The internet needs to be globally regulated if it is to have any chance of stopping scams such as security "˜scareware' said Mary Landesman of ScanSafe, reported by Techworld.
She points to the recent Federal Trade Commission (FTC) injunctions against two companies accused of distributing fake anti-virus programs is a step in the right direction, but against a backdrop of widespread abuse.
Innovative Marketing and ByteHosting Internet Services were said to have peddled bogus anti-virus programs designed to tempt users into paying to clean their PCs of non-existent malware.
Landesman says the problem is that piecemeal action is being taken against a rising tide of such scams, fuelled by the release of automated tools in 2007, which made it simple for criminals to set up such cons.
She acknowledges that in part the issue stems from the de-regulation of internet registration nearly a decade ago with the removal of the monopoly enjoyed by Network Solutions. This led to a multitude of unregulated organisations to decide who was and who wasn't allowed to set up shop, making official oversight almost impossible.
'Hosts and registrars need to be held accountable. [At the moment] security researchers report sites but get no response,' she was quoted saying by Techworld.