The Investigatory Powers Bill

What is this?

This bill (more commonly known as the "Snoopers Charter") is the UK Government's renewed attempt to legalise the various ways that GCHQ and the Police have abused previous powers in order to continue to subject us all to mass surveillance, equipment compromise and more.

This website exists to highlight dangerous elements of this bill, link to media reports about these aspects and provide information on how to protect yourself against them.

Web Browsing History Retention

Despite GCHQ already recording every website you visit with its "Karma Police" application this law is intended to give police the authority to access the browsing history of any computer user in Britain and require telecommunications companies to retain information about customers’ website visits.

• Legislation: Investigatory Powers Act Sections 47(6), 106
• Defeatable With: Tor
• Media Coverage: Theresa May forced to backtrack on internet 'snooping' plans, New Lords revolt looms over plans to allow police to view everyone's internet browsing history

Undermining of Encryption

The Government continues to confuse the matter over its stance on encryption. On one hand Baroness Shields told Lords that the Government does not seek a backdoor or weakening of standards yet on the other the Home Secretary said that with a warrant companies must decrypt content.

• Legislation: Investigatory Powers Bill Section 189, Regulation of Investigtory Powers Act Section 49
• Defeatable With: GnuPG, OTR, Tor Messenger
• Media Coverage: 'Govt will not pass laws to ban encryption', Theresa May says 'contentious' parts of web surveillance plan dropped, Internet firms to be banned from offering unbreakable encryption under new laws

Computer Network Exploitation

The Government also intends to allow the Police and GCHQ to use malware, exploits and other practices to compromise your personal electronics to spy on you and your acquaintances in the name of state security.

• Legislation: Investigatory Powers Act Part 5
• Defeatable With: Secure computing practises and luck (Give OpenBSD and/or TAILs a try)
• Media Coverage: UK government rewrites surveillance law to get away with hacking and allow cyber attacks, campaigners claim

Internet Service Provider Complicity

The Government has given itself powers to force CSPs to undermine your encryption, spy on your online activities and to assist them in compromising the security of your personal devices. Failure to assist or communicating their complicity will result in criminal charges!

• Legislation: Investigatory Powers Act Sections 31, 133, 43
• Defeatable With: Secure computing practises and luck (Give OpenBSD and/or TAILs a try) Do not use the ISP CPE (supplied modem) and do not trust anything with a SIM card.
• Media Coverage: None

Lack of Judicial Oversight

Despite the various reviews from people such as David Anderson QC (the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation) recommending that Judges should be ones signing warrants authorising the use of these new powers the Home Secretary has insisted that she alone wield that power.

• Legislation: Unknown
• Defeatable With: N/A
• Media Coverage: Investigatory Powers Bill: Judges, not politicians, should set the final boundaries of privacy

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Brass Horn Communications is a non-profit pseudo-ISP that offers secure Internet services as well as operating the largest UK based Tor 'Family'.

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