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31 October 2008

The UK is suffering a cybercrime wave

Reports of cybercrime in the UK rose 9% over the course of 2007, according to the UK Cybercrime Report by online-identity company Garlik, which compiled government, police and analyst statistics. The largest increase was in internet and email fraud, jumping to 250,000 incidents in 2007, from 207,000 in 2006. The report claims that more than 3.5 million online crimes were committed last year in the UK.

But there could be some hope on the horizon. Speaking at the RSA Conference Europe 2008 in London, Microsoft chief security adviser Ed Gibson, who helped advise the government on the newly formed Police Central e-Crime Unit (PCeU), described the unit as a "giant step forward for the UK" in tackling this type of everyday internet fraud.