LINX, the London Internet Exchange, is an association of Internet Service Providers and major networks, and is one of the largest Internet Exchange Points in the world.

  We believe that Personal Internet Security is a complex topic requiring a blended policy approach. This should include, amongst other measures, a combination of:

—  Short term educational measures to raise user awareness of practical steps that they can take now to protect themselves (eg the industry supported "Get Safe Online");

—  Long terms educational measures to raise understanding of IT security principles and measures;

—  Effective law enforcement action to address serious breaches of existing laws in the online environment, supported by adequate resourcing for both police and specialist computer forensics support;

—  Improved international co-operation to ensure that criminal perpetrators targeting UK citizens from other jurisdictions are less likely to evade justice;

—  Ongoing support by network providers, acting within an appropriate legal framework, for law enforcement efforts to trace users who commit criminal acts;

—  Removal by hosting providers of material hosted on their computer servers that is illegal or unlawful to publish in the UK, when they gain actual knowledge of the existence and nature of the material.

  Personal Internet security also requires the support of a wide variety of private initiatives and imperatives. A selection of examples includes:

—  The wide range of consumer-orientated security-related advice available from ISPs and others;

—  Ongoing improvement of security models and implementation in consumer software (eg the Windows operating system, web browsers etc);

—  Ongoing development of additional technical protective systems for consumers (eg anti-virus/anti-spyware, firewalls, spam and content filters etc);

—  Ongoing development of security-related services protecting end users directly or through the services they use (eg anti-spam and anti-phishing services from Spamhaus, MessageLabs, Microsoft and Mozilla);

—  Aggressive competition between providers (whether of computer hardware, software or Internet services) that encourages product differentiation based on factors including innovative improvements to the security experience.

31 October 2006