspects. "What this case showed us is that they are using laptops, they are using computers, and it would have been very, very helpful to track them down with online searches," says Gerhard Schindler, director of the German Interior Ministry's counter-terrorism bureau. Germany is seeking authorization to plant clandestine Trojans into suspects' computers so that files, photos, diagrams, voice recordings, keystrokes, and other information can be scanned and recorded. The Interior Ministry reports that laws authorizing online searches have already been passed in several European countries, and several more allow such searches or are in the process of adopting similar legislation. German parliament member Hans-Christian Stroeble argues that physical computer searches are already permissible with court approval, but secret searches would completely bypass legal procedures. "What we fear is that without any hint of a criminal background, police can secretly go into computers, maybe even the computers of political opponents, and spy them out, gaining access to personal data like photos, diaries, love letters, things like that," he says.
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