Data And Information Update

1. United Kingdom

1.1 Government Initiatives / Consultations / Legislation

House of Lords Technology Select Committee's report on Personal Internet Security

On 10 August 2007, the House of Lords Technology Select Committee published a report on internet security. The driving force behind the report is that internet security breaches should be addressed by means of a flexible mix of incentives, regulation and direct investment. The changing nature of technology means that end-user responsibility for anything that goes wrong is becoming increasingly unrealistic, and ISPs and network operators should be held responsible.

The report states that efforts to promote best practice within the industry are hampered by the lack of commercial incentives offered to the industry to make internet products secure. Companies are ready to offload the commercial risks on consumers via licensing agreements and therefore avoid paying for the costs of lack of security.