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Snowden Docs Show UK's Digital Spies Using Viruses, Honey Traps

Posted by timothy on from the at-least-it's-an-ethos dept.

An anonymous reader writes "At the start of this week, documents released by whistleblower Edward Snowden detailed DDOS attacks on chatrooms by a British online intelligence unit dubbed the Joint Threat Research Intelligence Group (JTRIG). Now he has released a new trove showing that JTRIG is about much more than purely online annoyances. According to the documents, released to NBC News, JTRIG's role is to "deny, disrupt, degrade and deceive" by any means possible. These techniques include destroying an individual's computer with a custom virus dubbed "Ambassador's Reception", setting up social media honey traps to harvest embarrassing information, actively attacking companies online and off, and planting data on people's systems."

2 of 92 comments (clear)

  1. reasonable doubt? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "planting data on people's systems."

    I don't know what the laws are in the UK. I would imagine that could get many "cyber crimes" tossed. How can it be proven that any evidence wasn't planted now?

  2. Planting Data? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Like say, Child Pornography?

    How the hell is planting data legal? When did we start seeing that framing people for prosecution and incarceration was acceptable in ANY way?