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London, UK — Nov 20, ‘07 — The BBCNews is reporting on Animal rights activists are thought to being the first Britons to be asked to hand over keys to data encrypted on their computers to the Police. 

Excerpts from the article: “The request for the keys is being made under the controversial Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA). Police analysing machines seized during raids on activist’s homes carried out in May have asked for the keys. The activists could face jail if they do not comply and snub a further formal request to hand over the keys.

Case law
In early November about 30 animal rights activists are understood to have received letters from the Crown Prosecution Service in Hampshire inviting them to provide passwords that will decrypt material held on seized computers.

The letter is the first stage of a process set out under RIPA which governs how the authorities handle requests to examine encrypted material. Once a request has been issued the authorities can then issue what is known as a Section 49 notice demanding that a person turn the data into an “intelligible” form or, under Section 51 hand over keys.

Legal row
The section of RIPA that deals with decryption requests was controversial when it was drawn up and debated. Peers, academics and cryptographers called the proposals “flawed” when invited to comment on them by the Home Office.

Commentators pointed out that sSection III, which is aimed at serious criminals, such as paedophiles and terrorists, is flawed because those involved would much rather serve a few years for refusing to hand over keys than provide them and potentially incriminate themselves.

Others were simply likely to say that they had forgotten the complicated passphrase they used when encrypting material. Under certain circumstances RIPA allows this to be a plausible defence”. More at BBCNews.

Trend Micro will augment content-security solutions with the addition of innovative data leak prevention experts, technology and products.CUPERTINO, Calif. and TOKYO, Oct. 25, ‘07 /PRNewswire/ — Trend Micro Incorporated , a leader in network antivirus and Internet content security software and services, announced today a definitive agreement to acquire Provilla, Inc., a leading provider of fingerprint-based intelligent endpoint solutions for data leak prevention (DLP) in organizations. Under the agreement, Provilla will operate as a subsidiary of Trend Micro’s U.S. affiliate. Provilla’s data leak prevention experts as well as technology and products will enhance the Trend Micro portfolio of easily deployed and managed multi-layered content-security solutions for business customers.

Organizations of all sizes are vulnerable to data leaks that expose them to security, intellectual property, monetary, privacy and compliance threats. On-the-move workers, equipped with unsecured, unprotected mobile computers, may inadvertently or intentionally expose confidential company information via wireless networks. With an ever increasing array of USB-based devices, all corporate desktops are now also at risk. An organization’s time, money, and reputation are at risk when such a data leak occurs, with security professionals urgently attempting to recover sensitive data and mend the leak.

Enterprise security professionals are in constant battle: Even when old leaks are controlled, new data leaks frequently occur through a plethora of other endpoints. Provilla technology intelligently controls leaks at multiple endpoints. The technology also lets organizations know the exact locations of sensitive data for active and effective control. Provilla products also educate and sensitize end users to corporate policies and regulatory requirements.

“As demand for DLP solutions has ramped quickly, we have been able to meet the need with a steady stream of innovative products and advancements primarily because of a stellar group of Provilla technologists,” said Shu Huang, chief technical officer, Provilla. “Our people are excited by the opportunity to join forces with the Trend Micro team, which is known for a commitment to technical innovation and to customers globally that starts at the top and permeates the ranks. We see this as an opportunity to build a complete data leak prevention product suite that fits with Trend Micro’s philosophy of central security management.” Trend Micro will continue to offer Provilla’s stand-alone products for the near term as well as gradually integrate Provilla’s capabilities into its own enterprise, small and medium business solutions. Provilla products are deployed in North America, China, Taiwan, Europe and Japan.

 More at Trend Micro

GENEVA - A new “unbreakable” encryption method will be keep votes safe for citizens in the Swiss canton (state) of Geneva in the country’s upcoming national elections, officials said Thursday. The city-state will use quantum technology to encrypt election results as they are sent to the capital on Oct. 21, said Nicolas Gisin of the University of Geneva.

A computer in Geneva, provided by the company id Quantique, will fire photons, or particles of light, down a fiber-optic link to a receiver 62 miles away. If anybody wanted to eavesdrop on the line, they would need to intercept the photons, which means they won’t make it to the destination. The operators of the line will then know that someone is listening in.

“If anyone tries to even read the message it will explode like a soap bubble,” said Gisin, the physics professor who led the team that developed the technology. Conventional fiber-optic communications uses vast numbers of photons, and pays no attention to their individual quantum properties. It’s possible to eavesdrop on such lines simply by making a bend in the fiber and leaching off some of the light.

Geneva’s secure line is one of the first public uses of quantum cryptography. In the U.S., MagiQ Technologies Inc. has been selling quantum cryptography equipment since late 2003 to government and corporate customers.

More at Yahoo News