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Online expert warns of dangers in new legislation

An online security expert is warning that changes in legislation concerning computer crime may lead to security researchers being turned into criminals, reports Computer Weekly.

According to Ivan Ristic, vice-president of security research at Breach Security, while the changes to the Computer Misuse Act would help prosecute cyber criminals, their vague wording could cause problems for researchers.

He draws attention to a section that states that one is guilty of an offence if "he supplies or offers to supply any article believing that is it likely to be used to commit or to assist in the commission of, an offence".

"The word 'article' refers to any program or data held in electronic form," points out Mr Ristic.

"It not only includes security tools, but research papers, blog posts, e-mail messages and other forms of electronic communication."

He points out that the nature of online security research involves collaborative efforts that sometimes involve testing the integrity of systems which can be misinterpreted by overzealous prosecutors.

The changes will however not affect legitimate computer users, according to Home Office minister Vernon Coaker.

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