The forum is made up of government, private and academic Computer Security Incident Response Teams from around the world. Its primary goal is to coordinate the efforts of its members in order to increase both their individual and collective effectiveness. Specific security problems can affect many individuals and organizations around the world, possibly involving many different technological environments. Each of the parties involved must tailor its actions to the context in which the problem is experienced. The way in which a problem is tackled can be highly influenced by the historical development of the community in question.
Examples are the ability for open communication about problems or values regarding privacy.
Today the Internet is open to the masses. The ease of communication, the advent of electronic commerce, and the availability of information, makes it a playground and a library for the masses. It is also a key business tool which professionals depend upon. Political decisions of individual countries concerning key areas of computer security, e.g. restrictions in the use and export of cryptological technology, may change the way that security problems must be approached. Legalities pertaining to diverse use of computer systems vary widely between countries.