GCHQ spies given immunity from anti-hacking laws

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/internet-security/11612659/GCHQ-spies-given-immunity-from-anti-hacking-laws.html

By Sophie Curtis
The Telegraph
18 May 2015

The government has quietly rewritten a key clause of the Computer Misuse 
Act, giving GCHQ staff, intelligence officers and police immunity from 
prosecution for hacking into computers and mobile phones.

The Computer Misuse Act, which came into effect in 1990, states that 
gaining unauthorised access to computer material is a criminal offence, 
punishable by up to 12 months' imprisonment and a fine.

Until recently, any violation of this Act was required to be by Article 8 
of the European Convention on Human Rights, which provides a right to 
respect for one's "private and family life, his home and his 
correspondence", subject to certain restrictions that are "in accordance 
with law".

In May 2014, campaign group Privacy International, along with seven 
internet and communications service providers, filed complaints with the 
Investigatory Powers Tribunal, challenging GCHQ’s hacking activities, 
(exposed by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden in 2013).

[...]

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