Nations Sharing Information To Enhance Cyber Security

By Fadzli Ramli KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 31 (Bernama) -- The increasing number of cyber threats call for a new approach in defending nations and the public from cyber criminals. Notably, the sharing of information between nations is seen as a critical aspect in narrowing down on cyber culprits across borders. At present only a handful of nations share information to zero in at cyber criminals. Prof Dr Ramlan Mahmod, the dean of the Computer Science and Information Technology Faculty at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), stressed that sharing of information on cyber threats through an 'alliance' involving a big number of nations would be the bedrock for global cyber security. Thus, the Global Cyber Security Alliance (GCSA) announced by the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Dr Maximus Ongkili on 23 Aug, 2011 is a step in the right direction in bolstering cyber security through greater outreach. "As reported in the media, the GCSA's goal is to boost cyber security by keeping hackers at bay by sharing information among member nations," he said adding that the cooperation among nations is the best way to deal with cyber crimes transcending national borders. Boosting the national cyber security is the first of the six of GCSA's core areas and the second, greater cyber law enforcement among alliance members. The third is the sharing of good practices and information relating to techniques and new methodologies in fighting cyber crime. Dr Ramlan noted that the GCSA could help enhance efficiencies, speed up efforts and enhance the effectiveness of law enforcement across borders including digital forensics, all representing the fourth core. "There may be cases where digital evidence has to be obtained from overseas thus this calls for cooperation among member nations and even non-members," he said. The fifth, is enhancing the awareness and understanding on cyber crime at every level of the society including in the bureaucratic sector and companies. The sixth, issuing warning or taking the necessary action on nations that are seen as the source of cyber crimes. Dr Ramlan noted that in ensuring GCSA's compelling role, it has to cooperate with other organisations with similar goals like the International Cyber Security Alliance (ICSPA) to ensure a greater outreach in the efforts to eradicate cyber crime across the globe. "I propose cooperation like this as both have the same goals in enhancing cyber security and moreover such cooperation can promote greater knowledge sharing and ICT expertise among the members of GCSA and ICSPA," he said. He said that knowledge and expertise sharing plays an important role as a catalyst in developing the ICT security sector among the member nations including Malaysia. ICSPA that was established on July 5, 2011 is represented by 20 nations from the European and American continent and businesses all over the world. "Cyber crimes are a global problem and thus more efforts are needed to encourage more nations to participate in the alliance," he said. Meanwhile Prof Dr Aziz Deraman, a lecturer at the Technology and Information Science Faculty at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia ruled out the possibility of leaks in the information shared among GCSA members. "This is especially true when such sharing of information is conducted based on established agreements and ethics. The information being shared is more on the cyber criminals and does not involve the information on any particular nation," he said. GCSA would definitely benefit from the participation of developed nations but Malaysia has to lead and be in charge of GCSA. In developing ICT products, GCSA can act as the standard bearer for the Malaysian products, especially those concerning software and data security. Associate Prof Dr S Shamala, also from UPM's Computer Science and Information Technology Faculty added that GCSA could provide a comprehensive safety shield for individuals using computer networks to exchange information. -- BERNAMA