UK e-crime tactics questioned

Coaker: laws are sufficient

Last week the government made a public declaration of its commitment to tackle electronic crime, pledging to revise legislation to keep pace with changing fraud techniques.

Home Office minister Vernon Coaker told the E-crime Congress in London that he considers the forthcoming Serious Crime Bill sufficient to deal with e-crime and said that the government is committed to ensuring criminal law is fit for purpose (Computing, 29 March).

While the government is keen to present a decisive e-crime strategy, it is still lacking a central, co-ordinated approach, regarded by many police and industry experts as essential to combating such offences.

Two key areas, a national reporting portal and funding for an e-crime co-ordination unit run by the Metropolitan Police, remain unclear, despite detailed questioning from the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee inquiry into personal internet security last week.

Coaker agreed that there is an urgent need for a national reporting system.

‘But if we set this up without consultation, the system might be swamped,’ he said. ‘We want to do it in a manageable way.’

Asked if he would provide the resources needed to set up an e-crime co-ordination unit, Coaker was hesitant.

‘We have not had the business case to give resources yet. We will consider it when we have the business case,’ he said.

Committee chairman and cross-bench peer Lord Broers says the committee sees the need to establish a co-ordinated national approach to e-crime as crucial.

‘We feel there is quite a degree of urgency in this because at the moment the overall level of this type of crime is relatively small, but as it rises more people are going to be attracted to this kind of unpleasant work,’ he said.

Peter Sommer, senior research fellow at the London School of Economics, says that Coaker is prevaricating.

‘There is no national strategy,’ he said. ‘Eighteen months ago the government funded a report about cyber crime and nothing has happened since,’ he said.

‘The government has already heard a business case. Coaker is just another dim, over-loyal minister providing platitudes.’

Conservative home affairs spokesman James Brokenshire says the government’s approach to e-crime is disjointed.

‘There are at least four arms of government involved in this. There is also the Information Commissioner’s Office, the dedicated Cheque and Plastic Crime unit, the Met and the Serious Organised Crime Agency,’ said Brokenshire.

‘But I am unconvinced that sufficient efforts are being made to pull together these interests as effectively or as efficiently as is needed with the urgency required.’

Brokenshire believes that the enforcement of legislation is more important than the laws themselves.

‘If the law is to be meaningful, criminals need to understand they will be punished firmly if convicted. I do not feel this is the case,’ he said.

Committee

... in 30 seconds

z The House of Lords Sub-Committee to investigate personal internet security was formed in December 2006 and hears evidence every two weeks on the state of UK internet security.

z The committee is chaired by cross-bench peer Lord Broers.

z So far it has heard from Visa, the Financial Services Authority and banking industry body Apacs, which refused to name the best or worst banks for dealing with online fraud.

z In January, the committee heard evidence from experts in online child protection, and from Microsoft, which said it is crucial that the reporting of

cyber crime is made easier.

z In late February, the committee heard evidence from PayPal and eBay, who said that

although they report cases of online fraud to the police, these are not investigated unless they involve a threshold of more than a certain value, believed to be about £1,000.