The other hacking scandal: Suppressed report reveals that law firms, telecoms giants and insurance companies routinely hire criminals to steal rivals' information

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/the-other-hacking-scandal-suppressed-report-reveals-that-law-firms-telecoms-giants-and-insurance-companies-routinely-hire-criminals-to-steal-rivals-information-8669148.html

By Tom Harper
The Independent
22 June 2013

Some of Britain’s most respected industries routinely employ criminals to hack, 
blag and steal personal information on business rivals and members of the 
public, according to a secret report leaked to The Independent.

The Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) knew six years ago that law firms, 
telecoms giants and insurance were hiring private investigators to break the 
law and further their commercial interests, the report reveals, yet the agency 
did next to nothing to disrupt the unlawful trade.

It is understood that one of the key hackers mentioned in the confidential Soca 
report admitted that 80 per cent of his client list was taken up by law firms, 
wealthy individuals and insurance companies. Only 20 per cent was attributed to 
the media, which was investigated by the Leveson Inquiry after widespread 
public revulsion following the phone-hacking scandal.

Soca, dubbed “Britain’s FBI”, knew six years ago that blue-chip institutions 
were hiring private investigators to obtain sensitive data – yet did next to 
nothing to disrupt the unlawful trade. The report was privately supplied to the 
Leveson Inquiry into press ethics in 2012 yet the corruption in other 
identified industries, including the law, insurance and debt collectors, and 
among high-net worth individuals, was not mentioned during the public sessions 
or included in the final report.

[...]

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