GCHQ dabbles in dark arts

UK spy agency GCHQ tried to prevent a Harry Potter book from being leaked online, according to its publisher. Reminding people that the listening post doesn't use its extraordinary broad powers solely in the pursuit of terrorism, publisher Nigel Newton of Bloomsbury recalled how he was approached in 2005 by GCHQ after the …

[Anonymous Coward]

If GCHQ really wanted to help

They'd use their vast powers to remove the Twilight books and all Nicholas Sparks novels from the internet!

(Plus probably anything starring or sung by Paris. Sorry Paris, we'll always have PARIS, but your media work just doesn't fly!)

[I ain't Spartacus]

Re: If GCHQ really wanted to help

I'm not sure if I shouldn't downvote you now. You've suggested removing the lesser evil here. When surely our national security organs should be fighting the real battle of our times. Against the Da Vinci Code and Fifty Shades of Grey. Oh, and while we're at it, Adam Sandler films. And...

It's a good job I don't work at GCHQ, or there'd be a huge outbreak of hacking destroying vast swathes of the publishing, film and music industries. Those rumoured sequels to the Matrix would never get off the ground for a start...

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh really?

Entertaining though the books were (apparently), they weren't the Crown Jewels or anything like that - just works of fiction. Why on earth did GCHQ get involved at all? (And also, incidentally, reveal something about their operations, albeit in a minor way).

[I ain't Spartacus]

Re: Oh really?

GCHQ are also supposed to be helping out against corporate hacking. It's always been assumed that China and Russia use still use state espionage resources to help state-controlled companies. As they did in the Cold War. And that includes all the government cyber-war toys.

I've never seen it suggested that we did the same, at least with stolen product designs. But I know the Yanks were accused of using info from ECHELON to help US firms win big international contracts. So I assume the same accusation has been levelled at us.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Oh really?

I get the corporate hacking point, but this smells more like being populist to me. Perhaps it's just because I've always failed to understand the 'Wow' factor wrt Harry P.

[I ain't Spartacus]

Re: Oh really?

There was a definite elementn of "Wow my children are reading books!" Which is obviously a good thing, and it got some friends' kids into books. Not read any of it myself, and only watched about five minutes of one of the films, so can't comment - but then I'm not the target audience.

GCHQ didn't release the story themselves, though I did like the witty press release. But I guess on balance, I'd rather they were poking into some of the darker corners of the net than not. Though there's unlikely to be financial loss involved, as the publishers are only going to make money selling into countries that already protect copyright - where the leak would do little harm. But once they've found the stuff they may as well warn people.

[Snowy]

Harry hype slowing down...

and the publisher wanted a bit of free publicity and so made the whole thing up?