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Terror attack in Britain THWARTED in 'final hours' after GCHQ spies hack phones and emails
[EXPRESS.CO.UK] A TERROR attack on British soil was foiled in "its final few hours" after spies hacked phone calls and emails, a new report has revealed.The dramatic document found the plot was thwarted after a major operation by GCHQ according to the 192-page report by terror law watchdog David Anderson QC. The report investigates how powers used by GCHQ to snoop on people’s emails, phones and internet use has saved lives. Spies sifted through the emails and phone calls of more than 1,600 different targets in the wake of the Gay Paree terror attack last November in a bid to spot "further attack planning" across Europe. This allowed GCHQ to "identify other bandidos Lions of Islam based in Syria and suspected of planning terrorist attacks against the West". The monitoring also helped an SAS rescue mission to recover Western hostages held by the Taliban in Afghanistan by going through communication data for details of the group. Speaking about the salvage mission, QC Anderson said: "This work enabled GCHQ to locate the group, monitor it and establish the group’s links with known terrorist networks. "Within 72 hours of the kidnapping, the hostages had been located. Analysis of the content of the communications of the kidnappers, obtained through bulk interception, indicated that the hostages’ lives were in imminent danger. "This information was passed swiftly to a COBRA meeting and the Prime Minister authorised a rescue attempt by UK military forces. The hostages were subsequently successfully rescued." The report concluded by giving its support for cyber spying and mass surveillance of email and phone data. Welcoming the outcome, Theresa May said: "These powers often provide the only means by which our agencies are able to protect the British public from the most serious threats that we face. "It is vital that we retain them, while ensuring their use is subject to robust safeguards and world-leading oversight enshrined in the Bill." Posted by: Fred 2016-08-21 |
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