A team of researchers from the University of Cambridge have called for UK police to be banned from using facial recognition in public spaces, and claimed that police deployment of the tech to date has not met “minimum ethical and legal standards”.

Researchers analysed three instances of facial recognition technology (FRT) used by UK police - two from South Wales Police and one from the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) - and found that in every case FRT could infringe upon human rights, falling short of ethical and legal standards.

A group from the Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy created an audit tool to weigh the examples against a number of legal standards, as well as measurements of technical reliability, human decision-making and expertise.

Legal standards included the Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018, Human Rights Act 1998, and Equality Act 2010.

In response, the authors of the study have recommended that others apply its audit to other instances of police FRT. This could then build evidence to inform potential litigation efforts and lend its support to the prevention of police FRT use in public spaces.

“There is a lack of robust redress mechanisms for individuals and communities harmed by police deployments of the technology,” said the lead author Evani Radiya-Dixit, who is a visiting fellow at Cambridge’s Minderoo Centre.

“To protect human rights and improve accountability in how technology is used, we must ask what values we want to embed in technology.”

The report also concluded that UK police have consistently refrained from consulting the public, and marginalised communities in particular about the use of FRT, nor published transparent data on the use of FRT to allow for independent scrutiny.

Use of live facial recognition (LFR) by the MPS between August 2016 and February 2019, one of the three case studies assessed by the authors, was highlighted as a particular example of this lack of transparency.

"While MPS published some demographic data in their results, they did not record the demographic breakdown for engagements, stop and searches, arrests, and other outcomes resulting from the use of LFR,” read the report.

“This makes it hard to evaluate whether LFR perpetuates racial profiling. There was also no published evaluation of racial or gender bias in the technology. MPS conducted an internal evaluation but did not disclose the results. This lack of transparency makes it difficult for outside stakeholders to assess the comprehensiveness of the evaluation."

The report’s authors cited research that has shown FRT to perform noticeably worse on marginalised groups. They stated that under the Public Sector Equality Duty of the Equality Act 2010, police are required to acknowledge that live facial recognition carries bias against people of colour, women, and people with disabilities.

"We would have welcomed the opportunity to have spoken to the researchers of this report and to share with them our latest data, legal framework and the arrests made as a result of live facial recognition operations," an MPS spokesperson told IT Pro.

"Between August 2016 and February 2019, we trialled LFR in different situations, to allow us to learn and progress / develop its use before launching it in January 2020, with publicly available documents covering legal, data and equality issues on our website.

"We continue to review and assess our use of this important tool, including its demographic performance."

Proportionality was also raised as an issue, with South Wales Police found to have retained custody images on a facial recognition watchlist without clear limits on the seriousness of the offences of those included.

The authors argued that this was used disproportionately in combination with operator-initiated facial recognition (typically carried out on a mobile phone) and that the watchlist also included unlawfully-retained images of innocent individuals who were arrested but never convicted.

South Wales Police told IT Pro that a Court of Appeal judgement in 2020 highlighted some areas that needed improvement, and the force has begun trialling experimental deployments to test the proposed mitigations. The results of these trials will be known later this year, a spokesperson said.

“The legal challenge to our use of this ground-breaking technology through the courts has enabled us to ensure that its use is responsible, proportionate and fair,” said assistant chief constable Mark Travis.

“The whole aim of using facial recognition technology is to keep the public safe and assist us in identifying serious offenders in order to protect our communities from individuals who pose significant risks.

“I believe the public will continue to support our use of all the available methods and technology to keep them safe, providing what we do is legitimate and proportionate.”

Police use of facial recognition has become a commonly raised issue among rights campaigners, with the use of live facial recognition (LFR) particularly controversial in its deployment.

The Ada Lovelace institute published a report in June, which called for new regulations on biometric data processing in the public and private sector, and recommended the creation of an independent Biometrics Ethics Board to whom public bodies would have to justify their use of biometrics technology.

Private companies have also prompted complaints from within government for their use of facial recognition tech. In July, a cross-party group of MPs signed a letter calling for a ban on two prominent Chinese CCTV firms’ use of facial recognition, stating that the widespread use of their equipment in public buildings constituted a national security risk.

This article was updated to include comments from the Metropolitan Police Service and South Wales Police.

Human rights group Liberty is taking legal action against the Metropolitan Police over its controversial Gangs Matrix, a secretive database of suspected gang members established as part of the response to the 2011 London riots.

Liberty is challenging the lawfulness of the database, arguing that it discriminates against people of colour and breaches human rights, data protection requirements, and public law principles.

The human rights group is acting on behalf of musician and writer Awate Suleiman and Unjust UK, a community interest NGO that challenges unjust and discriminatory policing. Suleiman has been subjected to over-policing since he was a child and has tried to establish since 2019 whether he was on the Matrix, said Liberty.

Of those on the Matrix, 86.5% are Black, Asian, or other minority ethnic, and 79% are Black. Liberty said this was a stark figure, considering that only 27% of those convicted of offences related to serious youth violence are Black. It added the majority of the people on the Matrix, 65%, are considered by the police to be ‘low-risk’.

Despite this, those on the Matrix may be subject to a wide range of ‘enforcement actions’, including exclusion from benefits, housing, and education, as well as increased stop and search, said Liberty. Information on the Matrix is also shared with other bodies like immigration enforcement.

However, the Met Police doesn’t inform people if they are on the Matrix, and there’s no mechanism by which a person can appeal against their inclusion, or ask for the data held about them to be reviewed.

Liberty said this makes it hard for people on the Matrix to challenge their inclusion on it or the accuracy of the data held about them.

“Secret databases that risk young Black men being excluded from society based on racist assumptions are not a solution to serious violence, they are part of the problem,” said Lana Adamou, a lawyer at Liberty. “The Matrix damages communities through division and alienation. We should be demanding better, evidence-based solutions that tackle underlying causes.”

In a letter to the Met Police, Liberty warned that the Matrix discriminates against BAME people, particularly Black people, who are disproportionately represented in the database. It also breaches the right to private and family life, with sensitive personal data about those on the database shared broadly.

Lastly, the group said it breaches the Public Sector Equality Duty for public authorities to eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation, and advance equality of opportunity.

“The fact that I had to threaten the police with judicial review before they would confirm whether I was on the GVM is not good enough and another indication of the Met’s intention to covertly surveil young, black people,” said Suleiman. “These practices were normal in colonial times when British officers kept meticulous records of the people they terrorised and abused, but are antithetical to the kind of society we’re meant to live in today."

IT Pro has contacted the Met Police for comment.

In November 2018, the ICO found that the Met Police had seriously breached data protection laws in its conduct when sharing information with public bodies, such as local councils and housing associations. The 27-page report found that the Gangs Matrix didn’t distinguish individuals between offenders and victims.

It also contained informal lists of people who no longer meet the criteria to be placed on the list. The report determined the Matrix was too vague when it came to its reasoning behind sharing data with public bodies and determined that a review was needed around how the information it held was shared. It added that the public bodies receiving the information weren’t always aware of how to interpret the data correctly either.

NICE has launched an automated cloud solution to help 911 centers streamline digital evidence sharing.

Dubbed E-Request, the new solution simplifies emergency communication centers' (ECCs) procedures for receiving, processing, and sharing 911 audio evidence requests with district attorneys and federal police. E-Request by NICE also offers insights into incident request volumes, backlogs, and bottlenecks.

NICE executive vice president Chris Wooten said: “Handling 911 evidence requests is a time-consuming, but essential, function of every 911 center. E-Request automates the end-to-end request and delivery workflow between 911 centers and key stakeholders to accelerate request fulfillment, improve transparency, ensure timely disclosure, and streamline case preparation and discovery.

“Currently, one of the world’s pre-eminent 911 centers, which handles tens of thousands of requests annually, is successfully leveraging E-Request’s automation and workflow engine to fulfill 911 evidence requests faster, more uniformly and efficiently, via an auditable, secure, end-to-end digital process.”

E-Request is built into NICE’s digital evidence management platform Evidencentral. This all-in-one platform connects key performance indicators (KPIs) to incidents and offers a unified view of all case evidence.

Once a prosecutor submits their evidence request via E-Request, it prompts ECC personnel to enter a computer-aided dispatch (CAD) incident number. Upon entering the code, E-Request automatically correlates the incident’s audio records.

When evidence is ready for download, E-Request's secure client portal sends prosecutors an alert. Additionally, the E-Request mobile app provides convenient access to 911 calls for investigators and officers on the scene.

According to NICE, E-Request will help responders meet stringent evidence disclosure deadlines by automating redundant tasks, such as emailing and filling out forms.

“E-Request eliminates backlogs, improves productivity and service levels, and frees up ECC time and resources. All work, including redaction and audio transcription, can be done in one system. E-Request also eliminates duplicate work requests, downloading and copying to discs, handling of physical media, and the need to attach and send files via email,” explained NICE.

Rank One Computing, a provider of facial recognition services, says it will take action to address the misuse of its technology by law enforcement officials.

The company is doing so after its software was used in the first known wrongful arrest based on facial recognition technology in the US.

In January 2019, Michigan resident Robert Williams was arrested for shoplifting in downtown Detroit. Williams, who is black, was arrested after law enforcement connected him to the crime based on a facial-recognition search that observed similarities between surveillance footage of the theft and Williams’ driver’s license photo.

While being interrogated by law enforcement officials, an officer pointed to the surveillance image used to arrest Williams and asked if the man in the photo was him. Williams stated it wasn’t.

Though an officer admitted, “The computer must have gotten it wrong,” Robert was held for several more hours before being released later that evening. According to Wayne County prosecutor Kym Worthy, police also lacked the corroborating evidence needed to arrest Williams for the crime.

Worthy added in a statement, “This case should not have been issued based on the (police) investigation, and for that we apologize. This does not in any way make up for the hours that Mr. Williams spent in jail.”

Rank One Computing chief executive Brendan Klare shared in an email to Reuters that as a result of the wrongful arrest, the company “will add a legal means to revoke any use of our software that violates our Code of Ethics, and conduct a technical review of additional safeguards we can incorporate into our software to prevent any potential for misuse.”

The ACLU of Michigan has since announced it’ll lodge a complaint against Detroit police on Williams’ behalf too. Per the ACLU: “Study after study has confirmed that face recognition technology is flawed and biased, with significantly higher error rates when used against people of color and women.”

Law enforcement’s use of facial recognition technology has come under fire as of late. Microsoft and Amazon recently announced they would no longer sell facial-recognition technology to police. The decision followed nationwide protests demanding an end to law enforcement tactics that unfairly target black people in the US.

BT and Deloitte have been awarded the contracts to help deliver the National Enabling Programmes (NEP) for policing, including the National Management Centre (NMC).

Under the partnership agreement, they will work with police forces across England and Wales to help them buy and manage ICT more effectively.

The delivery of new cloud-based tech to local police forces is a welcome one. It follows on from successful trials in 2017 and 2018 with a select few local police forces. Now, the programme will be rolled out throughout England and Wales over the next few years.

The NEP, which sees investment of 100 million, aims to revolutionise British Policing, in-line with the Policing Vision 2025. Part of the plan involves implementing the latest cloud-based tools that forces need to increase effectiveness, enhance communication and facilitate interaction with other forces, partner organisations and the public.

"The NEP is a key enabling tool that will deliver a foundational change within Policing as we exploit new ICT resources in a unified way across our Forces," said Wayne Parkes, Programme Director of the NEP.

"This 'joined up thinking' will facilitate a radical change in both what the police do and how the public interact with us."

Stephen Mold, Northamptonshire Police and Crime Commissioner and NEP board member, added: "This programme will ensure all UK police forces are using the same software within the next two years, improving public safety and the effectiveness of frontline police officer."

The nationally coordinated, locally delivered service will allow local forces to maintain control of which tech they need for their team, delivered via Microsoft Azure, but taking away the responsibility of maintaining the tech from them thanks to a central National Management Centre (NMC) provided by BT.

The NMC will maintain the services that are provided to ensure there are no vulnerabilities in the technology which could expose local forces to cyber attacks. The 24/7 facility based in one of BT's existing Security Operations Centres will respond to cyber threats against the force and ensure sensitive data is safeguarded as the forces embark on their transformation.

"The need for the Police to protect digital evidence, intelligence and front-line services from cyber-attacks has never been greater," said Colm O'Neill, MD Major Business and Public Sector at BT.

"So our new National Management Centre for Policing will provide them with a cyber security centre of excellence. Cyber crime is also borderless, so information sharing and greater collaboration is needed across all Forces. We will help the Police prevent and combat cyber attacks in a more joined-up fashion while securing the network and applications that will move into the cloud - one of the biggest IT transformations Policing has ever seen."

One of the key predictions of the Policing Vision 2025 is that forces will be far more digital. This digital transformation will make it easier for the public to make contact with the police wherever they are in the country, enabling them to make better use of digital intelligence and evidence and transfer all material in a digital format to the criminal justice system.

The London Metropolitan police is on track to finish upgrading from Windows XP by May this year, marking the end of a rollout that has been underway for more than three years.

Despite the fact that Windows XP reached its end-of-life in 2014, the Met was still using the operating system on more than 35,000 computers in April 2015, and more than 18,000 machines in June of last year.

However, the project is finally on the verge of completion. The Met's CIO Angus McCallum told IT Pro that the migration from Windows XP is at an "advanced" stage, with the process of replacing older XP machines with newer devices set to be completed in around three months.

"The tablet and laptop rollout ... will finish around the April-May time [and] we will be off XP then. We might have the odd machine that's still on it, but it won't be on the network, it'll just be running some software that at this time we cannot run on anything else," McCallum said. "We won't have any networked machines at that time."

The Met is currently in the process of refreshing its IT estate and by the end of the upgrade cycle it will include around 50,000 devices all of which, McCallum assured IT Pro, will be running Windows 10. "To give you an idea of the speed of the rollout, last week we rolled out 1,687 tablets," he said, "so we're moving at pace now."

"We've categorised officers as 'operational', so you have a tablet, 'flexi', which for staff is people like me that move around various stations and places, and for certain more senior officers who are moving around, they've got laptops. And then some roles, you cannot physically move from the desk, so you've got a fixed machine."

Client endpoints are not the only area in which the organisation is investing the Met is also deploying Box's cloud collaboration tools to all of its staff. The partnership was announced six months ago, and McCallum said that after the completion of a successful pilot programme, deployment is now fully underway and is expected to be completed by the end of Q2.

The main thing that drove the Met to choose Box, he revealed, was ease-of-use. Not only does Box make sharing content within the organisation easier, McCallum said, it also greatly speeds up the sharing of intelligence with external agencies and partners.

"What we really wanted was a collaboration tool so we can share securely information with third-parties that can be structured appropriately. We can make sure it's in the right folders, we can make sure it's not being stored in email, et cetera."

"Rather than them saying 'I've seen something on the CCTV, do you want to come and collect a CD', they send us a link. That saves a lot of time, it's just sent electronically to our control room. They can even annotate it and say 'look at 13.00 to 13.30'," explained McCallum. "The officer picks it up straight away, he can look at it, he can determine if there's a crime there or not."

The UK is set to lose access to the European Cybercrime Centre, after it was revealed the country will no longer be a member of Europol following its departure from the European Union in 2019.

The European Cybercrime Centre - also known as EC3 - was set up by the cross-border law enforcement group to provide support for EU police forces in tackling cyber crime. EC3 assists national police with intelligence, digital forensics and strategy support, collaborating on cases involving technological elements.

Cyber security experts have expressed dismay at the news. "This is hugely disappointing," McAfee's chief scientist Raj Samani told IT Pro. "Europol have a proven record of success and one would hope a degree of compromise can be reached since the safety of all citizens across the globe is our joint mission."

The government had stated earlier this year that it wished to continue its relationship with Europol following Brexit, but the EU's top negotiator Michel Barnier said that access to Europol would not be possible once the UK leaves the EU, stating that it was a "logical consequence".

Losing access to EC3 will mean that UK police units fighting cyber crime will no longer benefit from intelligence-sharing between EU member states, as well as from the extensive support network offered by Europol's cyber specialists.

"Since before the referendum, the NCA and its partners in policing and wider law enforcement have clearly stated our need to work closely and at speed with European countries to keep people in the UK safe from threats including organised crime, child sexual abuse, cyber attack, and terrorism," a spokesman for the UK's National Crime Agency told IT Pro.

"We are confident that these requirements are being taken into account, and that there is broad consensus on the need to retain our ability to share intelligence, biometrics and other data at speed. It is also vital to ensure we can continue to provide a quick, efficient and dynamic response to crime and criminals impacting the UK and its citizens, be it from serious and organised transnational crime or local level volume crime at the heart of UK communities."

The National Police Technology Council (NPTC) will make its National ICT Strategic Principles Document available for police forces across the country to download, to help guide the deployment of infrastructure and applications.

The aim of the resources is to help shape technology strategies for the police service across the UK, making it more uniform across the board.

It details national strategic principles to help police forces understand how to digitise their systems and services, reducing discrepancies between forces and helping to ensure every unit employs the same plans for growth.

It covers 26 areas, including technology architecture, the technology itself, how data should be handled and how applications are developed and deployed.

For example, it outlines the principle that any solutions designed by police forces should be created with a national solution in mind, even if its basis lies in policing the local area. It explains that all forces in the country are designed to carry out the same duties, and so deployment of technology should be identical.

"When designing a new solution, the design must take into account how it could be re-used to deliver a capability to x-forces without the need to redesign the underlying platform," the document explains. "This principle will result in a reduction in disparate systems used, improve data sharing while reducing implementation and operating costs."

Another key principle relates to interoperability of data, applications and technology, again enabling all forces across the country to make use of it.

"Standards help ensure consistency, thus improving the ability to manage systems and improve user satisfaction, and protect existing ICT investments, thus maximising return on investment and reducing costs," the document adds. "Standards for interoperability additionally help ensure support from multiple vendors for their products, and facilitate supply chain integration."

The underlying message its that police forces developing applications or technologies for the police service should be created with a cloud-first attitude, future-proofing the service against change and ensuring solutions have the longest shelf-life possible to ensure they maximise budgets.

It represents the latest push to deploy newer technologies in the UK's police force. London's Metropolitan Police recently signed a deal with cloud storage firm Box to improve collaboration and data sharing between its 44,000 officers.

Many will see this as a much needed joint effort to modernise the technological capabilities of UK policing, particularly as it was discovered recently that almost 20% of Manchester's police force still rely on the outdated Windows XP operating system.

Image: Bigstock

The international director of Cage, an advocacy organisation that fights anti-terror laws, was yesterday found guilty of wilfully obstructing the police by failing to hand over his device passwords after being detained at Heathrow airport.

Muhammad Rabbani, 36, was stopped under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000 after landing at Heathrow airport on 20 November 2016. He was returning from a wedding in Qatar, where he met a man who allegedly had been tortured in the US, according to The Guardian. It said Rabbani had downloaded evidence pertaining to the allegations and planned to bring it to the UK to give to British lawyers.

Upon landing in Britain, the police arrested Rabbani for refusing to disclose passwords to his iPhone 6s, a Macbook Air and a USB device, all of which police then confiscated.

In line with Cage's policy on client confidentiality, Rabbani refused to hand over his passwords to protect sensitive data. However, the judge at Westminster magistrates court ruled that this wasn't a legal defence, according to the BBC - only journalists and lawyers have some legal protections regarding privileged material.

Rabbani was found guilty of "wilful obstruction or sought to frustrate, an examination or search under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000, contrary to paragraph 18(1)(c) of that Schedule". The judge gave him a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered him to pay 620 in costs.

But Rabbani said the judge expressed that the case was complicated, and she reportedly said that "the importance of passwords and privacy cannot be overstated in the 21st century".

"Today's judgement based on the judge's and prosecution's acceptance that I am of good character and worthy of belief, highlights the absurdity of the schedule 7 law," argued Rabbani, in a statement on Cage's website.

"They accept that at no point was I under suspicion, and that ultimately this was a matter of having been profiled at a port. There are important implications for our collective privacy as s.7 acts as a digital strip search."

He used his conviction to argue that the Schedule 7 legislation must be challenged, saying: "If privacy and confidentiality are crimes, then the law stands condemned. Cage and I are glad we brought this case, and the result indicates that our only option is to change the law. Schedule 7 actively discriminates, and this will hopefully be the start of a number of legal challenges as more people take courage to come forward."

The director had reportedly been stopped more than 20 times on previous occasions. On two previous occasions he had been asked for passwords to his devices, and he responded that he would prefer not to disclose them, and the police did not pursue the matter.

The Guardian reported that Rabbani's lawyers plan to appeal to the high court, arguing that existing police powers don't do enough to protect privacy or legally privileged material.

Jim Killock, executive director of Open Rights Group, said: "These powers are blanket and do not require suspicion. They have been employed against journalists and others to compel them to provide information which could breach professional privilege and confidentiality.

"If Muhammad Rabbani is suspected of a crime, there are separate routes under RIPA which can be employed, which at least require a genuine reason to be specified before they are investigated."

In the US, the Trump administration considered adopting new measures back in April to force visitors to hand over their phones and passwords. Foreigners may have been expected to reveal mobile phone contacts, social media passwords and financial data to enter the country.

Greater Manchester Police unveiled that 1,518 of its PCs, about 20.3% of all office computers it uses, ran Windows XP, as reported by the BBC.

A spokesperson for the police told the BBC: "The remaining XP machines are still in place due to complex technical requirements from a small number of externally provided highly specialised applications.

"Work is well advanced to mitigate each of these special requirements within this calendar year, typically through the replacement or removal of the software applications in question."

The figure came about as a result of a Freedom of Information request where the BBC asked a number of police forces information about their IT systems.

Most police forces didn't want to reveal information about their computers and said it was because of security concerns.

Despite this, eight forces said they had less than 10 computers running XP. For example, Cleveland Police said it had 0.36% of its computers running the OS, which works out as seven computers. The Police Service of Northern Ireland said it had less than five PCS on the OS, which worked out as 0.05% of the total.

Five police forces said they had no computers running XP and they were City of London Police, Wiltshire Police, Gwent Police, North Wales Police and Lancashire Constabulary.

London's Metropolitan Police Service did not want to share an up-to-date figure with the BBC. The forces information manager Paul Mayger said: "Disclosing further information would reveal potential weaknesses and vulnerability." He added: "This would be damaging as criminals/terrorists would gain a greater understanding of the MPS's systems, enabling them to take steps to counter them."

The BBC has appealed against its refusal to provide an update.

In June it emerged that the Met police run 18,000 XP machines which was more than half of the force. Even though Microsoft stopped issuing patches to XP three years ago, the company had to send out emergency fixes to XP PC's during the WannaCry ransomware attack. The ICO warned that the Met's failure to upgrade meant that the secure handling of personal data could be put at risk.

Police forces should be able to sack officers without the adequate digital skills to fight cyber crime, it has been suggested.

Officers without knowledge of how to get online and use the internet, who need to do so, would struggle to address modern crimes such as phishing, identity theft, hacking and online harassment, argued think tank Reform's report, Bobbies on the Net, published yesterday.

One in 10 Brits fell victim to cyber crime in 2016, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) data released last summer. The inclusion of 5.8 million cyber offences in ONS figures for the first time effectively doubled England and Wales' crime rate.

"The government should implement Sir Tom Winsor's 2012 recommendation to introduce a system of compulsory severance for all police officers, and to further allow force leaders to make officers redundant if they are underperforming," it said as part of a 10-point plan to better prepare the police for cyber crime.

The report suggested that as well as removing officers without the technical skills to fight digital crimes, police chiefs should also take cues from other forward-thinking forces around the world that are using technology to better deal with crimes, such as Dutch police using augmented-reality glasses.

"Senior managers, officers and staff argued that the ability to fire officers without the necessary skills would allow chiefs to get the skill base to meet digital demand and shift culture," the report said, recommending police forces are given more powers to dismiss underperforming staff, and compulsory severance measures for officers whose roles are no longer necessary.

Alexander Hitchcock, co-author of the report, told the Telegraph: "Chiefs should have the ability to make officers redundant if officers' roles have changed because of digital crime, and officers have not been able to develop the IT skills to fill these roles.

"But this will be a small minority of officers. We are arguing that forces should give officers every chance to develop IT skills through apps and university partnerships, as well as have the equipment to help them meet digital demand."

Other suggestions in the report included the introduction of a police digital capital grant to invest in infrastructure, encouraging authorities to use competitive procurement channels to ensure they maximise value for money and better training for police officers in digital matters to train both new and serving staff.

It also recommended that forces identify digital skills they lack, and focus on recruiting for those areas, as well as providing training and learning apps for staff.

Reform called on the Home Office to establish a digital academy to train cyber specialists, estimating around 1,700 police officers and staff could graduate from this academy per year.

As home secretary, Prime Minister Theresa May laid out plans to sign up citizens as volunteers to help police tackle cyber crime, something the report recommended boosting to around 12,000 in number.

David Emm, principal security researcher, of Kaspersky Lab, said: "With so much financial activity moving online, criminals have capitalised on this by moving their activity into the cyber world - therefore it's important that we have police officers who understand the ways in which technology can be abused by cyber criminals.

"However the police, like any organisation, need a diverse range of skills; and it may be that not all roles require technical knowledge and IT acumen."

Emm called for "ongoing education and upskilling existing staff", pointing out that many industries lack sufficient tech skills.

A 2014 survey found that just 30% of officers from 48 UK police forces were confident of identifying and tackling cyber threats. The Met Police set up FALCON, an anti-fraud and cyber crime unit, in 2014.

The US Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation into Uber's use of its so-called 'Greyball' software tool that allowed drivers to avoid government authorities trying to clamp down on its operation, according to Reuters.

The software, first revealed by the New York Times in March, is able to pool credit card information, social media profiles and geolocation data to identify government officials, and then force through a fake version of the app when they tried to book a ride.

'Greyballing' was extensively used in cities where Uber services were either restricted or banned outright, according to the report. Uber has since banned the use of the software, although it has stated its purpose was to prevent fraud and safeguard employees, rather than evade regulators.

The apparent criminal probe would be the latest in a string of legal challenges against the company, as it struggles to deal with allegations that it uses illegal monitoring practices against other firms, and claims of sexism and sexual harassment.

Although Uber declined to comment on the reports, however it did attach a copy of a letter sent from its lawyers to authorities in Portland. In the letter, dated 21 April, Uber lawyers argue that Greyballing was used "exceeding sparingly in the City of Portland", and that it the software has not been deployed since 2015.

The letter also states that Uber does not recognise the description of the software provided by the New York Times article, and that "the term and the technology are used in a host of ways that we do not believe trigger the concerns raised by the city".

The current nature and scope of the potential investigation remains unclear, and it is uncertain if any individual will be charged. However the ride-hailing firm has received a subpoena from a Northern California grand jury, seeking documents relating to the use of the software, according to Reuters. If true, this would confirm that a criminal investigation has started.

09/03/2017: Uber drops cop-stopping 'Greyball' tool

Uber has promised to stop using its 'Greyball' tool to dodge police, after it was revealed that the company was using Big Data to fool regulators with dummy vehicles.

The tool uses information such as credit card data, social media profiles and geolocation tags to identify law enforcement officials, who would then be presented with a fake version of the app. Bookings would be picked up by non-existent virtual cars and if a real driver picked one up by accident, the booking would be automatically cancelled.

The issue was exposed in a New York Times report, which also revealed that 'Greyballing' was used to avoid regulators and police in cities where Uber was restricted or outright banned.

According to the company, Greyballing has other applications. "It's been used for many purposes," Uber CSO Joe Sullivan wrote in a blog post; "for example: the testing of new features by employees; marketing promotions; fraud prevention; to protect our partners from physical harm; and to deter riders using the app in violation of our terms of service."

However, Sullivan also pledged to address concerns that Uber is using its technical tools to skirt the law. "We have started a review of the different ways this technology has been used to date," he said. "In addition, we are expressly prohibiting its use to target action by local regulators going forward."

These revelations are just the latest in what has proven to be a scandal-ridden year for the ride-sharing company. It was criticised heavily for its role in Trump's travel ban, has faced allegations of endemic sexism and discrimination, and is in the middle of fighting off a lawsuit from self-driving car firm Waymo.

Uber's CEO Travis Kalanick was also caught on film having an argument with one of the company's drivers, after which he was forced to issue a public apology. The firm is also currently on the hunt for a COO to help it "write the next chapter".

A job applicant for an IT manager role at Greater Manchester Police was arrested for drink driving after turning up for the interview over the limit.

Two senior Greater Manchester Police staff were holding interviews on the 25 January for an IT management position, when a candidate aged in his 50s arrived smelling of alcohol.

It wasn't until the candidate revealed that he had had "a little trouble parking", that the interviewers realised he had been driving.

"As soon as he began to speak I could smell something on his breath which I thought was stale alcohol," said one unnamed GMP interviewer. "He mentioned that he did have a little trouble in finding somewhere to park, which immediately raised concerns. Shortly after he arrived in the small office, the smell of alcohol became overpowering."

After the hour-long interview, one of the interviewers consulted with a police officer, and a traffic officer was called into the room, who asked if the candidate had been drinking beforehand. The man said he hadn't, but admitted he had shared a bottle of wine with his wife the previous night.

The police then took the man outside and breathalysed him, finding he was over the legal limit, producing a reading of 46 micrograms (the legal limit is 35 micrograms). Police promptly arrested him and later charged him with drink driving at Bury police station.

Appearing at Bury and Rochdale Magistrate's Court on 10 February, the man pleaded guilty to being in control of a vehicle while over the legal drink driving limit, and was subsequently disqualified from driving for one year, reduced to seven months if he passes a drink driving awareness course, and slapped with a 235 fine.

"Although the circumstances surrounding this particular incident are unusual, this case highlights the fact that there are a number of motorists who think they are fine to drive after drinking the night before," said inspector Tony Allt of Greater Manchester Police's road policing unit.

"There are a number of factors that can determine how alcohol is absorbed and processed in the body, but for the individual in this case to give a reading of 46 micrograms (the legal limit being 35), clearly shows that a significant amount of drink must have been consumed the previous evening."

A report into police efficiency has revealed a gap in the skills to deal with cybercrime because forces are failing to recognise whether existing police officers have the experience needed to deal with such events.

Neither do forces know how current skills need to be developed to address future trends in crime and this could leave gaps in the police's ability to deal with large-scale cyberattacks.

The investigation was led by her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary, Mike Cunningham, who explained that forces have experienced big budget cuts over the last five years.

Now forces are beginning to realise the need for investment in skills and although some of the best performing forces, such as Durham Police and West Midlands Police, are embracing innovation and reform, it's something that needs to be transferred across the entire service.

"I am pleased to find that the majority of forces understand the demand they are facing and have effective plans in place to meet that demand," Cunningham said.

"There needs to be more focus on the future, on understanding new and different types of demand and on the skills that police forces will need to best deal with the new challenges, especially in growing areas such as cyber-crime.

He went on to say that the management has highlighted how important it is that forces agree on a consistent approach to data and sharing information and this can only be done via utilising the same technology across the entire service.

Although the police are embracing mobile technologies, forces are lacking the skills to use the wide variety of IT platforms and how they work together. There doesn't appear to be much focus on developing these skills either, the report revealed, despite them knowing it's essential for the future.

"There is still scope for forces to transform the way in which they operate and it is vital that the pace and urgency of change continues if we are to have a police force fit to meet the challenges of the 21st century."

EE has won a 1 billion contract to supply the UK's emergency services with a 4G network for communications.

The new LTE-based emergency services network (ESN) should save the UK 1 million a day in running costs, claimed the government. This network will replace the existing Tetra network from mid-2017 and enable police, fire brigades and ambulance services to access 4G data services.

Minister of state for policing, criminal justice and victims Mike Penning said the rollout would benefit emergency services in the UK.

"Today marks a major achievement in our effort to provide the emergency services with a new modernised communications network that is able to protect the public and save lives," he said.

More than 500 new 4G base stations will be built to support the emergency network. These will run independently from EE's main network service business and consumers, in order to ensure emergency services have full capacity should they need it. Around 300,000 personnel will make use of the network when fully operational.

EE will also switch on its 800MHz spectrum at 3,800 sites as well to improve coverage. The mobile company will also make use of Voice over LTE technology so that personnel can make calls over 4G and enable push-to-talk as well.

EE's Emergency Services team will work closely with the current provider, Airwave, Motorola, and KBR, as well as all end users to manage a smooth transition to the new 4G network.

EE CEO Olaf Swantee said his company was "proud to be selected to deliver this vital new network for Britain's Emergency Services".

"We've worked closely with the Police and Ambulance crews to show the power of 4G in helping save time and save lives. We will now work tirelessly to deliver a highly resilient, truly nationwide 4G network to serve all of Britain's Blue Light and First Responder teams across the UK," he said.

The Metropolitan Police has revealed it will start rolling out Taser's Axon Body 2 cameras to all its frontline police officers to secure their safety and reduce complaints from the public.

The body-worn cameras will enable police to record events at incidents, which will lead to creating a community of "smarter, more transparent policing." Taser said.

"This is a hugely exciting moment for both Taser and its Axon technology platform," TASER CEO and founder Rick Smith said. "We're beyond thrilled to be pushing new boundaries forward with one of the largest and most well respected police forces in the world."

The company explained its Axon platform is now the most widely used body camera and digital evidence management solution in law enforcement, giving police officers the peace of mind that they are protected when they attend call-outs and developing trust from citizens involved in crime - both victims and criminals.

The full-scale rollout follows a pilot scheme where 1000 units were deployed to police over a 12-month period. The study reported a 33 per cent reduction in complaints against officers.

"I'm delighted that we will be able to press ahead with the roll-out of this technology. For too long our equipment has lagged behind the technology almost everyone has in their pockets to capture events as they unfold, said Sir Bernard Hogan Howe, Commissioner of the Metropolitan added.

"Soon, more of our officers will be able to make a record of the very challenging circumstances they are asked to deal with on a daily basis and then demonstrate, more effectively, the reality of policing our capital."

Neither the Metropolitan Police nor Taser revealed further information about the technology being used or details of the contract, which is still being finalised.

This latest development shows the Metropolitan Police is pushing forward on its plans to make the force the world's most transparent police force, with other suggestions it will be using tablets to transform frontline policing and modernising its infrastructure with the eradication of aged systems.

Child abuse material is being increasingly uncovered on both private and public sector work computers, an investigation by Net Clean has found.

The company questioned 368 police officers from 28 countries, all involved in sex abuse criminal investigations. It found that more than three in four had found inappropriate images and files relating to child sex abuse on private sector work computers, while 58 per cent said they uncovered similar material on public sector work machines.

Additionally, the content of these investigations is getting more severe, with the victim being younger and younger.

"It is much more common for people to use their work computers to look at child sexual abuse material than many of us would believe," said Christian Berg, CEO of NetClean. "As many as two people in one thousand watch child sexual abuse during working hours."

He explained the reason people use their work computers to download such material rather than at home is because it's the only private computer they own. For example, household machines may be shared with other members of the family, while they are the only person to use their work computer.

Other risk areas are mobile phones and videos rather than just pictures on computers and social media. NetClean explained those involved in creating such materia; usually use basic video capture software embedded into IM and collaboration tools.

Fredrik Frejme, director and head of NetClean, added: "The technology on hand makes it easier to disseminate material, however it also gives us the tools to find and stop it. In my eyes, the real heroes are those with indefatigable motivation, who work their way through images and films showing things that we, normal' people, could never believe to exist in this world."

Worryingly, the report also revealed that 83 per cent of police officers don't think the public and governments are aware of the problem, while two thirds commented that the legal systems in their country is not well enough equipped to deal with child exploitation crimes.

British police forces submitted 733,237 requests to view communications data over three years, with only four per cent refused, according to a newly published report by the Big Brother Watch.

Although communications requests don't reveal precise content of personal texts, emails, phone calls and web searches, they do reveal information about when they were made, to whom and from where, giving police insights into anyone's activity, whether it will aid an investigation or not. Anyone seeking data must first of all ask its own force if a request is allowed before approaching the provider of the data - such as a mobile phone network or ISP.

The Metropolitan Police made almost a quarter of these requests. West Midlands Police made the second highest number of requests with 13 per cent of the 733,237. Essex Police refused the highest proportion requests with 28 per cent denied and the Met refused almost 33,000, which represented 18 per cent of its total requests.

A Home Office spokesperson told the BBC: "It is absolutely vital that our police and security services are able to obtain communications data in certain, limited circumstances, to protect the public and ensure national security

"This information helps to disrupt terrorist plots, smash criminal networks and keep us safe and it is a government priority to ensure our legislation is updated to deal with changing threats and evolving technologies."

Big Brother Watch said: "It is clear from the reports' findings that disparity exists amongst police forces on what is considered necessary and proportionate for a request for Communications Data and why a refusal for access is given.

"If law enforcement persists with calls for greater access, internal procedures will need to be clarified, transparency about the process published and independent judicial approval brought in as part of the authorisation process."

Vodafone is facing an investigation by telecoms regulator Ofcom after a "catastrophic failure" of its systems blocked access to emergency and rescue services numbers over the weekend.

The problems first came to light on Saturday morning, with police forces and NHS services across the UK reporting issues with both the 101 and 111 non-emergency numbers.

Both numbers are offered by the emergency services as a means of seeking advice on health matters, in the case of 111, or to report less urgent matters that wouldn't require a 999 call to be logged.

Vodafone is responsible for operating both numbers, and in a statement to IT Pro put the issue down to a fault in its fixed line call routing system.

"Our engineers... worked hard to resolve the issue as quickly as possible and services have now been restored," the statement continued.

"We will continue to monitor the services closely and will be carrying out a full investigation into the issue. We apologise for any inconvenience caused."

The problem also stopped callers to commercial services, such as the RAC, Barclays Bank and First Great Western, from getting through until service were restored later in the day.

Breakdown firm RAC told customers via social networking site Twitter that Vodafone had suffered a "catastrophic failure to its telephone equipment", which is why their calls weren't getting through.

Meanwhile, Ofcom has confirmed in a report to the BBC that it's been in contact with Vodafone to understand how the downtime occurred, and will be investigating the problems "as a matter of urgency."

UK's technology industry has called on the government to adopt common data standards across the police and criminal justice systems to help deliver a more effective service.

Industry body TechUK said important data exists within too many IT systems that are neither connected nor searchable. As a result, within same police force and between closely connected services, it is often difficult to link people, objects, locations and events data. At the regional and national level, the situation is even worse, it claimed.

The organisation said in its recently published Breaking Down the Barriers report that adopting common data standards would result in greater efficiencies within the police and criminal justice ICT systems by reducing dependence on particular products and suppliers and enabling information to be shared across separate devices and systems.

It is now calling on the government to develop a strategy for the criminal justice system that will improve access to data assets through the use of technology, which will be predicated on the use of common standards across the system, the report said.

It also urged the Home Office to clarify which body has the remit to develop and set strategy and common standards across the police and criminal justice system. This chosen body should work closely with industry, the police and policy makers to develop an ICT strategy and common standards.

It also said the Home Office needs to take action to mandate the use of common standards across the police service, and that work to develop common standards should start with defining an already recognised core set of object types based on the People Object Location Event (POLE) model. This is already in widespread use by forces and suppliers.

Ruth Davis, head of programme for cyber, criminal justice and national security at techUK, said the police have long acknowledged the negative impact that siloed data and systems have on their ability to act effectively and in partnership with other agencies.

"This must be addressed if they are to provide the public with a better service at a lower cost," she said. "If standardisation is to be achieved effectively both large and small suppliers must be allowed to participate in the discussion. TechUK intends Breaking Down The Barriers to begin sustained dialogue between industry, the Home Office and police forces."

Tablets and handsets seized as evidence by police are being remotely wiped clean of their data, according to a BBC investigation.

Forces in Cambridgeshire, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Durham all reported cases in which data on confiscated mobile devices had been purged.

A spokeswoman for Dorset police, which suffered six such incidents, said the force did not know how people had managed to wipe them, but the technology had the ability to allow users to remove data if the devices were stolen.

"We have cases where phones get seized, and they are not necessarily taken from an arrested person - but we don't know the details of these cases as there is not a reason to keep records of this," she told the BBC.

One phone was remotely wiped while in the possession of Derbyshire police.

The force would not share details about the incident other than the phone being involved in a "romance fraud".

A spokeswoman said that this did not impact the case and a conviction was secured regardless.

Cleveland police also reported a phone that had been wiped, although the force said it did not know if it had been "wiped prior to coming into police hands".

Police forces in Cambridgeshire, Durham and Nottinghamshire also reported one such data wiping incident each.

Ken Munro, a digital forensics expert with Pen Test Partners, told the BBC that if a device receives a signal it would be possible for it to be remotely wiped.

He added that if a device is seized for forensic examination, it needed to be placed in a radio-frequency shielded bag to prevent any signals from reaching it.

Failing that, placing it in a microwave oven was a good alternative until it could be put in a shielded bag, he explained.

"The microwave is reasonably effective as a shield against mobile or tablet signals - just don't turn it on," he told the BBC.

The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) has denied reports that drivers involved in road traffic accidents will have their mobile phones automatically examined or seized at the scene.

Over the weekend, several national newspapers reported that police officers had received guidance instructing them to seize the mobile phones of drivers whenever a road traffic accident takes place.

The move, it was claimed, would help reduce the number of deaths caused by drivers using their mobile phones while behind the wheel, and would help police officers ascertain if a driver had used their phone in the lead up to a crash.

A report on the Daily Mail website over the weekend stated the guidance had been issued by Gloucestershire Police Constable Suzette Davenport, who oversees the ACPO's road policing efforts.

However, ACPO has since released a statement distancing itself from the weekend reports, which it has described as "inaccurate."

In it, Davenport categorically denies that she has instructed police officers to seize drivers' mobile phones in the wake of a collision, but stated that making people aware of the dangers of using mobile devices while driving is a priority.

"At no point have I issued guidance to officers to seize mobile phones from drivers at the site of every road traffic collision," she said.

"It has been standard practice to seize mobile phones from drivers at the scenes of very serious collisions for some time as part of the information and evidence gathering process, but it is not now, nor will it be, standard practice to seize phones from drivers after every collision."

It is illegal for drivers and motorcyclists to use mobile devices while operating their vehicles, and people found doing so can receive three penalty points and a 100 fine.

If the case goes to court, people can face being disqualified from driving or using their motorbike, and receive a maximum fine of 1000.

"It is fair to say that we as a service are looking at ways of making officers and drivers more aware of the difference between the offences of driving while not in proper control of the vehicle which is a distraction offence and driving while using a mobile phone," Davenport added.

"Part of this process involves making sure officers know the best means of using information within a driver's mobile phone when building evidence for a successful prosecution, such as finding from call or text logs if the phone was ain use at the time of the incident."

The Information Commissioner's Office has released audit results showing how only one police force in the UK secured top marks for data protection.

The watchdog carried out the tests between April 2013 and April 2014, focusing on 17 forces throughout the UK. Forces were tested on their adherence to the Data Protection Act, staff training and awareness, data sharing and security.

Only one (unnamed) police force emerged from the audit with a "high assurance" rating meaning that little to no action is required to shore up its data protection policies. Ten of the forces tested were given a "reasonable assurance" classification, meaning that they need "some" improvement to their security arrangements.

On the classification below, "limited assurance", were six forces, meaning that they need to improve their services in the future to better fall in line with the Data Protection Act's regulations.

No forces in the UK were given the lowest rating overall: "very limited assurance". Two police forces did, however, record this rating in two of their subcategories, namely records management and data sharing.

The audit covered 17 of the 43 forces in the country, so is by no means representative. Despite this, it still shows worrying signs of the unpreparedness of UK police in data protection and handling.

"Clearly police forces handle sensitive personal data, and we all want to have confidence that that information is being kept in line with the law," said an ICO spokesperson.

"Our findings suggest that tends to be the case, with two thirds of the forces needing just a few improvements in the areas we audited.

"But there's no room for complacency. The report contains a list of areas for improvement, and all forces would do well to read it."

Metropolitan Police officers are to wear cameras on their uniforms in a bid to increase police transparency.

Five hundred of these cameras, which are designed to capture evidence at crime scenes, will be distributed across 10 London boroughs. The scheme has followed criticism the Met received in the wake of the Mark Duggan shooting, the event which sparked the London Riots three years ago.

The first borough to experience the pilot will be Camden, with further trials moving to Barnet, Bromley, Brent, Croyden, Ealing, Havering, Hillingdon and Lewisham. Images captured by the officers will be stored on file for one month unless needed for evidence.

Commissioner at the Met, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, said: "Our experience of using cameras already shows that people are more likely to plead guilty when they know we have captured the incident. That speeds up justice, puts offenders behind bars more quickly and protects potential victims.

"The mere presence of this type of video can often defuse potentially violent situations," he added.

The Met has confirmed the cameras will not be switched on permanently and people will be informed if they are being filmed. Officers taking part in the pilot have also been educated in the guidelines of their use.

Jack Hart, a member ofThe Freedom Association, said the move means "everyone is under suspicion".

"To create a situation where both police officers and the public feel constantly under suspicion is not sensible and undermines trust in all sectors of society," he added.

Other forces in the country, like Hampshire and Devon and Cornwall, already use the cameras, while Bedfordshire announced that they would be implementing them following a successful trial.

Almost one-fifth of all theft in Britain results in the loss of sensitive data, according to information gleaned from the UK's police forces.

More than 164,192 pieces of computing and communications equipment were stolen across the UK between March 2013 and February 2014, according to a figures obtained by network security vendor ViaSat.

All 46 police forces in the UK were contacted with a Freedom of Information request by the firm. Of the 41 forces that responded, 35 gave full enough information to provide a precise analysis of the data.

Desktop computers, laptops, tablets, smartphones and USB drives ranked among the most likely items to be stolen in the country last year, with 14 per cent of those thefts being reported by companies.

Chris McIntosh, CEO at ViaSat UK, said: "If less than 1 per cent of the devices stolen in burglaries or personal thefts contained any sensitive information that is still a huge amount in the wrong hands."

Theft from members of the public, whether burglary or mugging, gave much higher results with 28 per cent of all burglaries and 66 per cent of all muggings resulting in the theft of a mobile or computing device.

"It's clear the need to protect personal information must be understood by everyone, from heads of security to housewives and husbands," said McIntosh.

Bob Tarzey, analyst and director at Quocirca, told IT Pro that when devices are stolen at random, the chances of present data being useful to a thief are low. Usually the data that is present is limited to information about the original owner.

"If the device is an unprotected work device then regardless of the usefulness of the data to the thief, there is still the possibility of a compliance issue with certain data types," he added.

The Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) of London's Police has drawn another battle line in its war against intellectual property theft with the launch of the Infringing Website List (IWL).

The database aims to provide the digital advertising sector with information about sites that host copyrighted content.

Those found to be hosting copyrighted material will be added to the database and their details passed on to major advertisers.

The hope is once firms find out their content is appearing on websites hosting illegal material, they will pull their adverts from the pirates' pages.

Advertising, according to PIPCU, is a key generator of criminal profits for websites that provide copyrighted content.

Disrupting the flow of this revenue is a major part of the City of London Police's Operation Creative initiative, which held a three-month pilot program last year.

During the trial phase, with the co-operation of the British Recorded Music Industry, the Internet Advertising Bureau and others, 12 per cent of identified illegal websites saw a reduction in major advertising revenue.

"If an advert from an established brand appears on an infringing website, not only does it lend the site a look of legitimacy, but inadvertently the brand and advertiser are funding online crime," said detective chief inspector and head of PIPCU, Andy Fyfe.

"The IWL serves as a safety tool, ensuring the reputation of advertisers and brands are not discredited through association with illegal websites."

Anti-piracy body the Federation Against Software Theft (FAST) applauded the scheme, stating it would "starve pirate websites of the oxygen that is advertising revenue". Protecting the IP is vital to not just the firms that own them, chief executive Alex Hilton added, but to the UK economy at large.

The City of London Police has shut down 90 websites as part of a worldwide crackdown on the sale of counterfeit goods.

The operation was a collaboration between the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU), Europol and the US authorities, and has led to the suspension of hundreds of websites selling counterfeit merchandise to unsuspecting consumers.

The police confirmed that 690 domains had been closed in total as part of the "In Our Sites - Transatlantic 3" operation.

"PIPCU is proud to be a part of this cross-party worldwide operation, which is committed to combating online intellectual property crime," said PIPCU superintendent Bob Wishart.

"The 90 websites we have suspended sends a clear warning out to anyone else who thinks they can sell counterfeit goods on the internet with little fear of ever being stopped."

PIPCU, representing the UK for Europol, suspended 90 domains, with Europol Member States, Belgium, Denmark, France, Hungary, Romania and Spain suspending a further 303. The US ICE IPR Center accounted for 297 domain name seizures in the US.

The City of London Police said the websites involved were selling goods including headphones, sports clothing, personal care products, shoes, toys, luxury goods, mobile phones and electronic accessories.

Visitors to the seized domains will now see a seizure notification instead of the usual home page.

"Working with our international partners on operations like this shows the true global impact of (intellectual property) crime," said John Sandweg, acting director of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"Counterfeiters take advantage of the holiday spirit of shoppers around the world and sell cheap fakes to unsuspecting consumers everywhere. Consumers need to protect themselves, their families, and their personal financial information from the criminal networks operating these bogus sites," he added.

A Microsoft tip-off to the City of London police about counterfeit software sales has resulted in six arrests in Humberside.

The accused were arrested by officers from the City of London police's Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) last week on suspicion of selling counterfeit products online.

The arrests are reportedly linked to an ongoing police inquiry into the selling on of fake product keys, Microsoft Windows re-installation discs and key cards via unnamed online auction sites.

A 40-year-old woman and two men in their early twenties were arrested at their home in Barton-upon- Humber, where an undisclosed number of suspected counterfeit items were seized.

A further two men, aged 70 and 38, and a 66-year-old woman were arrested shortly after at a second address where further items were also seized.

The 66-year-old was later released, while the remaining suspects were taken in for questioning and later bailed.

According to Microsoft estimates, the goods seized at both addresses are thought to be worth more than 100,000.

A third site in Essex was also searched, and computer equipment and documents were also taken by the police.

Abrahim Bakhtiar, an attorney working within Microsoft UK's digital crimes unit, said the selling on of counterfeit software is just another form of cyber crime.

"Microsoft works closely with many law enforcement agencies such as PIPCU and Trading Standards to ensure criminal actions are pursued," Bakhtiar said.

"This investigation is a real testament to PIPCU's and Microsoft DCU's resolve when it comes to stamping out cybercrime and we applaud the swift action PIPCU and Humberside Police have undertaken in relation to this case."

Microsoft software, along with products made by Adobe, are among the most pirated in the world, with the software giant regularly speaking out against the perils of using fake products.

In some cases, counterfeit products don't work, put users' machines at risk of viruses and can even leave them open to identity theft.

Microsoft has gone on record to detail requests it gets from law enforcement agencies about the firm's online and cloud services.

The release of its 2012 Law Enforcement Requests Report comes after pressure from privacy organisations to release data on what information it hands over to police and other law organisations. Similar moves have been made by Google and Twitter recently.

Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith said in a blog post that in recent months there has been "broadening public interest in how often law enforcement agencies request customer data from technology companies and how our industry responds to these requests."

He added that Google, Twitter and others have made "important and helpful contributions" to this discussion by publishing some of their data. "We've benefited from the opportunity to learn from them and their experience, and we seek to build further on the industry's commitment to transparency by releasing our own data today," he said.

The report states that last year Microsoft (including Skype) received 75,378 law enforcement requests for customer information, and these requests potentially affected 137,424 accounts or "other identifiers". Only 2.1 per cent, or 1,558 requests, resulted in the disclosure of customer content.

Microsoft said of the 1,558 disclosures of customer content, more than 99 per cent were in response to lawful warrants from courts in the US. "In fact, there were only 14 disclosures of customer content to governments outside the United States. These were to governments in Brazil, Ireland, Canada and New Zealand," said Smith.

It added that in 56,388 cases where Microsoft (excluding Skype) disclosed some non-content information to law enforcement agencies, more than 66 per cent of these were to agencies in only five countries: The US, UK, Turkey, Germany and France. For Skype, the top five countries accounted for 81 per cent of all requests. These countries were the UK, US, Germany, France and Taiwan.

Microsoft also had 11 requests from police or information relating to its enterprise customers. Smith said that the company believed that law enforcement requests for information from an enterprise customer are best directed to that customer rather than a tech company that happens to host that customer's data.

"That way, the customer's legal department can engage directly with law enforcement personnel to address the issue," he said.

He added that the company either rejected or were successful in redirecting seven of these 11 requests. "In the four instances where we disclosed some enterprise customer information, we either obtained the customer's consent before complying, or we disclosed the information pursuant to a specific contractual arrangement to process such requests on behalf of the customer," said Smith.

Dyfed-Powys Police has signed an agreement with IT systems provider Civica to rollout a new hosted Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system.

The organisations claim the five-year deal will help Dyfed-Powys Police cut crime and costs, while improving internal ICT security.

The re-deployable hosted ANPR product enables the rapid deployment of cameras either to support strategic operations or to replace a fixed camera that is out of service.

The technology will also be used in Dyfed-Powys to provide permanent ANPR coverage on routes of interest where a hardwired communications network is unavailable or would be too expensive to provide.

The new partnership will see Dyfed-Powys police go from 34 traditional static cameras to 50 traditional and hosted ANPR sites, in addition to mobile units.

By hosting the system at Civica's datacentres, the force will benefit from low risk, highly resilient infrastructure, which incorporates a secure private network and taps into all major 3G networks, Civica said.

This ensures the fastest possible speeds and constant wireless coverage, it added.

Brian Mumby, ANPR manager at Dyfed-Powys Police, said: "Here in Wales, wireless coverage can be inconsistent at the best of times; Civica gives us access to all of the major 3G networks so we're secure in the knowledge that our ANPR cameras are live-streaming vital data back to headquarters 24/7.

"This technology is our bread and butter, particularly at a time when budgets and headcounts are under scrutiny," Mumby added.

Tony Hughes, managing director of public protection at Civica, added: "This technology is a game-changer for police forces that need guaranteed connectivity and IT security."

Greater Manchester Police has paid a 120,000 fine for a data breach after the Information Commissioner's Officer (ICO) found that sensitive data had been compromised.

The breach occurred when a memory stick containing the details of a thousand people with links to serious crimes was stolen from an officer's home. The memory stick was unencrypted and had no password protection.

The ICO investigation also found that the police force has not been properly trained in data protection. A number of police officers in the force regularly use unencrypted memory sticks, to copy data from police computers, the watchdog said.

The consequences of this type of breach really do send a shiver down the spine.

"This was truly sensitive personal data, left in the hands of a burglar by poor data security," said David Smith, the director of data protection at the ICO.

"It should have been obvious to the force that the type of information stored on its computers meant proper data security was needed. Instead, it has taken a serious data breach to prompt it into action."

The ICO implemented a fine of 150,000 to the force. However, Greater Manchester Police ended up paying 120,000 as it took advantage of the 20 per cent early payment discount.

"We hope it will discourage others from making the same data protection mistakes," Smith added.

"This is a substantial monetary penalty, reflecting the significant failings the force demonstrated."

The Government has finally launched its much-hyped police-led ICT company as part of its ongoing drive to cut public sector IT procurement costs.

The Home Secretary, Theresa May, first announced the plan in July 2011 - claiming the company would be up and running by spring 2012.

Its aim is to help claw back some of the 1.2 billion UK police forces spend on IT each year.

There are 2,000 systems between the 43 forces of England and Wales, and individual forces have not always driven the most effective deals.

The company will be responsible for advising England and Wales' 43 police forces on the procurement and management of IT, freeing up officers to focus on fighting crime.

It will be jointly owned by the Association of Police Authorities and the Home Office until the November elections.

After this date, the company will fall under the control of police and crime commissioners who will be elected by local people and held accountable for how crime is tackled in their area.

In a Home Office statement, Nick Herbert, minister for policing and criminal justice, said the company will be able to harness the police forces' collective purchasing power to drive down procurement costs.

"There are 2,000 systems between the 43 forces of England and Wales, and individual forces have not always driven the most effective deals," said Herbert.

"We need a new, more collaborative approach and greater accountability, utilising expertise in IT procurement and freeing police offices to focus on fighting crime."

Councillor Mark Burns-Williamson, chairman of the Association of Police Authorities (APA), said technology has an important role to play in tackling crime.

"The APA will work closely with the Home Office to ensure proper scrutiny of the new company so that the taxpayer gets value for money," he said.

"When the new system is handed over to police and crime commissioners we want it to be fit for purpose and efficient in delivering IT tasks."

Two men have been charged with conspiring to commit fraud following an investigation by Gwent Police into funding irregularities at a council-run datacentre in south Wales.

The 3 million datacentre in Blaenavon, south Wales, has been the focus of a police probe since last September, which has so far resulted in three arrests.

The site, also known as the Shared Resource Centre, was opened in 2011 as part of Torfaen County Borough Council's plans to share ICT services with neighbouring local authorities.

In a statement sent to IT Pro earlier today, Gwent Police confirmed that a 51-year-old man from Pontypool had been charged with conspiracy to commit fraud and two accounts of false accounting, as a result of the investigation.

A 50-year-old from Trelewis has also been charged in connection with similar offences, and both are due to appear at Cwmbran Magistrates Court on Thursday 7 June.

Meanwhile, a 46-year-old man from the Caerleon area, arrested in connection with the case, has been released without charge.

A representative from Torfaen County Borough Council declined to comment.

Back in February, the deputy chief executive of Torfaen County Borough Council, Peter Durkin, revealed that a 400,000 funding black hole had been uncovered at the Shared Resource Centre.

In a progress report published at the time, Durkin asked to use council reserves make up the shortfall.

"In light of [the] ongoing criminal and disciplinary investigations, it would not be appropriate to publish the specific breakdown of this cost in full because it may be prejudicial to those investigations," wrote Durkin.

"Clearly some costs have been incurred through actions that may result in criminal charges being made and disciplinary hearings being convened."

Police have arrested a 17-year-old boy from Newcastle who they suspect could be a member of prolific hacking group TeamPoison.

The boy was arrested on Wednesday evening in connection with an alleged breach of the Computer Misuse Act 1990.

His arrest was the result of a joint investigation between The Police Central eCrime Unit (PCeU) and officers from the Northumberland Constabulary.

In a statement on the Metropolitan Police website, it is claimed the suspect could be a spokesperson for hacking group TeamPoison.

The group has claimed responsibility for more than 1,400 Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks and network breaches across the globe.

The group is credited with being the force behind last November's attack on the UN's web servers, which resulted in staff login details and passwords being leaked online.

"Enquiries continue between the PCeU and other relevant law enforcement agencies in this continuing and wide-ranging investigation," the statement added.

The European Commission (EC) has given the green light to the creation of a specialised CyberCrime Centre, aiming to combat the growing threat of illegal online activity across the EU.

The European CyberCrime Centre is set to start operating in January 2013 and will be based at the Europol office in The Hague. The focus will be on tackling large scale organised cybercrime and preventing cyber-attacks on critical infrastructure and information systems in the EU.

Resources will be dedicated to help make e-banking and online purchasing more secure, as well as stamping out online child sexual exploitation.

The CyberCrime Centre also plans to help cut down identity theft via social networking sites such as Facebook where 600,000 accounts are already blocked every day due to malicious activity.

Member States will be warned about about large scale fraudulent activity and the Centre will make resources available to national police.

Operational support will be provided during investigations and the centre is expected to liaise with cybercrime investigators, prosecutors, judges and businesses that are affected, the EC said.

"Millions of Europeans use the internet for home banking, online shopping and planning holidays, or to stay in touch with family and friends via online social networks," said Cecilia Malmstrm, European Commissioner for Home Affairs.

"But as the online part of our everyday lives grows, organised crime is following suit - and these crimes affect each and every one of us,"

She added: "We can't let cybercriminals disrupt our digital lives. A European Cybercrime Centre within Europol will become a hub for cooperation in defending an internet that is free, open and safe."

The EC is keen to safeguard citizens as nearly 75 per cent of households now have access to the internet and 36 per cent carry out online banking.

The Commission estimates one million people become victims of cybercrime every day and the cost of cybercrime is approaching $388 billion worldwide.

Three regional policing e-crime hubs are to be established in the UK, as the Government looks to boost the nation's protection against threats.

Yorkshire and the Humber, the Northwest and the East Midlands will each get a hub, where specialist cyber police will coordinate with the Metropolitan Police Centre e-crime Unit (PCeU) on catching cyber criminals and shutting down their operations.

The announcement was made during the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) e-crime conference in Sheffield yesterday.

"The Government has acknowledged a need to collaborate and provide a structured response to the cyber security of the UK and these three additional policing units are going to play a critical role in our ability to combat the threat," said ACPO lead on e-crime deputy assistant commissioner Janet Williams.

"It is anticipated the hubs will make a significant contribution to the national harm reduction target of 504m. In the first six months of the new funding period alone we have already been able to show a reduction of 140m with our existing capability."

The hubs will only become active once police are trained up, Williams added.

Late last year, the Government announced a centralised hub that would allow private and public organisations to share data on threats.

Positive reaction

The Government has faced criticism for its funding the fight against cyber crime, with industry players saying not enough money was being pumped into police. The Government allocated 650 million for cyber security over the Coalition's five-year tenure.

According to one industry player however, the UK has been noticeably proactive in helping police fight cyber crime.

"Yorkshire Police have actually been one of the most cyber ready forces for a number of years," Raj Samani, UK CTO of McAfee, told IT Pro.

Last year, the Cabinet Office's National Cyber Security Programme (NCSP) pledged 30 million to "improve national capability to investigate and combat cyber crime." Whilst this might not seem much, Samani suggested taken in context, it was a sizeable amount.

"This is 30 million above what they've already invested," Samani added. "I was in a meeting with the Cabinet Office and I was taught a lesson. I questioned the 650 million and was told that was above and beyond all the existing investments.

"That's what we need to remember... actually I'd say it's a really welcoming figure because it demonstrates that this has a higher priority. They've identified a priority and they think it requires additional investment."

Two Government mobile rollouts for police have been criticised for not providing enough benefits to the majority of forces in the UK.

The central issue the National Audit Office (NAO) had with the Mobile Information Programme, which provided devices including BlackBerrys to officers, was that it failed to do more than let officers spend more time out of the station.

Although the project was achieved at a "reasonable cost," the benefits have not been enough to justify the 80 million spent, the NAO said.

It did not consider adequately how forces would use mobile technology.

Only 10 of 32 forces responding to an NAO survey said they had seen some for of cashable savings from the Mobile Information Programme, and even then it was a small amount.

"The business case for the Mobile Information Programme was constructed around the delivery of mobile devices and therefore considered a narrow range of implementation options," the NAO report read.

"It did not consider adequately how forces would use mobile technology, the amount of local expenditure required or the realism of the announced deadlines."

The NAO also claimed the project did not assess how many devices would be need for each force, nor was funding adequately split between different forces.

"The proportion of devices procured by forces we surveyed ranged from a device available to one per cent of police officers and police community support officers to 151 per cent. Three forces have more devices than officers as they are used by civilian police staff," the report added.

"However, some nineteen forces have sufficient devices available for less than half of their officers. This has restricted how far these forces can reduce bureaucracy through improving processes and subsequently reducing the cost of back-office functions."

Furthermore, the MobileID scheme, which was designed to bring fingerprint checking functionality to devices, had not successfully achieved its aims.

Despite the criticisms, the NAO said the programme had increased the visibility of police and officers do spend more time out of the station. Furthermore, some of the forces surveyed said they expected to make more savings as a result of the project in the future.

Dell hasn't shown off much new during its premier event in Austin, Texas this week, but it has showcased a few fascinating uses of its technology.

Its tech for police and hospital workers was especially impressive, making use of various technologies to help doctors save lives and law enforcement track criminals as well as carry out forensics.

What really stuck out for IT Pro was how useful these technologies would be for wide-scale use in the UK.

What the NHS needs

The Dell Mobile Clinical Computing (MCC) set-up would not only help NHS workers move between systems with ease, it would help shore up security too.

Essentially, MCC is a tidy little desktop virtualisation solution, enabling nurses to go between computers, log on with the simple swipe of a smart card and have their virtual desktop loaded up to whatever machine they want to use. It seems to be really effective single sign-on stuff.

It's not just a productivity piece though, it's got some fine security pros as well. What's really handy is that the data is stored in the data centre, not on devices themselves. So when a nurse is accessing sensitive patient data on their iPad (which should be simple given Dell's desktop virtualisation offering can tie into either Citrix Receiver or VMware software) and then lose that tablet, it won't have any serious ramifications for the health body. No patient data will go missing.

It has already been trialled in a number of trusts in the UK, but it would be great to see wider adoption of this Dell setup or similar technologies.

Admittedly, this is a little CSI, but the police in-car video equipment and forensic solutions are really swish.

Below you can see how the in-car set-up works. A ruggedised laptop is placed within the vehicle and cameras attached to different parts of the car, provided by Pannin Technologies. During our demonstration, we were shown how easy it was to move the digital cameras around via the laptop, with some incredibly clear night vision showcased as well.

The Metropolitan Police were alerted today of a break-in at the Apple Store in Covent Garden, London.

At approximately 01.00am a window was broken into and property taken from the store, police reported.

"It is believed there were around seven moped riders/motorcyclists involved, most if not all with a pillion passenger. All persons were in full face crash helmets," the Metropolitan Police added.

The robbers reportedly stole iPads and "other similar devices."

Islington police followed a moped that may have been involved in attempt to stop it, but failed to catch it.

A moped was then found abandoned around Wyclif Court, St John Street EC1, and officers saw two men on foot 20 minutes after the break-in occured. Property, believed to be stolen from the store, was found in their possession.

These two men, 16 and 21 years old, are now in custody at a police station in North London.

"Although two men are in custody on suspicion of burglary, the inquiry continues and other persons are sought. It is essential that anyone who saw the smash-and-grab, or the suspects making off, contact us as soon as possible," DS Nathan Tozer of Westminster CID said.

Rob Shoesmith, a blogger who was camping outside the store when it happened, reported he woke up to a loud noise of motorbikes, a smash and grab and an alarm going off.

"Looks like a lot of Mac computers have been stolen with four motor bikes," Shoesmith said in a blog post.

UK police are being hampered by a "mess" of an IT infrastructure, with thousands of different systems making complexity a nightmare, MPs said today.

Police IT is "not fit for purpose" and is harming "police's ability to fulfill their basic mission of preventing crime and disorder," the Commons Home Affairs Committee report read.

It called on the Home Office to make revolutionising police IT a top priority.

The main reason for the mess is that the 43 forces have, between them, a multiplicity of different IT systems and IT contracts.

Home secretary Theresa May admitted earlier this year that the "current system is broken," noting that across the police service there were around 5,000 staff working on 2,000 different ICT systems.

She also revealed the police spend around 1.2 billion a year on IT, yet the infrastructure was still "confused" and "fragmented."

"The main reason for the mess is that the 43 forces have, between them, a multiplicity of different IT systems and IT contracts," the report read.

One major concern raised in the report outside of the inadequacy of the systems focused on what body would be placed in charge of IT procurement.

Currently, the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) is in charge of numerous nationwide projects, such as the Information Systems Improvement Strategy (IMIS) a shared platform delivered via a SaaS-type model.

The NPIA is also in charge of Project Athena an information sharing initiative.

However, the Government is phasing the NPIA out, so a successor is required.

"A successor must be found for many of the information and communications technology functions that it fulfills. This provides an additional urgency to the imperative for a new approach to police information and communications technology," the report read.

"However, in devising this new approach the Home Office must not neglect those few elements of the existing landscape that are working well. In particular, the Home Office must secure the future of ISIS and continue to support Project Athena."

More confusion

There is much bafflement over what the Government is planning to replace the NPIA with. The report called for greater clarity from the Coalition.

The Home Office has indicated no single body will replace the NPIA. It is establishing the National Crime Agency which will take on some of the responsibilities.

An as-yet unnamed police IT company is to be set up as well, which trade body Intellect believes will take on the contracts currently managed by the NPIA.

Nevertheless, there remains much confusion over what form NPIA's replacement the "IT company" - will look like.

The report welcomed a proposal from Intellect recommending the IT company use a single national register of approved suppliers to be updated annually.

Intellect itself believes the company should look at business issues first, rather than technical ones.

"The way to ensure improvement in police IT is for the police (or whoever acts on their behalf) and industry to sit down as early as possible to discuss what the business problem not the technology problem is they are trying to solve," Intellect's Francis West told IT Pro.

MPs will be hoping police IT will not suffer such catastrophes as the NHS and the fire service have experienced in recent years.

A Shetland teenager suspected of being involved in hacktivist group LulzSec has been charged for a variety of cyber crime offences.

Jake Davis, 18, was charged on five counts, one of them being a conspiracy to carry out a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack on the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) website.

SOCA was forced to take its website offline in June. LulzSec claimed to have hit the site with a DDoS strike.

The teen was arrested last week, as police said they had taken Davis in under suspicion of being a spokesperson for LulzSec, known as Topiary.

Davis will appear in custody at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court today.

The arrest came as part of a Police Central e-Crime Unit (PCeU) investigation.

Another teenager, 19 year old Ryan Cleary, was arrested and charged earlier this year for five offences, including the strike on SOCA.

In July, a coordinated FBI investigation into hacktivist activities led to 21 arrests in the US, the UK and the Netherlands. A 16 year old male in London was detained.

Some experts believe arrests will do little to harm the hacktivists' activity. In recent weeks, Anonymous and LulzSec have hit a variety of organisations, including NATO and News International.

Taking a different tack, Anonymous began calling for people to ditch their PayPal accounts last week. Despite Anonymous claiming the campaign had seen thousands leave PayPal, the eBay subsidiary said it hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary.

"We haven't seen any changes to our normal operations (including account opening and closing)," a spokesperson said.

UPDATED: Davis, who appeared at court earlier today, has been released on bail and will be staying at his mother's in Spalding, Lincolnshire.

The teenager has been banned from the internet and told to wear a tag to keep him in check with a 10pm to 7am curfew.

Meanwhile, Anonymous has started up a 'Free Topiary' campaign, posting pictures on Twitter of the alleged LulzSec hacker coming out of court.

The Greater Manchester Police has admitted to the loss of a USB stick containing data relating to an investigation.

The removable drive was stolen from an officer's home and the device is not thought to be password protected, the BBC reported.

That officer has now been suspended as the police carry out an investigation into the incident, whilst the Independent Police Complaints Commission and the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) have been informed.

Just a single member of the public has been told their personal data was stolen.

"I want to reassure residents across Greater Manchester that we are taking this incredibly seriously and we are working hard to both identify who was responsible for the burglary and recover the stolen memory stick," said Assistant Chief Constable Garry Shewan.

"I want to stress that we do not believe the officer's home was deliberately targeted, but that this was an opportunistic burglary. I also want to make it clear that any suggestion this memory stick contained lists of names of people who 'tipped off' police is inaccurate."

An ICO spokesperson said the watchdog had been informed of a possible data breach, which "may involve Greater Manchester Police."

"We will be making enquiries into the circumstances of the alleged breach of the Data Protection Act before deciding on the necessary course of action," the spokesperson said.

A recent Big Brother report claimed police database abuse was "hugely intrusive."

Earlier this month, the ICO found the Lancashire Police force had breached the Data Protection Act.

Anonymous has struck again, claiming a hit on an Italian police body, in a move thought to be in retaliation for arrests of members of the hacktivist group.

The hacktivist collective attacked the CNAIPIC - il Centro Nazionale Anticrimine Informatico per la Protezione delle Infrastrutture Critiche - the body running Italy's critical IT infrastructure.

"We decided to leak everything they got since they were established as a full scale cyber taskforce named CNAIPIC," read a note from Anonymous, accompanying a release on Pastebin.com.

A post on an Anonymous Twitter feed with the handle @anonesc appeared to confirm the hack, although the owner of that microblog absolved himself or herself of responsibility.

"Received from an #Anonymous #AntiSec (haha) source," the tweet read.

"AntiSec strikes at Italy Government. Silent no more," a post from AnonymousIRC read.

David Harley, senior research fellow at ESET UK, said the UK Government should be wary of attacks from the likes of Anonymous too.

"The British Government should always be concerned about the security of its websites," Harley said.

"Even if Anonymous or its cronies aren't planning a revenge attack (and they may well be), someone is always looking for access to interesting' sites: the new wave of hacktivists and for-the-giggles attackers are going to look for sites with maximum potential for notoriety/PR/bragging rights."

A little chat with The Script Kiddies

The past week has seen a host of hacktivist efforts. One group calling itself The Script Kiddies claimed a compromise of Pfizer's Facebook page.

Over the weekend it claimed to have stolen data from retailing giant Walmart and posted it online. Walmart had not confirmed any attack at the time of publication.

"Currently our aim is to assist the #AntiSec movement, we also aim to punish corrupt companies within the United States," The Script Kiddies told IT Pro over Twitter.

"We haven't mentioned our hacking methods. But unlike some journalists have claimed, we do not simply guess passwords."

The group said almost all of its members had been part of Anonymous or are currently members.

"We've helped them with everything from HB Gary to Operation Payback," the hacktivist collective added.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has slapped the Lancashire Police Authority on the wrist for a website snafu which led to a data breach.

The police force accidentally published details of an individual's complaint on its website, failing to edit information on two documents marked as restricted.

The Lancashire Police Authority also failed to remove the offending data after it had been told of the breach on 24 January. The information remained on the website for four days after that.

"While it is important that public authorities are transparent about the work they do by publishing information online, this should never be at the expense of an individual's rights to privacy," said ICO director of operations Simon Entwisle.

"There can be no excuse for publishing someone's personal information online, and the fact that the authority failed to remove it when told makes this case all the more concerning."

The police force has now signed an undertaking, forcing it to ensure proper procedures are in place so non-redacted documents don't appear on its website.

"The authority will also develop a policy for staff explaining the actions they should take when receiving notice of a data breach as well as providing appropriate training and support on how to follow it," the ICO added.

The police were under the security spotlight again earlier this month for database "abuses."

A Big Brother Watch report discovered over 900 police officers and staff in the UK were subject to internal disciplinary procedures for breaching the Data Protection Act (DPA) over the past three years.

The report also found 243 police members of staff received criminal convictions for breaking laws set down by the DPA.

On Thursday afternoon, scores of Twitter denizens went ape when the News of the World announced its final edition would be this Sunday's rag.

They weren't particularly furious about the end of NOTW, more about a host of journalists losing their jobs thanks to the paper's chief executive keeping hers.

But there were other reasons to be cheerless this week, as some FOI requests revealed hundreds of police employees had been found in breach of the Data Protection Act.

Over 900 police officers and staff in the UK were subject to internal disciplinary procedures thanks to DPA breaches, whilst 98 were given the chop for their offences.

So it isn't just journalists (IT Pro not included of course!) who've been spying on you

Roaming in white spaces

So called "white spaces" don't signal some kind of return to segregation. They in fact offer a chance for truly remote locations to get half decent broadband something Ofcom recognised this week.

BT and a promising little start-up called Neul have both been pushing the case hard for exploitation of white spaces, so super rural areas can get connections. Imagine the day when we can catch up on the latest episode of Antiques Roadshow via iPlayer from our countryside mansion homes. Spiffing.

What's more, it might not even be that expensive to view web video when on holiday, thanks to European Commission proposals. If the EC gets its way, we'll soon have cheaper data costs and won't need to remortgage our homes just to download the latest Angry Birds when backpacking around the continent. Even Skyping on Facebook whilst abroad might not cost you an arm and a leg

Humans beat computers

The entire human race should also thank ARM this week, after it effectively proved the human brain is more powerful than even the most high-powered machine.

A "massive computer" using one million ARM processors, to be used in a project to mimic the brain, will still represent only one per cent of the brain's capacity. No doubt many of you have stopped building your panic rooms in preparation for an impending man vs. machine, Terminator-esque war, right?

Of course, it may say more about ARM chips than human superiority you decide.

Anonymous has claimed some big hits on the Turkish Government, defacing websites and stealing data.

The group said it nabbed and posted data from around 100 Turkish websites, as well as leaving messages on 74 sites.

The actions were part of "Turkish Takedown Thursday" in protest against internet filtering laws due to come into force in August.

New laws in Turkey look set to censor certain content perceived to be harmful to young citizens. The Turkish Government has claimed the filtering will be optional for users, despite beliefs it will be mandatory.

"Our vessel recently encountered a Turkish Government frigate, a chance we could not let pass," Anonymous said in a post on the Pirate Bay.

"So we simply boarded their vessel (no need to fire any cannons, mind you, they never found out what happened until just now) and collected some booty."

The hacks also form part of the AntiSec movement, which was a project of LulzSec, a group some believe was affiliated with Anonymous.

LulzSec has now disbanded, but Anonymous has continued the AntiSec campaign.

Last month, Turkish police made 32 arrests in relation to investigations into Anonymous.

The arrests came after the hacktivist group claimed to have launched a successful distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack on the Turkish Government, taking down a number of official websites.

This week saw Panda Security risk criticising both Anonymous and LulzSec, claiming the latter was guilty of "stupidism" rather than "hacktivism."

Police abuse of databases has been branded "hugely intrusive" after a report found hundreds of officers had broken the law in accessing important information.

Over 900 police officers and staff in the UK were subject to internal disciplinary procedures for breaching the Data Protection Act (DPA) over the past three years, the Big Brother Watch revealed.

After putting in a host of Freedom of Information (FoI) requests with forces across the UK, the Big Brother Watched discovered 98 police officers and staff were fired for breaching the Act.

The data also showed 243 received criminal convictions for breaking laws set down by the DPA.

"Our investigation shows that not only have police employees been found to have run background records checks on friends and possible partners, but some have been convicted for passing sensitive information to criminal gangs and drug dealers," said Daniel Hamilton, director of the Big Brother Watch.

"This is at best hugely intrusive and, at worse, downright dangerous. Police forces must adopt a zero tolerance approach to this kind of behaviour. Those found guilty of abusing their position should be sacked on the spot."

The Merseyside force had a particularly poor record, with a total of 208 police officers and staff receiving legal cautions for "viewing a computer record relating to a high profile arrest."

In Nottinghamshire, a police sergeant was sent to jail for 12 months after being found guilty of accessing police systems in order to obtain personal data for non policing purposes.

In Lancashire, a member of police staff was sacked after disclosing confidential policing information on Facebook. A co-worker in the same authority was given a final written warning for conducting 53 criminal records checks for "no obvious policing purpose."

This week saw allegations former Downing Street head of communications Andy Coulson paid the police for access to privileged information.

Last month saw the launch of a new Police National Database, containing the details of between 10 and 15 million people.

The National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) has today launched a new database to increase sharing of information between the UK's Police forces.

The Police National Database (PNS) has come as a result of an inquiry by Lord Michael Bichard, which concluded the lack of intelligence sharing within the Police was a factor in the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in Soham back in 2002.

An initial interim system was put in place, but now the PND has taken over, containing the details of roughly 15 million individuals. The NPIA worked with the Police and tech firm Logica which won the 75.6 million contact back in 2009 to implement the database and funding came from the Home Office.

"We know that child abusers, drug dealers and terrorists don't respect force boundaries, but in many cases forces have been conducting their investigations in isolation, unable to see everything the police service knows about a suspect and unable to make fully informed decisions," said the NPIA chief executive Nick Gargan.

"The PND pulls together all that local knowledge and allows investigators to see the full intelligence picture. As a result, they can react far more quickly and effectively when it comes to protecting the public."

The NPIA has tried to calm privacy and security fears by calling the PND "the most secure national police system developed to date" and confirming only "authorised and vetted users" will have access to the information stored.

It also claimed extra controls had been added to ensure Police only access data relevant to their jobs, along with a regular auditing system to "deter misuse."

"It is strongly in the interests of the public and the victims of crime that this information is shared so that criminals can be pursued and brought to justice," said Nick Herbert, the Government's policing and criminal justice minister.

"Equally, robust safeguards are in place to ensure that access to this information is properly limited and civil liberties are protected."

Anonymous has warned about repercussions following arrests of three individuals suspected of being key members of the hacking group.

Arrests of the unnamed men were made in three Spanish cities - Barcelona, Valencia and Almeria - earlier this week.

AnonOps, the hacking group, referencing events in Spain, simply wrote "Expect us" on both a blog post and a Twitter status update.

Spain's Technological Investigation Brigade (BIT) alleged the men had operated a cell of Anonymous, helping run attacks against notable firms like Sony as well as on websites run by Governments of various nations, including Egypt and Iran.

BIT also posted images on Twitter of IRC conversations appearing to show plans to attack Spanish police websites and the electoral board with DDoS attacks.

Arrests of people suspected of Anonymous involvement have been made across the world, including in the UK.

How long is it going to take before they retaliate? It's not if, but when.

On previous occasions when Anonymous has been targeted, it has responded by fighting fire with fire.

When security firm HBGary said it had acquired details on senior members of the hacking collective, Anonymous acted ferociously by hacking the company and dumping tens of thousands of corporate emails on the web.

Luis Corrons, technical director of PandaLabs, said it was just a matter of time before Anonymous would respond.

"How long is it going to take before they retaliate? It's not if, but when," Corrons told IT PRO.

"They usually react in the same way, so DDoS against who? Well, the website of the Spanish police probably."

The arrests came thanks to legal changes in Spain made in December last year, which made DDoS attacks illegal in the country, Corrons said.

"There is a lack of law in some fields, especially in cyber security," Corrons added.

As for how to deal with hacking groups like Anonymous and suspected spin off LulzSec, there is no consensus in the industry.

"The security industry is really worried," Corrons added.