JoshuaRL, get a better theme dude haha. No seriously though, I don’t have access to the HTML/CSS, sorry.

And matt, I’d be interested in knowing what their capabilites are too. And I fully agree, the article raises hundreds more questions than anything. (Like, um…why is this even permitted????).

To me I think a lot of it might be talk and simple scare tactics, but I can’t rule out the possibility that they *could* do it. At the end of the day, I have nothing to hide, but if I ever found out that they had accessed my PC, I’d go absolutely psycho and demand to know why…I’d give them hell

Wow, where to start with this.

First and foremost, if “hacking” is illegal to the general population, it should also be illegal without a specific government waiver to this policy as directed by a judge (ie: a warrant). Otherwise, “word of mouth” or bias comes greatly into play and people an abuse this power.

Additionally, i’m curious as to what their “hacking” capabilities are… Is “cracking” accepted? What if it crosses into the Denial of Service category? Ultimately, they’re using your bandwidth without your consent (or at your cost, if you pay for it per unit). How do they differentiate between computers on a network (Mom might be under investigation and her desktop is the target, but Dad is actually hacked). Moreover, what are the restrictions on tampering with evidence? Data could EASILY be planted and logs spoofed to match this. This article raises a lot more questions than anything.

I like the “Ubuntu Inside” comment. Unfortunately, there may also be an exploit available for the FTPd that you run, or someone on your network didn’t properly configure their SMB shares, or… just because you use Linux doesn’t mean you’re safe. That attitude scares me ust as much as the power granted to the Government in this situation (and I am from the United States).

I’d like any feedback I can get on these comments…

I read an interesting article on that from Ars:
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20090106-constable-hax0r-loose-in-the-uk-well-yes-and-no.html

Also, I’m not sure if you have access to the CSS or HTML of your blog, but I can’t read anything I type in the info or comments field because of my dark XFCE theme. I know, more my issue than yours, but I found it kinda funny.

Sorry for the delay in approving your comment, I got the email when I was out, guess I forgot when I got home.

I have to agree though, the UK don’t seem to respect privacy anymore, it’s quite a sad state of affairs

The UK is much worse with privacy issues. There would be a huge uproar in the US if the police were to be given this power today.

Just because more and more data is accessible in the world doesn’t mean anything. I could put all of my information of Facebook or not but ultimately that should be a *my* choice. *I* get to chose what how to control my privacy and how I make that choice shouldn’t give cause to the government to not respect my choice. Even if everyone in the US decided they would rather not have guns doesn’t mean the government should make them illegal.

Speaking for the US, nearly 2/3 of my country has been ruled a “Constitution Free Zone.” (by the ACLU)

“The government is assuming extraordinary powers to stop and search individuals within this zone. This is not just about the border: This includes most of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas.”

I’m not quite sure how it is in the UK, but as a US citizen it is depressing for me to dwell on what privacy I’ve lost, so I’ve grown to enjoy the freedoms I do have, like the lack of censorship in media and other sources.

It should never have to be this way.

It seems to be the same story all over the world… It’s governments against the people, instead of for them. It’s deplorable, but government has all the guns, so what can you do?

Just remember, it all started when they took your guns away.

Oh, so I am not the only one to think that “Health and safety” is just being ridiculous in this country and is just an excuse to shut down the people you don’t like – that’s reassuring