The Government has unveiled plans to create a national information
security strategy that will bring together government bodies and
the private sector in a co-ordinated fight against computer
crime.
The national information assurance strategy, to be developed by the
Office of the E-Envoy, is a response to concerns about the threat
posed by computer-criminals as more organisations go online.
The strategy aims to identify key information security priorities
for businesses and the Government, and will "bring coherence" to
the work of a large number of private and public sector security
bodies in the UK.
Announcing the move last week, Bob Evans, director for information
assurance in the e-envoy's office, said that the UK needed to "move
to a different level" in tackling computer crime.
"The threat is getting more sophisticated all the time. With more
people going online and more hacking tools on the Internet,
elementary and sophisticated forms of hacking are on the increase,"
he said.
The e-envoy's office plans to work with industry and government
groups to develop the strategy over the next 12 months.
A minimally-funded, high-level body will be created to implement
the strategy and pull together work by existing industry and
government groups.
"It could make a tremendous difference. A lot of people are doing
good work in this area already. We need to give them a bit of focus
and leadership, so that everyone knows what we are trying to
achieve," said Evans.
The strategy will eliminate the duplication between security
initiatives across the UK, and fill gaps in research in network
management and Internet security.
The move was welcomed this week by the Information Assurance
Advisory Council, a group of business, law enforcement, government
and research bodies.
Pauline Neville-Jones, chairwoman of the Information Assurance
Advisory Council, said that the increasing integration and
inter-reliance between systems and networks meant that without an
overall approach to security, threats would not be properly
addressed.
"It's about providing leadership. If the government has a strategy,
businesses are much more likely to do what they need to do," she
said.