Data security a top priority for Europe

The European Commission is intent on boosting data security and raising awareness around the protection of personal information.

Speaking at the Microsoft Innovation Day in Brussels yesterday, vice president of the European Commission, Franco Frattini, said: "We must dramatically improve people's awareness of these crimes. Better data protection would also have a positive impact on consumer trust in cyberspace."

Security from A to Z

Click on the links below to find out more...

A is for Antivirus
B is for Botnets
C is for CMA
D is for DDoS
E is for Extradition
F is for Federated identity
G is for Google
H is for Hackers
I is for IM
J is for Jaschan (Sven)
K is for Kids
L is for Love Bug
M is for Microsoft
N is for Neologisms
O is for Orange
P is for Passwords
Q is for Questions
R is for Rootkits
S is for Spyware
T is for Two-factor authentication
U is for USB sticks/devices
V is for Virus variants
W is for Wi-fi
X is for OS X
Y is for You
Z is for Zero-day

He added: "We fully support the development of privacy protection technology. I think privacy and protection of personal data is a long term goal."

Frattini said differences in the way the issue is tackled by national regulators need to be reconciled as they create weaknesses that criminals can exploit.

He referred to the rise in phishing saying there are now around 31,000 known websites providing phishing toolkits for criminals to exploit.

He said: "New technology brings new challenges but technology can also help us tackle these problems."

Also speaking at the event in Brussels, the European Commissioner for information society and media, Viviane Reding, said the software industry has a large role to play in Europe. She said: "The main significance of software is that it's everywhere. That is why the software industry has an importance that goes beyond the industry per se."