The heroes and villains of the Internet are to be named and shamed by the Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA). Some of the villains include Russia for failing to crack down on cyber crime; the UK presidency of the EU for attempting to push through data retention laws; the EC for meddling in intellectual property law; and of course our friends Sony BMG for being kind enough to infect all of our machines with rootkit software that exposed users to a heightened risk of hacks and online attacks – thanks for that.

However, there are plenty of figures in the hero category as well:

The All Party Internet Group, for its dogged determination to see the UK's computer misuse act renewed; Roger Darlington, outgoing chairman of the Internet Watch Foundation; two nominations for Ofcom; and the Independent Office of the Telecommuncations Adjudicator, for "helping to develop new local loop unbundling products and processes".