Alarmed at the disclosure of the existence of a controversial email and telephone eavesdropping network, Echelon, the European Commission has already taken the step of urging the public to encrypt all their emails. There is deep concern within the European . . .
Alarmed at the disclosure of the existence of a controversial email and telephone eavesdropping network, Echelon, the European Commission has already taken the step of urging the public to encrypt all their emails. There is deep concern within the European Union (EU) over the implications of Echelon, especially as the US will not openly admit to the existence of the spy network. This is exacerbated by reports that Echelon, said to have been set up at the start of the Cold War, is only operated by five principal countries: the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK.

This has lead to the Commission calling for a collaborative approach between EU member states and other countries. This will look at the interception of data, as well as what it says are the other main security threats - viruses, hacking and denial of service attacks. "We need a strategy at European level to tackle existing and emerging security threats," said a spokesperson.

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