Crime ‘kingpins’ among 400 jailed after Met Police crack ‘secure’ messaging app – The Independent

Posted October 9th, 2023 in encryption, imprisonment, news, police, sentencing, telecommunications by sally

‘More than 400 criminals, including senior “kingpins” in organised crime, have been sent to prison in a Metropolitan Police operation targeting the EncroChat encrypted messaging platform.’

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The Independent, 9th October 2023

Source: www.independent.co.uk

UK amends encrypted message scanning plans – BBC News

Posted July 20th, 2023 in bills, child abuse, encryption, indecent photographs of children, news by tracey

‘The UK government has amended powers that could be used to force tech firms to scan encrypted messages for child abuse images.’

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BBC News, 19th July 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

WhatsApp and other messaging apps oppose “surveillance” – BBC News

Posted April 18th, 2023 in bills, child abuse, children, encryption, internet, news, privacy by sally

‘Encrypted messaging services have jointly called for changes to parts of the UK Online Safety Bill (OSB).’

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BBC News, 18th April 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

News focus: Big Brother watch – time for intercept evidence to be admissible in court? – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted September 20th, 2022 in admissibility, encryption, evidence, investigatory powers, news, telecommunications by tracey

‘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?’

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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.’

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The Guardian, 9th February 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Flight Risk: Cybersecurity in Aviation – The 36 Group

Posted February 4th, 2020 in airports, computer crime, data protection, encryption, news by sally

‘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.’

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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.’

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The Independent, 4th October 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk

GDPR: companies should look beyond passwords, says ICO – OUT-LAW.com

Posted November 7th, 2018 in data protection, EC law, electronic commerce, encryption, news by sally

‘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.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 5th November 2018

Source: www.out-law.com

CPS fined £325k for losing DVDs containing victim interviews – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted May 18th, 2018 in encryption, fines, news, victims, video recordings by tracey

‘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.’

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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

Posted April 6th, 2018 in data protection, encryption, fines, news, police, rape, victims, video recordings by sally

‘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.’

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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

Posted August 23rd, 2017 in computer programs, encryption, news, road traffic by sally

‘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.’

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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

Posted August 11th, 2017 in encryption, intelligence services, internet, news by tracey

‘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.’

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The Guardian, 11th August 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

EU seeks to outlaw ‘backdoors’ in new data privacy proposals – The Guardian

Posted June 20th, 2017 in data protection, EC law, encryption, news, privacy, reports by sally

‘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.’

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The Guardian, 19th June 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

Police force fined £150k after unencrypted DVDs lost in the post – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted May 5th, 2017 in data protection, encryption, fines, news, police, victims, video recordings by tracey

‘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.’

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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.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 25th April 2017

Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org

Top tech firms avoid encryption issue in government talks – The Guardian

Posted March 31st, 2017 in encryption, internet, news, terrorism by tracey

‘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.’

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The Guardian, 30th March 2017

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

UK government can force encryption removal, but fears losing, experts say – The Guardian

Posted March 29th, 2017 in encryption, investigatory powers, news, terrorism by sally

‘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.’

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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.’

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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.’

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The Guardian, 12th January 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Man jailed for refusing to give police USB stick password – BBC News

Posted January 16th, 2014 in computer programs, encryption, fraud, news, sentencing, terrorism by tracey

‘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.’

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BBC News, 15th January 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk