UK wins bronze in world spyware stakes

MP Nick Palmer is to bring together industry, police and IT organisations to combat spyware

New research has revealed that the UK's computers have the third highest spyware infection rates in the world, with only Thailand and the US facing a larger problem.

The figures were released at the start of a campaign led by Dr Nick Palmer, MP for Boxtowe, to bring together industry, police and IT organisations to combat the problem of spyware.

The National High-Tech Crime Unit, the Association for Payment Clearing Services, credit reference agency Experian, the British Computer Society, security firm Webroot and the Eurim e-crime sub-group were all in attendance at a special meeting this morning to discuss strategies for the campaign.

"There is a strong case for a voluntary code of conduct on spyware," said Dr Palmer. "It is not that we don't have the bottle for full legislation, but it is in the industry's best interest to build a transparent process."

Dr Palmer gave the example of computer games, of which he is a great fan. He explained that, while he does not mind receiving information on new games, he needs the ability to filter out what is and isn't wanted.

His assertion was backed up by Howard Lamb, crime reduction co-ordinator at the National High Tech Crime Unit.

"I do not believe that we need more powers under the Computer Misuse Act," he said. "And we do not want more powers over the internet because that will stifle development."

David Moll, chief executive at Webroot, which sponsored the survey, added: "Informed consent is key. But informed consent is not obtained with adware, spyware and Trojans. This is a focus for law enforcement officials."

Webroot's data revealed that spyware is costing UK business £445m in lost time, reduced productivity and computer repairs, and the problem will only get worse.

Moll explained that the amount of spyware available in the past six months has doubled, and the number of websites hosting such software had quadrupled.

The survey found that 88 per cent of UK computers had some form of spyware installed, with an average of 18 pieces of code on each machine. Key-loggers were found on one in 20 PCs and over one in five had a Trojan installed.

"One of the best ways to ensure informed consent is to understand what this kind of software can do to a machine," said Colin Whittaker, head of security at the Association for Payment Clearing Services.

"To our mind it is Trojans and malicious code that represent the most severe threats. This is what the criminals are using, not adware."

Whittaker maintained that the problem of Trojans is increasing rapidly, and that foreign countries are providing an example of what could happen in Britain. He cited Brazil, where up to 100 new Trojans are discovered every day.

The survey figures were backed up by John Walker, head of operational security at credit reference agency Experian.

"In August we detected 106 spyware attacks, but by September that had risen to 206. Trojans were worse still, rising from 173 examples to 699," he said.

"In my opinion we are looking at serious organised crime involvement; this is not boys in bedrooms any more."