Government unleashes hi-tech super sleuths

This morning saw the launch of the UK's first dedicated cybercrime squad, committed to tackling hi-tech crime on the internet.

The £25m National Hi-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU), launched by Home Secretary Jack Straw, will work alongside other law enforcement units including the National Crime Squad, the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS), and HM Customs & Excise.

Based in London, NHTCU is set to be the lynchpin in the UK's response to cybercrime, providing consultation to local forces and liasing with the Government on policy issues.

Hi-tech crimes will be split into two broad categories: 'new crimes, new tools', such as hacking and denial of service attacks, and 'old crimes, new tools', such as fraud, identity theft, stalking, and harassment using technology. The NHTCU will focus on the first category but will also assist in the investigation of the second.

Aled Miles, director of antivirus company Symantec, welcomed the launch. "Computer crime is not new, but it does appear to be on the increase. There are no guns or violence involved, and the perpetrator is nowhere near the scene - in fact he could be in a different country," he said.

"With the recent Regulation of Investigatory Powers (RIP) Act providing additional investigative powers to the police, it is encouraging that there will be the resources and, hopefully the appropriate training, to make the enforcement of the legislation acceptable," he added.

Roger Gaspar, deputy director general of NCIS, also cited the controversial RIP Act as part of the new strategy. "All law enforcement agencies will increasingly have to recover evidence in digital form and operations will increasingly involve investigation of computers as a routine line of enquiry," he explained.

"Active investigation of IT-based criminality will generate intelligence with which to assess the nature and extent of the problem and so gauge the impact of the strategy," he added.

Straw added that the £25m anti-cybercrime injection was to "improve the technical capability of the police to detect and investigate hi-tech crime. New technologies bring enormous benefits to the legitimate user, but also offer opportunities for criminals, from those involved in financial fraud to paedophiles."

"We are determined that the UK will be the best and safest place in the world to conduct and engage in ecommerce," he added.