Police hacking

[Peter Fairbrother]

Charles Lindsey wrote:
> On Fri, 15 May 2009 14:16:45 +0100, Peter Fairbrother 
> <zenadsl6186 at zen.co.uk> wrote:
> 
>> http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/05/15/soca_hacking/
>>
>> "In the UK, hacking by law enforcement agencies is covered by the 
>> Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act."
> 
> It is if if gives access to the bodies of email messages. 

or web traffic, "in the course of their transmission".

Lord Bassam's doormat notwithstanding, I suspect that until it gets to 
the user's screen, email and web surfing would be in transmission.

The questions then become very technical...

eg is the hacker only looking at "read" emails and out-of-date web caches?



Maybe even if
> it gives access to traffic data (absent the proper paperwork).
>>
> 
>>
>> It doesn't seem to fit in part II, but I may be wrong. Is hacking 
>> "surveillance"?       [maybe 48(2)?]
> 
> Quite possibly so in cases not amounting to unlawful interception.

Can't see why unlawful interception affects whether it's surveillance or 
not ... ;)

-- Peter F