Phorm slammed as 'illegal'

Online advert system Phorm is in contravention of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and illegal in the UK, according to the Foundation for Information Policy Research (FIPR).

In an open letter to the Information Commissioner Richard Thomas, FIPR argued that to ensure compliance with RIPA Phorm must not only secure the consent of web users but also of website operators.

The monitoring system, which analyses users' surfing habits, is proving increasingly popular with ISPs looking to more accurately target their subscribers with advertising. Talk Talk, Virgin and BT are all currently working with Phorm on a pilot basis.

Phorm builds a user profile by sifting websites visited by individuals, matching key words with the content of the web page. Tailored advertising is then served up to users when they visit sites employing Phorm's technology.

"The need for both parties to consent to interception in order for it to be lawful is an extremely basic principle within the legislation, and it cannot be lightly ignored or treated as a technicality," said Nicholas Bohm, general counsel at FIPR.

Richard Clayton, treasurer at FIPR, added: "The Phorm system is highly intrusive; it's like the Post Office opening all my letters to see what I'm interested in, merely so that I can be sent a better class of junk mail.

"Not surprisingly, when you look closely, this activity turns out to be illegal.

"We hope that the Information Commissioner will take careful note of our analysis when he expresses his opinion upon the scheme."

FIPR's move is the latest in a spate of recent initiatives highlighting the concerns of privacy advocates.

The Open Rights Group (ORG) recently raised concerns over potential privacy violations caused by the ad system Phorm.

"Until we know exactly how Phorm works, and across whose networks our data will flow, speculation about the privacy implications will continue", said ORG in a statement.

Phorm has denied that the technology breaches any UK privacy laws.

"Our technology complies with the Data Protection Act, RIPA and other applicable UK laws. Consumers are in control - they can switch the service off or on," the company claimed in a statement last week.

By Guy Dixon

Home Office cannot find £1.3m to fund e-crime unit

Plans to create a national police unit to fight high-tech crime were delt a blow this week after the Home Office said it was unable to find £1.3m to fund the unit.

Home Office minister Vernon Coakertold the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) that he did not have the cash to kick-start the national e-crime unit.

The news emerged following talks between Coaker and ACPO representatives Ian Johnson, head of the British Transport Police and DCI Charlie McMurdie, head of the Metropolitan Police force's e-crime unit she stepped down last Tuesday.

ACPO has been pressing the government for £1.3m as seed capital for a 45-strong national e-crime unit, which would be funded jointly by the private sector. ACPO said it hoped the cash would give the private sector the confidence to contribute towards the £4.5m cost of the unit.

The unit would replace the National High Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU), which acted as a central reporting point for e-crime until it was merged into the Serious Organised Crime Agency in 2006.

Acpo said it hoped that the government would still be able to find the money. "There was no cheque," McMurdie said, "but the government did seem to be warming to the idea."

A Home Office spokesperson said, "No decision has been taken on the formation of an e-crime unit." He said the government took e-crime seriously and would meet soon with law enforcement agencies to consider an overall approach to issues such as electronic fraud.

The lack of funding, however, has disappointed businesses.

The Institute of Directors said, "It is beyond belief that the Home Office should accord such a low priority to sorting out a sensible structure for the reporting and investigation of e-crime.

"This area has been blighted since the ill-conceived destruction of the well-respected, effective and high-profile National Hi-Tech Crime Unit during the creation of the Serious Organised Crime Agency."

The British Bankers' Association said the lack of funding was a worrying sign of the priority government was giving to fighting financial crime. "As more and more people go online, this problem is going to grow, and e-crime is often part of a more serious crime such as drugs and terrorism."

PricewaterhouseCoopers has just completed the 2008 survey on information security breaches for the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. Report author Chris Potter said, "The lack of co-ordination by police means e-criminals can continue getting away with it."

The news comes amid growing concerns over the impact of computer crime on businesses and the willingness of the public to buy goods and share personal details online.

Reports from the Information Commissioner's Office show that three-quarters of Britons now worry more about the safety of their personal information. Figures released last week by Apacs, the UK payments association, show phone, internet and mail-order fraud up 37%.

Research by the Met's e-crime unit has revealed weekly attacks on more than 100 UK companies from the same UK-based server. It estimates that there are hundreds of servers outside the UK aimed at UK firms.

The idea of a national unit to fight e-crime has its origin in the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit set up on 18 April 2001. This unit was disbanded and mostly absorbed into the Serious Organised Crime Agency on 1 April 2006.

Regional police forces under Acpo contributed £1.3m to fund a pilot scheme and prepare the business case for a full-blown unit following the closure of the NHTCU. This funding stopped due to Home Office cut-backs.

By Ian Grant

Australian man killed by suicide robot

An elderly Australian man apparently shot himself dead Tuesday, using an elaborate suicide robot of his own construction, according to media reports.

The 81-year-old man who lived alone in Burleigh Heads left a note detailing his macabre machinations, as well as his grievances over his relatives demanding he be committed to a nursing home.

The man reportedly had spent hours researching on the internet for a suitable way to do himself in before he came upon the plans for a complex murder machine, which he built and armed with a .22 caliber handgun.

Local newspaper The Gold Coast Bulletin would not reveal the exact nature of the machine, but said it was loaded with four bullets and was capable of firing multiple shots once activated by remote control.

After moving the robot to his driveway, he placed himself in front of the device and set the controls to up yours, Asimov. In his notes, the man said he chose the driveway because he knew tradesmen working next door would see his body.

His grisly plan was executed perfectly. The man was soon found dead by the workers — alerted by the sound of gunfire.®

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Ofcom forces BT to up compensation for bad service to broadband providers

Regulator Ofcom has brought in new rules to force BT's wholesale division to improve the service it provides to operators, including speedy compensation payments for bad service to customers.

The rules affect BT Openreach and cover the way its broadband and other services are provided, supported, repaired and maintained.

The rules require Openreach to:

• Pay compensation proactively without Openreach customers needing to make a claim should a fault be fixed or a line provided late.

• Pay every time service or quality falls below the contractual threshold, instead of paying out against performance stated as an "average over time".

• Continue to pay compensation each time problems persist up to a capped limit.

• For local loop unbundling, pay additional compensation for failing to activate "live" lines at double the current amount.

Telecoms companies use a range of Openreach products to offer retail services to business and residential consumers.

Because these products are available only from Openreach, Ofcom regulates their price and how they are supplied.

Ofcom said the package of measures followed concerns raised by telecoms companies that Openreach was not sufficiently focused on meeting the needs of all its wholesale customers.

The new rules will come into effect on 20 June this year.

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Orange cuts cost of BlackBerry deployment

Orange is offering customers a way to deploy and manage a limited number of BlackBerry devices, without the need to install BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) on their network.

The solution is based on RIM's BlackBerry Professional Software (BPS), which supports up to 30 BlackBerry users and installs onto a company's existing email server, whereas BES is typically deployed on a separate server. It supports mail systems based on Microsoft's Exchange or IBM's Lotus Domino.

Available immediately, BPS is designed as a cost-effective alternative to the full BES, which can scale to support thousands of users but is complex to configure and use. But, it offers the same wireless access to email, calendar and address book, and also the same security features, such as the ability to remotely lock-down or wipe BlackBerry devices.

Orange's Martin Lyne said that by cutting out the costly dedicated server, small-to-medium enterprises have greater flexibility to manage their business on the move.

RIM is offering the BPS software and one license free of charge until the end of April. Orange said customers can also get a further five licences free if they deploy five or more BlackBerry devices using its network.

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