Scotland reviews forensic data rules
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Examines laws on destruction of DNA and fingerprint records A review will examine procedures for retaining the forensic data of those accused of sexual or violent offences in Scotland.â¦
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A judge is to begin examining police files on the disappearance of four-year-old Madeleine McCann.
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Less bureaucracy, more clarity, more bugging The government should "urgently initiate" a review of the Codes of Practice for police use of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA), says Sir Ronnie Flanagan, Chief Inspector of Constabulary in his review of UK policing. RIPA governs the security services' use of surveillance and interception of communications, but police activities in these areas are sometimes hampered by "excessive bureaucracy" and "over-interpretation of the relevant rules", Flanagan claims.â¦
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The government needs to ensure greater protection for people's personal information, a think-tank  warns.
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A review into the use of intercept evidence in court will conclude that it should be used, the BBC has learned.
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The government should change the law to oblige police to remove the DNA samples of innocent people from the police national DNA database, a group of experts said Tuesday.
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A public inquiry is to be held in Scotland into the contaminated blood products scandal of the 70s and 80s.
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Information on court appeals is released after the intervention of Scotland's information commissioner.
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The Scottish Executive moves to reassure the public over violent criminals and sex offenders released on extended sentences.
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Forensic Technology's system lets investigators analyze evidence over a network.
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But keeps Focus for complex cases The Information Commissioner's Office has set up its own IT forensics department to support its enforcement activities.â¦
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Statistics on court appeals are released after the intervention of Scotland's information commissioner.
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U.K. prosecutors have received guidance on interpreting amendments to a&#160;computer crime law&#160;that introduce stronger penalties for computer hacking.A six-page document published on Monday by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) gives prosecutors pointers for handling offenses under soon-to-change provisions of the Computer Misuse Act (CMA) of 1990.The amendments were passed into law in November 2006 but have not yet come into force. The changes are designed to strengthen the government&#39;s ability to prosecute and punish hackers, and increase penalties for accessing systems without authorization.Computer security professionals have expressed concern&#160;about the drafting of the changes, however.The most-discussed change, contained in Section 3A of the CMA, makes it illegal for someone to create an application that is &quot;likely&quot; to be used for hacking. But the precise definition of &quot;likely&quot; has prompted fears the law could potentially target those undertaking activities such as penetration testing.According to the CPS document, prosecutors should look at what an application does and who its creator thought would use it. Conditions to consider would be whether the hacking tool was given to a &quot;closed and vetted list of IT security professionals or was posted openly,&quot; CPS said.Prosecutors should also find out whether the tool has a legitimate purpose, if it has a large installation base and whether it&#39;s commercially sold.Some applications will &quot;have a dual use, and prosecutors need to ascertain that the subject has a criminal intent,&quot; CPS said. Possession of a program is not enough to prosecute, it said.Computer security researchers &quot;might find some comfort in this guidance&quot; since criminal intent must be demonstrated, said Struan Robertson, senior associate with law firm Pinsent Masons.The guidance is generally acceptable, wrote Richard Clayton, a computer scientist at the University of Cambridge, on his blog. But using the criterion of whether a hacking program is available for sale ignores the fact that much software is free, Clayton said.On another issue, the document also clarifies what constitutes unauthorized access to a computer, a crime under Section 1 of the amended CMA. The defendant must know that the intended access wasn&#39;t permitted, and prosecutors must show that the person intended to improperly access information from the computer.&#160;
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Shouldn't be added as an afterthought Government needs to make privacy and data protection principles a core component of its IT specifications, according to the assistant information commissioner.â¦
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An expert panel will advise the Scottish government on safety following a rise in deaths on Scotland's roads.
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Computer security experts and law enforcement officials need standards for the network forensics that are becoming common in trial cases.
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But wacko ideas don't fix dud IT systems Analysis Home Office proposals on "multi-agency information sharing", leaked to the Times this week, say that council, NHS and care staff should be given a statutory obligation to pass on information about anyone they think might commit violent crimes in the future.â¦