Axes of good…and evil

As governments today try to stay ahead of the threats to public security, scientists are busy researching technological innovations.

New ways of securing buildings, cargo and online business are being developed to prevent debilitating shut-downs, destruction of infrastructure and the deaths of civilians.

While security is traditionally a task for individual member states, with national security forces, governments and industry deploying the technology to ensure public security, the European Commission increasingly plays a role in monitoring and co-ordinating, to help fill any gaps. By organising public-private dialogues it convenes experts from all over Europe to suggest joint research projects, to discuss high standards and best practice.

Combating security threats such as terrorism, organised crime or pandemics is becoming a growing part of a government’s duties.

But security technology can be a double-edged sword. Scientists themselves have long-acknowledged the dangers of the innovation they uncover. "Technological progress is like an axe in the hands of a pathological criminal," said Albert Einstein, the man whose pioneering work in physics helped pave the way for the atomic bomb. By trying to stay one step ahead of the threats, governments run the risk of allowing technology to encroach on people’s lives. Increased use of surveillance cameras, screening and storage of biometric data is worrying civil liberties groups, which are warning about an Orwellian future. The Commission assures them that the right balance will be struck between ensuring peoples’ security and preserving their liberties.

"We need to listen to the technical experts to tell us what is technically feasible. Then we need to listen to experts on fundamental rights to see whether there are consequences of using these technologies that would put these rights in danger," Franco Frattini, the European commissioner for justice, freedom and security, said earlier this year. "It is only when we have considered all sides of the equation that we can find a balanced response," he added. But can that balance be maintained in the face of increasing threats?

As governments today try to stay ahead of the threats to public security, scientists are busy researching technological innovations.