UK Hacking Powers Can Be Challenged in Court, Judge Rules

A five-year court battle in the United Kingdom has come to an end with the UK Supreme Court ruling that the UK's spy agencies and their hacking activities can be made subject to court challenges. From a report: On Wednesday, the court ruled that the GCHQ's Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) is subject to judicial review in the High Court, which in turn means that the intelligence tribunal's decisions can be exposed, and challenged, based on the law of the land. The IPT is a closed-door and secretive tribunal involved in making decisions relating to the security activities and surveillance performed by UK intelligence and spy agencies, including the GCHQ, MI5, and MI6. The case in question is based on the GCHQ's powers to hack thousands or millions of devices in the quest for intelligence, previously challenged on the basis of human rights. Privacy International launched a legal case in 2014 questioning these powers. A subsequent ruling in 2016 by the IPT determined that the UK government held the right to launch sweeping 'thematic' warrants which validated the hacking of devices en masse in the UK and abroad.

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