The government will be setting up the Cyber-Crime Forum in June. The forum is a permanent structure which will bring all the stakeholders together to review, analyse and advise Government on legislation and enforcement related to cyber-crime, Justice and Local Government Minister Austin Gatt said.
The government is reviewing the Cyber-Crime Treaty of the Council of Europe and is preparing a road map for its implementation in Malta, he added.
Dr Gatt, who was speaking when he opened a Data Protection Conference in St Julian`s on Friday, said that next month the government would be announcing the establishment of a task force to analyse in depth the issue of child abuse on the Internet.
This problem necessitates a careful professional strategy that will ensure an effective-handling mechanism, he said.
Regarding online payments, he said the government would adopt the role of a stimulator rather than that of a regulator.
The government had announced in February its own payment gateway which will open a window of service-opportunities both for the citizens and businesses in their interactions with the Government.
He said the first online service using the gateway renewals of trading will be the payment for renewals of licenses issued by various authorities.
By the end of the year, the payment gateway will serve for the payments of income tax, VAT, examination fees, public registry certificates, renewal of vehicle licenses, renewal of driving licences and also renewal of passports.
"We will also embark on an aggressive communications campaign to explain the basic principles of electronic payment systems, the rights of the customer and the obligations of the service provider," Dr Gatt said.
He added that by September the government should also be publishing the first eTrust Scheme in Malta, a voluntary accreditation scheme for online merchants, which promotes online safety for customers effecting online purchasing.
However, Dr Gatt said, the major initiative to ensure secure electronic interaction between the government and its clients will be the registration and authentication mechanism which is planned to be in place by middle of the year.
The mechanism provides a robust infrastructure, building on the existing digital signature legislation, to provide citizens and businesses with PIN codes, digital certificates and eventually smart cards, which will enable them to identify and authenticate themselves with the Government, when utilising e-Government services, he said.