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No charges seem to have been brought yet – but it's an offence under Section 3A of the Computer Misuse Act 1990 (CMA) to obtain articles for use in offence unde
by matthewheath 7y ago
No charges seem to have been brought yet – but it's an offence under Section 3A of the Computer Misuse Act 1990 (CMA) to obtain articles for use in offence under Sections 1, 3, or 3ZA CMA, even if you don't actually use them.
Obviously, the prosecution would need to prove intent but it's possible the mere presence of the software could suffice for mens rea — people don't typically buy this software accidentally.
Presumably most people who bought the software will have used it, making a prosecution under S1 CMA more likely.
It's probable that the CPS will only charge people they are likely to get an S1 conviction from and discard any S3A charges as S3A charges will be difficult to prove.
- mirimir 7y agoWhat about HackingTeam, NSO Group, etc? I guess that it's OK if you're a "government" user. Edit: To unpack that a little, I've read that repressive/authoritarian governments have used these sorts of malware to harass, arrest, and kill people. And furthermore, I wouldn't be surprised if the UK government itself is using these sorts of malware.
- TACIXAT 7y agoThat is exactly what it is though. The authors probably could have sold to governments (their tool may not have been sophisticated enough though) and never had any trouble.
- matthewheath 7y agoAs in any area of law, (glibly) it only matters if you get caught. The Security Services of the UK Government have statutory exemptions allowing them to use these tools. These statutory exemptions are contained within the Intelligence Services Act 1994 Section 5 and the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 Section 99.