Heather Brooke

The hacker community may be small, but it possesses the skills that are driving the global economies of the future.

Britain's legal structure is basically the same as in feudal times: laws are written for the elite.

CCTV is seen either as a symbol of Orwellian dystopia or a technology that will lead to crime-free streets and civil behaviour. While arguments continue, there is very little solid data in the public domain about the costs, quantity and effectiveness of surveillance.

There's not a self-regulating group of nice fair-playing people in politics. There are a lot of dodgy people in politics.

In America, you have the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act. You've got drones now being considered for domestic surveillance. You have the National Security Agency building the world's giantest spy center.

It used to cost money to disclose and distribute information. In the digital age it costs money not to.

When you're a crime reporter, you see the nub of what life's about, and you don't have much patience for the falsity of politics.

I trained as a journalist in America where paying sources is frowned upon. Now I work in the U.K. where there is a more flexible attitude.