The UK business community has hit out at the British government’s weak response to the escalating threat of e-crime and is calling for an urgent national debate on the subject.

Industry leaders have expressed deep frustration at the negligible government resources dedicated to tackling e-crime which has left many of the UK’s largest corporations with little recourse but to report incidents to their local police station. In the majority of instances local law enforcement agents have very little technical knowledge and do not understand the nature of the crime, says the Corporate IT Forum, an industry user association.

The e-crime reporting mechanism was seriously impaired by the dissolution of the National High Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU), which was officially ‘absorbed’ into the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) in April 2006.

The move provoked consternation among industry leaders and many law enforcement agents alike. No agency or adequate reporting mechanism has taken the unit’s place, they argue.

Industry leaders are now calling for both the reinstatement of the NHTCU and for a national debate regarding who should ultimately be responsible for tackling online crime, the Guardian reported on Thursday.

Guardian news report

Corporate IT Forum