27 November, 2006 - 12:50pm

The European Commission today warned member states to better their efforts to "address 'professional' spammers, phishers and the spreading of spyware and malware" or they would face legislative controls to combat it. The warning follows publication of a study that found up to 85% of all email received in the European Union is spam.

The EC Communication lauds industry actions to prevent online phishing but states that the EC will, "revisit the legislative framework next year when it will introduce legislative proposals to strengthen user privacy and security in 2007". This could entail, ISPs being required to report security breaches, and giving regulatory authorities power to force ISPs to implement adequate security.

New Identity 2.0, technologies that caution users about potential phishing sites, could be a complementary weapon in fighting this type of internet ID fraud.