EU Encourages Crowd-Source Crime Data – Ethical Hacker Certified Personnel May Improve Security

Members of the European Union (EU) are concerned with the ever-growing instances of cybercrime. Online users have been subject to rampant spamming, numerous instances of identity theft and phishing attacks. Further, cybercriminals have devised sophisticated methods to install botnets, inject viruses, Trojans and malware. Lack of proper reporting mechanisms is one of the challenges faced by counter-crime agencies, which thwarts action against the offenders. Many affected individuals do not report instances of cybercrime to avoid legal hassles or are not aware of the reporting mechanisms. To counter this challenge, counter-crime agencies in the EU are planning to create a mechanism to collect cybercrime data from affected individuals. Europol, the European Law enforcement agency plans to set-up a European cybercrime center, which will create a reporting mechanism for the general public to report instances of cybercrime.

Usually, counter crime agencies across the world recruit ethical hacker certified personnel to conduct security evaluations, identify vulnerabilities and initiate corrective action. Availability of cybercrime data could aid the security specialists in understanding the common vectors of cybercrime. Cybercrime data would assist counter crime agencies to study the crime trends and trace the culprits. Under the proposed set up, affected individuals will report instances of cybercrime to the respective national authorities of the member nations. Each of the national authorities will share the collected data with the EU cybercrime center.

While it may take several years to set-up the proposed center, the initiative may encourage collaboration and information sharing between the counter crime agencies of member nations of the European Union. Several countries across the world are encouraging universities to include security certification courses in the curriculum to meet the future requirements of cyber security experts.

Security professionals working in business organizations and government departments may update their technical knowledge and skills through iPad training services offered by some of the institutions.

Cybercrime has become nuisance for individuals and business organizations. Organizations are forced to invest considerable resources on IT security. Repeated cyber-attacks not only disrupt the services, but also have adverse effect on the future business prospects.