British Cops Hack Into Government Computers

CmdrGravy writes "The British Police have hacked into Government computers as part of the on-going 'cash for peerages' investigation. They've uncovered evidence which has, so far, led to one arrest and charge of perverting the course of justice for a leading Labour party figure. This charge carries a potential life sentence. The British police have the power to hack into computer systems as part of an investigation. On previous occasions they have said they did not believe the government was providing them with the information they had been asking for and had warned that they would seek other methods to gather evidence. The police won't say what tools they have used. From the article: 'The investigators did not have to notify No 10 if they were "hacking" into its system. One legal expert said: "In some cases, a senior officer can give permission. In other cases, you might need the authorization of an independent commissioner, who is usually a retired judge appointed by the Home Office."'"

Comments

Curiosity

[Thansal]

So, I know next to nothing about legal systems outside of the USA. In the US the police would need a warrent (I am goign with the bassis of our laws, not the mockery that is today).

Is the approval that the british cops gained:
"In some cases, a senior officer can give permission. In other cases, you might need the authorisation of an independent commissioner, who is usually a retired judge appointed by the Home Office."

The same basic idea? Or is this a change, or what not. Basicly can some one more familiar with the british legal system explain this?

thanks.

I wonder who these "computer experts" are?

[Reverse Gear]

I wonder who the British police hired to do this, according to the article they used "computer experts" to do the job.
But now that these "computer experts" have done this once with police blessing, had a nice look at the systems I wouldn't wonder if they could do it again without the blessing or knowledge of the police.

From the article it doesn't look like the sys-admins at Downing Street have been all that involved in this, I sure hope they have now been notified of how this was done and whatever way was used to get into the systems have been closed.

One could suspect that with the police having known these/this "computer expert(s)" it might be an indication that it wasn't a white hat they got hold of, but really that is just speculation, it might also have been a white hat person.

Anyhow I know nothing but what it says in TFA, which really isn't a lot, but for the sake of british security I sure hope this has been done in a sensible way.

Re:I wonder who these "computer experts" are?

[Ash Vince]

Chances are they went and asked GCHQ, the british telecommunications survelience people to provide someone.

I am sure they have some very good staff being that they invented the idea of codebreaking using computers over 60 years ago.

Also worth noting that after RSA came out and published their work on public key cryptography GCHQ admitted they had known how to do it but kept it secret. This page has some decent info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptographer

Anyone pointing out that the refences to GCHQ are all very old should also know that they would never dream of telling anyone else if they had cracked every encyrption method known. Why create more work for yourself when your primary role is listening in to other peoples communications?

What's wrong with the UK?

[Salvance]

Here's what I don't get: this is the British police, not some elite hacking group. They are probably using pretty basic hacking methods to hack into government computers. If this is the case, why aren't the computers more secure to begin with? If the police can do it, I'll bet your kid's lunch money that your teenage neighbor can as well. To me, the lack of adequate security is a far more significant embarrassment than the hacking itself.

Re:What's wrong with the UK?

[ilovegeorgebush]

Why would the British Police be using "basic hacking methods"? They're a government organisation, which means they have the funding (and power) to hire and use professionals in situations such as this. Not to mention they're also probably part of a WAN which means they could well be "on the inside" of the Government's network already.

Interesting...

[ilovegeorgebush]

Whilst it's good that Goverment bodies get the same level of investigation as anyone else would, I believe it to be a bit of a 'flogging a dead horse' situation. Blair is leaving this year, and I very much doubt he'd be under the hammer in this sitation (he's already been interviewed and released). Indeed it is important to catch those that are guilty, but I don't feel it is going to damage Labour any more than they already are.

I do find it quite hypocritical that the British Government have such power as to be able to break into any system in the name of investigation...

Re:Interesting...

[CmdrGravy]

There are quite a lot of things which amuse me about this whole episode:

1) It's a Labour government being accused of selling Peerages when it is really only them who have ever been opposed to this idea.

2) Various members of the Labour party moaning that Ruth Turner is a lovely lady and that its in extremely bad taste to go around to arrest her at 6AM in the morning with 4 police officers. This is a bit like saying to the police who are arresting you for a blatant crime "Don't you have any real criminals to catch ?"

3)Trying to hide evidence and then being undone by your own laws to retrieve it.

4) Just the general stupidity of the Labour party in general, I really hope this Ruth woman is charged, convicted and sent down for life as a lesson to all the others that blindly follow the party line and are willing to say or do anything provided it's "on-message" regardless of the obvious facts.

Why am I not surprised?

[webvictim]

So the British government is trying to cover something up... quelle surprise.

Actually, I shouldn't be shocked. They've lied about funding, the health service, taxes and just about everything else... they'd be the first to try and protect their own livelihoods when it came to the crunch.

Is it just me, or is my country going to the dogs? Or is it just that there is no such thing as an honest politician?

Re:Why am I not surprised?

[webvictim]

Whether you are willing to admit it or not, the truth is essentially that politicians care about one thing and one thing only - and that is votes. Yes, they are scared about what the public think of them, so much so that they will go to any length to keep themselves the positions of power that they hold so dear. This is why they will lie, cheat and deceive in any way possible just to make themselves look good, or at least better than their rivals. There is no "none of the above" option on poll cards. What are you supposed to do if you want to vote, but despite the things they say you know that all the candidates are driven by the same greed and lust for power?

Re:That's Hot

[iminplaya]

Heh, no joke. Our local papers have stories about cops from two different jurisdictions getting into actual gun battles occasionally. I also get a kick out of watching the elephants battle it out. Too bad we never learn anything from it.

Re:How Convenient

[Anonymous Coward]

I think the 'probable cause' is taken care of by the fact that it was done as part of an ongoing investigation and the fact just about everybody in the UK believes the government is doing its best to cover this up. You will also probably find that the police already have permission from a Judge to gather evidence and they don't need another one just because they are sneaking a look at things the government is pretending doesn't exist.

Have a read: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_project ion