TheConservative
Partywill make it an offence for a Crown
servant or a government contractor to lose personal
data.
The reckless handling of personal data offence was part of a
wide-ranging package of measures to combat cyber crime unveiled
today by Shadow Home Secretary
David Davis.
Davis's proposals follow recent revelations of the
loss of hundreds of government laptop computers and memory
devices that exposed
tens of millions of voters to identity theft and fraud.
Speaking at an e-crime conference in London, Davis spelled out
measures that largely incorporate the
recommendations and comments on personal internet safety made
last August by the
House of Lords select committee on science and technology, and
rejected by government.
The Conservative Party would, among other things:
• Create a specialist Home Office minister to co-ordinate policy
on cyber security, cyber crime prevention and international
co-ordination
• Set up a new police national cyber crime unit
• Set up a specialist cyber crime unit in the Crown Prosecution
service
• Set up a fraud and cyber crime complaint centre
• Change the way police report cyber crime
• Ratify the Cybercrime Convention
Davis said the Tories would also set up a framework to promote
closer links between the public and private sector to set standards
and reduce risks.
He said the party would review the law and criminalise the
hiring of botnets for cyber attacks. Anyone who held personal data
would have to report suspected data breaches to the police and the
Information Commissioner's
Office. If required by the ICO, they would have to tell those
whose data might have been compromised by the breach.
Davis said the Conservatives would "reform the 'mere conduit'
defence" for internet service providers under the
E-Commerce
Directive, saying it was "unsustainable" in its current
form.
ISPs already have to take down sites that spread copyrighted
material. Under the Tories' proposals, this duty would expand to
include hate, racist, and unacceptable sexual and violent material.
"To promote strong social cohesion and to ensure greater public
protection, it is essential that firm action is taken by ISPs, the
police and other law enforcement agencies," Davis said.
Davis said there was a "shared social responsibility" to act
against file-sharing hosts and people who set up fraudulent
websites or who used e-mail accounts to attack or spam others. He
said they would review penalties against ISPs who did not act
quickly enough to stop abuses after being informed.