[Infowarrior] - UK gov black boxes will 'collect every email'

[Richard Forno]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/government-black-boxes-will-collect-every-email-992268.html

Government black boxes will 'collect every email'

Home Office says all data from web could be stored in giant government  
database

By Robert Verkaik, Law Editor
Wednesday, 5 November 2008

Internet "black boxes" will be used to collect every email and web  
visit in the UK under the Government's plans for a giant "big brother"  
database, The Independent has learnt.

Home Office officials have told senior figures from the internet and  
telecommunications industries that the "black box" technology could  
automatically retain and store raw data from the web before  
transferring it to a giant central database controlled by the  
Government.

Plans to create a database holding information about every phone call,  
email and internet visit made in the UK have provoked a huge public  
outcry. Richard Thomas, the Information Commissioner, described it as  
"step too far" and the Government's own terrorism watchdog said that  
as a "raw idea" it was "awful".

Nevertheless, ministers have said they are committed to consulting on  
the new Communications Data Bill early in the new year. News that the  
Government is already preparing the ground by trying to allay the  
concerns of the internet industry is bound to raise suspicions about  
ministers' true intentions. Further details of the database emerged on  
Monday at a meeting of internet service providers (ISPs) in London  
where representatives from BT, AOL Europe, O2 and BSkyB were given a  
PowerPoint presentation of the issues and the technology surrounding  
the Government's Interception Modernisation Programme (IMP), the name  
given by the Home Office to the database proposal.

Whitehall experts working on the IMP unit told the meeting the  
security and intelligence agencies wanted to use the stored data to  
help fight serious crime and terrorism, and said the technology would  
allow them to create greater "capacity" to monitor all communication  
traffic on the internet. The "black boxes" are an attractive option  
for the internet industry because they would be secure and not require  
any direct input from the ISPs.

During the meeting Whitehall officials also tried to reassure the  
industry by suggesting that many smaller ISPs would be unaffected by  
the "black boxes" as these would be installed upstream on the network  
and hinted that all costs would be met by the Government.

"It was clear the 'back box' is the technology the Government will use  
to hold all the data. But what isn't clear is what the Home Secretary,  
GCHQ and the security services intend to do with all this information  
in the future," said a source close to the meeting.

He added: "They said they only wanted to return to a position they  
were in before the emergence of internet communication, when they were  
able to monitor all correspondence with a police suspect. The  
difference here is they will be in a much better position to spy on  
many more people on the basis of their internet behaviour. Also  
there's a grey area between what is content and what is traffic. Is  
what is said in a chat room content or just traffic?"

Ministers say plans for the database have not been confirmed, and that  
it is not their intention to introduce monitoring or storage equipment  
that will check or hold the content of emails or phonecalls on the  
traffic.

A spokesman for the Home Office said that Monday's meeting provided a  
"chance to engage with small communication service providers" ahead of  
the formal public consultation next year. He added: "We need to work  
closely with the internet service providers and the communication  
service providers. The meeting was to show the top-line challenges  
faced in the future. We are public about the IMP, but we are still  
working out the detail. There will a consultation on the  
Communications Data Bill early next year."

A spokesman for the Internet Service Providers Association said the  
organisation was pleased the Home Office had addressed its members and  
was keen to continue dialogue while awaiting a formal consultation.

Database plans were first announced by the Prime Minister in February.  
It is not clear where the records will be held but GCHQ may eventually  
be the project's home.