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World leaders should put cyber security on agenda

Reuters, Sydney : World leaders should put cyber security on the international agenda at forums such as the G20 and bring pressure to bear on "slower-moving" nations to take a stand against hacking, the co-founder of a global industry body said on Tuesday. Peter Coroneos, co-founder of the International Internet Industry Association and head of Australia's industry body, said such leadership by major powers could support and hasten early industry efforts to adopt global anti-hacking safeguards. "Getting the issue elevated to a level like the G20 would be a good way to promote engagement with economies that might otherwise move a little slower," Coroneos told Reuters. "We saw that with the nuclear arms limitation treaty, where you did have a couple of early movers," he added. Recent cyber attacks on multinational firms and institutions, from Google and Citigroup to the International Monetary Fund, have raised fears that governments and the private sector are losing the battle against hackers. Google pointed the finger at China for an attempt to gain access to the Gmail accounts of assorted activists, and global miner BHP Billiton has also harbored concerns about high-tech espionage from China and its rivals.