[privacy] UK: Animal Rights Activist Hit With RIPA Key Decrypt Demand

[Paul Ferguson]

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Via The Register.

[snip]

An animal rights activist has been ordered to hand over her encryption keys
to the authorities.

Section Three of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) came
into force at the start in October 2007, seven years after the original
legislation passed through parliament. Intended primarily to deal with
terror suspects, it allows police to demand encryption keys or provide a
clear text transcript of encrypted text.

Failure to comply can result in up to two years imprisonment for cases not
involving national security, or five years for terrorism offences and the
like. Orders can be made to turn over data months or even years old.

The contentious measure, introduced after years of consultation, was sold
to Parliament as a necessary tool for law enforcement in the fight against
organised crime and terrorism.

But an animal rights activist is one of the first people at the receiving
end of a notice to give up encryption keys. Her computer was seized by
police in May, and she has been given 12 days to hand over a pass-phrase to
unlock encrypted data held on the drive - or face the consequences.

[snip]

More:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/11/14/ripa_encryption_key_notice/

- - ferg

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--
"Fergie", a.k.a. Paul Ferguson
 Engineering Architecture for the Internet
 fergdawg(at)netzero.net
 ferg's tech blog: http://fergdawg.blogspot.com/