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Law Commission Chair Sir David Bean said “The past year has been a very successful one for the Commission with four more of our recommendations reaching the statute book. Our 13th Programme consultation – with some 1,300 responses – has also clearly demonstrated the public’s continued appetite for law reform. Despite operating in uncertain times with significant budgetary pressure, we will build on this enthusiasm to continue making the law simple, modern and fair.”
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Financial fraud is now the most common crime in Britain, perpetrated in enormous numbers by organised criminals both domestic and international. It hits every part of society, but with most fraud now experienced online, younger generations – digital natives who are most likely to use the internet for banking, shopping and to share their details online – are now the most vulnerable. The threat includes criminals illegally accessing personal accounts and cards to steal money, as well as the subtler problem of scams, where the victim makes a payment under false pretences.
Cisco’s 2017 Annual Cybersecurity Report finds 90% of security professionals invest in cyber defences after a data breach, and although the investment is ultimately worthwhile, one has to wonder if more organisations would be able to mitigate attacks if they’d acted proactively. The report states that “the aftermath of a data breach is a learning opportunity”, but with cyber-attacks usually costing organisations huge sums of money, they are expensive lessons.
The 2017 Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA) reports how cybercrime continues to grow and evolve. While many aspects of cybercrime are firmly established, other areas of cybercrime have witnessed a striking upsurge in activity, including attacks on an unprecedented scale, as cybercrime continues to take new forms and new directions. A handful of cyber-attacks have caused widespread public concern but only represented a small sample of the wide array of cyber threats now faced.
Dealing with fraud across the public sector is an important part of effective Government. It is important and right that Government takes fraud, and the risk of fraud, seriously and strives to improve its approach. This Government’s ambition is for the UK public sector to be one of the leading countries in both identifying and dealing with fraud loss and risk. The Cabinet Office is bringing government together to move on this agenda.
The Intellectual Property (IP) crime and enforcement report 2016 to 2017 highlights current and emerging threats surrounding counterfeiting and piracy, including those conducted online. The report also contains statistical data and enforcement activities from UK law enforcement agencies including Police, Trading Standards and Customs along with industry bodies.
This report examines the nature and scale of online fraud, how the Home Office (the Department) and others have responded to the threat, and opportunities for the Department and others to tackle online fraud more effectively. Growth in the use of the internet and advances in digital technologies mean that citizens and businesses can now do more online. For the UK, this means there are opportunities for greater innovation and economic growth, but also more opportunities for online crime. While traditional crimes such as vehicle offences and house burglary have declined substantially in recent years, fraud, more than half of which is committed online, is becoming more common and is a growing threat.
The importance of disclosure in the criminal justice system cannot be underestimated. This report has identified a number of aspects of concern in the way that Crown Court trials are handled by the prosecution, and how police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) manage effectively unused material relating to ‘volume’ casework at that venue. A number of issues have been identified in relation to how disclosure is managed, each of which is a matter of concern and has elicited a separate recommendation. However, just as importantly as responding to each issue, is a need for a change in attitude to ensure that disclosure is recognised as a crucial part of the criminal justice process and that it must be carried out to the appropriate standards
The digital economy is very important to the UK – personal data and how it is handled is central to trade and growth and studies show the digital economy is growing 30% faster than the rest of the economy. Data knows no borders. Continued growth and citizen confidence in the digital economy needs an information rights regulator that is helpful, authoritative, tech-savvy and practical, but also a regulator that is firm and takes action when wrongdoing occurs. We also continue to work with stakeholders to ensure that data sharing for the purposes of law enforcement and security is promoted in a proportionate way.
The ethical behaviour of businesses, especially the big ones, does much to set the ethical tone for our country, our times and our world. When business behaves badly – especially when the individuals and organisations involved somehow seem insulated from the consequences of their actions – everyone else looks on and adjusts their moral compass accordingly. The need for ethical leadership, not least by example, has never been greater.
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