Hewitt declares war on ‘devastating’ hackers

The government has earmarked £15 million to fight Web hackers. E-Commerce Minister Patricia Hewitt today unveiled the Computational Immunology for Fraud Detection (CIFD) project, part of the DTI's Management of Information (MI) programme. Details of how the scheme will stop hackers doing their worst are hazy, but funding for the scheme is expected to come from both public and private sectors. The DTI will plough in £4.5 million, with £3.3 million coming from two research councils -- the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Companies are also expected to participate in the scheme, and to cough up the rest of the cash. "We have recently seen to devastating effect how hackers can penetrate and disrupt services offered on the internet. Projects I have approved today will help us combat these internet criminals," said Hewitt. The MI programme is a 3-year venture designed to stop e-commerce fraud.® Related stories Govt e-commerce policy a shambles Hacking credit cards is preposterously easy FBI Web site hacked