50 characters ? (was RE: Man jailed over computer password refusal

[James Firth]

> 	I wonder how it was known that the password was 50 characters (or
> if this is
> 	standard press release garbling)?

Some very interesting background has been published in the New Statesman
regarding this case in an article by David Allen Green, the telecoms and
media lawyer I mentioned in a previous post.  It seems:

 * most if not all the information published by the press came from
Lancashire police either from a "sensationalist" press release, or
"background" information given over the telephone.
 * the CPS indicate that the defendant did claim to have forgotten his
password, but the prosecution persuaded the jury otherwise
 * the defendant claimed in police interviews that the password was between
40-50 characters, and the CPS issued this information in their own press
release.

Full article here:
http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/the-staggers/2010/10/police-drage-password
-sex

James Firth