back to article Law changed to allow GCHQ hacking ... just as GCHQ hauled into court for hacking

Government legislation to exempt GCHQ from prosecution on charges of illegal hacking has been passed and come into effect – apparently torpedoing an ongoing claim against the surveillance agency being heard by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal. Last July, a coalition of internet service providers and international …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Secret law...

    If it's good enough for Emperor Obama, it's good enough for Prefect Cameron.

    For the glory of the Empire. Strength and honour.

    :/

  2. Mike 16

    Read the statement carefully

    "There have been no changes made to the Computer Misuse Act 1990 by the Serious Crime Act 2015 that increase or expand the ability of the intelligence agencies to carry out lawful cyber crime investigation."

    Note that nothing whatever is said about increasing or expanding the ability of the intelligence agencies to carry out _un_lawful_ cyber crimes. That ability stays as high as before.

    1. Dan 55 Silver badge

      Re: Read the statement carefully

      Out of all the changes made to the CMA, Section 10 seems the most likely candidate...

      10 Saving for certain law enforcement powers.

      Section 1(1) above has effect without prejudice to the operation—

      (a)in England and Wales of any enactment relating to powers of inspection, search or seizure; and

      (b)in Scotland of any enactment or rule of law relating to powers of examination, search or seizure.

      [F1and nothing designed to indicate a withholding of consent to access to any program or data from persons as enforcement officers shall have effect to make access unauthorised for the purposes of the said section 1(1).

      In this section “enforcement officer” means a constable or other person charged with the duty of investigating offences; and withholding consent from a person “as” an enforcement officer of any description includes the operation, by the person entitled to control access, of rules whereby enforcement officers of that description are, as such, disqualified from membership of a class of persons who are authorised to have access.]

      For reference, Section 1.

      It's so loosely defined that the TV Licence man could legally hack into your computer if they wanted to. And spooks, of course. Perhaps the disingenuous statement means there's nothing that specifically names the intelligence services, but they certainly fall within the scope of this change.

      1. JeffUK

        Re: Read the statement carefully

        Only if an act of parliament is passed allowing the TV license man to hack into your PC...

        You missed the bit where it says :

        enactment” means any enactment, whenever passed or made, contained in—

        (a)

        an Act of Parliament;

        (b)

        an Act of the Scottish Parliament;

        (c)

        a Measure or Act of the National Assembly for Wales;

        (d)

        an instrument made under any such Act or Measure;

        (e)

        any other subordinate legislation (within the meaning of the Interpretation Act 1978);

  3. billse10

    don't you hate it when reality starts to look like lyrics ...

    Don't offer us legal protection

    They use the law to commit crime

    I dread to think what the future'll bring

  4. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

    The Silk Smoothed Road to Nowhere is a Slick Path into CHAOS with Deep Pools in Dark Webs

    I dread to think what the future'll bring .... billse10

    A veritable ESPecially gifted, extraordinarily rendered smarter army/force of virtual opponents and real enough Guy Fawkes's would appear to the chosen preference for competing insolvent systems of remote second and third party intellectual property management, billse10.

    1. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

      Re: The Silk Smoothed Road to Nowhere is a Slick Path into CHAOS with Deep Pools in Dark Webs

      And who's to say that will not be/is not the current present servering morph of secret intelligence security in smarter prosperous pursuit and lively opposition to fascist imposition of worthless punitive austerity..... which is most surely what one would reasonably expect from leading providers of actionable mentored intel from monitored information systems admins.

      Or perhaps such a consumptive is presumed and assumed by established legacy systems as being automatically defaulted to server their continuity in office for power of command and control by order of some sort of arrogance based upon the thought that ignorance in such matters will remain widespread and aid the adventure?! In an age with myriad spaces with remote distant learning facilities and capabilities is that a fine final folly furnishing fools all manner of fickle feasts that funnel fate to deliver destiny's revolutionary rough justice and bitter sweet revenge for dirty deeds done dirt cheap.

      It is certainly the Greater IntelAIgent Gamesplay of Future NEUKlearer HyperRadioProActive Systems Administration for Present Production Placements of Registering Virtual Realities with Quantum Communication Command of Controlling Creative Computers...... phishing and phorming for SMARTR Machine Existences with Global Operting Devices.

      And a great fit for a revitalised and revitalising BBC/RT Type Operation with Creative AI Direction worthy of global support, it is too.

  5. This post has been deleted by its author

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