Web companies, retailers and the government must do far more to protect people from the dangers of the 鈥渓awless Wild West鈥� of the internet, according to an influential group of UK members of parliament.
In a critical report published on Friday, MPs warn that the government and industry have a 鈥渓aissez-faire鈥� approach to online crime that could eventually lead to an 鈥渆conomically disastrous鈥� loss of public confidence in the net.
With computer fraud growing ever more sophisticated, people have little hope of protecting themselves, say members of the .
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鈥淵ou can鈥檛 just rely on individuals to take responsibility for their own security,鈥� committee chairman said at the launch of the report. 鈥淭hey will always be outfoxed by the bad guys.鈥�
Virus attacks
Cybercrime is one of the fastest growing criminal activities worldwide and involves a huge range of illegal activity including financial scams, hacking and virus attacks.
The MPs say that industry 鈥� from software makers and internet service providers to banks and online retailers 鈥� must do more to protect end users. They also criticise the government for insisting that responsibility for security ultimately rests with users, who are often faced with a 鈥渂ewildering鈥� set of options.
鈥淭his is no longer realistic, and compounds the perception that the internet is a lawless 鈥榃ild West鈥�,鈥� the report says.
The report recommends that the UK government work with the European Union to see if more legal responsibility for security could be handed over to internet companies and software makers. It also suggests that a network of police computer laboratories be set up to fight the 鈥渇lourishing鈥� online crime industry.
Another recommendation is that the police get the extra funds needed to launch a central e-crime unit and create a website where people could report online offences.
The report also highlights the lack of clear figures on computer crime and states that the government should make sure the courts are aware of the seriousness of the problem.
鈥淭he choice is either to intervene now鈥o keep the threat to the internet under control, or to let it grow unchecked, and risk an economically disastrous, long-term loss of public confidence,鈥� it concludes.
