Cyber crime squad seeks business partners

Detective superintendent Michael Deats is the deputy head of the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit, launched in April 2001 to fight serious and organised computer-based crime.

Deats spent three years as a branch commander with the National Crime Squad, where he investigated arms trafficking and serious fraud.

What areas of computer crime has the unit focused on?

The sort of cases the unit has dealt with so far have included blackmail and extortion, hacking attacks and software piracy. We follow closely any misuse of the internet, with a remit to combat serious and organised crime.

Do the public and businesses have different priorities when it comes to tackling hi-tech crime?

The public has fears about indecent material on the internet and is worried about credit card fraud. For businesses, IT security is paramount. Hacking, denial-of-service attacks and the propagation of viruses are all things that affect them.

Is it important for the unit to work directly with businesses in order to gather information and share tips on best security practices?

Clearly, industry groups and businesses have an enormous amount of expertise to offer the unit. We cannot operate without the support and knowledge of industry groups, which can offer valuable advice and alert us to vulnerabilities.

Industry outreach is a big part of our remit, and there is a section of the unit doing this all the time, attending conferences and trying to exchange information.

Are all your officers trained in technology?

Yes. They are all trained network investigators, although they have skills in different backgrounds, for example fraud, money laundering or paedophilia.

And then they are trained in specialist tools, for example Linux, coding or forensics. All officers are trained to a standard level, and then we use particular staff to get the specialist skills we need.

If a company has suffered from a hacking or denial-of-service attack, they want staff attending with the right level of skills.

Is it tough to compete with the private sector when trying to recruit skilled staff?

We cannot compete on the wage front with the private sector. But we give staff a high level of training, the best equipment and the biggest challenge. That keeps people with us.

Does the unit have sufficient support from the Home Office?

The original bid for the unit made to the Home Office was double the actual funding we got. But we are still a fully operational and effective unit. We have made bids for growth areas, but we are not yet sure if they have been successful.

How easy is it to get a conviction in court?

Because we are a young unit, there have been no convictions yet. We have probably only been operating fully since October, and we have made about 30 arrests resulting from 10 different operations. All these cases are now waiting to go through the courts.

What challenges does the unit face in securing convictions?

We need to try to present evidence in an easily understandable format and keep things as simple as possible. We also need the court to understand that the issues are the same as in the real world, for example, dishonesty and maliciousness. We need to work closely with the Crown Prosecution Service.

Do the courts view perpetrators of computer crime as serious criminals?

For internet paedophiles our laws are good, and the punishment is strong. But for hacking, we rely on the Computer Misuse Act 1990, and the penalties are relatively low for the amount of damage that can be caused by the attack.

It is important to get across consequences such as the loss of revenue for businesses. It is important to portray to the court the extent of that. We need to work with the Home Office to inform them of any loopholes in the law.