:: Deepquest ::

The government faces criticism over plans to give police powers to make suspects produce readable copies of encrypted computer evidence.
The police say the powers are needed because criminals are increasingly using encryption to hide evidence.
They estimate that currently there are 30 cases in which encrypted evidence had stumped investigators.
But some peers, academics and cryptographers say the plans are flawed and risk being abused.

The plans to let police demand decryption are part of the controversial Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) that came into force in 2000.

Part III of RIPA gives law enforcement agencies the decryption powers and, provided some conditions are met, makes it a serious offence to refuse to turn scrambled files into an “intelligible” form. Those refusing could see their sentence increased as a result.

The government is holding a consultation exercise on the code of conduct that those using these powers will have to abide by.

The code was debated at a public meeting organised by digital rights group the Foundation for Information Policy Research (FIPR).

At the meeting a government spokesman, Simon Watkin of the Home Office, defended the plans saying there were limits on when powers could be invoked.

He said they would only be used where there was other evidence or intelligence against a suspect.

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