EC proposes $3.8m Cybercrime Centre

The European Commission (EC) will propose that a $3.8 million Cybercrime Centre be established to tackle rising levels of online crime within member states.

It said this will be established to help EU member states' investigations into cyber crime and to map organised crime online. It will also be responsible for training national experts on cyber crime and will form part of the EU police agency Europol.

The centre, which the EC first mentioned in its 2010 Internal Security Strategy, is due to open in 2013 and is the latest EU move to combat cyber crime.

Speaking at a press announcement, Cecilia Malmström, member of the EC in charge of home affairs, highlighted the low costs of credentials and said that cyber crime creates fear "of putting things online, of using social networks, a fear of our ordinary internet lives".

She said e-commerce only equates to four per cent of the EC's economy, so there needs to be a strengthening of confidence among consumers, particularly in light of the current euro crisis.

Malmström said the centre would not target "individual file-sharers" and would instead attack "severe organised cyber crime across the European Union”.

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Tenable Network Security chief executive Ron Gula said prosecuting cybercrime in Europe was difficult because each country had different laws.

“Cybercrime is often perpetrated by individuals working together from different countries so I'm in favour of any law enforcement initiatives that allow for easier sharing of cyber crimes, the techniques used and any data that may have been stolen," he said.

“Coordinating cybercrime offenders at the EU level will not only better leverage crime fighting resources in each EU country, but it will also provide a consistent response. It is also important to remember that while the new EU cybercrime centre will focus on ecommerce and protection of internet users privacy, if and when there is a cyber-terror event, the culture and practices of sharing cyber-criminal investigations will ultimately enable the EU to respond quickly and effectively.”

This article originally appeared at scmagazineuk.com