It is perhaps less than reassuring (or professional) when the RCMP Commissioner says that the only effective way to protect yourself from cybercrime is to “Stay off the internet.” Does he recommend you never leave your house to avoid being mugged as well?

Let’s not mince words: this is a FUD tactic to frighten people into giving up their privacy so the RCMP can have greater powers of surveillance over the country’s 35 million citizens. Do not allow yourself to be stampeded in this way.

It is the responsibility of the police to maintain law and order, in cyberspace as in real life, and in real life that does not mean you have to give them the key to your house. It doesn’t mean that in cyberspace either, regardless of their scare tactics. If they are truly not competent to keep order online, they should be replaced with a group which is.

RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson bluntly warned Canadians Wednesday that legal restraints on police access to personal Internet data means there is no guarantee they can help victims of cyber crimes. Speaking to a security and defence industry conference in Ottawa, Paulson said an explosion in Internet crime, combined with laws restricting police online criminal investigations, means people…

Source: ‘We can’t protect public from cyber crimes’: RCMP boss

Categories: Hackers, News, Police, RCMP, Security, Surveillance