#RSS Feed for Technology News articles - Telegraph.co.uk < img alt="dcsimg" id="dcsimg" width="1" height="1" src="//webtrends.telegraph.co.uk/dcsshgbi400000gscd62rrg43_4o2o/njs.gif ?MLC=&Channel=&Genre=&Category=&Content_Type=&Level=&source=&dcsuri=/no javascript&WT.js=No&WT.tv=10.2.10&dcssip=www.telegraph.co.uk"/> [p?c1=2&c2=6035736&cv=2.0&cj=1] Accessibility links * Skip to article * Skip to navigation [telegraph_print_190.gif] Advertisement Telegraph.co.uk ___________________ Submit Monday 11 February 2013 * Home * News * World * Sport * Finance * Comment * Blogs * Culture * Travel * Life * Fashion * Tech * Dating * Offers * Jobs * Technology News * Technology Companies * Technology Reviews * Video Games * Technology Video * Mobile Phones * Mobile App Reviews 1. Home» 2. Technology» 3. Technology News Government web surveillance: 'Expensive, impractical, totalitarian' Government proposals to monitor email and web traffic are ‘nigh on impossible to enforce’ and would make Britain like Iran and China, writes Trefor Davies of internet service provider Timico Not using the letter E would be hard - Face a sadder read The insert key is there for no good reason, says a reader Photo: Alamy By Trefor Davies, Chief Technology Officer, Timico 11:51AM BST 02 Apr 2012 Comments Comments The Government’s plan to make Internet Service Providers capture personal communications data is nothing new. It was brought up under the last Labour government as the “Intercept Modernisation Programme” and received heavy criticism from the Tory party in opposition. Now with the responsibility of government the Conservatives seem to see things differently and the word is that the forthcoming Queen’s speech will include measures to enable the collection of personal information that includes who you have telephoned and emailed or have received emails from and which websites you have visited. The details of what is in the emails isn’t being asked for at this time. Apart from the obvious privacy issues surrounding all this, it is quite likely that the original proposals under Labour were not seen through in part due to issues of cost and practicality. While communications providers store phone call details for billing purposes, this is very much not the case with email or web access. The cost is prohibitive and there has been hitherto no reason to do so. What is being considered is doable but probably not without significant up-front engineering costs involving much network redesign. Moreover, once up and running this facility would be expensive to maintain. We could ask ourselves “what price avoiding another 9/11?” which is clearly the genuine question being asked by the security services. Related Articles * How new Government surveillance powers could affect you 02 Apr 2012 * Web surveillance and email monitoring: why should we care? 02 Apr 2012 * Internet activity 'to be monitored' under new laws 01 Apr 2012 * New powers to record every call and email 01 Apr 2012 * 'Resentment' over plans to record every email and phone call 02 Apr 2012 The problem is that it is too easy to avoid detection on the internet. Proxy services provide anonymity for web users – Google “free proxy server” and you will find 33million results. Encouraging such anonymising services could be counter productive for other government initiatives. For example, a culture of anonymity online means such people could not be targeted for copyright-infringing activities under the Digital Economy Act (eg music downloading) and we would be making it easier for people to go undetected when doing indisputably bad things such as accessing illegal child abuse material. More prosaically, proxy servers are also often the source of malware. Users of services such as Google’s gmail, to, could not be tracked and nor would any other webmail service. These services are typically based overseas, presenting additional legal access problems for retrieval of information. Then of course there are social networking platforms – Facebook, twitter, Google+ et al could all be used but don’t seem to be in the mix for this legislation. If they were added in they would add further huge complexity to the task. Another one: ever thought about leaving messages in a Google Document for others to pick up, or maybe using Dropbox? The reality is that it is nigh on impossible to stop people communicating using the internet without being discovered and attempting to develop a system that will do this is not only likely to be wasted money but will be a step towards entering a category of nation currently occupied by the likes of China and Iran. Technology News * News » * UK News » * Technology » In Technology » Jude Law in AI 10 tech terms we need to stop saying In Technology News Subscribe to the weekly Tech Briefing email Sam the cat may have nine lives, but he only has one expression - worried - thanks to his unusual markings. He has two black marks on his forehead resembling eyebrows. His owner, who wishes to remain anonymous, rescued Sam the stray cat from New York and set-up an online profile dedicated to him and his 'eyebrows'. Sam now has more than 24,000 followers on picture sharing site Instagram with his anxious expression earning him world wide fame... Meet Sam, the worried cat Flickr creative commons Wonderful archive photos Synchronised swimmers in action. Google Zeitgeist 2012 in pictures Mr Bean during his set at London 2012. Britain's top Twitter trends of 2012 Advertisement telegraphuk Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. blog comments powered by Disqus Digital Pack Advertisement More from The Telegraph Loading Advertisement Technology Most Viewed * TODAY * PAST WEEK * PAST MONTH 1. Apple 'testing smart watch designs' 2. Vodafone warns iPhone 4S owners not to upgrade to iOS 6.1 3. Apple aims to ditch iPhone passcodes 4. Apple summoned to explain high prices in Australia 5. Warning over social networking 'snooping' technology 1. The quest for higher quality digital music 2. Microsoft Surface Pro: delight or disaster? 3. Microsoft's Xbox 720 'to block second hand gaming' 4. North Korea's Kim Jong-un and the mystery smartphone 5. iPhone 5 or Galaxy S3: which should you buy? 1. Bill Gates interview: I have no use for money. This is God’s work 2. Google aims to replace passwords with ID ring 3. Eric Schmidt's daughter lifts lid on 'very strange' North Korea 4. iPhone 5 or Galaxy S3: which should you buy? 5. My husband’s cheating on me with three million people Technology choice Surface Pro: delight or disaster? Can Microsoft’s new tablet excite people in a way comparable to the iPad? Matt Warman reports. Comments Sir James Dyson: master of invention Netflix experiment is paying off Dell: the story of its decline BlackBerry in pictures: past, present and future Advertisement More from The Telegraph Loading MORE FROM TELEGRAPH.CO.UK Executive Jobs National Trust anger over High Speed 2 railway Apply Now: Area Directors at Network Rail c£100k View Telegraph Courses project management course Free Prince2 and Agile project management training with every PMP and CAPM course View Project Manager Apply Now: Project Manager at McCain View Distance Learning Distance learning: the Mooc (massive open online course) model has enjoyed huge popularity over the last year. Enrrolling this week: work-based, distance learning degree programmes View Back to top * HOME * Technology News * Technology Reviews * Technology Advice * Technology Video * Internet Security * Broadband * Mobile Phones * Samsung * Nokia * HTC * Mobile Reviews * App Reviews * Telegraph for iPad * Companies * Apple * Google * Microsoft * Facebook * Twitter * Amazon * Video Games * News * Trailers * Previews * Xbox * PlayStation * Nintendo * Contact Us * Privacy and Cookies * Advertising * Fantasy Football * Tickets * Announcements * Reader Prints * * Follow Us * Apps * Epaper * Expat * Promotions * Subscriber * Syndication © Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2013 Terms and Conditions Today's News Archive Style Book Weather Forecast