Mammoth task for terror investigation

With 11 Britons now facing terrorist charges in connection to their alleged plot to bomb transatlantic aircraft, the true light of the forensic investigation that officers now face has come to light.

Currently, 400 computers, 200 mobile phones and 8,000 data storage devices have been seized. It is estimated that 6,000 gigabytes of data now has to be examined.

Tim Leehealey, executive vice president of business and corporate development firm Guidance Software, told the ITPro website: “This will prove to be a digital treasure trove over time. Terrorists are just as clueless as the rest of us when it comes to using computers and deleting a folder or simply reformatting the hard drive still leaves lots of evidence. Analysts will be going over this data for years to come, finding connections.”

Susan Hemming, head of the Crown Prosecution Service Counter Terrorism Division also commented: “We have been carefully examining and assessing the evidence against each individual with the assistance of anti terrorist officers in order to come to charging decisions at the earliest practicable opportunity.

“I made a decision that there was sufficient evidence and authorised, with the approval of the Director of Public Prosecutions, the charge of 11 individuals.”