ID :
201844
Wed, 08/17/2011 - 11:18
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/201844
The shortlink copeid
British Police Prevent New Protests after Monitoring Social Messaging Sites
TEHRAN (FNA)- London's police have been able to preven new protests in the Britain's capital city after it monitored mobile phones and social messaging sites in a clear violation of privacy rights.
Scotland Yard stopped attacks by rioters on sites across London hours before they had been due to take place after managing to "break into" encrypted social messaging sites, the Guardian reported.
The report added that attacks on the Olympics site, stores in Oxford Circus and the two Westfield shopping centers, in east and west London, had been planned using BlackBerry Messenger (BBM).
Detectives made the breakthrough shortly before the planned attacks after scouring the mobile phones of people who had been arrested during the unrests.
It gave them access to messages which were bouncing around the heavily encrypted BBM service.
But it also gave the Met other information, meaning they were able to use details gained from the seized phones to give officers "live time monitoring" of BBM and also Twitter.
By last Monday afternoon, they were able to monitor BlackBerry messaging and send extra officers to disrupt the planned protests.
This Tuesday, police revealed they had considered switching off social messaging sites including BBM and Twitter.
In a similar report, the Guardian had reported that the British government has asked the intelligence agency responsible for internal security and counter-intelligence on British territory (MI5) to hunt protest organizers who use smartphone messaging.
"The security service MI5 and the electronic interception centre GCHQ have been asked by the government to join the hunt for people who organised last week's riots," the Guardian reported.
The agencies, the bulk of whose work normally involves catching terrorists inspired by al-Qaida, are helping the effort to catch people who used social messaging, especially BlackBerry Messenger (BBM), to mobilize looters, the report added.
Analysts believe that tough security measures in Britain display that the White Hall's claim about being an advocate of human rights and freedom of expression is nothing but an empty, boastful remark.
Scotland Yard stopped attacks by rioters on sites across London hours before they had been due to take place after managing to "break into" encrypted social messaging sites, the Guardian reported.
The report added that attacks on the Olympics site, stores in Oxford Circus and the two Westfield shopping centers, in east and west London, had been planned using BlackBerry Messenger (BBM).
Detectives made the breakthrough shortly before the planned attacks after scouring the mobile phones of people who had been arrested during the unrests.
It gave them access to messages which were bouncing around the heavily encrypted BBM service.
But it also gave the Met other information, meaning they were able to use details gained from the seized phones to give officers "live time monitoring" of BBM and also Twitter.
By last Monday afternoon, they were able to monitor BlackBerry messaging and send extra officers to disrupt the planned protests.
This Tuesday, police revealed they had considered switching off social messaging sites including BBM and Twitter.
In a similar report, the Guardian had reported that the British government has asked the intelligence agency responsible for internal security and counter-intelligence on British territory (MI5) to hunt protest organizers who use smartphone messaging.
"The security service MI5 and the electronic interception centre GCHQ have been asked by the government to join the hunt for people who organised last week's riots," the Guardian reported.
The agencies, the bulk of whose work normally involves catching terrorists inspired by al-Qaida, are helping the effort to catch people who used social messaging, especially BlackBerry Messenger (BBM), to mobilize looters, the report added.
Analysts believe that tough security measures in Britain display that the White Hall's claim about being an advocate of human rights and freedom of expression is nothing but an empty, boastful remark.
