We know that the NSA likes taking unsolicited action inside the computers of others. We know the FBI is also very much into hacking.  Now, the UK government is telling the world that its spies and cops are hackers too — and has asked the public what they think about it  In a new unprecedented document released on Friday, the UK government released the guidelines and rules that all British spy and law enforcement agencies have to follow in their "equipment interference" activities.  The document never calls it hacking, but "interference activities" is a euphemism for getting into computers, phones and other devices, activities that intelligence agencies also call Computer Network Exploitation (CNE).  "This is the first time that the agencies have admitted that they are in the hacking business," Eric King, the deputy director of London-based digital rights watchdog Privacy International, told Mashable.  And it's not just an admission.  King said that it amounts to a belated attempt to give these activities a scrap of legal basis, in the face of a lawsuit filed by his group last year, which challenged the legality of the UK intelligence service GCHQ's hacking activities, revealed by Edward Snowden documents.  For King, the document is basically an attempt by the UK government to grant itself "some of the most invasive and intrusive" powers it has at its disposal.  Without pomp, fanfare or ceremony. CNE has now been avowed. https://t.co/aixMwSIG8Q  — Eric King (@e3i5) February 6, 2015  The guidelines were published by the Home Office, which oversees law enforcement and intelligence agencies. And it was released on the same day a UK tribunal ruled that other GCHQ activities, related to its intelligence sharing agreements with the NSA, were illegal.  The Home Office published the document, along with another one that updates other surveillance activities. It also invited the public to comment on what it defined as some of "the most important, sensitive, and closely scrutinized powers" at its disposal to fight terrorism and crime.  "Terrorists, pedophiles and serious and organized criminals are increasingly sophisticated in their use of technology," a Home Office spokesperson said in a statement to Mashable. "It is vital that that law enforcement and security and intelligence agencies have the powers they need to identify, track and disrupt those who mean to do us harm."  The document lays out some general rules governing these hacking activities, although it doesn't get into too many details, according to experts. And there's a reason for that.  "There are limits on what can be said in public about this work," the Home Office wrote in its introduction to the two documents. "But the public needs to know that these powers are used appropriately and are subject to stringent oversight."  The release is still remarkable; governments usually maintain a high level of secrecy surrounding activities such as hacking using malware, phishing or other techniques associated with criminal hackers.  King praised the Home Office for releasing the guidelines. But he also said they are not enough, and that there needs to be a more comprehensive legal reform.  "This should not be hidden away in a consultation document," King said, adding that the ideal would be a parliamentary discussion on a new "statutory framework" to regulate the limits of these hacking powers — "if we think GCHQ should have them at all."  In the United States, agencies like the FBI have long used hacking in their investigations, but there's never been a public debate about it, according to Christopher Soghoian, a surveillance expert and the principal technologist of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).  "It's gone on for far too long with too little public debate," he told Mashable. "The capabilities are spreading, it's not just the FBI anymore."  Though it's "noble" that the UK government has at least put out some guidelines, Soghoian added, they don't really get into "the nitty gritty" of how exactly the UK actually hacks its targets.  The document does seem to reveal that the UK government intercepts computers in transit to plant spying bugs on them, according to Soghoian. The practice is also known as "interdiction," and Snowden documents have revealed that the NSA routinely uses it to intercept computers bought by its surveillance targets.  New UK gov hacking rules appear to cover interdiction of hardware. Page 5 of https://t.co/dfCplzvJ3o pic.twitter.com/EohMAFMedu  — Christopher Soghoian (@csoghoian) February 6, 2015  "So you probably don't want to buy anything from Amazon UK," Soghoian said.  The guidelines cover more of the legal grounds behind the activities, and the Home Office noted in its statement that they are "modeled on existing codes" and that the document "does not confer new powers."  The Home Office declined to answer a series of more detailed questions from Mashable.  Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.
The UK government published a document detailing its hacking and surveillance guidelines, in an apparent response to a lawsuit by privacy advocates.