Scotland Yard under probe for using Indian hackers to access emails
LONDON:Computer hackers based in India are reported to have helped Scotland Yard access email accounts of environment campaigners and journalists over several years, prompting an investigation by Britain’s police watchdog.
According to The Guardian, whose two journalists were among those whose emails were hacked, a secretive unit in Scotland Yard worked with Indian police, who in turn hired hackers to access the emails.
No further details of the Indian police’s involvement were mentioned in the report.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has confirmed it has launched an investigation after a whistleblower detailed the practice in a letter to Jennifer Jones, former leader of the Green Party.
The letter, which was passed on to IPCC, states: “For a number of years the unit had been illegally accessing the email accounts of activists. This has largely been accomplished because of the contact that one of the officers had developed with counterparts in India who in turn were using hackers to obtain email passwords.”
Jones said: “There is more than enough to justify a fullscale criminal investigation into the activities of these police officers and referral to a public inquiry. I have urged the IPCC to act quickly to secure further evidence and to find out how many people were victims of this nasty practice.”
An IPCC spokesperson said: “After requesting and receiving a referral by the Metropolitan police service, we have begun an independent investigation related to anonymous allegations concerning the accessing of personal data.”