Northern Ireland launches online-security campaign
Published: 12 Feb 2008 12:50 GMT
The Northern Ireland Executive has launched a campaign for online security.
The Executive has joined an initiative run by the Republic of Ireland's government over the past two years, focused around the makeITsecure website. This provides the public with guidance on risks and how to keep their activities secure.
Finance minister Peter Robinson announced the beginning of the initiative, an EU-funded effort that addresses issues such as ID theft, phishing, social networking and PC viruses.
Robinson said that increasing use of the internet in Northern Ireland — where 69 percent of the public are regular online shoppers and 60 percent of children regularly engage in online social networks — demands that people are increasingly vigilant.
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"As we continue with our digital-inclusion policy and as broadband-usage levels increase in Northern Ireland, it is right that we remind people of the huge benefits of the… internet," Robinson said. "However, we must also draw attention to some of the difficulties that can arise, and provide easy and effective steps to protect the citizen's personal information."
"By taking on-board the lessons from this campaign, we can all enjoy the undoubted benefits of information technology and more importantly… do so safely," continued Robinson.
The campaign is being supported by private-sector organisations including Microsoft, the Irish Banking Federation, BT Ireland, eircom, O2 and Vodafone.
The launch campaign will last for two weeks and include television and radio advertisements, the distribution of booklets, parent-awareness discussions and a seminar.





