US backs cyber-crime bill

The Clinton administration has drafted a controversial bill that would allow law-enforcement agencies to crack into networks and computers belonging to suspected criminals.

According to US reports last week, legislation drafted by the Justice Department would let investigators get a sealed warrant from a judge to enter private property, search through computers for passwords and override encryption programs.

The draft Cyberspace Electronic Security Act would give officials the ability to use a search warrant or court order to access keys needed to decrypt information. IT departments that hold employees' keys for data recovery would be forced to comply with such requests.

Critics claim the measures are not enforceable, and they also fear law-enforcement officials could inadvertently modify or destroy a company's files as they try to recover encrypted information.

According to the Washington Post, a Justice Department memo said that encryption software "is increasingly used as a means to facilitate criminal activity, such as drug trafficking, terrorism, white-collar crime and the distribution of child pornography".

Brian Gladman, former deputy director of Nato's technical centre and now technical advisor for the Foundation for Information Policy Research (FIPR), said UK encryption policy often followed the US lead. Therefore network managers should be aware of US policy.

"The US authorities have realised that they can't use key-escrow. What is proposed is a much more serious and threatening mechanism," said Gladman.

The FIPR warned that the UK government may be currently considering similar measures for its forthcoming ecommerce bill.