An Explosion in Cyber crime Sets Off Alarms in Europe

A video circulates on the Internet linking several individuals accused of the largest terrorist attack in Europe, the 2004 Madrid train bombings, to the incident. It is attributed to Iraqi-based, terrorist organization Ansar el Islam. The video shows pictures of an alleged planner and several of the suspected executers of the attack. It also shows graphic images of the attack and its aftermath as well as maps of the Madrid train system and of Al-Andalus, the area of the Iberian Peninsula governed by Muslims centuries ago. This video and similar websites are said to be used by terrorists to recruit supporters for their cause.    

The European Union wants Member States, third countries and the private sector to join forces to put an end to the use of cyberspace for criminal purposes, including the incitement to terrorism. To that end, it has released the Communication “Towards a General Policy on the Fight against Cyber Crime;” scheduled conferences on public and private cooperation; and is considering the adoption of targeted legislation. Besides dealing with cyber terrorism, the European Union wants to tackle skyrocketing online child pornography and financial fraud, particularly identity theft for the fraudulent use of credit cards, as well as cyber attacks.

The European Union urges countries to adopt the Council of Europe’s Convention on Cybercrime of 23 November 2001 and the EU’s Council Framework Decision 2005/222/JHA of 24 February 2005 on Attacks against Information Systems.

The European Union is in the process of collecting regional statistics on the magnitude and cost of cyber crime, which officials predict to be enormous, judging by the following data. The UK-based Internet Watch Foundation reports a 1,500 percent rise in child pornography sites accessible from this country in an eight-year period. In Norway, 7,000 people are said to be looking at child pornography on the Internet every day. Cyber crime losses in the United States, meanwhile, account for up to $400 billion per year. In the United Kingdom, 89 percent of businesses have been attacked in a year. Estonia was recently subjected to weeks of cyber attacks forcing the shut down of key public and private sites. The UK Financial Services Authority reports an 8,000 percent increase in bank fraud within a two-year period.