Leader: Cyber-terror... who do you believe?

Today we have heard of a plan to launch a World Security Organisation which will be "bigger than Interpol" and "more effective than the World Health Organisation".

We await news as to how.

But all will apparently become clear when security company mi2g puts the idea before an audience of 60 senior execs and government types tomorrow night at the Oxford University Internet Institute.

Among the five key proposals is a plan to end poverty in deprived areas of the world where cyber-terrorism apparently must now represent one of the most effective ways for an individual to drag themselves out of the gutter.

We await proof of that fact.

Today silicon.com has heard the chairman of the company behind the proposal described by peers as "an indefatigable self-publicist" and a "self-appointed guru" but we're willing to believe that's just industry back-biting.

What we haven't heard is any concrete evidence that there is such a thing as cyber-terrorism. Yet those aforementioned government types almost certainly want to be convinced there is a problem because problem solving wins votes.

As such it's inevitable the government will court the company of any organisation which will tell them the problem is grave.

After all, the easiest way to protect a nation from terror attacks is to exist at a time when they won't be forthcoming. Make a lot of noise about the fact they are imminent and then sit back when they don't materialise and bask in the warm glow of approval ratings as the nation emits a collective sigh of relief.

Sound familiar? You don't have to cast your mind back too far.

It's a tactic used and abused by many governments where real-world terror attacks are concerned – it should be no surprise the government relies upon it where the nebulous and unconfirmed spectre of cyber-terror is concerned.

It's also a great way to justify increased monitoring – both online and offline. For increased security measures monitoring human traffic through airports read increased monitoring of digital traffic.

Why? Because we live in a time of terror. Or as mi2g would put it, we live in a time of "cyber attacks that spark fear and cause damage to life".