Six more ISPs sign up to iCode

An additional six local internet service providers (ISPs) have joined the Internet Industry Association's iCode, which brings the organisation one step closer in achieving 100 per cent compliance.

The companies that joined iCode -- a voluntary code of practice for Australian ISPs to improve cybersecurity for their customers and networks -- include iPrimus, Comcen, Minopher, activ8me, PPS Internet and Studentnet.

End users will be redirected to iCode's home page if their ISP's systems show their computer has been infected by malware and receive recources such as online tools to diagnose and fix infected machines or home visits for the technically inept.

Outgoing IIA chief executive, Peter Coroneos, said that the association was out to tackle the millions of infected machines which, on a global scale contribute to almost all spam, threaten personal data privacy and challenge national security.

"They are the weapon of choice for today's cybercriminal," he said in a statement.

"Our aim is to reduce the pool from which they draw."

In March this year, Coroneos said that since the launch of iCode in December 2010, 90 per cent of ISPs had signed up. At the time, he said that the IIA wanted to move to a 100 per cent compliance rate as soon as possible.

In an effort to gain international support for the iCode, Coroneos recently met with US President Barack Obama's cyber czar, Howard Schmidt, to look at the possibility of implementing the scheme in the US.

"Schmidt has long advocated measures such as those we've implemented here," he said.

"He has previously expressed his support for our scheme, which has achieved over 90 per cent market coverage in the six months since its inception without the need for a single line of legislation."

According to Coroneos, Schmidt was interested to know how the scheme was actually working and the response from customers who were notified.

"More importantly, he was interested to test US ISPs on their preparedness to follow suit, recognising, as we do, that global problems require coordinated global solutions," he said.

Coronoeos has lent tentative support for the creation of an Australian cyber czar. Representatives of Yahoo7!, ninemsn and Microsoft Australia presented the concept during a Senate committee hearing into cybersafety issues, arguing a czar or ombudsman could better cooordinate government and industry activities.

"Right now, consumers have nowhere to go," he said at the time.

"They have complaints that they can take to individual organisations but there is no independent avenue for recourse.

"We have previously foreshadowed the need for a body to handle e-commerce complaints. Our thinking may be in parallel with these companies."

Got a security tip-off? Contact Hamish Barwick at hamish_barwick at idg.com.au

Follow Hamish Barwick on Twitter: @HamishBarwick

Follow Computerworld Australia on Twitter: @ComputerworldAU

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