Personal Internet Security

Glyn Wintle, 29 July 2006

The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee has established a Sub-Committee, under the Chairmanship of the Lord Broers, to examine Personal Internet Security in the UK. A call for evidence and a press release were issued today.

Areas the Committee will consider include:

What is the nature of the security threat to private individuals and what is the scale of the problem?
How well do the public understand the nature of the threat they face?
What can be done to provide greater personal internet security?
How much does this depend on software and hardware manufacturers?
Is the regulatory framework for internet services adequate?
How well equipped is Government to combat cyber crime?
Is the legislative framework in UK criminal law adequate to meet this growing challenge?

If you would like participate but don't feel like witting a full response by your self, ORG has a wiki page that we are encouraging people to edit Personal Internet Security Consultation.

Jonathan

Reply #1 on : Thu August 03, 2006, 14:19:32

One problem that should be addressed is the monopoly held by Microsoft. Because almost everyone uses Microsoft software, once criminals find a security hole, more than 90% of users are vulnerable to it. Such a monopoly wouldn't be allowed in any other field of business, so why in the operating system market? The problem is exacerbated by service providers such as banks, and indeed government department, who have poorly-designed websites that only function correctly in Microsoft's web browser.

There is no problem with the internet itself, and it certainly doesn't need to be choked by further regulation. The problem lies with Microsoft and its dominance of the OS and software market.

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