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Merged News of the Phone Hacking World.

commandlinegamer

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commandlinegamer
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Metgate (phreaking journos)

Not a good week for the Metropolitan Police following the New York Times' story on the phone hacking scandal involving the News of the World from a couple of years back.

At the time, the editor of the NotW, Andy Coulson, resigned and one of its journalists was jailed.

A couple of days, ago this article appeared:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/05/magazine/05hacking-t.html

A number of those whose phones may have been hacked are now calling for answers from the Met, and Lord Prescott has threatened a judical inquiry if they do not provide a satisfactory response.

This, from Prezza:

http://prezza.labourhome.org/2010/09/03/my-statement-on-phone-hacking/

This, a letter from an MP

http://labour-uncut.co.uk/2010/09/03/tom-watsons-letter-to-met-commissioner-sir-paul-stephenson-2/

And, as a footnote, Andy Coulson, is now an adviser to the new PM, David Cameron.
 
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So, a tabloid newspaper hacked into the mobile phones of some royals, their aides, and a number of MPs and other celebrities, but the police only prosecuted one case involving the royals, and didn't tell all the other MPs and celebrities that their voice mail had been hacked, depriving them of their right to know that their privacy had been violated and to take legal or civil action against the newspaper. That about sums it up, right? And this newspaper is owned by Rupert Murdoch, and the editor at the time who was behind this crime now works for David Cameron? Interesting.
 
Around the newsroom, some reporters were getting stories by surreptitiously accessing phone messages, according to former editors and reporters. Often, all it took was a standard four-digit security code, like 1111 or 4444, which many users did not bother to change after buying their mobile phones. If they did, the paper’s private investigators found ways to trick phone companies into revealing personal codes. Reporters called one method of hacking “double screwing” because it required two simultaneous calls to the same number. The first would engage the phone line, forcing the second call into voice mail. A reporter then punched in the code to hear messages, often deleting them to prevent access by rival papers. A dozen former reporters said in interviews that hacking was pervasive at News of the World. “Everyone knew,” one longtime reporter said. “The office cat knew.”

One former editor said Coulson talked freely with colleagues about the dark arts, including hacking. “I’ve been to dozens if not hundreds of meetings with Andy” when the subject came up, said the former editor, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The editor added that when Coulson would ask where a story came from, editors would reply, “We’ve pulled the phone records” or “I’ve listened to the phone messages.”

Sean Hoare, a former reporter and onetime close friend of Coulson’s, also recalled discussing hacking. The two men first worked together at The Sun, where, Hoare said, he played tape recordings of hacked messages for Coulson. At News of the World, Hoare said he continued to inform Coulson of his pursuits. Coulson “actively encouraged me to do it,” Hoare said.
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How long before David Cameron has to fire him? This is pretty damning evidence of encouragement of criminal activities. I'll be surprised if he still has a job by the end of next week.
 
They claim Hoare is not a reliable witness because he was dismissed from NotW for drink/drug issues and Downing St spokesman quoted as saying "Andy's going nowhere".
 
Puppycow said:
So, a tabloid newspaper hacked into the mobile phones of some royals, their aides, and a number of MPs and other celebrities, but the police only prosecuted one case involving the royals, and didn't tell all the other MPs and celebrities that their voice mail had been hacked, depriving them of their right to know that their privacy had been violated and to take legal or civil action against the newspaper.
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That they didn't know shows the newspaper never published any of their stuff. I doubt they'd want to take it to court, where it would be entered into the public record*.


IANAB, but is that the case in America's Jr. Partner?
 
Puppycow said:
How long before David Cameron has to fire him? This is pretty damning evidence of encouragement of criminal activities. I'll be surprised if he still has a job by the end of next week.
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Private eye has been pointing out the obvious issues with Coulson's version of events for years so I doubt there will be much impact now.
 
Beerina said:
That they didn't know shows the newspaper never published any of their stuff. I doubt they'd want to take it to court, where it would be entered into the public record*.


IANAB, but is that the case in America's Jr. Partner?
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If it wasn't worth publishing, it's nothing to be particularly embarrassed about I suspect.
After all, a lot of messages were probably just "honey, don't forget to pick up the dry cleaning" or the like.

“Getting a letter from Scotland Yard that your phone has been hacked is rather like getting a Willy Wonka golden ticket,” declared Mark Lewis, a lawyer who won the first settlement. “Time to queue up at Murdoch Towers to get paid.”
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British Police May Question Downing Street Adviser on Phone-Hacking

David Leigh and Vikram Dodd of The Guardian, citing an unnamed source “with knowledge of Scotland Yard’s thinking,” report that police officers expect to interview Mr. Hoare and another former reporter who transcribed hacked voice-mail messages for other journalists at The News of the World. They add:

Police and the Crown Prosecution Service will have to decide whether Hoare is interviewed as a witness, or under criminal caution as a potential suspect. After his interview and its contents are discussed with the C.P.S., Coulson will be interviewed. It is expected he will be questioned as a witness, but strong testimony from Hoare could mean the prime minister’s top media aide is questioned as a criminal suspect.

The source said detectives would be hoping Hoare is able to name others who can corroborate that phone-hacking took place and senior executives knew about it. ‘The investigation will not go for the troops, unless there is strong evidence. It is looking for evidence of complicity at the senior level, and with corroboration …. evidence there was a conspiracy at the News of the World to hack phones.’
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More from the Guardian here

A key witness from inside the News of World newsroom says he will testify on the phone-hacking affair, both to police and an inquiry begun by parliament.

Ross Hall, a former employee who until now has been silent, told the Guardian tonight he was willing to talk to Scotland Yard and to the newly-announced home affairs select committee inquiry by MPs: "If asked, I will tell them what I know." Metropolitan police sources said they planned to interview him.

Hall had been named in a previous MPs' inquiry as the man who transcribed swaths of hacked voicemail messages for other journalists, including the tabloid's chief reporter, Neville Thurlbeck.
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Wait, was this the "I wanna be a tampon in your panties" thing?
 
Beerina said:
Wait, was this the "I wanna be a tampon in your panties" thing?
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It probably was actually; that involved mobile phone answering machines too.

Motto: Change the default password on your mobile phone.

Incidentally the press talks in terms of "Hacking" and "Phreaking" which all sounds very grand and technical, but in fact in the MO is disappointingly straightforward; puppycow's already covered it but it's worth spelling out just how simple it is:

Step 1 - Journalist A calls the celebrity's mobile.
Step 2 - Journalist B calls the celebrity's mobile and gets the "Your call cannot be answered" message because Journalist A is already on the line.
Step 3 - Journalist B presses "9" then enters the default PIN 3333.
Step 4 - Journalist B listens to phone messages.
Step 5 - Profit! 3 months in Pentonville and 250 hours community service.

This technique was noted way back in 2002 and it was old news then; it doesn't seem credible that the editor of the News of the World (who had himself been a Showbiz journo) wasn't aware of it.
 
Channel Four's Dispatches programme tonight included more accusations from a former journalist at NotW that Coulson not only knew about phone hacking, he actually listened to the tapes.

They also outlined the closeness of the connections between the Met and the paper and even government figures.

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/episode-guide/series-58/episode-3

It should be available on their on-demand service, 4oD, soon, according to the website.
 
commandlinegamer said:
Channel Four's Dispatches programme tonight included more accusations from a former journalist at NotW that Coulson not only knew about phone hacking, he actually listened to the tapes.

They also outlined the closeness of the connections between the Met and the paper and even government figures.

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/episode-guide/series-58/episode-3

It should be available on their on-demand service, 4oD, soon, according to the website.
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Ah, too bad it's not available in my area.
 
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