The public sector needs to be more accountable for its data handling practices if we are to find the right balance between individual freedom and collective security, warned Shadow Security Minister Baroness Pauline Neville-Jones.

A new industry for would-be internet fraudsters is emerging, helping those without technical knowledge or resources to advance their cybercrime careers, Uri Rivner, RSA's Head of New Technology told delegates.

The gap between security risks and our ability to tackle them is set to rise as the effects of the credit crunch continue to bite, delegates heard at a panel session focused on the most important IT security threats beyond 2010.

Software mashups will increasingly be used to develop commercial products, but securing the transactions will require new ways of identifying and managing the risks, said John Sluiter, Managing Security Architect at Capgemini.

Backdoor threats in software applications will become an ever more serious threat and increasingly difficult to detect in future, warned Chris Wysopal, CTO of Veracode.

With IT budgets being squeezed in the tough economic climate many companies will be forced to think about improving the security of their legacy systems, Benjamin Jun, told delegates.

The Cabinet Office, responsible for disseminating good practice in data security throughout central government, says that it has never been independently audited for compliance with data protection principles in documents obtained under a Freedom of Information request, and seen by SC magazine.

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