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By Sally Watson, 30 March 2001 17:52

NEWS A Home Office bill, called the Private Security Industry Bill, is currently speeding through Parliament, and is primarily intended to crackdown on misconduct by unregulated wheel clampers and bouncers. But Home Office minister Charles Clarke is refusing to rule out its extension to include the IT industry. This means IT administrators, programmers and consultants might have to face up to restrictive licensing laws. During the Bill's second reading in the House of Commons on Wednesday, Clarke warned that regulation may be necessary for information security consultants. "Just as with tangible assets, there are real threats to the security of information and security advice, and precautions are needed to protect it," Clarke told MPs. The Home Office's attitude has angered many in the industry who point out that IT could easily be offered the same general immunity to the Bill as legal or financial consultants. Speaking to silicon.com, Tim Conway, director of industry affairs at the Computer Software and Services Association (CSSA), said: "I haven't been aware of any allegations of misconduct against the IT security industry." According to Conway, the inference that the legislation could be used against IT professionals is totally inappropriate. "No part of the Bill, the white paper or its explanation notes, make any reference to the IT sector," he said. "It's a fundamental principle of government to say who they are aiming legislation at." Caspar Bowden, director of the Foundation for Information Policy Research, warned that if the Bill proceeds without amendment, the Home Office will be free to licence at will. "This looks like a tactic to keep the government's options open," Bowden said. "Unless there are the same cast iron exemptions for programmers, system administrators and IT consultants that have been granted to other professions, the government can introduce licensing by order at anytime." It an attempt to appease the industry Clarke has promised consultation through the Department of Trade and Industry, but has offered no timetable for the dialogue. "Nobody will be regulated by the Bill without their full knowledge and understanding. All relevant types of security consultant will be invited to participate in the authority's consultations at the appropriate time," he told MPs. According to sources, the controversy has drawn in ecommerce minister Patricia Hewitt, who has approached the Home Office over her concerns. According to the DTI, current legislation is not aimed at IT consultants, but the department will consult the industry on whether it feels regulation is needed. A spokesman for the DTI said: "At that time the government will make it clear that, subject to the DTI's work on existing precautions, IT security consultants will not be included in the licensing regime." The Home Office confirmed it has no intention of currently regulating IT professionals, but a spokeswoman refused to rule out legislation in the future. "If your name's not down, you're not getting in..."
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