World powers thrash out framework to fight cybercrime

The Love Bug was just one of the items on the agenda as representatives from the world's most powerful governments met at the G8 conference in Paris to debate the growing problem of cybercrime.

French Interior Minister Jean-Pierre Chevenement opened the proceedings, and called on governments to encourage citizens and businesses to trust the Internet by putting in place policies to protect users.

However, Aled Miles, managing director of Symantec, said businesses must take responsibility for their own network security. He said: "There is no answer to cybercrime like there is no answer to burglary but companies can make themselves less vulnerable. At the moment there are 300 million companies online and only 800,000 have security policies. Businesses firmly have their heads in the sand."

Prime Minister Lionel Jospin told delegates at the conference that he would use the French presidency of the European Union to fight cybercrime.

He said he would push for the introduction of a Council of Europe convention to introduce an international legal framework to regulate Internet activities as part of the e-Europe initiative. However, he claimed individual countries must take responsibility for developing effective internal policing policies as well.

"Far from being a substitute for regulation by the state, self-regulation can relay and supplement the effects of public action. So together, through enhanced co-operation between states - and co-operation between states and industry - we will effectively combat new forms of crime in the information society."

However, international co-operation between authorities and greater penalties for cybercrime are needed. Symantec's Miles said: "The problem is that a lot of the policies are post-crime policies. I don't believe there are enough deterrents in place to make people think twice - it is still in the glamour stage. One law, and guidelines for implementing that law, is the right way to police this problem. But co-operation between countries is essential otherwise the law is unenforceable."

Over the next three days, the G8 participants will debate the problem of online fraud, hacking and cyber piracy.