London Conference Highlights Cyber Security

LONDON CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS CYBER SECURITY By Normalazwa Jamaludin PUTRAJAYA, Nov 14 (Bernama) -- Internet security took the centre stage at the recent London Conference on Cyberspace amid the Internet's growing influence on people's lives and its immense economic and social benefits. The conference sought to balance between the issue of utilising the World Wide Web's full potential for economic growth and creating a safe online environment. More than 700 delegates from over 60 countries attended the conference, comprising key representatives of governments, the industry and civil societies. Britain Prime Minister David Cameron in his speech at the conference revealed that cyber crime costs the United Kingdom an estimated 27 billion pound a year, and as much as US$1 trillion a year globally. He spoke of attempts made every day on an industrial scale to steal government secrets -- information of interest to nation states, not just commercial organisations. He said Britain would shortly set out a new approach for better online security, crime prevention and public awareness. "But a cross-border problem needs cross-border solutions, which is why the world needs to act together," he said. British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs William Hague, who opened the conference, said a collective endeavour was needed to tap into the enormous potential of cyberspace involving all stakeholders. "How to ensure we can all reap the benefits of a safe and secure cyberspace for generations to come is one of the greatest challenges we face. "The response does not lie in the hands of any one government or country but it is too important to be left to chance." Hague hoped the ideas and proposals from the conference would develop into what he called a "London Agenda" -- an inclusive and focused approach to help the international community realise the enormous potential offered by the cyberspace for a more prosperous, safe and open networked world. Malaysian Information, Communications and Culture Minister Dr Rais Yatim who attended the conference said a consensus had been reached to formulate "a precise international network mechanism to combat cyber crime." He said the conference reached a broad agreement that there must be a collaborative effort to tackle cyber crime at the national, regional or international level. He said Malaysia's proposal to establish an international network of cooperation to advise and guide the younger generation on the responsible use of the Internet won positive response. "People think of preventive measures...Malaysia made the proposal because we are faced with a young generation very passionate and enthusiastic about using the Internet," he said. Hague, in his closing remarks, said the conference had made some important progress on addressing issues such as Internet freedom, children’s safety and digital divide. He said the conference recognised the need to broaden physical ability to access the Internet, to ensure that cyberspace is secure and reliable and that efforts to improve security should be not at the expense of human rights. "This include to enhance cooperation and collaboration between states, that we act together to address the threat from cyber crime, and that we preserve the global interoperability and resilience that underpin the economic and social benefits of the Internet," he said. Follow-up conferences on the norms of behaviour in cyberspace will be held in Hungary next year and in South Korea in 2013 to build on the discussions at the conference. -- BERNAMA