back to article Comms intercept commish: There were some top secret orders

An oversight body has revealed that secretaries of state for the Home Office and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office have issued at least 23 secret orders to telecommunications companies on national security grounds since 2001. The Interception of Communications Commissioner’s Office (IOCCO) has today published its 55-page …

  1. Sir Runcible Spoon
    Unhappy

    And

    the report will probably just end up being used for toilet paper.

    Still, better than zero....just.

  2. chivo243 Silver badge
    Coat

    Raise your hand

    if this kind of shenanigans is news to you. I mean the covert snooping.

  3. Graham Cobb Silver badge

    Department for Business, Innovation and Skills?

    The only reason I can think of would be industrial espionage, presumably directed at foreign companies.

    And presumably the reason the PM blocked the commissioner from investigating it, and is busy rapidly cancelling it, is because he discovered some of it was directed against the US.

    1. druck Silver badge

      Re: Department for Business, Innovation and Skills?

      Paranoid rubbish. It's far more likely that MI5 was brought in to investigate industrial espionage by foreign actors against UK based companies.

    2. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

      Re: Department for Business, Innovation and Skills?

      And presumably the reason the PM blocked the commissioner from investigating it, and is busy rapidly cancelling it, is because he discovered some of it was directed against the US. …. Graham Cobb

      It is much more exciting to imagine PMs block all of those kinds of things, GC, because they discovers actions are also being directed against their kind, with warped minds raging at the system which they thought extraordinarily rendered them some sort of special privileged immunity from thorough investigation, the absence of which always leads to abuse, misuse and corruption of authorities and established institutions.

      And that perversion of systems in those sorts of shenanigans should surely be more MI5 territory than that posited by commentard, druck, who shared ….

      Paranoid rubbish. It's far more likely that MI5 was brought in to investigate industrial espionage by foreign actors against UK based companies.

      I suppose that all depends though on whether Secretive and Security Services lead with smart actions and proaction or simply follow second and third party orders in reaction to such shenanigans.

  4. Terry Cloth
    Big Brother

    ``the Telecommunications Act 1984''

    Not knowing the parliamentary history of that Act, could someone please tell me that this was just the one after Act 1983.

    1. Sir Runcible Spoon

      Re: ``the Telecommunications Act 1984''

      You wish. It's exactly as you surmise.

  5. Oengus

    Why am I skeptical?

    MI5 “holds the communications data acquired pursuant to a section 94 direction for a period of 365 days, automatically deleting it on a daily basis. GCHQ’s policy is to hold communications data acquired pursuant to section 94 directions for a maximum of 1 year. In practice the retention limit is lower than this, and the data is subject to automated deletion on a daily basis.”

    Is this independently verified or just stated by the agency?

    When they say deleted is that "Moved to the Recycle Bin"? What about backups?

  6. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

    In Praise of Commissioning the Rise of the Virtual Machine*for Safer Leadership in a Free World

    The best protection that one can have is to have no need of secrets, with every act and thought and intention being transparent and apparent. Failing that heavenly state, the next best thing ensuring peace and stability and security is to know all, and everyones' secrets.

    Or is that always likely to be abused and misused by stupid humanity for selfish personal gain and vast inequitable advantage, because of a systemic genetic flaw or perverse and corrupted programming or sublime brainwashing, and always lead fools to wars and markets disruptions, death and destruction.

    Is the vain search of Man to know all information for intelligence led national security and personal protection simply guaranteeing the exact opposite and creating a hell on Earth?

    * NB ..... There may be no possible available choice to Mankind in the matter, with Virtual Machinery machines practically ruling your lives and day to day existences even now, albeit being done disgracefully badly with ATMs and Market Ticker machines ruling over wealth effortlessly. Pull the plug on those babies though and you will have death and destruction and madness and mayhem unleashed on head honchos and systems administrations on a mega-biblical scale. Amen/PBUH

    Have a nice day, y'all.

    1. Sir Runcible Spoon
      Coat

      Re: In Praise of Commissioning the Rise of the Virtual Machine*for Safer Leadership in a Free World

      @aman: I'm confused, did you forget to take your pills today mate? ;)

    2. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

      Re: In Praise of Commissioning the Rise of the Virtual Machine*for Safer Leadership in a Free World

      Leaving humans in charge of anything big and empowering and corruption to a previously favoured past status quo position is inevitable, and that is not normal to try and halt progress to a novel future perfect striving situation/virtual reality movement.

      amanfromMars [1607080735] …… sharing a view and unveiling of realities on http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/three-more-uk-property-funds-suspend-trading-as-a7125401.html

      So, proof positive and indisputable that the free markets are captivating pools of second and third party wealth and systems are rigged not to fail gracefully and to not reflect reality.

      Ergo the world is a virtual reality play.

      Yes, exactly, and that makes for a very exciting place/space in which to explore possibilities.

      And further sharing those secret systems workings here with El Regers.

      What you gonna do about it with IT, now that you know about it and what IT can do? Anything meaningful and effective or nothing at all and thus to be held virtual prisoner to that and those who can and do?

      1. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

        Re: In Praise of Commissioning the Rise of the Virtual Machine*for Safer Leadership in a Free World

        Seems like the above view about a radical changed and changeling reality is not totally unexpected nor unwelcome, given the recognised unaccepted dire straits state of present shenanigans with current corruptible and contemptible model leaderships/elite executive ordering administrative systems ...... although all such models have a responsible figurehead accountable for all actions and plans of future campaign. They will try to duck and dive out of the Harry Limelight though and remotely lead blame and shame towards minions and puppets/other ministers and secretaries and sub-prime intelligence chiefs clearly proven unfit for Greater IntelAIgent Games purpose and the supply of any sort of novel constructive leadership advice.

        It was obvious to me . . . that this thing had only one way to go, which is a complete collapse of everything. We’re going to need to start over. There’s too much debt. There’s too much corruption. There’s too much BS. There’s too much war. There’s too much everything that is bad in this world, and debt is one aspect of it. Are we going to have to wipe out the debts one way or the other? Of course, we will. I guess the reason I have stopped talking about that and writing about that is because it is so obvious. So, what I have been doing over the last three years is getting people aware and engaged on everything, not just the economics, but the political corruption. Every single industry in this world is basically hitting peak corruption, peak shadiness, peak violence and peak everything. So, it’s not just the debt or the economies that are going to collapse, it’s everything, the political establishment and the social fabric. All of these things we have been living under our entire lives will be replaced by something else. . . . The only question is, are we going to get something better or are we going to get something worse?” .... Former Wall Street analyst and journalist Michael Krueger .... http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-07-07/whats-starting-now-will-overturn-entire-system-complete-collapse-everything

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon

Other stories you might like