The ‘spycops’ scandal has laid bare the existence of secretive police units that sent undercover police officers to infiltrate and undermine hundreds of political campaigns and activist groups. This is the first academic analysis of the activists’ experiences and their attempts to find answers and accountability in the Undercover Policing Inquiry. Written from the perspective of the ‘policed’, the author draws on extensive fieldwork and his first-hand experience of police infiltration through his participation in climate campaigns.
Groomed. Gaslighted. Ghosted. They thought they'd found their soulmate. They had no idea he was spying on them. These five motivated, independent women each thought they'd met their perfect partner - someone who shared their values, ambitions and goals. But after a while, in some cases years later, the men started to behave strangely. They disappeared for weeks at a time, saying they needed to go away to clear their heads. Small details about their lives didn't quite fit. Then they vanished, leaving a note saying that the relationship was over. These men were undercover police officers, who had targeted the women for their links to activist groups. They took the identities of dead children and carried fake passports and driving licences. They were all married, some with children. They had been working from a set of guidelines and were all using the same manipulative techniques. This is the story of five women whose lives were stolen by state-sponsored spies, and who, one by one, uncovered the shocking truth.
'Undercover lays bare the deceit, betrayal and cold-blooded violation practised again and again by undercover police officers - troubling, timely and brilliantly executed.' Henry Porter The gripping stories of a group of police spies - written by the award-winning investigative journalists who exposed the Mark Kennedy scandal - and the uncovering of forty years of state espionage. This was an undercover operation so secret that some of our most senior police officers had no idea it existed. The job of the clandestine unit was to monitor British 'subversives' - environmental activists, anti-racist groups, animal rights campaigners. Police stole the identities of dead people to create fake passports, driving licences and bank accounts. They then went deep undercover for years, inventing whole new lives so that they could live incognito among the people they were spying on. They used sex, intimate relationships and drugs to build their credibility. They betrayed friends, deceived lovers, even fathered children. And their operations continue today. Undercover reveals the truth about secret police operations - the emotional turmoil, the psychological challenges and the human cost of a lifetime of deception - and asks whether such tactics can ever be justified.
'SKYLARK plunges the reader headfirst into a vivid, heady world where passion and betrayal collide. Beautifully-written, immersive and ultimately enraging, it's a must-read for anyone who has ever wanted to change the world.' - Erin Kelly 'Alice O'Keeffe deftly renders the shocking truth of the spy cops scandal into a moving tale of love, identity and betrayal. Essential reading.' - Jake Arnott 'Skylark is a book of profound psychological perception, which conjures with deft precision the atmosphere of the anti-roads movement in all its fierce, tender idealism. I couldn't put it down.' - Jay Griffiths Their ideals brought them together, but how closely should you follow your heart? It's the mid-90s, and rebellion is in the air. Skylark is an activist, a raver, a tree-dweller, a world-changer. Handsome, dependable Dan appears on the scene, offering her the security she has never had. When they fall in love, she shows him a new way to live; he will never be the same. But Dan has a secret, which Skylark must never, ever know. A secret so powerful that its fault-lines run from their ordinary council flat right up to the highest echelons of the state. Their story is the story of Britain's undercover police. As Skylark comes to doubt not only Dan's commitment to their shared ideals, but his very identity, she finds herself asking: can you ever really know the person you love?
The ebook edition of this title is Open Access and freely available to read online. Ethical Issues in Covert, Security and Surveillance Research showcases that it is only when the integrity of research is carefully pursued can users of the evidence produced be assured of its value and its ethical credentials.
Crafted for those who dare to challenge the status quo, this is a radical guide for activists. Drawing from frontline experiences in trade unions, environmentalism, animal rights, and social justice movements, the book explores essential themes from leadership to the art of negotiation. It asks crucial questions about organising and social movements in the 21st century. Avoiding easy prescriptions, the authors uniquely guide readers to where theory meets practice. Written by two experts in activist education and community organising, this is a refreshing take on movement building, empowering changemakers of today to forge new paths towards a more just world.
'Utterly compelling from the first page' - Kerry Hudson 'Gripping . . . this is one not to miss' - Irish Times For two years, Donna McLean lived a life of bliss with her boyfriend, Carlo. But her great love story wasn't just built on lies - it was one. Because Carlo wasn't a bike-obsessed Italian locksmith at all; he was a British police officer, part of a unit that had worked undercover for years to infiltrate activist groups across the country. More than twenty of those officers deliberately targeted women and duped them into relationships, posing as socialists, environmental campaigners and union reps, before vanishing without a trace. Small Town Girl is Donna's shattering story of a life turned upside down overnight, and her reclamation of a truth that was shamelessly buried by those who should be protecting the most vulnerable in society. 'Mind-blowing, gut-wrenching, shocking and beautifully written' - Chris Atkins
Combating Spyware in the Enterprise is the first book published on defending enterprise networks from increasingly sophisticated and malicious spyware.Combating Spyware in the Enterprise begins by examining the various types of insidious spyware and adware currently propagating across the internet and infiltrating enterprise networks. This section closely examines Spyware's ongoing transformation from nuisance to malicious, sophisticated attack vector. Next, the book uncovers spyware's intricate economy and network of malicious hackers and criminals. Forensic investigations presented in this section of the book reveal how increasingly sophisticated spyware can compromise enterprise networks via trojans, keystroke loggers, system monitoring, distributed denial of service attacks, backdoors, viruses, and worms. After close examination of these attack vectors, the book begins to detail both manual and automated techniques for scanning your network for the presence of spyware, and customizing your IDS and IPS to detect spyware. From here, the book goes on to detail how to prevent spyware from being initially installed to mitigating the damage inflicted by spyware should your network become infected. Techniques discussed in this section include slowing the exposure rate; web filtering; using FireFox, MacOSX, or Linux; patching and updating, machine restrictions, shielding, deploying anti-spyware, and re-imaging. The book concludes with an analysis of the future of spyware and what the security community must accomplish to win the ware against spyware.* A recent survey published by Information Security Magazine stated that "combating spyare" was the #2 priority for security professionals in 2005* Despite the high priority placed on combating spyware by security professionals, there are no other books published or announced that address this market * Author Paul Piccard is Director of Research for Webroot, which is a market leader for pure-play anti-spyware vendors
In this age of unchecked emphasis on national security, even liberal democracies seem prone to forgetting the histories of political policing and surveillance undergirding what we think of as our safety. Challenging this social amnesia, Aziz Choudry asks: What can we learn about the power of the state from the very people targeted by its security operations? Drawing on the knowledge of activists and academics from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, and Chile, Activists and the Surveillance State delves into the harassment, infiltration, and disruption that has colored state responses to those deemed threats to national security. The book shows that, ultimately, movements can learn from their own repression, developing a critical and complex understanding of the nature of states and capital today that can crucially inform the struggles of tomorrow.
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