FinSoul: European Commission to up security after recent Emissions Trading Scheme theft.

Feb. 9, 2010 - PRLog -- FinSoul understands that the European Commission (EC) is to do a total rethink of its data security practices after a recent attack on its web-based Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), which made international headlines.

The announcement comes in the wake of a phishing attack which allowed cyber criminals to steal account data and then perform fraudulent transactions with the details.

The cyber thieves sent out individual e-mails to ETS registry users which then redirected them to a fake log-in site where the account details where harvested.

FinSoul believes the ETS system allows businesses to trade carbon offsets aimed at managing and reducing greenhouse gas emissions among member states.

A European Commission statement said that a small number of fraudulent transactions were reported on 28 January as a result of the phishing operation, and that several signatory states were investigating the attack, while the EC was looking into the phoney website itself. FinSoul was informed that the exact figures involved would not be immediately released.

The attack has forced a complete rethink of security practices for the ETS and its members.

"The EC intends to review the ETS registries' security measures, and will prepare revised security guidelines as well as an action plan for possible future incidents," FinSoul believes the statement says.

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FinSoul structures and guides greenhouse gas emission reduction projects from beginning to end, working with both project developers and buyers of emission reduction credits.