 | We don't care if you have forgotten the password Give us the key or we'll break your legs!
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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. The woman, who claims to have not used encryption, relates her experiences in an anonymous
posting on Indymedia: Now apparently they have found some encrypted files on my computer (which was stolen by police thugs in May this year) which they
think they have 'reasonable suspicion' to pry into using the excuse of 'preventing or detecting a crime' Now I have been 'invited' (how nice, will there be tea and biccies?) to reveal my keys to the police so they can look at these files. If I
do not comply and tell them to keep their great big hooters out of my private affairs I could be charged under RIPA. |