Leveson Inquiry hears claims of newspaper computer hacking

The Leveson Inquiry, whose examination into the sometimes dodgy ethics and practices of British newspaper journalists is presently making headlines in the UK, has heard allegations of computer hacking.

Ian Hurst, a former British army intelligence officer who handled IRA informers in Northern Ireland, has told the Leveson Inquiry today about how he believes his computer was hacked on behalf of the “News of the World”.

Hurst answered questions about statements he made on BBC’s Panorama TV programme earlier this year. The investigation examined claims by Hurst that a Trojan horse planted by a hacker stole emails from Hurst’s computer.

Hurst confronted the hacker – known only as Mr X – and secretly filmed their conversation. The unnamed hacker claim that he emailed Hurst a…

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Graham Cluley •   @gcluley

Graham Cluley is a veteran of the anti-virus industry having worked for a number of security companies since the early 1990s when he wrote the first ever version of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit for Windows. Now an independent security analyst, he regularly makes media appearances and is an international public speaker on the topic of computer security, hackers, and online privacy. Follow him on Twitter at @gcluley, on Mastodon at @[email protected], or drop him an email.