Europe plans convention on Cybercrime

The Council of Europe Ministers' Deputies has approved the first international convention on cybercrime, which will set a common criminal policy on the misuse of computer networks and electronic information for terrorist or illegal activity.

The draft will be presented to a meeting of foreign affairs ministers in Strasbourg on November 8, with the so-called "opening for signature" by member states taking place at an international conference in Budapest at the end of November. The Convention will enter into force when five states--which must include at least three member states of the Council of Europe--have ratified it.

The United States will be one of the non-member states signing up to the agreement. It is unclear whether the timetable for the treaty has been brought forward in order to address the recent terrorist attacks on New York and Washington last week, but the main objective of the Convention is to foster international cooperation in protecting society against cybercrime.