E-crime

The Government responds to the Home Affairs Committee's E-crime report by accepting or supporting many recommendations, while not accepting others, including those on low-level fraud reporting, Europol funding and sentencing.

• On recording, it accepts recommendation 24. A 'cyber flag' is running on a voluntary basis only during 2013/14 and will be "subject to wider consultation" on whether it becomes mandatory for 2014/15.
• It does not accept conclusion 25 on the "black hole" in low-level fraud, saying linked reports analysed by the NFIB can reveal high-volume, low-value frauds. It is working with industry to encourage reporting of all low-level fraud.
• It accepts recommendation 11 and "will set up an external working group" led by the Home Office to improve estimates of the cost of cyber crime. No date is given.
• It rejects recommendation 15 on sentencing, stating that sentencing guidelines are "a matter for the independent Sentencing Council". It "does not, at this time, support" a mandatory code of conduct for removing online material, but will keep the matter under consideration.