UK Government to Allow British Spies to “Legally” Hack into Everyone’s Phones
The UK is set to make spying on every person in Britain’s phone legal.
United Kingdom — As promisedearlier in the year, the Conservative government is granting British
spy agencies explicit rights to hack into smartphones and computers. Set
to be introduced by Parliament next month, the forthcoming Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act (DRIPA) will provide a legal basis for intelligence agencies to hack into computerised systems throughout the U.K.
Own a smartphone? Ever buy things online? Use social networks? Chances are that your data has passed through U.K. Government Communication Headquarters (GCHQ) surveillance programmes — particularly if you are a foreign national.
According to the Independent,
spy agencies will be able to take over a phone remotely and install
software that has the ability to examine your data at any time. Rushed
through Parliament in July 2014, the new bill enables the Home Secretary
to order communication companies to retain emails, calls, texts, and
web activity of everyone in the U.K. for 12 months. Similar powers could
also be used to target other databases, such as medical, travel, and
financial records — including the records of those whose communications
are deemed confidential, such as doctors, lawyers, journalists, and MPs.
The forthcoming bill comes as no surprise to activists who have long condemned the British government’s mass surveillance techniques exposed by Edward Snowden.
Privacy International has taken British spy agencies to court over bulk data-harvesting. Earlier this year, Deputy Director Eric King, said:
“Secretly ordering companies to hand over their records in bulk, to be
data-mined at will, without independent sign off or oversight, is a
loophole in the law the size of a double-decker bus.”
