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National Economies Threatened by Cybercrime
10/06/08
The European
Network Information Security Agency (ENISA) held a press conference
at the end of May in which they warned that increased cybercriminal
activity threatens the economic interests of the European Union.
While the
agency noted during the conference that it was difficult to quantify
the scope of the problem, the data made available underlines the
seriousness of the threat: as many as six million computers in the
European Union are infected by, and connected to, botnets, and spam
is costing businesses 65 billion Euros.
AVG Technologies, a leading developer of Internet security software
for consumers and SMEs, also this week released the results of its
own research study, conducted in March 2008 through market research
company Ipsos, into the effects of cybercrime on European Union
citizens.
Of the 7000 PC users surveyed, 22% had experienced some form of
cybercrime; Italians fared worst with 32% of users impacted, closely
followed by the UK with 31%.
These results can be linked to two key behavioural trends:
• Very high use of the Internet for increasingly sensitive
transactions:
- 72% of users shop online
- 69% of users bank online
- 55% of users pay bills online
Sweden (84%) and Germany (78%) are the leading users of online
banking:
• Low levels of protection and low awareness by home PC users of how
to prevent cybercrime:
- 18% of users surveyed had no anti-virus protection on their
computers
- 38% of users claim there is not enough information about
cybercrime and how to prevent it.
The low availability of information appears to stimulate the fear
factor. More Europeans believe they are likely to experience
cybercrime (34%) than burglary (22%), assault (19%) or robbery
(25%). Almost half of all Germans believe they are likely to be a
victim of cybercrime (47%); no other crime accounted for more than
20%.
“It’s clear from both the ENISA report and our own research data
that we all still have a considerable amount of work to do to
protect computer users against cybercrime,” says AVG Technologies
CEO JR Smith. “In the space of a few years, the nature of the threat
has changed from a sport to professional criminal activity. The
challenge for us now is to deliver security with a light touch that
does not stifle innovation.
“With the world flattening and borders disappearing online, it
becomes critical for businesses and home users to know that they can
safely conduct transactions online. We support ENISA’s call to
action and urge the industry to collaborate to make the Internet a
safe place to do business globally. Just as environmental policies
are only truly effective when people and organisations get together,
securing the web, by its very nature, should be a collaborative
undertaking. That's why AVG's threat research incorporates user
input as a core component, fostering an environment in which users
cooperate with researchers to ensure the protection of all.”
AVG Technologies offers both free and commercial products to help
home users and SMEs proactively protect their digital assets against
unauthorized access or abuse. Home users can choose AVG Anti-Virus
or AVG Internet Security, while business users can select networked
versions of the Anti-Virus and Internet Security products as well as
file- and email-server based Anti-Virus. AVG Free offers basic
anti-virus, anti-spyware, and safe-searching protection for
individual users. All products offer unobtrusive high-performance
protection and ease of use, and are backed by global research
laboratories providing frequent updates to ensure continuous
protection.
ENISA, the European Network Information Security Agency, was set up
by the EU to work with member states to study info security threats
to the state's digital infrastructures. ENISA has been working with
member states to set up CERTs, Computer Emergency Response Teams, in
various EU member countries: in 2005, there were 8 government CERTs,
there are now 14, and ten more are coming online in the next few
years. In 2007, the agency launched a feasibility study to explore
the creation of an early warning system to notify SMEs and consumers
about emerging security threats, such as virus outbreaks. More
information at
www.enisa.europa.eu.
Nick Gibson, editor
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