Political heavyweights meet to debate cybercrime

Chairman of the Global Forum for Law Enforcement and National Security (LE&NS) is former leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Paddy Ashdown MP, who warned of the criminal and even terrorist uses the internet can be put to.

In an exclusive interview with silicon.com, Ashdown claimed the globalisation of power was putting traditional nation states under immense pressure, as groups outside recognised geographical and political structures are increasingly able to exert influence over the populous.

"It's also because of the atomisation of power - power being brought down to individual people," Ashdown said. "The internet is the instrument by which some of the insecurity will arise and a lot of it will be spread."

Speaking at the launch of the global forum, Professor Lawrence Freedman, military expert at King's College London, said the advantages of the net can also pose a risk.

"The power which allows you to purchase a US-published book within a few days from amazon.com is the same power which allows you to organise a demonstration in Seattle," Freedman said.

Ashdown pointed out law enforcement agencies have so far failed to recognise the changes needed in their approach to national security.

He said. "In the past you've thought, 'how do I ensure security?' and the answer is to do it through the nation state. But if power has migrated beyond the state we have to think of new ways."

The forum aims to produce a set of guidelines to help businesses and governments protect national infrastructure from security threats.

According to Robert Hall, former head of analysis at the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) and the forum's project director, the issues are so big law enforcers are unable to tackle the problem alone.

"An awful lot of work still needs to be done in order to make business and government work together in a cohesive and sensible fashion," Hall warned.

"Internet security is a colossal problem which threatens not only businesses but also critical national infrastructures which are dependent on e-government. If the two sides don't work together then we won't have a cohesive policy of fighting the threats. "

The Global Forum for Law Enforcement and National Security (LE&NS) holds its first meeting on 19 to 22 June 2001 in Edinburgh. For more information see http://www.lensforum.com