The answer? A government campaign, reinforced by the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit and backed by suppliers such as BT, Dell, eBay, Lloyds TSB and Microsoft, to educate the population, and to persuade them to take responsibility for their actions online.
No wonder they're worried. UK government has invested vast sums in e-government, and as Mr Blair claimed, by the end of this year, "96% of public services will be available online". And as Mr Hutton added, online sales this Christmas are expected to reach £5.5 bn.
The Get Safe Online website urges home and small business computer users to install anti-spyware, anti-virus software and a firewall, and to keep their operating system software patched up to date.
It also urges people to behave safely. "GSO is about encouraging people to use their common sense when they are online, just as they do on the street," Mr Hutton said.
But shouldn't the PC industry be doing more to help, by not shipping PCs that are so vulnerable to attack?
Peter Hubbard, from Dell, said the company's website encouraged people to make safe choices. "We look to the industry to provide the best anti-virus software and leave it to people to decide," he said. "We're here to encourage them to take charge of their own destiny, as it were."
So if your PC gets taken over by some criminal hacker working for the Russian mafia, tough.
Microsoft's Nick McGrath, who is driving the first Mini to Bristol, said "the concept of shipping more secure systems is integral to what we're doing at Microsoft", pointing to the vast sums spent on the company's Trustworthy Computing initiative. "With the launch of Windows XP SP2, there's been a significant reduction in security problems. We're getting a lot better, but we realise we still have a long way to go."
Microsoft says SP2, a free upgrade to XP, was downloaded by 218 million users in its first year. But there may still be a few hundred million people not using it.
Get Safe Online follows initiatives such as iSafe in the US, BeWebAware in Canada, and similar campaigns in Europe, because this is a global problem. No one thinks it's a solution, but that it's worth the effort if it makes things a little better.
Autor: Jack Schofield
Quelle: Guardian, 27.10.2005
