6
ISSUES: Privacy
Chapter 1: What is privacy?
What the Investigatory Powers Act means
for you
With the passingof the Investigatory Powers Act, previously secret illegal surveillance
practice revealed by Edward Snowden will now be entrenched in law, alongside new
powers not used in any Western democracy. Below are some of the key ways the IPA
might affect you.
Your Internet history can be
logged
Every website you visit, the fact of
every communication you make,
and every mobile app that connects
to the Internet can now be logged,
recorded and made accessible to the
Government.
Logs of your Internet activity, dubbed
“Internet Connection Records” by
the Investigatory Powers Bill doesn’t
already exist, and companies will be
forced to spy on their customers to
create the records from scratch. They
are imprecisely defined, and different
companies will be forced to apply the
vague standards in different ways. With
everything from your fridge to your car
being connected online, the scope of
this power, and the number of records
created about your life will only grow.
Location and phone call history
will be recorded
Every time you make a phone call or
send a text message, your location
and who you are communicating with
will be logged by your mobile phone
provider. This can be requested and
made accessible to the Government.
The broad nature of these powers
have already been struck down by the
courts, but the Investigatory Powers
Bill tweaks them to try and sidestep the
courts’ ruling.
Police will have a new data-
mining super search
A new data-mining super search will
allow police to combine your Internet
history alongside your mobile phone
location and call records as well as
any other data the police may hold.
No judicial warrant will be needed
before the police or the intelligence
agencies can use ‘the filter’. Instead,
the requesting body will internally
authorise such access.
Your phone can be hacked even
if you’re not of interest
For the first time the police will be
able to hack your phone, take photos
using the camera, nosy through
anything stored on the phone and
remotely switch on the microphone
– even when the phone is turned off.
Remarkably, hacking powers will be
able to be used against people who
“are not of intelligence interest in
their own right” meaning even if you
are not suspected of committing a
crime of any other wrongdoing you
phone could still be compromised.
The intelligence agencies will have
specific powers to hack in bulk
including for everyone in a particular
location. While the power is intended
to only be focussed outside the UK,
loopholes mean it can be used at
home in the UK too.
You might never be able to
trust your computer again
One of the ways the police will
undertake their hacking operations
will be to enlist technology companies
to do the hacking for them. Whether
it’s an app developer, Internet service
provider or hardware company, the
Government can now force them to
assist. This means software updates
pushed out to customers might be
booby trapped with government
backdoors.
How can you tell the difference
between a backdoored software
update and a legitimate one? You
can’t.
Your private information is less
safe
Newly created massive databases
to create, and store your Internet
Connection Records in one place are
attractive targets for cyber criminals
and other attackers. The question
isn’t whether they will be tried to be
hacked, but when.
What’s worse is that companies
products may not be as safe and
secure as they’d like them to be. When
served with a notice, companies may
be forced to remove encryption which
keeps data safe, or re-architect their
systems to be less secure so that law
enforcement can get the information
they think they need. The problem is
that this could weaken the security
of the companies’ products for every
single person in the world.
Mass surveillance of
communications will continue
None of the capabilities revealed
during the Snowden revelations will
end. Instead, they are being placed
onto a legal footing so they can’t be
challenged as easily in the courts.
This means that on top of all the
powers already listed, a further 50
billion communications events will be
captured by GCHQ every single day.
As there are only seven billion of us
in the world, and three billion of us
who have access to the Internet, the
intelligence services are subjecting
as many people in the world to
surveillance as their computers can
handle. This includes programs like
Optic Nerve, which stored nude
images from millions of Yahoo!
webcam users.
What can you do?
Any successful campaign needs
resources,
whether
it
be
for
educational material, undertaking
investigations, or to mount legal
challenges. Any donations you are
able to make to NGOs can help fight
back against mass surveillance and
the intrusion into your private life.
You can read up on the Bill and educate
your friends and family as to the
