RIPA Part III goes before British parliament.

A step in the right direction is how encryption specialist nCipher has described significant revisions to the controversial Part III of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) 2000, aimed at fighting terrorism and organised crime by giving the police new powers to decrypt files for use as evidence. The changes to the legislation laid before Parliament on 18 June and due to come into effect on 1 October, are designed to protect the privacy of individuals and the commercial interests of businesses that hold sensitive encrypted information.

The original powers contained in Part III of RIPA were widely criticised by civil rights groups for their intrusive nature while businesses, particularly in the financial services sector, expressed concerns about data security and conflicts with data privacy rights.

The revised Code of Practice for the investigation of protected electronic information restricts the scope of public authorities' powers to access encrypted material and introduces additional security provisions for both key materials and disclosed decrypted data. This includes establishing the National Technical Assistance Centre (NTAC) to provide technical support and supervision along with recommendations that public authorities create bespoke decryption facilities where processing can be done by corporate officers under the investigator's supervision.

In restricting the power of the authorities, the new RIPA III Code of Practice states that no person can seek permission to serve a disclosure notice without the NTAC's approval and describes the body as the 'guardian and gatekeeper'. The new legislation must also take into account the legitimate needs of businesses and individuals to maintain the integrity of their information and security processes and any disclosure must be processed in accordance with the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998.

www.ncipher.com