WAKE UP WORLD
WAKE UP WORLD
MI5 called in to find organisers of riots
Vikram Dodd, Josh Halliday, Richard Norton-Taylor
August 17, 2011
Ads by Google
BP's Work in the Gulf
www.BP.com/GulfOfMexicoResponse
BP continues their work in the Gulf. Visit BP.com to learn how.
Cameron: UK riots a 'wake-up call'
British Prime Minister David Cameron promises an all-out war on gang culture following the "wake-up call" of recent riots.
- Video feedback
- Video settings
LONDON: 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, theGuardian has learnt.
The agencies, the bulk of whose work normally involves catching terrorists inspired by al-Qaeda, are helping the effort to catch people who used social messaging, especially BlackBerry Messenger (BBM), to mobilise looters.
A key difficulty for law enforcers last week was cracking the high level of encryption on the BBM system. BBM is a pin-protected instant message system only accessible to BlackBerry users.
Advertisement: Story continues below
Hunting for the riot organisers ... South London shortly after the disturbances. Photo: AP
MI5 and GCHQ will also help the effort to try to get ahead of any further organisation of disturbances. They have a statutory right to target criminals or those suspected of being involved in crime, officials have said.
Police struggled to access the BBM network last week, though some who received messages planning violence were so outraged they passed them on to law enforcement agencies.
GCHQ's computers and listening devices can pick up audio messages and BBM communications. MI5 and the police can identify the owners with the aid of mobile companies and internet service providers.
The agencies can intercept electronic and phone messages, identify where they have been sent from and their destination. That allows other investigations to take place and other efforts to develop intelligence.
In his speech on Monday, the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, made no mention of his threatened clampdown on social media.
Last week, in the House of Commons emergency debate, he said: ''We need a major piece of work to make sure that the police have all the technological capabilities they need to hunt down and beat the criminals.''
For law enforcement, the difficulty with BBM is that it boasts semi-private - and instant - access to a network of like-minded users. And unlike Twitter or Facebook, many messages are untraceable by the authorities.
Guardian News & Media
Ads by Google
Comcast® - Official Site
Sign Up For Comcast Digital Cable Learn More About Local Offers
Secure Sensitive Data
Data Security with Tokenization and Encryption
Cellular South AdvancePay
Unlimited Talk, Text, Internet & more w/ no contract or credit.
Join the conversation
You're the only person reading this now. Tell your friends
- Add to Facebook
- Email this story
- Close
Related Coverage
VIDEO
Cameron: UK riots a 'wake-up call'
16 AUG British Prime Minister David Cameron promises an all-out war on gang ...
Click to play video
VIDEO
Cameron: UK riots a 'wake-up call'
Four years' jail for Facebook post that incited no one
17 AUG Two men who posted messages on Facebook inciting other people to riot in ...
Top Technology articles
- Facebook revamped to combat Google+ threat
- Tweet revenge at last for shoppers with complaints
- Wiki war: 3500 unpublished leaks destroyed forever as Assange hits out
- HP fire sale sparks anger as customers accuse staff of gobbling up tablets
- 'Bulletproof' skin: researcher creates silk that helps stop bullets
- More Technology articles
Story Tools
- Share on Facebook
- Email this story
- Print this story
The Age Jobs
More Related Coverage
Click to play video
VIDEO
Cameron: UK riots a 'wake-up call'
British Prime Minister David Cameron promises an all-out war on gang culture following the "wake-up call" of recent riots.
Four years' jail for Facebook post that incited no one
17 AUG Two men who posted messages on Facebook inciting other people to riot in their home towns during the recent English outbreaks of violence have each been sentenced to four years in prison by a judge at Chester Crown Court.
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/mi5-called-in-t...
Comment
"Destroying the New World Order"
THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SITE!
Latest Activity
- Top News
- Everything
"Greetings to you John, You're right and it didn't take long for those manuals to totally…"
The Many Keys to Deadly Secrecy in our Government
We now know thanks to the legislation of FOIA access to federal documents and evidence and the…See More
"Tartaria: the empire that built half the world's cathedrals, then vanished because someone…"
Another incredibly Stupid!! What, no mirrors?
"This movie portrayed plastic surgery as absurd. I guess the numbers in the real world are growing."
Unusual Discoveries and Headlines
Archaeologists have discovered an ancient tool dated to be 6,000 years old, but even more…See More
Inside Texas HOMELESS HELL – Even Cops Don't Dare Step In! - Documentary
In this powerful documentary, we explore the escalating Texas homeless crisis 2025, where cities and rural areas alike are witnessing a disturbing rise in th...
"Crazy how these whistleblower stories are finally making it into bigger conversations. Makes you…"
"If the Dems are dating demons, then that AI romance shoot was basically engagement photos."
"Wouldn't be surprised if there's a whole lot more buried under the surface here."
© 2025 Created by truth.
Powered by
You need to be a member of 12160 Social Network to add comments!
Join 12160 Social Network