'Secret' app denies tracking claims

17 October 2014 Last updated at 13:35 By Zoe Kleinman Technology reporter, BBC News

The editor of Whisper, an app for people to share secrets anonymously, has angrily denied reports that it has been tracking users and sharing data.

The Guardian newspaper claims Whisper has an in-house tool which can track the locations of all its users.

This includes some who have specifically opted out of sharing location details, the report claims.

Whisper editor Neetzan Zimmerman tweeted that the article was "riddled with outright lies and made-up quotes".

The Guardian also claimed the app was tracking "newsworthy" posters and was sharing data with the US Department of Defense in instances where secrets were uploaded from military bases.

"We are not sharing specific user data with any organisation," wrote Mr Zimmerman in response.

"We noticed how frequently suicide is mentioned among those living on US military bases or compounds and reached out to organisations to see how we could work together to address this important issue."

Law enforcement

However, he added that "violent or child-endangering threats" were reported to law enforcement agents "to protect our users and the public".

"We comply with the legal process in all instances," he wrote.

"We respond to both subpoenas and preservation requests from law enforcement. Whisper is not a place for illegal activity."

Two journalists from the newspaper had visited Whisper's offices in the US to explore a working relationship, which the Guardian says it will no longer pursue due to concerns over user privacy.

The Guardian has been contacted by the BBC for comment.

News and community site Buzzfeed has also announced it is "taking a break" from its partnership with the platform following the report.

"We're taking a break from our partnership until Whisper clarifies to us and its users the policy on user location and privacy," it said in a statement.

Behind the scenes

Millions of "secrets" - a short sentence written over a picture - have been shared via the social media platform since its launch two years ago.

"You look at all of these services like Facebook and Instagram, and they're all about, 'Let me show you the best version of me,'" Whisper co-founder Michael Heyward told the BBC earlier this year.

"Whisper is about showing people the behind-the-scenes stuff that we're not always comfortable posting on Facebook."

In his response to the Guardian's report, Neetzan Zimmerman added that the firm did not store geographical data or any other information which might identify a user.

"There is nothing in our geolocation data that can be tied to an individual user and a user's anonymity is never compromised," he wrote.

"Even for users who opt into geolocation services, the location information that we do store is obscured to within 500m of their smartphone device's actual location.

"Whisper does not follow or track users. Whisper does not request or store any personally identifiable information from users, therefore there is never a breach of anonymity."

09.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

Anonymising router project shut down

20 October 2014 Last updated at 11:15

A plan to raise cash to make a router that hides what people do online has been suspended after questions were raised about the project.

Anonabox sought $7,500 (£4,700) on crowdfunding site Kickstarter but got pledges of more than $585,000 in its first five days.

The project was pulled by Kickstarter which said it had worries about who made the hardware being offered.

Other problems with the project also emerged via social news site Reddit.

Security worry

The Anonabox project claimed to involve creating a tiny $45 custom-built router that sent all a person's browsing traffic across the Tor network. This bounces data around the net, encrypting it at every step, to hinder attempts to trace who is visiting a site or who has written a particular message or blogpost. Tor is widely used in many nations by human rights activists to avoid official scrutiny.

Typically people use software to join the Tor network but Anonabox claimed hardware was better because it was less open to tampering and attack by people keen to unmask anonymous browsers.

Soon after the project debuted on Kickstarter, some people noticed that the hardware being claimed as custom-built was already available elsewhere. Pictures of the prototype Anonabox seemed to be very similar to a device available from a Chinese electronics firm.

Others questioned the project's pledge to be open source as relatively little of the code running on the router was shared. Finally, some uncovered security shortcomings with the Anonabox that could give attackers a way to compromise the device.

The scrutiny led Kickstarter to suspend the project and ensure cash from backers did not get passed on. In an email to tech news site Wired, Kickstarter said questions raised about where the hardware came from and who made it brought about the suspension.

August Germar, who came up with the idea for Anonabox, told Ars Technica that the similar-looking devices seen on Chinese websites were "just generic knockoffs" saying it was good the hardware was available from China.

"It doesn't bother me," he said. "I just wanted more people to be able to have a device like this."

Despite the project being cancelled on Kickstarter, Mr Germar said he planned to continue development of Anonabox and sell it directly.

The furore around Anonabox comes as the Tor Project announces version 4.0 of its core software.

The updated version disables some older software found to be vulnerable to attack and adds some data traffic funnelling systems that seek to get around widely used firewall systems. In particular, said Tor, these systems should help people in China avoid official scrutiny of their browsing habits and behaviour.

09.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

Facebook warning to US drugs officers

One of the images it's claimed was used in the fake account (The BBC has blurred part of the image)

It doesn't matter who you are, Facebook's rules must be obeyed, according to Facebook.

That's why the social network has written to the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) telling them to stop setting up fake accounts.

Chief security officer, Joe Sullivan, instructed the DEA that their terms and conditions ban anyone from lying about who they are.

The DEA is part of the US Justice Department.

It is responsible for cracking down on the production, distribution and sale of illegal drugs.

The issue of fake profiles has been raised by a lawsuit brought by a women from New York, Sondra Arquiett.

In it she accuses a federal agent of creating a fake profile using her name and pictures from her mobile phone.

It's believed the photographs were taken after she was arrested on drug charges in 2010 and her phone was seized.

Ms Arquiett has claimed her identity was then used as a front to interact with "dangerous individuals".

A screenshot taken by AP indicates that the fake page had 11 "friends" before it was removed (images blurred by BBC)

She is suing for £155,000.

Facebook wants the DEA to now confirm they are no longer using fake accounts as part of their investigations.

In the court papers, the Justice Department defended its actions.

It said Sondra Arquiett "implicitly consented" to it using her photos and name "by granting access to the information stored in her cellphone and by consenting to the use of that information to aid it in ongoing criminal investigations".

Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube

09.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

UK builds child abuse image database

17 October 2014 Last updated at 08:55 By Mark Ward Technology correspondent, BBC News

The UK is creating a national database of images of child sexual abuse seized during police raids on paedophiles and sites that trade in the content.

The Child Abuse Image Database (CAID) will help UK police forces co-ordinate investigations into abuse.

Huge growth in the number of abuse images circulating online means forces need help analysing what they seize.

The database is part of a massive international effort to classify images and track down victims.

The need for CAID has arisen because such action against abusers and websites often leaves police forces needing to categorise hundreds of thousands and sometimes millions of images.

Many of these images will have been seen before as the trade in abuse content has led to them being duplicated many times. This can make it difficult for investigators to pick out novel images that could lead them to victims that have not been seen before.

Project Vic

In a statement, policing minister Mike Penning said CAID was "a watershed moment in this government's drive to stamp out the despicable crime of online child sexual exploitation".

"The outcomes will be life-changing, and in some cases life-saving," he said. "That is how important this database is."

The CAID database is also part of a larger international effort called Project Vic that seeks to classify images held by forces around the world.

Richard Brown from the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, which is helping co-ordinate Project Vic, said the two initiatives were using the same protocols to ensure images could be swapped back and forth easily.

Seven other countries were already helping with Project Vic and more were expected to sign up soon, he said.

"It is groundbreaking for law enforcement, tool providers, non-profits and industry to all stand together and agree on the need to standardize the approach to such egregious crimes," Mr Brown told the BBC.

CAID is being built by tech firms NetClean, Hubstream and L-3 ASA and is set to be working by the end of 2014.

As well as improving collaboration among police forces, it is hoped that the database will save forces more than £7.5m by cutting the time it takes to conduct investigations.

09.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

Apple reveals its thinnest iPad

16 October 2014 Last updated at 19:18 By Leo Kelion Technology desk editor

Apple has announced a new version of its tablet, the iPad Air 2, which it said was the thinnest device of its kind on the market.

It is 6.1mm (0.24in) thick, and also gains a Touch ID fingerprint sensor.

It has an anti-reflective coating on the screen for the first time, and the A8X - a faster version of the processor featured in the firm's latest iPhones.

However, some analysts have questioned whether the upgrade will be enough to turn around iPad sales.

An upgraded version of the firm's smaller tablet - called the iPad Mini 3 - was also announced.

Like its bigger sibling, it gets the company's fingerprint recognition component. But it uses the older A7 processor and has a lower-resolution rear camera.

Some of the details were published by Apple, reportedly by mistake, on Wednesday.

Apple's last earnings release revealed that it had sold 13.3 million iPads in the April-to-June quarter. That marked a 9% fall on its tally for the same period in 2013, despite the fact the company saw sales of iPhones and Mac computers rise.

It also contrasted with an 11% rise in the number of tablet shipments across the market as a whole - with Lenovo and Asus making some of the biggest gains - according to data from IDC.

The market research firm said that the iPad remained the bestselling tablet brand, but that its market share had dropped over the year from 33% to 26.9%.

Cannibalised sales?

One expert suggested that the recent launch of the 5.5in (14cm)-screened iPhone 6 Plus, which shares most of the new iPads' features, could further temper demand.

"Given that Apple's launched larger iPhones, it needs to find a market that the iPad Mini fits into," said Jitesh Ubrani from IDC.

"It was a response to the market as a whole moving to smaller tablets. And now that phablets are growing in not just screen size but also in market size, unless Apple carves out a special place for it, we expect sales of the Mini in particular to be cannibalised quite a bit."

Apple's chief executive Tim Cook has told investors he still believes that the tablet market will eventually surpass that of PCs, and has pointed to a recent deal with IBM - involving the two firms co-developing business-centric apps - as a way to get iPad sales on "a faster trajectory".

Mr Ubrani agreed that targeting businesses had huge potential, but warned that sales to consumers would remain a challenge.

"People who have the old iPad 2 or more recent versions are still happy with these devices - they are still functioning perfectly fine," he said.

"There's really no reason to upgrade."

Other new features of the iPad Air 2 include an eight megapixel rear camera that can now capture slow-mo videos at 120 frames per second. The front camera has also been upgraded to allow in more light and take a rapid succession of selfies.

In addition, the machine includes a new type of wi-fi chip that supports faster data speeds, including downloads at up to 866 megabits per second (Mbps).

"It is disappointing - particularly to enterprise buyers - that there wasn't a 12.9in [32.8cm] iPad model," said JP Gownder from research firm Forrester, who otherwise praised the update.

"In order to return iPad to high growth, form factor innovation will be required."

The new tablets will become available to buy next week at similar prices to before.

New iMacs

Apple also introduced a new model of its all-in-one iMac computer featuring what it said was the highest resolution display on the market.

The computer has a 27in (68.6cm) screen that has a resolution of 5K - 5210 by 2880 pixels - offering about five times the detail of a "full HD" 1080p television.

That represents four times the number of pixels found in the standard iMac of the same size.

The basic model will cost $2,499 (£1,555) and is already available for sale.

Lenovo already sells the N308 - an all-in-one Android-powered desktop PC with a 19.5in (49.5cm) screen offering slightly lower 4K resolution, while Panasonic has the Toughpad MB5025 - a 20in (50.8cm) 4K computer that runs Windows 8.

Intel and Samsung have also announced plans to manufacture 4K screens for other all-in-one PCs.

Otherwise, large ultra-high definition display are still a rarity in the computing sector beyond the use of separate monitors, which may aid demand for the new computer.

"There is a huge difference in quality once you start moving through the different sets of screens," remarked Ranjit Atwal, research director at the tech consultancy Gartner.

"Given the amount of consumption people are doing of online video, and the quality of what they can get from services like YouTube and Netflix on 4K TVs, they want to see that replicated on a PC as well."

Apple suggested that people doing visual productivity tasks, such as photo editing, would also benefit from the innovation.

Apple also announced an upgraded version of its screenless computer, the Mac Mini, but there was no mention of an update to its Apple TV set top box, which last received a hardware refresh in March 2012.

The company also said that the latest version of its operating system for Mac computers - OS X Yosemite - was being made available for download this Thursday.

The software allows data to be swapped back and forth with iOS-powered iPhones and iPads more easily than before. Its user interface has also been designed with higher resolution screens in mind.

The company added that version 8.1 of iOS, which introduces support for its near field communication (NFC)-powered payment service Apple Pay, would be released on Monday.

09.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

BBC to publish 'forgotten' page list

17 October 2014 Last updated at 14:25 By Dave Lee Technology reporter, BBC News

The BBC is to publish a continually updated list of its articles removed from Google under the controversial "right to be forgotten" rule.

The ruling allows people to ask Google to remove some types of information about them from its search index.

But editorial policy head David Jordan told a public meeting, hosted by Google, that the BBC felt some of its articles had been wrongly hidden.

He said greater care should be given to the public's "right to remember".

Following the ruling, Google set up a form on its site allowing people to request which links should be taken down.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) said links that were "inadequate, irrelevant or no longer relevant" should not appear when a specific search - usually a person's name - was made.

Google decided to notify affected websites each time a link had been removed.

The BBC will begin - in the "next few weeks" - publishing the list of removed URLs it has been notified about by Google.

Mr Jordan said the BBC had so far been notified of 46 links to articles that had been removed.

They included a link to a blog post by Economics Editor Robert Peston. The request was believed to have been made by a person who had left a comment underneath the article.

An EU spokesman later said the removal was "not a good judgement" by Google.

Real IRA

The list will not republish the story, or any identifying information. It will instead be a "resource for those interested in the debate", Mr Jordan said.

He criticised the "lack of a formal appeal process" after links have been taken down, noting one case where news of the trial involving members of the Real IRA was removed from search results.

"Two of whom were subsequently convicted," Mr Jordan explained.

"This report could not be traced when looking for any of the defendants' names. It seems to us to be difficult to justify this in the public's interest."

He suggested that Google implement some changes to the process of making a "right to be forgotten" request - such as requiring the identity of the person to be shared with the publication, on condition of confidentiality.

The meeting, hosted by Google chairman Eric Schmidt, is the latest of several that have taken place around Europe in the past two months. The next, on 4 November, will be held in Brussels.

However supporters of the ruling said the meetings were a "PR exercise" for Google - which would rather not deal with requests - rather than an open debate.

"They want to be seen as being open and virtuous, but they handpicked the members of the council, will control who is in the audience, and what comes out of the meetings," said Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, head of CNIL - France's data protection body.

Being forgotten

People keen to get data removed from Google's index must:

• Provide weblinks to the relevant material
• Name their home country
• Explain why the links should be removed
• Supply photo ID to help Google guard against fraudulent applications

Follow Dave Lee on Twitter @DaveLeeBBC

09.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

Internet trolls face longer sentences

19 October 2014 Last updated at 20:22

Internet trolls could face up to two years in jail under new laws, Justice Secretary Chris Grayling has said.

He told the Mail on Sunday quadrupling the current maximum six-month term showed his determination to "take a stand against a baying cyber-mob".

Mr Grayling was speaking days after TV presenter Chloe Madeley suffered online abuse, which Mr Grayling described as "crude and degrading".

She has welcomed the proposed laws but said social media should be regulated.

Social media 'venom'

Under the measures, magistrates could pass serious cases on to crown courts.

The law change is to be made as an amendment to the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill going through Parliament, and due to be debated in the House of Lords in the coming week. The Bill applies to England and Wales only.

The new measures would also give police more time to collect enough evidence to enable successful prosecutions to be brought.

Mr Grayling told the newspaper: "These internet trolls are cowards who are poisoning our national life.

"No-one would permit such venom in person, so there should be no place for it on social media. That is why we are determined to quadruple the current six-month sentence."

Miss Madeley received threats after defending her mother Judy Finnigan's comments on a rape committed by footballer Ched Evans, which she said was "non-violent" and did not cause "bodily harm".

Richard Madeley has said "prosecution awaits" those who sent "sick rape threats" to his daughter.

The justice secretary said: "As the terrible case of Chloe Madeley showed last week, people are being abused online in the most crude and degrading fashion.

"This is a law to combat cruelty - and marks our determination to take a stand against a baying cyber-mob.

"We must send out a clear message - if you troll you risk being behind bars for two years."

Extreme

Miss Madeley said she was an "avid supporter of free speech and of social networking".

Continue reading the main story

Most people know the difference between saying something nice and saying something nasty"

End Quote Edwina Currie Former Tory MP

"However, threats of any kind must not be interpreted as freedom of speech. Threatening to harm others is extreme and crosses the line of personal opinion into criminal behaviour.

"I am pleased the government are now talking about ways to deter trolls, and quadrupling the sentencing is a good place to start."

She added that the Malicious Communications Act is 10 years old and outdated, having been drawn up before Facebook and Twitter gained prominence.

"While I agree that spending time and money on trolls is somewhat disagreeable, social networking has become the most influential and powerful voice of the people, and the fact of the matter is it now needs to be regulated."

Claire Hardaker, an academic from Lancaster University who studies online aggression, said proving the intent of a threat on the internet was difficult for police.

"It's like your mum sending you a text saying 'I'm going to kill you' because maybe you forgot to bring something that she asked you to bring, versus somebody on the internet saying 'I'm going to kill you'," she said.

"You have to know the intent of the two different people and to know the intent of the stranger on the internet you've got to be able to read their mind.

"Proving intent, proving that they really meant it, that they had the means to carry it out, it's very difficult."

Better training

Former Conservative MP Edwina Currie, who has experienced online abuse, said people should learn to show restraint when making online comments.

"Most people know the difference between saying something nice and saying something nasty, saying something to support, which is wonderful when you get that on Twitter, and saying something to wound which is very cruel and very offensive.

"Most people know the difference - I don't think education is the issue. I think making sure society takes a dim view of the latter is exactly the right thing to do."

Labour MP Stella Creasy, who has been the target of Twitter trolls, says police and prosecutors need better training on stalking and harassment to deal with online abuse.

"We need the police and the CPS to have better training in what stalking is and what harassment is to understand that if somebody is sending messages and escalating their fixation on somebody... to be able to assess the risk the person faces," she said.

"It's no good saying we'll extend sentences if we're still reaching that barrier where people say, 'Well someone sent you a message online, don't be offended by it'."

Peter Nunn, 33, from Bristol, sent abusive Twitter messages to Ms Creasy after she campaigned to put Jane Austen on the £10 note. He was jailed for 18 weeks earlier this year.

Law change

Those who subject others to sexually offensive, verbally abusive or threatening material online are currently prosecuted in magistrates' courts under the Malicious Communications Act, with a maximum prison sentence of six months.

Under the act, which does not apply to Scotland, it is an offence to send another person a letter or electronic communication that contains an indecent or grossly offensive message, a threat or information which is false and known or believed by the sender to be false.

More serious cases could go to crown court under the new proposals, where the maximum sentence would be extended.

Mr Grayling announced earlier this month that the bill would also have an amendment dealing with so-called "revenge porn", with those posting such images on the internet facing two years in jail.

09.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

Minecraft city built in two years

17 October 2014 Last updated at 18:00 By Zoe Kleinman Technology reporter, BBC News

A student from Delaware has spent two years building a virtual world he has named Titan City in the video game Minecraft.

Titan City is constructed out of 4.5 million Minecraft building blocks and contains 96 buildings.

Duncan Parcells says it has taken him two years to build, averaging up to five hours a week on the project.

His first building was a virtual version of the World Trade Center, which took 18 months to perfect.

However the 19-year-old says Titan City is not a realistic model of New York.

"It's inspired by New York," he told the BBC.

"A lot of people think it's a recreation but it isn't."

He built the city using the Xbox 360 version of Minecraft but has now transferred it to the PC version which, he says, offers more construction opportunities.

Mr Parcells plans to add an airport and a sports stadium.

"I guess it's an outlet for architecture and energy," he said.

"I've always liked architecture. I'm most proud of the less modern builds, the more art deco, Victorian-style builds.

"A lot of people drop by and want to walk around and explore or help with the build. A lot of them help with roads."

While Titan City has received a warm welcome online, Mr Parcells said that until now he has kept his virtual world separate from his daily life.

"I've kept it under wraps, it's kind of like a second life I don't talk about but people are starting to find out," he said.

"My parents think it's cool - I think they're just glad I don't play it too much."

Microsoft recently agreed to purchase Minecraft studio Mojang in a deal worth $2.5bn (£1.5bn).

The game registered its 100 millionth user in February 2014, its inventor Markus Persson, aka Notch, announced on Twitter.

After an initial purchase of the game Minecraft is free to play but there are in-game purchases available.

The game is set in a virtual world made of cubes of different materials. Almost all of these can be used as building blocks and a few can be refined into usable raw materials (wood, iron, diamond etc).

Playing the game involves surviving by using blocks to build a shelter and turning raw materials and combinations of them into items (swords, armour, bows) to help kill the game's many monsters.

09.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

Google changes 'to fight piracy'

20 October 2014 Last updated at 13:16 By Dave Lee Technology reporter, BBC News

Google has announced changes to its search engine in an attempt to curb online piracy.

The company has long been criticised for enabling people to find sites to download entertainment illegally.

The entertainment industry has argued that illegal sites should be "demoted" in search results.

The new measures, mostly welcomed by music trade group the BPI, will instead point users towards legal alternatives such as Spotify and Google Play.

Google will now list these legal services in a box at the top of the search results, as well as in a box on the right-hand side of the page.

Crucially, however, these will be adverts - meaning if legal sites want to appear there, they will need to pay Google for the placement.

The BPI said that while it was "broadly" pleased with Google's changes, it did not think sites should have to pay.

"There should be no cost when it comes to serving consumers with results for legal services," a spokesman told the BBC.

In numbers: Piracy battle

• The BPI made 43.3 million requests for Google to remove search results in 2013 (the US equivalent group, the RIAA, made 31.6 million)
• Google removed 222 million results from search because of copyright infringement
• Google's Content ID system, which detects copyrighted material, scans 400 years-worth of video every day
• 300 million videos have been "claimed" by rights holders, meaning they can place advertising on them

Source: Google report into piracy

"Instead we have urged Google to use the machine-readable data on the Music Matters website, which lists all services licensed in the UK, and to promote these legal services above illegal sites and results in their search, using appropriate weighting applied fairly and equally across services."

'Legitimate sources'

Google has also added extra measures to doctor its search results so that links pointing to illegal content fall lower in results, with legal sites floating to the top.

The company has been doing this for several years, but now says it has "refined the signal" for detecting these links.

To coincide with the announcement, Google published a report into the measures it has put in place across its various websites.

On YouTube, for instance, its Content ID system is able to detect the use of copyrighted material in videos - offering music labels the choice of having the content removed, or monetising it by placing advertising.

But the report stressed the long-held view from Google that the solution to piracy lay in putting effort into creating better legal services, rather than chasing off illegal ones.

"Piracy often arises when consumer demand goes unmet by legitimate supply," the report said.

"As services ranging from Netflix to Spotify to iTunes have demonstrated, the best way to combat piracy is with better and more convenient legitimate services."

Ongoing row

The BPI and Google have been at logger-heads over downgrading results for several years.

The music industry has been angered by the way in which a search on Google for "listen to Katy Perry", or any artist, would sometimes produce results pointing to places to download content illegally.

Often, the illegal sites would rank higher than official outlets such as iTunes.

Google, reluctant to tamper with its "organic" results, but leant on by the government, has gradually backed down and implemented some measures, although their effectiveness is often disputed.

Other combative measures pushed by the BPI include the blocking of websites such as the Pirate Bay so that UK internet users cannot visit unless they are using specialist software.

"We will monitor the results carefully," said Geoff Taylor, chief executive of the BPI.

"But we are encouraged that Google has recognised the need to take further action and will continue to work with the search engines and government to build a stronger digital music sector.

"The BPI, together with colleagues from the film industry, will continue to meet with the search engines and government to ensure these measures make a real difference and to persuade Bing and Yahoo to take similar action."

Follow Dave Lee on Twitter @DaveLeeBBC

09.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

Some paedophiles 'won't be charged'

20 October 2014 Last updated at 16:45

Some paedophiles with images of child abuse will escape prosecution, the head of the National Crime Agency says.

Keith Bristow said the NCA would have to focus on pursuing those who posed most risk but that others would face a "range of interventions".

Some 660 arrests were made during a recent operation targeting people who had accessed child abuse images online.

However, the BBC understands that as many as 20,000-30,000 individuals were identified during that investigation.

Continue reading the main story

We have been pretending as every other nation in the world is currently pretending that they're on top of this problem online - they are not.""

End Quote Donald Findlater Lucy Faith Foundation

The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) - part of the NCA - has estimated that 50,000 people in the UK are involved in downloading and sharing images of child abuse.

NCA director general Mr Bristow said it was "not realistic" to expect all of them to face prosecution.

"Our responsibility is to focus on the greatest risk and tackle those people," he said.

'Horrible criminality'

The NCA said in July that the 660 arrests made as part of Operation Notarise included teachers, medical staff, former police officers, a social services worker and a scout leader.

Some of the suspected paedophiles had terabytes - equivalent to 1,000GB - worth of data on their hard drives or storage devices.

Mr Bristow said every image would be assessed, describing it was "high volume" work that had to be done at pace.

"If there are 50,000 people involved in this particularly horrible type of criminality, I don't believe all 50,000 will end up in the criminal justice system," he said at a briefing for journalists.

"It's uncomfortable but we're going work through it in a logical way, target the most risky first."

He said there would be a "range of interventions" which for some of the offenders could fall short of them "standing in a court".

Mr Bristow drew a distinction between "contact abusers" who may have been involved in physical abuse, and those who shared images.

Society would have to have "deeply uncomfortable conversations" about the scale of child abuse and how to respond to it, Mr Bristow added.

Donald Findlater, from children's charity the Lucy Faith Foundation, said the NCA's "candour" was "desperately important".

But he said police needed to "make a judgement" and "deploy their resources to go for those who are most directly dangerous to children and are most actively sharing online".

"There is a whole raft of additional people behaving badly online who need to get some kind of a response.

"I think it's important that their behaviour is brought out into the open," he told BBC News.

"We have been pretending as every other nation in the world is currently pretending that they're on top of this problem online - they are not."

Last week Mr Bristow apologised after CEOP sat on information it had about 2,000 British paedophiles for more than a year.

Information on the men was sent to UK authorities by Toronto Police in July 2012, as part of an international investigation, Operation Spade, into suspected paedophiles.

But it was not passed on to police forces until more than 12 months later in November 2013.

09.10 | 0 komentar | Read More