Dear GKD Colleagues, I think perhaps some on the GKD list have missed the problem that my compatriot in Macedonia is describing. The point, for us at least, is not that there is rampant cyber-criminality in Macedonia that the government has failed to prevent. The point is that it is just as safe to buy from Macedonia, or sell to Macedonians online, as it is from any other country. Yet the organization Exportbureau.com has alleged that there are online fraud schemes based in Macedonia and has placed Macedonia on their list of Suspect Shipping or Contact Addresses. There is no contact address or information listed on THEIR website, so it is extremely difficult to determine who this group is and where they reside (although, after some research, we believe they reside in Taiwan).
Yet computer fraud has been part of the Macedonian Criminal Code since March 2004. Perhaps even more importantly, the fact is that companies in Macedonia use the same cyber-security systems as every other company in the world. I own a major firm in Macedonia that provides e-commerce solutions to our customers, as well as web portals, online databases, etc. We don't build our own security systems - we use worldwide standard systems. For example we use standard Visa and Mastercard online security systems, and have been using them for four or five years and have never had a single problem. The point is that when we buy something online, or someone from another country buys from us, we are all using the same system -- with the same level of security. It is bitterly ironic that Macedonia -- a very small country with relatively low cyber-density compared with the industrialized countries in Western Europe and the US -- is accused of being major sources of cyber-fraud. In a world of cyber-criminality, what percentage of that is Macedonian? I will tell you: Zero. Yet our companies are shut off from access to major e-commerce channels. So it is not an issue of lack of laws or lack of enforcement. It is an issue of too much power in the hands of groups that seem to be informal arbiters of which countries are "secure" enough for e-commerce. Furthermore, they are completely inaccessible and unaccountable. They do not reply to our requests for evidence of their accusation. And there is no way for us to counter their accusation other than trying to publicize our security through discussions like this one. It is difficult for us to convey how frustrating and damaging this situation is for us. In many ways, this type of baseless accusation, which harms our economy, is just as lawless as the accusation they are making. We all -- but especially developing countries -- definitely need an international formal, clear procedure for establishing national cyber-security credentials, so that all countries have a rational, accessible way to make it clear that they are secure, and can provide assurances to their suppliers and customers that they are safe places to do business with online. L Sharkovski Einsof Macedonia <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ------------ This DOT-COM Discussion is funded by the dot-ORG USAID Cooperative Agreement, and hosted by GKD. http://www.dot-com-alliance.org provides more information. To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd For the GKD database, with past messages: http://www.GKDknowledge.org
