WhatsApp and other messaging apps oppose “surveillance” – BBC News
‘Encrypted messaging services have jointly called for changes to parts of the UK Online Safety Bill (OSB).’
BBC News, 18th April 2023
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Category: encryption
News focus: Big Brother watch – time for intercept evidence to be admissible in court? – Law Society’s Gazette
‘Intercepts remain inadmissible as evidence, which makes our jurisdiction an outlier. Is it time to allow their use, when this could boost transparency and build public confidence?’
Law society's Gazette, 20th September 2022
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Rise in child abuse online threatens to overwhelm UK police, officers warn – The Guardian
‘The vast, and growing, volume of child abuse material being created and shared online is threatening to overwhelm police efforts to tackle it, senior officers have told the Guardian. And the situation is likely to worsen, National Crime Agency (NCA) child abuse lead Rob Jones warned, if social media sites such as Facebook press ahead with further encryption of messaging services.’
The Guardian, 9th February 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
Flight Risk: Cybersecurity in Aviation – The 36 Group
‘Cybersecurity is considered one of the top global risks to the world in the next decade. The problem is particularly acute for airports as they play an essential role in the economy and infrastructure of every country. Any incident involving airports would have widespread consequences to the industry, economy and society. The aviation industry finds itself at the heart of a number of regulations on data protection, network and information systems and security and safety.’
The 36 Group, 3rd February 2020
Source: 36group.co.uk
British police to demand data from US tech giants directly after delays to paedophile investigations – The Independent
‘British police and intelligence agencies will be able to demand suspects’ social media data directly from American technology giants under a new agreement signed with the US government. The Home Office said the landmark agreement would speed up investigations into alleged terrorists, paedophiles and serious criminals.’
The Independent, 4th October 2019
Source: www.independent.co.uk
GDPR: companies should look beyond passwords, says ICO – OUT-LAW.com
‘Online service providers should consider alternatives to passwords to keep their systems secure and meet their obligations under data protection laws, the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has said.’
OUT-LAW.com, 5th November 2018
Source: www.out-law.com
CPS fined £325k for losing DVDs containing victim interviews – Law Society’s Gazette
‘The Crown Prosecution Service has been fined £325,000 by the Information Commissioner’s Office for losing unencrypted DVDs containing interviews with 15 victims of child sex abuse to be used at a trial. The sanction comes just over two years after being fined £200,000 for losing sensitive material.’
Law Society's Gazette, 17th May 2018
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Police force hit with £130k monetary penalty for losing rape victim interview – Local Government Lawyer
‘The Information Commissioner’s Office has imposed a £130,000 monetary penalty on Humberside Police after disks containing a video interview of an alleged rape victim went missing.’
Local Government Lawyer, 5th April 2018
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Smart’ and autonomous vehicle cyber guidance: A need to provide infinite technical support? – Technology Law Update
‘On 6 August 2017, in advance of proposed legislation, the UK government published 8 ‘Key Principles’ regarding the cyber security of connected and autonomous vehicles. This is the second of a series of 4 blogs regarding those principles.’
Technology Law Update, 23rd August 2017
Source: www.technology-law-blog.co.uk
Ex-MI5 chief warns against crackdown on encrypted messaging apps – The Guardian
‘A former head of MI5 has spoken out against curtailing use of encryption in messaging apps despite warning that Islamist terrorism will remain a threat for up to another 30 years.’
The Guardian, 11th August 2017
Source: www.theguardian.com
EU seeks to outlaw ‘backdoors’ in new data privacy proposals – The Guardian
‘The European Union is considering banning the implementation of so-called “backdoors” that allow the reading of encrypted messaging, a move that would place it in conflict with the UK government’s desire to have access to all secure communications.’
The Guardian, 19th June 2017
Source: www.theguardian.com
Police force fined £150k after unencrypted DVDs lost in the post – Law Society’s Gazette
‘Greater Manchester Police has been fined £150,000 after three unencrypted DVDs containing footage of interviews with victims of violent or sexual crimes were lost in the post.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 4th May 2017
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Henry Pearce: Some Thoughts on the Encryption Regulatory Debate – UK Constitutional Law Association
‘Debates about the regulation of encryption technologies and surveillance have been around for decades. It is in unfortunate circumstances that these debates have now been thrust back into the public eye. Following the horrifying Westminster attack which occurred on 22nd March 2017 Amber Rudd, the UK’s Home Secretary, has been very vocal in suggesting that in order for the police and security services to be able to effectively investigate and prevent future terrorist acts they must be given access to over-the-top messaging services that utilise end-to-end encryption, such as WhatsApp. (End-to-end encryption services can generally be described as those which allows for conversations to be read only by the sender and recipient of individual messages, meaning that such messages cannot be intercepted and read by a third party.) Her comments appeared to have been driven by the fact that Khalid Masood, the perpetrator of the attack, had used WhatsApp shortly before commencing his appalling actions. In particular, Rudd has claimed it is “unacceptable” that governmental agencies were unable to read messages protected by WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption, and in an interview given to the BBC on Sunday 26th March, intimated that she would consider pursuing the enactment of new legislation which would require the providers of encrypted messaging services to grant access to the UK intelligence agencies. This sentiment has since broadly been endorsed by the UK government.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 25th April 2017
Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org
Top tech firms avoid encryption issue in government talks – The Guardian
‘Leading tech firms have promised to work closely with the government to remove extremist material from the internet and social media following a meeting with the home secretary, Amber Rudd.’
The Guardian, 30th March 2017
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
UK government can force encryption removal, but fears losing, experts say – The Guardian
‘The government already has the power to force technology firms to act as it wants over end-to-end encryption, but is avoiding using existing legislation as it would force it into a battle it would eventually lose, security experts have said.’
The Guardian, 29th March 2017
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
WhatsApp must be accessible to authorities, says Amber Rudd – The Guardian
‘Amber Rudd has called for the police and intelligence agencies to be given access to WhatsApp and other encrypted messaging services to thwart future terror attacks, prompting opposition politicians and civil liberties groups to say her demand was unrealistic and disproportionate.’
The Guardian, 26th March 2017
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Privacy watchdog attacks snooper’s charter over encryption – The Guardian
‘The information commissioner’s office has heavily criticised the draft Investigatory Powers bill for attacking individuals’ privacy, particularly in relation to the apparent requirement on communication providers to weaken or break their data encryption at the government’s request.’
The Guardian, 12th January 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Man jailed for refusing to give police USB stick password – BBC News
‘A man has been jailed for refusing to give police the password to a memory stick that they could not crack. Syed Hussain, 22, from Luton, was convicted of failing to provide police with the password to the stick seized in a counter-terrorism operation.’
BBC News, 15th January 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
NSA and GCHQ unlock privacy and security on the internet – The Guardian
“US and British intelligence agencies have successfully cracked much of the online encryption relied upon by hundreds of millions of people to protect the privacy of their personal data, online transactions and emails, according to top-secret documents revealed by former contractor Edward Snowden.”
The Guardian, 6th September 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
ICO issues third fine for loss of unencrypted laptops – OUT-LAW.com
“Two local authorities have been fined a total of £150,000 by data protection watchdog the Information Commissioner after the theft of two laptops which, contrary to the councils’ policies, were not encrypted.”
OUT-LAW.com, 10th February 2011
Source: www.out-law.com
