E-crime efforts to be improved in Home Office strategy

Whitehall finally commits to addressing issue

An organised cybercrime strategy, published by the Home Office, has promised to beef up law enforcement's e-crime strategy in an effort to curb the threat.

In a tacit admission that previous policies for tackling online fraud and cyber crime have not worked, a joint report by the Home Office and the Cabinet Office vows to hone in on cybercrime.

The 'Extending our reach: a comprehensive approach to tackling serious organised crime' report says much tighter coordination between departments is needed to keep a grip on organised crime.

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An organised cybercrime strategy, published by the Home Office, has promised to beef up law enforcement's e-crime strategy in an effort to curb the threat.

In a tacit admission that previous policies for tackling online fraud and cyber crime have not worked, a joint report by the Home Office and the Cabinet Office vows to hone in on cybercrime.

The 'Extending our reach: a comprehensive approach to tackling serious organised crime' report says much tighter coordination between departments is needed to keep a grip on organised crime.

"To combat the e-crime threat, the Home Office, supported by the newly created Office for Cyber Security in the Cabinet Office, will lead an urgent review of the governance, roles and responsibilities for e-crime, and publish a refreshed e-crime strategy by December 2009," the report said.

The strategy will look at how the government works with the private sector and foreign governments to build a proper picture of crime. Organised crime, including cybercrime, costs the UK £40 billion (US$65.7 billion) every year, according to official figures.

But the government admitted that cross-departmental actions on e-crime were lacking, and that there was some confusion on how to fight the problem. It said it needed to have "a clearer cross-government strategy on international serious organised crime".

In a foreword to the report, Gordon Brown, prime minister, said the government had "invested in new crime fighting technology and brought in new powers to target the criminals and recover their assets".

Whitehall is focusing on the fight against e-crime, admitting that it often leads to identity fraud, which then facilitates the buying of goods and services fraudulently "on an industrial scale".

The £7.4 million Police Central E-crime Unit, formed last year after extensive campaigning by the police and businesses, is crucial to fighting cybercrime, the report stated. The PCeU is tasked to "develop the overall response to cybercrime" by the police.

The report highlighted a successful recent example of the PCeU in action. In April, the unit worked with banks to target a group of suspects using a computer virus to help them steal money from personal accounts.

"In a first for a UK e-crime investigation, financial institutions and police worked together to share real time intelligence on criminal activity," it said. "This proactive partnership with industry resulted in what would normally be a six month investigation being concluded within four weeks."

More than 195 people had been victims of the scam, at a total cost of £700,000, and the arrests may have avoided £20 million worth of further harm, according to estimates.

The Serious Organised Crime Agency, which was formed in 2006 and absorbed the original National High Tech Crime Unit, will continue to tackle large scale cybercrime. The difference between the responsibilities of it and the PCeU may be clarified in the new strategy in December.

One of SOCA's specialities is helping to fight crime taking place in multiple countries. "Much of the cyber crime affecting the UK comes from international crime groups, and the government set up SOCA to focus in part on tackling cyber crime internationally in alliance with overseas law enforcement," the report stated.