Government Promises £63 Million To Fight Cyber Crime

The government has apportioned £63 million of its promised £650 million cyber security fund to tackling cyber crime, according to home secretary Theresa May.

May revealed this at a private meeting of interior ministers from the G6 countries in Krakow, Poland. In a written statement covering her meeting, she wrote that further details of the fund will be disclosed in the spring.

Effective Self-Regulation Favoured

“The approach of the UK was for more effective self-regulation rather than formal regulation,” she reported. “To this end, there was frequent consultation between government and internet security providers. The US attorney-general noted that his government had recently issued a cyberspace policy review and created an office for cybersecurity co-ordination. There were discussions around data retention and protection.”

The day of meetings, postponed from last September, was attended by representatives from Germany, Great Britain, France, Italy, Spain and Poland who were joined by US officials Jane Holl Lute, the Department of Homeland Security deputy secretary, and attorney general Eric Holder for two discussions followed by individual meetings later in the day. Ministers considered the need to inform the public on how to keep safe in cyberspace.

At the first plenary session, the ministers exchanged insights and experiences on efforts by their governments to ensure safety in cyberspace, with particular attention to the need to diagnose and identify the main threats of actions and how international co-operation could prevent and combat these threats.

The second session concerned preventive measures for events such as Poland’s hosting of the Euro2012 football championship. May promised close liaison between the UK and Poland, especially in the light of the hosting of the Olympic Games in London the following month. Much of the discussion related to how any terrorist threats could be communicated to the public.

The UK government’s National Security Strategy was announced last October when it escalated cyber attacks to a “tier 1” security threat, alongside international terrorism. May’s funding disclosure confirms the government view that cyber crime is linked to the potential for terrorists to disrupt business transactions over the Internet.