KPMG releases white paper on cybercrime

A new report on e-commerce and cybercrime provides tips for governments to consider in order to prevent security breaches.

The white paper, "E-Commerce and Cyber Crime: New Strategies for Managing the Risks of Exploitation," focuses on businesses, but the issues are applicable to governments too.

KPMG Consulting LLC's Forensic and Litigation Services released the report. Tom Talleur, managing director of that department and author of the report, was the former advanced technology programs executive in charge of the Network and Advanced Technology Crimes Division at NASA.

The report discusses:

* Creating holistic, integrated policies around a core mission.

* Being aware of the vulnerabilities that occur when products and services are outsourced.

* The danger of "downstream civic liability," or the possibility that an entity could be held responsible if its site is used to hack into another's site and cause damage. An argument could be made, Talleur said, that if a government or company does not take the proper steps to secure their site and it is used to cause harm, then they are responsible.

* Considering security issues for emerging technologies. "People are so consumed with this 30-year-old technology — the Internet — they're not thinking about the future," Talleur said.

* The potential for legal action under conflicting state and federal, as well as international, laws.

* Considering privacy with all these issues.

The report is available online, and a printed version will be released in July.