Wow, here’s a rather scary twist on the encryption game. The British government is about to give its police forces the power to compel companies or individuals to divulge their private encryption keys. This is a rather unfortunate development.
The powers are contained within Part 3 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act. The RIP Act, also known as RIPA, was introduced in 2000, but the government has held back from bringing Part 3 into effect. Now, more than five years after the original act was passed, the Home Office is seeking to exercise the powers within Part 3.
I would be curious to know what, if any, controls will be put in place to safeguard innocent people. The article on C|Net also outlines the possibility of losing companies as a result. The potential for abuse by the police is self evident. While the rationale seems sound enough,
“The use of encryption is…proliferating,” Liam Byrne, Home Office minister of police and security, told Parliament last week. “Encryption products are more widely available and are integrated as security features in standard operating systems, so the government has concluded that it is now right to implement the provisions of Part 3 of RIPA…which is not (currently) in force.”
how will we know if this ability, if passed, will be used in an above board manner? As it stands anyone who refuses to hand over their keys could face 2 years in prison. A Cambrigde University expert, Richard Clayton said that this could spook big business. Well, if that’s the case, they can all move to Canada. We’d be glad to bring more business here.
[tags]RIP Act, RIPA, Encryption, Decryption, Civil Rights[/tags]
