Phone and email hacking

It is now known that phone hacking has taken place on an industrial scale at several national newspapers over the past 20 years. The targets of phone hacking have not just been celebrities; they have also been individuals going about their everyday lives who have happened to have had some connection to a news story of the day.

Phone hacking is a method of journalists obtaining ‘inside information’ about a story by accessing a victim’s voicemail messages without their consent or knowledge. The victim is at a loss as to how the story had broken, often mistrusting friends and family members.

Phone hacking is a gross violation of an individual’s privacy which at the very least results in them losing autonomy over their private information. Phone hacking and the articles published on the back of it can cause a huge amount of distress, anxiety and embarrassment. In extreme cases phone hacking has led to paranoia, broken friendships and illness.

Contrary to the impression given by the name, there is normally nothing complicated about phone hacking. Since the early days of mobile phones, it has been possible to access a mobile phone’s voicemails remotely from a landline, by entering the relevant telephone number and a PIN (personal identification number). Many mobile phone users were unaware of the facility, did not change their PIN number from the factory default setting and/or chose a PIN that was easy to guess (e.g. 1234). Unscrupulous journalists, or private investigators in their employ, would dial in from a landline, try the default PIN, or guess it, and then have access to voicemails. The voicemails would often provide source material for news articles. In some instances, journalists are believed to have telephoned mobile phone companies impersonating users in order to re-set PINs and access voicemails.

Email hacking can be more sophisticated (e.g. the installation of keystroke software and/or the deployment of Trojan horses), although it often occurs where a third party has become aware of or guesses an individual’s password, or where the victim forgets to log out of a computer.  Most email systems have a web-based portal (e.g. Hotmail, Gmail) and thus email can be accessed remotely.  Emails, including ‘deleted’/’trash’ and ‘sent items’ contain a vast amount of private and confidential information that can form the source of a newspaper article.

Phone hacking will normally amount to a criminal offence under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (‘RIPA’) and/or the Data Protection Act 2018.

Email hacking is usually an offence under the Computer Misuse Act 1990 and/or the Data Protection Act 2018.

For the purposes of enforcing personal rights in the civil courts (e.g. seeking compensation), phone hacking will normally constitute a misuse of personal information, breach of confidence and/or a breach of an individual’s rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (‘GDPR’)/Data Protection Act 2018.  Older cases may also give rise to claims under the Data Protection Act 1998.

Principally compensation, but if there is evidence of an ongoing risk of further hacking then you may also be entitled to an injunction (a court order prohibiting certain conduct).

In practice, where the evidence of phone hacking is indisputable lawyers will normally negotiate the settlement of a claim. The owners of both The Mirror and The News of the World have set aside compensation funds to deal with such claims.

The landmark case of Gulati & Ors v MGN Limited [2015] EWHC 1482 highlights the seriousness of phone hacking. The High Court considered a number of sample cases and set out factors to be considered when awarding compensation for the misuse of private information. These include:-

• The loss of autonomy/infringement itself
• The extent of the hacking
• The number of resultant newspaper articles
• Consequential distress, embarrassment and anxiety caused by the hacking/articles
• The exacerbation of any pre-existing medical condition or sensitivity
• The defendant’s conduct

A successful claimant will normally also be entitled to recover their legal costs from an opponent.

In these situations, we cannot offer immediate assistance. We recommend that you speak with a reputable IT/technical expert in the first instance and allow them to examine your device(s).  If they are able to identify that a specific individual has gained unauthorised access, then you should contact us to arrange a consultation. In many instances, there will be an alternative (often innocent) explanation.

• To learn more about how we can help you bring a privacy claim click here to read our Privacy FAQs.