Within APEC the Telecommunications Working Group is considering this matter. Specific Customs Considerations Customs will need to identify what level of security is required for each type of electronic transaction with its clients before using the Internet for any of these communications. Communications without security can be intercepted and the contents changed. If the contents of communications with clients can be changed the risks can be enormous. To achieve this level of confidence, Customs should also ensure that existing systems, in particular EDI systems, provide required levels of security.
Additional security places additional costs on users.
It is therefore necessary to evaluate the risk and design systems accordingly. Attachment 2 provides some of the aspects to security which need to be addressed and possible Customs priorities. Attachment 3 provides a brief overview of Public Key Infrastructure. Customs needs to consider the benefits of having a direct connection versus the risk of exposing our corporate data to criminal espionage and of exposing our infrastructure to malicious vandalism. First and foremost Customs needs to classify the data stored on the various hosts connected to our corporate data network.