I have just emailed the BBC with a FoI request for any information they have on the computers that comprised the Botnet the Click team used.

I would like to make a FoI request for the information (specifically including the IP addresses) regarding the computers that comprised the Botnet used by the BBC Click researchers (Your story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/click_online/7932816.stm). If you believe you would be unable to share the complete IP address, then I would accept the IP addresses in the human readable form with the last section ommited (eg. 208.77.188.166 would become 208.77.188.xxx or 208.77.188).

Although I hope that they will agree to share at least the limited IP information, the FoI process can take a while and I have my doubts that they will give me anything. I am expecting to get a polite refusal either on the grounds that the information hasn’t been retained (convenient) or that it is private information that they cannot share due to the Data Protection Act (In which case the irony will be that if they cannot share it due to the DPA then they also weren’t entitled to collect the information without permission in the first place).

I expect this will probably be my last post regarding this subject until I get a response or some other source is able to get more information out of the BBC who are currently stonewalling by refusing to discuss the legalality of the issue beyond siting “strong public interest” (something that is irrelevant to the Computer Misuse Act). At some date in the future I will write up the information collected as a single page source so people can use it as a stable resource.

If anyone has some new information, or wants to point me in the direction of a news or opinion source I haven’t read/mentioned I’d love to hear about it.

1. Ian Williams Says:
   March 16th, 2009 at 15:25

   For year’s journalists around the world have been doing that are illegal as part of undercover exposé’s – be it paying off someone a government official to get some sort of document they weren’t entitled to, or going to a club to buy drugs or down to the local market to buy illegally imported cigarettes / DVD’s / you name it.

   In the pursuit of exposing the truth, sometimes we have to delve into this world to fully understand its depths. Why is this perfectly accepted in the real world, but suddenly frowned upon in cyberspace?

2. Neuro Says:
   April 2nd, 2009 at 20:47

   becuse when a dodgy hack “hacks” or get a “failed ex policeman” PI to do it” the get a slap on a wrist whereas if a member of joe public did it they would get serious jail time.

   http://hauntingthunder.wordpress.com/2007/01/21/private-investigators-and-clients-going-down-for-pretext/

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