BBC hacks into thousands of PCs

11. oh yeah, and this law's messed up, it should be that if the hacking is done with criminal intent or criminal results then it is a crime, but with good intent AND no damage caused then it isn't a crime, which is exactly what happened with the BBC, they did it with good intent and, really, no damage was caused other than that loads of people had their wallpaper changed into a warning wallpaper (which could easily changed back), that's what my morals tell me anyway

10. who knows? maybe funnyday might even be right! but his theory just sounds like a conspiracy theory XD

9. These people are stupid white hats trying to be black hats. They are silver spoons that are given public monies to spend all day endeavouring to imitate the real thing. They do huge amounts of research, yet they have no real understanding of how hackers really think. They present as highly intelligent, highly sophisticated types when in actual fact they are laughed at by the black hat community.

This is Iraq all over again. If you don't have any real on the ground intelligence, then you are just dumb imitators who will do more harm than good.

8. Yes the world is a corrupt place, but it isn't Hollywood. If the BBC was involved in "covert" corruption, would they tell us what they have just done? No would be the answer to that. Unless they are trying to throw us off the scent of what they are really doing, "world domination through the teletubbies".

Ironically, the one place you would think that You personally would be paranoid about, is the one You are using right now, The Internet,,,,its Evil,,Evil I tell you.....

7. I never said that every employee of Roal Mail was involved. I also never said that every employee of the BBC is involved. I said that those organisations are used to provide covers. Who wouldn't be paranoid after what I have had happen. What this proves is that these organisations have people inside of them who gain access remotely to other peoples computers without permission. Who knows just what else they are doing that we don't hear about. In the UK there is covert corruption on a massive scale.

6. Hey funnday, paranoid much? Did you know the post office sank the Titanic?

And the rest of you, they highlighted a growing problem, they didnt invade another country.

5. I've had loads of Intellectual Property stolen worth millions sory that should be billions! by the so called 'good guys'. People would be gobsmacked by my account of just what they got upto over a 30 year period. The BBC is just another cover for the security services. Just like the Royal Mail. The security services very reason for existing is to steal via espianage. Also the Labour party have been caught before stealing a document used as a pretext for an invasion of Iraq. Does anyone remember the story of the PHd student and the mobile chemical factory in a trailer? Well his story looks like a kid stealing from the pick and mix compared to what has happened to me.

4. I absolutely agree that the BBC should not have done this. To highlight the problem is a good idea, but it should have been done on their own systems and not real users. I'm surprised that an anti-virus company did not insist that the experiment be carried out this way. Although I suppose any AV company wants to get exposure so why would they say no. Anyway bottom line: use Linux and avoid botnets.

3. Wow that's totally illegal and for them to admit do that is seriously messed up - they willingly took advantage of other people's computers - even as an experiment to see the potency that's still illegal.

They probably should be fined a penalty - I doubt they alerted those users. They could have just set up their own computers and then broken in to them, but their decision to infiltrate ordinary people's computer should not be overlooked simply because they're an anti virus company & BBC - a crime is a crime right?

2. Coorporate espionage is a huge threat in this day and age. http://www.investigationsamerica.com/surveillance.html With private investigator abundant, computer forensics experts using better techniques, no computer can be 100% secure anymore.

1. I'm not sure the BBC realises the seriousness of what it's done. From the sound of things, they've not only broken the law - but they've filmed themselves doing it.

It's an offence under the Computer Misuse Act to make unauthorised changes or access to other people's computers. This legislation has been used many times to bring British hackers and virus writers to justice.

Watching that film, it's obvious that the BBC made unauthorised changes to innocent people's computers.

It is irrelevant that they "didn't have criminal intent". It's still breaking the law.

A TV show can help raise awareness of the serious problem of computers being controlled by hackers, but it is not appropriate for broadcasters to use innocent third party computers without the permission of their owners.

Sophos has been asked many times by the media to take part in TV programmes like this, and has always made clear that we believe their legality to be questionable. Moreover, to our mind, the dubious ethics of such experiments are without question.

Isn't there enough spam around without journalists taking over botnets to generate even more unwanted email traffic?

I'm discussing this serious issue on my blog, and also polling people as to whether they believe the BBC acted within the law or not:

http://www.sophos.com/blogs/gc/g/2009/03/12/bbc-break-law-botnet-send-spam/

Cheers

Graham Cluley, Sophos