Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Annual Report 2019
18.9
Last year we provided statistics for recordable UKIC errors in relation to CD acquisition (see
below). 55 UKIC are not required to formally report these figures to us and we have not
collected them this year.
Interception: UKIC and Law enforcement
18.10
This year has seen an increase in errors reported to the Investigatory Powers
Commissioner’s Office (IPCO) by GCHQ from 15 to 51. The 51 are broken down as 10
Targeted Intercept and 41 Bulk Intercept. Whilst the apparent increase is large, we should
note that these are all now classed as reportable errors. Reportable errors is a term
introduced and defined for the first time in the IPA and accompanying Codes of Practice and
there was no such definition for lawful intercept in RIPA. This year is the first full year of IPA
so there is no direct comparison to previous years, although it is clear there has been an
increase and we will carefully monitor the trend. Another major contributing factor to the
larger number of errors is the change in working practices within GCHQ. They have invested
in resource, technology and systems to improve their ability to identify, trace and fix errors
that are mainly caused by complex data flows. A rise in numbers was anticipated as they
developed better methods for finding and fixing errors. It is not possible accurately to say if
these errors were happening before but undetected, but now that we have a new baseline
we will be able to track this in future through oversight and inspection.
Definition: recordable error
A recordable error is defined by the relevant Code of Practice and is one that has been
identified by the agency without any data being incorrectly acquired or disclosed. A list of
recordable errors is retained by an agency. The record explains how the error occurred and
provides an indication of the steps taken to prevent a reoccurrence. At each inspection, the list
of recordable errors is audited and, if necessary, observations or recommendations are made in
inspection reports to tighten procedures or processes. An example of a recordable error is when
an analyst manually transfers data to a system and inputs the information incorrectly, making a
transposition error which does not result in the acquisition of incorrect data.
Definition: relevant error
Section 231(9) of the IPA defines a ‘relevant error’ as an error: a) by a public authority in
complying with any requirements which are imposed on it by virtue of this Act or any other
enactment and which are subject to review by a Judicial Commissioner; and b) of a description
identified for this purpose in a code of practice under Schedule 7.
Definition: serious error
Section 231(2) of the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA) defines a serious error as one where
significant prejudice or harm has been caused to a person as a result of a relevant error.
55 Note that the figures printed for CD errors for 2018 were incorrect. The total number of communications
data errors, including recordable and reportable errors, for UKIC for 2018 was 104, of which 84 were related
to MI5, 20 to GCHQ and none to SIS.
129