London, UK, 2nd December 2008 - The Information Security Awareness Forum (ISAF) has welcomed news that the European Union has adopted the European Commission's strategy on cybercrime agenda.

"Newswire reports suggest that the EU has adopted the EC's strategy on electronic crime and is calling for improved co-operation between firms and law enforcement agencies," said Dr. David King, ISAF's chairman.

"This is excellent news, as the five year rolling plan will give businesses, as well as the Police and other enforcement agencies, a solid chance to get to grips with this increasingly oppressive Internet-related problem," he added.

According to Dr. King, the game plan is to create an early warning system for firms to report on cybercrimes, and share this information with other businesses, as well as the relevant law enforcement agencies, including Europol, the European inter-Police force agency.

The big question, he said, centres on the level of budgets that are being allocated to the initiative, as the figures reported so far appear to be a little on the low side.

"This is a good start, however. I suspect that, once the various agencies begin to get to get their teeth into the problem, that the EU - and other relevant bodies - will increase the budgets available. This has to be done, if we are to seriously tackle this increasing and revenue-sapping problem for businesses and consumers alike," he said.
 
The Information Security Awareness Forum (ISAF) was founded in February of this year as a cross-industry initiative by the ISSA-UK to formally raise awareness of information security.

The forum was borne out of the ISSA-UK Advisory Board which, at its meeting in September 2007, identified the need for co-ordination activity within security awareness.

The ISSA-UK advisory board fully supports the role of the ISAF in its efforts to explore the agenda and identify specific actions that could be undertaken to make a difference.
 
 Founding members of the forum include ASIS International , the BCS, CMA, the Cybersecurity Knowledge Transfer Network, eema, EURIM, Get Safe Online, IAAC, the Information Technologists' Company, Infosecurity Europe, the Institute for the Management of Information Systems (IMIS), the Institution of Engineering and Technology , the International Underwriting Association of London (IUA), ISACA, (ISC)², ISF, ISSA, the Institute of Information Security Professionals, the Jericho Forum, the National Computing Centre, the National e-Crime Prevention Centre (NeCPC), the Police Central e-Crime Unit, and SASIG.

For more on the EU's cybercrime initiative: http://tinyurl.com/55erh3
 
For more on the ISAF: http://www.theisaf.org