Clause 31 - Tampering with the Register etc.
Identity Cards Bill
4:30 pm
Mr Richard Allan (Shadow Spokesperson for the Cabinet Office, Cabinet Office; Sheffield, Hallam, Liberal Democrat)
People who programme computer systems often describe themselves as hackers. They do not see themselves as bad guys; they describe the bad guys as ''crackers'', who are not generously proportioned Scottish psychologists, but people who try to break into computer systems. We know from plenty of experience of attacks on online gambling sites that many crackers operate from former eastern bloc states. We can anticipate that such crackers will be among the sources of attacks on the national identity register, if such attacks take place.
I hope that the Minister will assure us that he will have the legal powers to go after such people, but that still leaves the big question of enforcement. That is not an argument against having the legal powers, but it is worth putting on record that, as we sit here, attacks against businesses in the United Kingdom are going on, against which, effectively, no enforcement is taking place. Recently, our few specialist law enforcement officers have been dealing with child abuse image cases; it is worth bearing in mind that our resources are very limited.
Although we are willing the legal means to go after people, we also need to will the means in terms of the bodies necessary to carry out prosecutions of that nature. Prosecuting somebody in a former eastern bloc country who has tried to break into a computer system is necessarily expensive and complex. I hope that the Minister can assure us that, to protect the integrity of United Kingdom citizens' data, there will be a serious intention to go after people who fall within the remit of that offence.