Horseman number 4: 'Paedophiles Pose Greatest Threat Facing Internet'

[R.A. Hettinga]

Okay, so it's a trifecta, today...

:-)

Cheers,
RAH
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Wed 8 Dec 2004

4:51pm (UK)
'Paedophiles Pose Greatest Threat Facing Internet'

By David Barrett, PA Home Affairs Correspondent


 Online paedophiles are the greatest threat facing the internet, government
research said today.

 A variety of internet child porn issues dominated a "top 10" of criminal
threats posed by new technology, a Home Office report revealed.

 The survey of 53 internet and technology experts saw seven different child
porn concerns ranked in the 10 most serious "netcrime" threats, with
grooming and possible stalking of children ranked as the top fear.

 In second place was the growing use of the internet for espionage by
corporate spies.

 Out of a total of 101 crime issues in the league table compiled by the
survey, 12 related to child porn.

 The top 10 rankings were:-

 1. Increased online grooming and possible stalking using the internet.

 2. Espionage by corporate spies.

 3. Increased access to paedophile content sold by organised criminals
through various online platforms.

 4. Use of online storage for paedophile images to bypass seizure of home
computers.

 5. Use of secure "peer to peer" technology for all types of paedophile
activity.

 6. Use of encryption for secure access to paedophile networks.

 7. Theft of personal digital assistants or mobile phones containing
personal information to commit fraud on the internet.

 8. Growing access to "real-time" child abuse on the web.

 9. Use of "peer to peer" technology for pirate activity.

 10. Grooming of children for abuse using advanced mobile phone technology.

 The study, entitled "The Future of Netcrime Now", said police were already
working to combat internet child porn and the issue's high media profile
may have contributed to its prominent place in the poll.

 "The Government, law enforcement and industry needs to 'gear up' their
capability to continuously look forward, attempting to identify new forms
of criminal technology misuse as soon as they emerge, or even before they
are seized upon by the criminal community," it concluded.

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R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'