Your webmaster turned reporter and attended the Get Safe Online summit at the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform this morning. Here are some impressions and observations.
Tony Neate, our MD, kicked off proceedings. He talked about the roadshow this week. He also mentioned the House of Lords report and the government’s reply; both of which endorsed what we are doing.
Then Garreth Griffith (from eBay/PayPal) told everyone about our latest report. (Read the stats at the end of today’s press release.) He said “We’ve seen some improvement but there’s still lots to do.” He outlined some of the reasons why people are still falling victim to online crime:
- The threat is constantly evolving
- Only 80% have anti-virus software and only half of them keep it up-to-date
- Social networking is a new risk. 25% of people surveyed shared confidential information with strangers on social networking sites
- People still use weak passwords; often the same one for many sites
- There is widespread fatalism: 33% say they ‘don’t have the time’ or ‘it costs to much’ to protect themselves
The thing that stuck in my mind was the average loss from a security problem: over £500. Nothing to be complacent about, especially when prevention costs a little time and less money.
Sharon Lemon, deputy director at SOCA, talked about the criminal aspects on online security. First, there are old crimes carried out with new, online techniques. For example, drug dealers and people traffickers are using online encryption. Then there are wholly new kinds of crimes. An online criminal economy is emerging with specialisation, division of labour and online markets. She said, with a reference to her organisation, “Online crime is now serious and organised.” Scary stuff.
There was an interesting demo where a white-hat SOCA hacker broke into a wireless network. I’m going to try to get a video and upload it to the blog. Over 7.8m internet users in the UK have unprotected wireless networks. Freeloading isn’t the biggest risk here – people can hack into your computers with the simplest of free tools that are widely available online. (Read our advice about securing wireless networks.)
Simon Ash from Business Link talked about IT security and small businesses. A startling statistic: 75% of retailers and 50% of manufacturers had been the victim of crime in the last year, according to their research. Our report found that nearly half of all businesses had been the victim of e-crime. Businesses risk more than viruses and loss. As one businessman said:
IT lets me punch above my weight but when my reputation goes, so does my business.
The formal presentations closed with a speech from Cabinet Office minister, Gillian Merron. She praised our work and talked about the importance of IT security for small businesses. What struck me about her speech was the beginning. She said: “I’ve been sending emails. Shopping online. Paying for my tax disc. I chat with colleagues and constituents on Facebook.” Yes, MPs are online too.
Technorati Tags: eBay, Microsoft, Get Safe Online, Gillian Merron, Facebook, summit, BERR, Cabinet Office
