Wiley Handbook of Science and Technology for Homeland Security, 4 Volume Set

GROUP OF EIGHT (G8)*

MANUEL SUTER AND ELGIN BRUNNER

Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich, Switzerland

1 INTRODUCTION

Since 1995, the Group of Eight (G8) has become increasingly involved in issues relating to cyber-crime, the Information Society, and Critical Infrastructure Protection. At the Halifax summit in 1995, a group of senior experts was set up with the task of reviewing and assessing existing international agreements and mechanisms to fight organized crime. This G8 Senior Experts Group took stock extensively and critically before drawing up a catalog of 40 operative recommendations. These recommendations were approved at the G8 summit in Lyon in 1996. The G8 Senior Expert Group, known since then as the Lyon Group, was the first international political forum to fully recognize the significance of high-tech crime. The Lyon Group has since developed into a permanent multi-disciplinary body with numerous specialized sub-working groups. Since October 2001, the Lyon Group meetings have been held together with the Roma Group dealing with combating terrorism (Lyon/Roma Group) [1].

A further important stage for the G8 and CIP/CIIP came in spring 2000. On 15–17 May 2000, government officials and industry participants from G8 countries and other interested parties attended the G8 Paris Conference on Dialogue Between the Public Authorities and Private Sector on Security and Trust in Cyberspace [2]. The aim was to discuss common problems and to find solutions associated with ...