- Processed fairly and lawfully
- Processed only for one or more specified and lawful purpose
- Adequate, relevant and non excessive of those purposes
- Accurate and kept up to date
- Kept for no longer than it is necessary for the purposes it is processed
- Processed in line with the rights of individuals
- Secured against accidental loss, destruction or damage and against unauthorised or unlawful processing.
- Not transferred to countries outside the European Economic Area.
With the Data Protection Act the Police have been given powers to search through files on anybody’s computer and to seek out subscriber information to pornography or paedophilia sites.
A new law has been passed in the UK to prevent internet ‘Grooming’, this is the act where paedophiles surf the web in order to lure children. The legislation has meant that those convicted could face a maximum of five years imprisonment. One story of this grooming is of Michael Wheeler jailed for six years for attacking two 13-year-old girls, published by the BBC,
But yet the internet is supposed to be about free speech and freedom of information.
If you have created a new invention then it would need to be patented, this would come into affect by the Copyright, Design and Patents Act. This Act also covers the illegal downloading of software and music over the internet, and the unlawful practise opposite to the affect of this act could land you with six months imprisonment and/or £5000 fine.
Hacking amongst the internet generation has been known of since the very beginning, by stealing vital information from various people computers. But little seems to be stopped by legislation as it is often behind with the times and as it is updated a new form of hacking is introduced. Viruses can now be sent via e-mails, which could destroy the hardware and hardware contained
in your computer as well as release all of your personal information across the internet. A form of internet “Phishing” has been introduced. Phishing is a form of social engineering, characterised by attempts to fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy person or business in an apparently official electronic communication, such as an email or an instant message.
An example of this is the recent jailing of an EBay fraudster who stole over £200,000 and was imprisoned for four years,
The more we use the internet the more our details are being passed around the world, as technology leaves a trail of purchases and transactions, things can be traced, even as for walking down the high street our movements are recorded by CCTV. Mobile locations are tracked by the service provider. Our ISP (Internet Service Provider) knows which websites we have looked at, and Sky TV knows which channels we prefer. So everything we do is monitored in one way or another.
The need for the advancement of legislation becomes greater everyday as more and more people are using the internet as a source of theft, but legislation cannot keep up with the times, as the process of completing it takes too long. I believe Legislation can help us in the battle against internet fraud, but it is how the public will respond to new legislations and how the persons breaking the law will respond also.
