The hacking community from Cardiff to California has declared war on cyber crime investigators who are led by the FBI. Steve Bell reports

The war against hackers is entering a new phase. In the UK and the US, behind the walls of usually bland-looking buildings and shielded from wireless hacking by lead-lined walls, the stuff of Hollywood films is being played out across giant plasma screens.

Programmers, often working on behalf of government agencies, track, monitor and frenziedly alter code in a bid to patch up vulnerable and sometimes besieged networks.

Details have emerged about a new technology, dubbed Magic Lantern, that allows the FBI to record keyboard strokes by secretly planting a software spy in a targeted computer. Rumours have also surfaced about a possible deal with a file-sharing network which would allow files to be viewed by the Feds.

The Bureau also has a shadowy position on European Union committees, tussling with the task of developing a single cross-border cyber crime unit.

This ramping up of activity signals a new phase in the long-running battle between hackers and law enforcement agencies. An industry source says BT Ignite is now tracking hackers across its UK and European networks for, among others, both the White House cyber security team and the FBI. Chris McNab, technical director at the London-based Matta Security, says the UK's National Hi-Tech Crime Unit is also embarking on a busy round of partnership building in a bid to tap the superior technical skills of private industry.

Full Article: MediaGuardian.co.uk/