Abstract:

When cybercrimes crimes are carried out, the ability of law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators will be driven by the availability and accessibility of data to the investigators, whether as intelligence gathering, evidential retrieval or subsequent analysis and presentation. Any criminal investigation interferes with the rights of others, whether the person is the subject of an investigation or a related third party. In a democratic society any such interference must be justifiable and proportionate to the needs of society to be protected. This presentation will consider the problems raised by data for law enforcement agencies investigating cybercrime. It will examine recent legislative measures and proposals in the UK and Europe to address some of these problems of criminal procedure and the extent to which such measures achieve an appropriate balance between potentially conflicting interests.