Unpaid licences a blow to cybercrime cops
● The police’s cybercrime unit — a highly secretive wing of crime intelligence — has been hamstrung by lapsed software licences for vital equipment used to interpret cellphone data. This has left hundreds of cases up in the air.
Law enforcement experts have told how investigations of online activities, hacking, electronic funds transfer scams and organised crime syndicates have been put on hold.
Forensic reports for use in trials have also been delayed.
The matter of alleged Islamic State acolytes Sayfydeen Aslam Del Vecchio and his wife, Fatima Patel‚ accused of the kidnapping and murder of Britons Rod and Rachel Saunders in January, has been affected.
At the couple’s last appearance in August, the court heard that “expired software licences” had caused delays in the analysis of cellphones seized from the pair.
In May, the parliamentary portfolio committee on police raised concerns after a service provider appointed by the State Information Technology Agency (Sita) threatened to halt essential services because it had not been paid. The committee chair, Francois Beukman, said some police and Sita procurement agreements were major business and security risks.
A source with knowledge of the unit told the Sunday Times that the police had moved from technology that could be used on the move and in real time to that which tied officers to their desks. Officers had been using a device, Cellebrite Touch, that is able to grab data from cellphones anywhere and interpret the information quickly. But police have opted to move to a desktop system.
Police spokesperson Brenda Muridili said: “We are not able to disclose any information with regard to covertly required IT solutions.”
Craig Pedersen, head of digital forensics at The Computer Guyz, said the work of the cybercrime unit was essential and understated.
“We live in an age where technology is used broadly … and plays a definite role in many of the more serious crimes. The unit is a vital link in the complex task of collecting evidence.”