Re:Details of UK website visits 'to be stored for year'
by junto on Wednesday November 04, 2015 @08:35AM
(#10506307)
It will not include powers to force UK companies to capture
and retain third party internet traffic from companies based
overseas. It will not compel overseas communications service
providers to meet our domestic retention obligations for
communications data. And it will not ban encryption or do
anything to undermine the security of people’s data. And the
substance of all of the recommendations by the Joint Scrutiny
Committee which examined that draft Bill have been accepted.
The draft Bill will not impose any additional requirements
in relation to encryption over and above the existing
obligations in RIPA.
However, under "EQUIPMENT INTERFERENCE" it discusses the following:
What is it?
27. Equipment interference allows the security and intelligence
agencies, law enforcement and the armed forces to interfere with
electronic equipment such as computers and smartphones in order to
obtain data, such as communications from a device.
Equipment interference encompasses a wide range of activity from
remote access to computers to downloading covertly the contents of
a mobile phone during a search.
Why do we need it?
28. Where necessary and proportionate, law enforcement agencies and the
security and intelligence agencies need to be able to access
communications or other private information held on computers, in
order to gain valuable intelligence in national security and
serious crime investigations and to help gather evidence for use in
criminal prosecutions.
Equipment interference plays an important role in mitigating the
loss of intelligence that may no longer be obtained through other
techniques, such as interception, as a result of sophisticated
encryption. It can sometimes be the only method by which to acquire
the data. The armed forces use this technique in some situations to
gather data in support of military operations.
In other words, if you use "sophisticated encryption" then we'll just hack you, and that is about to be perfectly legal. Previously, "we" just used to do it anyway. Now we are going to make it legal, and have a FISA style "yes whatever officer" court in the UK, like you have in the US.
This is really the bottom line here. The UK is moving towards a secret court, with secret decisions, copying the US style FISA. So long and thanks for all the cups of tea.
Granted though, that is the single mention of encryption in the entire speech.
Draft bill is here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachm...
However, under "EQUIPMENT INTERFERENCE" it discusses the following: In other words, if you use "sophisticated encryption" then we'll just hack you, and that is about to be perfectly legal. Previously, "we" just used to do it anyway. Now we are going to make it legal, and have a FISA style "yes whatever officer" court in the UK, like you have in the US.This is really the bottom line here. The UK is moving towards a secret court, with secret decisions, copying the US style FISA. So long and thanks for all the cups of tea.