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Seven ISPs Take Legal Action Against GCHQ

Posted by Unknown on from the ways-to-get-on-a-watch-list dept.

mrspoonsi (2955715) writes with this excerpt from the BBC: ISPs from the U.S., UK, Netherlands, and South Korea have joined forces with campaigners Privacy International to take GCHQ to task over alleged attacks on network infrastructure. It is the first time that GCHQ has faced such action. The ISPs claim that alleged network attacks, outlined in a series of articles in Der Spiegel and the Intercept, were illegal and "undermine the goodwill the organizations rely on." The complaint (PDF).

16 of 65 comments (clear)

  1. Well now. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Good luck with that.

    1. Re:Well now. by jellomizer · · Score: 2

      Yes, I offer them Good Luck too.

      We should reward companies for the things that they do well, and for the good.
      Punish them for the things that they do bad. All Carrot or all Stick approach doesn't work.

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    2. Re:Well now. by FatdogHaiku · · Score: 2

      ...All Carrot or all Stick approach doesn't work.

      And the carrot stick approach is pretty useless also...
      unless you're trying to get rid of ranch dressing!

      --
      You have the right to remain sentient. If you give up the right to remain sentient, you will be elected to public office
  2. Re:WTF by zakeria · · Score: 4, Funny

    UK == United Kingdom

  3. How are they going to get proof? by timrod · · Score: 5, Interesting

    From the article, it seems like the only ISP that was named in the Snowden leaks as being a target of NSA/GCHQ data collection was Belgacom, a Belgian ISP. I'm not sure how the law works in the UK, but in the US, all of the suits against the NSA so far have failed because the NSA can refuse to provide evidence. The only ISP they have direct evidence for is Belgacom, which does not appear to be a plaintiff in this lawsuit. If GCHQ can withhold evidence, how do they plan to prove that they were targeted?

    1. Re:How are they going to get proof? by Sique · · Score: 4, Informative

      No, Belgacom was only the attack vector to get the malware up and running. From there, other providers were attacked under the disguise of Belgacom. For instance, the german exchange points DE-CIX and ECIX were attacked, thus all providers with facilities there are victims to the attack.

      --
      .sig: Sique *sigh*
    2. Re:How are they going to get proof? by AmiMoJo · · Score: 2

      The standard of proof is "on the balance of probabilities", so with the Snowden files, some customer testimonials and some accounting data the onus would very much be on GCHQ to prove their innocence.

      Chances are they will try to wriggle out of it on some other grounds, rather than mount a defence.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    3. Re:How are they going to get proof? by Kiwikwi · · Score: 2

      *cough* The European Court of Justice has ultimate jurisdiction if plaintiffs can show that GCHQ violated any EU ordinance.

      (Whether that is the case I'll leave up to the lawyers, but it's certainly not unlikely that they can find something...)

  4. But but but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    "We're GCHQ and are therefore free to act in any way we see fit."

  5. Re:WTF by quenda · · Score: 4, Informative

    GCHQ is one of those things known better by the acronym than their full name.
    Even their homepage does not tell you what it stands for. I could tell you, but then ... you know.

  6. Re:WTF by rossdee · · Score: 4, Funny

    My guess would be General Communication Head Quarters

    UK has lots of secret government organisations, that answer directly to the PM and cabinet, not to parliament.
    MI5, MI6, Special Branch, UNIT and TORCHWOOD

  7. Re:WTF by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Der Spiegel - Distributed Enhanced Reprint of Soviet Propaganda In East Germany, Electronic edition.

  8. Re:WTF by will_die · · Score: 2

    GCHQ = GeoCaching HeadQuarters.

  9. Re:WTF by Rashdot · · Score: 5, Funny

    ISPs = plural of ISP
    U.S. = United States
    shithead = mirror

    --
    This is not the sig you're looking for.
  10. Re:WTF by TheRaven64 · · Score: 4, Informative

    UNIT is not a British organisation, it's under UN control.

    --
    I am TheRaven on Soylent News
  11. Re:WTF by grep+-v+'.*'+* · · Score: 2

    UK has lots of secret government organisations, that answer directly to the PM and cabinet, not to parliament. ... and TORCHWOOD

    The funny thing is, they COULD now name a secret organization TORCHWOOD. All of the Doctor Who references would pop up and the real organization would be buried in the noise.

    --
    If the universe is someone's simulation -- does that mean the stars are just stuck pixels?