Damages Awarded in Phone-Hacking Case Against the Mirror Publishing Group

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-41481307

This story concerns something that happened several years ago, but was just recently resolved and I think is still very much relevant. Back in 2011, it was revealed that MPG (Mirror Publishing Group), a group of daily British newspapers, had been hacking into the phones of celebrities and prominent figures to gain personal information for stories. The original case was a broad investigation known as the Leveson Inquiry, which was closed in 2012. In October 2016, comedian Steve Coogan, among many others, brought a case of his own against the company, citing personal attacks on him by newspapers following his testimony in the Leveson case. Coogan has recently settled the case for an unspecified six-figure sum after MPG admitted to running stories on him using personal information illegally obtained by hacking into his mobile voicemail accounts. While this is not a strictly technical article, it does highlight the growing needs and concerns about mobile device security. As more and more aspects of our lives are run from our phones and mobile devices, it has become painfully clear that strong, layered protections are needed to secure our personal information, as even the smallest gap or vulnerability can be exploited.