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New EU security strategy: Sod cyber terrorism, BAN ENCRYPTION

Guff-laden policy also includes more private data hoovering

“It is unacceptable that a Kalashnikov can be bought easily on the internet,”* thundered European Commission number two Frans Timmermans yesterday, as he presented the Commission’s plans to combat terrorism. So what’s he going to do about it? That’s right, hold a consultation.

The much-trumpeted new EU Security Strategy is nothing of the sort. Rather, it is a mish-mash of old policies with a bit more guff about information sharing tagged on.

Central to its plans to tackle cyber-terrorism is a plan to “enhance dialogue with the IT industry”. ISIS et al must be quaking in their boots.

“The Commission will launch in 2015 an EU-level Forum [sic] with IT companies to bring them together with law enforcement authorities and civil society. Building upon the preparatory meetings organised in 2014, the Forum will focus on deploying the best tools to counter terrorist propaganda on the internet and in social media,” says the document.

Even this is not new. Last year the Commish held meetings with Google, Facebook, Twitter and Microsoft to discuss the problem.

The telling line is that “the Forum will also explore the concerns of law enforcement authorities on new encryption technologies”. In short, the Commission’s solution to serious organised crime, terrorism and cyber-crime is to stop IT firms offering encryption.

A couple of other initiatives that have previously been announced were also mentioned in the document, including increasing Europol’s capacities through the creation of a European Counter-Terrorism Centre. The Commission also wants to see more co-operation between EU countries and will be putting pressure on the other EU bodies to deliver the proposed Passenger Name Record Directive and the data protection reform package as soon as possible. ®

Bootnote

* Vulture Central's backroom gremlins googled "buy kalashnikov", to put Timmermans' assertion to the test. The third result, discounting an American SEO-tweaked advertising page and a news article, was indeed a page of Kalashnikovs for sale. Was the EU commish right? Nope - because all the guns listed on there are deactivated. Wannabe crims might as well buy baseball bats.

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