Cyber-criminals face high-tech 'home guard'

A new initiative has been launched to put the high-tech expertise of the UK IT industry at the disposal of the police investigating cyber-crime.

At an industry meeting of the year-old National Hi-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU) a new scheme was inaugurated to create a list of IT experts willing to contribute their time to aid cyber-crime investigations.

The idea is to form a pool of available skills to call upon when certain specific skills are required. Participants would have to be willing to give their time voluntarily, and would be assessed by the NHTCU first for ability and to ensure they can be trusted.

Called Skills Reserve, the initiative hopes to massively increase the specialist talent police can call upon in computer forensics investigations.

It is the brainchild of the Internet Integrity movement, and has the full support of the NHTCU and the Security Forum.

+ss+Patrick White, founder of the Internet Integrity movement, said: "We believe we can put several thousand experts at the disposal of the law-enforcement community, to start to make a real dent in the problem of cyber-crime.

"What we really need is for absolutely everyone in the industry to be a part of this."

Detective Inspector Clive Harfield, head of tactical and technical support for the NHTCU, also pledged his support at the meeting.

"We welcome this industry initiative. Given the pace and diversity of technological development, industry collaboration can play a vital role in reducing cyber crime," he said.

The scheme is based on a successful pilot carried out by Internet Integrity and the Security Forum at the end of last year.

Jim Bates, chair of the Institution of Analysts and Programmers and a long-time computer forensics expert welcomed the initiative, but expressed concerns over its implementation.

"Computer forensics is a highly specialised field, and there is a danger that IT professionals, however talented and well-intentioned, without being sufficiently well-informed on the legal aspects, could destroy a case," he said.

IT professionals interested in joining the skills reserve programme should go to: http://www.internetintegrity.co.uk