European Union Encourages British Police Hacking

“The UK has agreed to a strategic approach towards tackling cybercrime on the same basis as all member states; however… the Council conclusions are not legally binding, and there are no agreed time scales,” the British Home Office said in a published statement. “We fully support work to develop an understanding of the scale and impact of electronic crime across the EU and will work with member states to develop the detail of the proposal.”

Public disclosure of the plan has privacy and security experts worried that the government is seeking further control, and it begins with the ability to access people’s PCs without the user’s knowledge, or without the use of a warrant. Privacy advocates want to know how suspects will be chosen, and if any safeguards have been put in place to protect regular citizens from getting spied on.

To avoid traditional phone taps used by the police and federal authorities, more criminals are heading to the internet, which allows them to meet anonymously. E-mails, instant messages, and all internet activities would be fair game for the police authorities.

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The Computer Misuse Act 1990 has given police the ability to hack into suspect PC systems without a warrant for 13 years, when a 1994 amendment was put into place in 1995. It’s most likely police will rely on keyloggers to monitor the activities of a suspect, but specific details were not released.

Each new case must be approved by a chief constable, but it’s possible the agreement will give police agencies in other parts of Europe the ability to also begin to monitor suspect activities.