Indian Police have allegedly been hacking the accounts of journalists and activists for Scotland Yard

It’s hard to believe, but Scotland Yard has allegedly been outsourcing illegal hacking duties to the Indian Police. The Guardian reports that a letter was sent to a member of the Green party in the UK with these allegations. The source of the letter remains anonymous. The source alleges that the unit took advantage of ties developed with members of the Indian Police to illegally access the accounts of “hundreds of political campaigners and journalists.” Specifically, the letter says that the Metropolitan Unit was involved. The letter listed several passwords that targeted campaigners and activists have confirmed as being tied to their accounts. The letter was submitted to UK’s Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), which is investigating the issue. The source, who claims to have been working for an intelligence unit that monitors campaigners. Details are scant and the extent of involvement of Indian Police authorities is unknown. The letter does allege that these Indian Police officials in-turn enlisted hackers — whether legally or illegally is not known — to hack into these accounts. This has been going on for a number of years, apparently. The letter goes on to allege that shredding of sensitive documents, despite court orders forbidding it, has been going on for years as well. These documents apparently pertain to reports of police officials illegally monitoring protest groups across the country. A number of Greenpeace staff and Guardian reporters are among the people illegally hacked. The Guardian was given to understand that the letter alone is enough to initiate a full-scale investigation into the police unit involved. The whistle blower claimed to have spoken out about these activities because, “over the years, the unit had evolved into an organisation that had little respect for the law, no regard for personal privacy, encouraged highly immoral activity and, I believe, is a disgrace.” She added that it was a “serious abuse of power,” reports The Guardian.