IP Communications Featured Articles

The new IP era has ushered in many benefits for businesses and private citizens alike, but it appears threats are lurking around what seems to be every corner. In the United States, hackings and breaches make the news quite frequently but these aren’t the only “bad” guys out there. Terrorists need to communicate just like any organization would, as noted by the Twitter goof not that long ago. Yes, “evil-doers” use IP communications as well.

As part of its not-yet-fully-unveiled counter-terror plan (Anti-Terrorism and Security Bill), the British Parliament is taking a hard look at IP communications. The bill will supposedly require mobile operators and ISPs to store information that links IP addresses to a user for 12 months. This includes all communications — social media, chat, IM, you name it. In short, the bill is intended to remove any question of who is using what device.

The U.K.’s Home Secretary Theresa May was quoted, “The bill provides the opportunity to resolve the very real problems that exist around IP resolution, and is a step in the right direction toward bridging the overall communications data capability gap.”

The details of the bill have not been entirely ironed out, yet there is some political friction in play. While May views the legislation as a step in the right direction in regards to catching terrorists, organized criminals, hackers and cyber-bullies, it is still unclear how effective the policy will prove to be.

The new policy should be helpful but, as May told the BBC “even with these IP addresses being within the legislation that the National Crime Agency … will still not be able to identify everybody who is accessing illegal content on the Internet.”

Opposition is coming from various civil liberties groups, especially one in particular, Big Brother Watch. It didn’t flinch at the notion of matching IP addresses but did comment that the expansion of powers should, “be subject to the widespread consultation and comprehensive scrutiny that has been sorely lacking to date with industry, civil society and the wider public when it comes to introducing new surveillance powers.” British spy agencies have already been known to be a touch “curious” if you will; new authority could prove to be quite intrusive to the general public. 

Politics are politics, so it remains to be seen where the chips fall in this case. More will be revealed, as it appears that while many in Parliament would like create a draconian state, others aren’t taking that extreme of a stance. Hackers, terrorists or any “evil-doers” are not going anywhere fast, and it seems they always remain one step ahead of the authorities. It might be time to offer the state a leg up.