Missile systems software dev leaker has sentence almost doubled after UK.gov says 4½ years was too soft
- Reference: 1616087047
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/03/18/simon_finch_veracrypt_sentence_doubled/
- Source link:
Simon Finch, formerly of Swansea and now of one of Her Majesty’s prisons, will spend a minimum of three years in the slammer instead of the 18 months he would have spent behind bars.*
[1]
Court of Appeal judges Lord Justice Fulford, Mrs Justice McGowan and Mr Justice Bourne increased Finch’s sentence from 4½ years to 8 years, saying the original sentence from the Old Bailey was too lenient.
Finch, formerly a BAE Systems software engineer who worked on top secret missile systems, was [2]jailed last year after changing his pleas at the last minute. He was charged with breaching the Official Secrets Acts and the Investigatory Powers Act.
[3]
After Merseyside Police had allegedly failed to investigate what Finch described as a homophobic attack against him, the BAE Systems employee armed himself with a knife and hammer the next time he went out in public. For his pains he was arrested and convicted – which meant the loss of his Developed Vetting and the end of his career.
Ex-missile systems worker jailed for breaching Official Secrets Act after last-second guilty plea [4]READ MORE
Finch had been inducted into what the court described as a “Codeword Access Programme,” meaning details of the missile he was working on were distributed only on a need-to-know basis to vetted individuals. The missile was not identified in open court, though judges said it is in frontline use by the Armed Forces today.
Infuriated by police indifference to what he saw as his plight, Finch installed VeraCrypt on his personal laptop before going on a tour of Europe, visiting Paris, Bordeaux and Frankfurt in late 2018. While abroad he wrote down all the details of the missile system that he could remember and emailed eight people with three detailed documents about it. He also claimed to have posted hard copies to foreign embassies while abroad, though he later withdrew that claim when he changed his pleas at the Old Bailey last year.
When police caught up with him, Finch [5]refused to give them the VeraCrypt key for his laptop .
Judges at the Court of Appeal today ruled that Finch’s original sentence was “unduly lenient,” following an application by the British government to increase it. They said Finch’s “failure to cooperate” over the VeraCrypt keys “was calculated, and that the keys had been withheld for cynical reasons. The devices continue to hold classified information as well as opportunity for investigation and mitigation.”
Police investigators were, so the court was told, unable to defeat VeraCrypt, with the judges remarking: “It is noted that the defendant has expressed satisfaction or happiness at the course he has followed.”
The sentence for refusing to hand over his password was increased to 2½ years, served concurrently with the two Official Secrets Act sentences; one count attracting 6½ years and the other 18 months, both served consecutively with judges adding: “There will be credit for time served on remand.”
The full judgment can be read [6]here as a 27 page PDF . ®
Bootnote
* Sentences passed by judges are never applied in full. Understanding how much of a “prison” sentence actually means “going to the big house” requires some [7]involved arithmetic .
For UK prison sentences between 12 months and four years, release is automatic at the halfway mark. Sentences longer than four years can still be halved but this is subject to the Parole Board’s discretion. On top of these reductions, prison governors can discount sentences by up to a third for good behaviour. Thus a four year sentence could result in a criminal spending about 15-16 months inside.
Life sentences for serious crimes have a “tariff” which is the real time in prison for the criminal. “Life” does not mean life in prison. Officials explain this shift in the meaning of words by saying the probation service keeps an eye on criminals who are released from prison.
[8]
“Offenders always complete their full sentence but usually half the time is spent in prison and the rest is spent on licence. While on licence, an offender can be sent back to prison if they break its terms,” [9]according to the Sentencing Council, the quango that sets prison sentences in the UK.
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[1] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YFPbjBisDlmbmjDIiCXs3AAAAMI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2020/11/13/simon_finch_missile_secrets_leaker_jailed/
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YFPbjBisDlmbmjDIiCXs3AAAAMI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2020/11/13/simon_finch_missile_secrets_leaker_jailed/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2020/11/03/simon_finch_trial_missile_leaks_passwords/
[6] https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2021-EWCA-Crim-377-FINCH-Judgment-Final-1.pdf
[7] https://www.johnsonastills.com/site/blog/ejablog/why-are-prisoners-released-at-the-half-way-point#:~:text=Automatic%20Conditional%20Release%20Scheme%20%E2%80%93%20Prisoners,be%20subject%20to%20compulsory%20supervision.
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YFPbjBisDlmbmjDIiCXs3AAAAMI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/sentencing-and-the-council/sentencing-myths/
[10] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: "The sentence for refusing to hand over his password was increased to 2½ years"
Too late :(
Re: "The sentence for refusing to hand over his password was increased to 2½ years"
On the plus side, it's a ringing endorsement of the security of VeraCrypt.
Re: "The sentence for refusing to hand over his password was increased to 2½ years"
I think it's just what they call an "aggrivating factor". He is being jailed for something else, and refusing to cooperate just makes it worse.
A bit like how it's not a crime* to refuse to tell police your name, but if you're already in trouble, then it is.
*Something like that, anyway
Re: "The sentence for refusing to hand over his password was increased to 2½ years"
Well you're 21 years too late, it became an offence when RIPA became law.
Re: "The sentence for refusing to hand over his password was increased to 2½ years"
And when he's served his sentence, if he still refuses to hand over the encryption keys, he can be arrested and jailed again, ad infinitum. Lets see how pleased he is with his actions then.
Re: "The sentence for refusing to hand over his password was increased to 2½ years"
"The guy sounds like a bit of a dick"
The guy sounds as if he might have mental health problems.
Re: "The sentence for refusing to hand over his password was increased to 2½ years"
That too. Depends on how you want to describe it. I guess if they can find something in the DSM that covers it, that makes him move from "being a dick" to "having a definable disorder". If someone stabbed me as a result of a definable disorder, I would argue that they may well also be a dick. Others may be less polite about it.
It may not be a good road to go down, but the UK has been moving down this road for more than a few years, as far as I know.
I'm still hoping for a legal ruling about handing border guards your phone and social media account password(s). It seems nobody wants to put that to the legal test.
Going from being heavily institutionalised to attacking the institutions he once believed in. I do kind of feel for the guy, he's been let down by the state. Let's be honest, you have to be a bit of a wrong 'un to work for BAE Systems in the first place.
OK, he might have overreacted a bit, but there is no evidence of any harm coming from his actions (disclaimer: I'm yet to read the 27 page PDF).
The Irony
I'm not supporting the actions that were taken but I've got to note the irony in the legal system making a point of Mr Finch not co-operating when they have failed to investigate criminal acts that he is claiming happened against him.
It's all about the presentation
"Sentences passed by judges are never applied in full."
Without changing any sentence lengths, I always think the headline sentence should be the minimum time in jail, which is then extendable by n years depending on behaviour/risk to the public/whatever else they use to decide parole.
It's always a bit of a disappointment when I hear some evil b*******'s* sentence and a couple of seconds later have to remember to divide by two.
There's no doubt a good legal reason for the judge announcing it as they do (e.g. separation of sentencing guidelines and parole rules) but the press could do the math for us...
*this is not a comment on the subject of the article about whom I've not formed any opinion.
Brimstone I guess...
Did they actually prove that he had anything encrypted at all, or did they just claim it?
"The sentence for refusing to hand over his password was increased to 2½ years"
Hmm. The guy sounds like a bit of a dick, all told, but I feel uneasy about people being compelled to hand over passwords on pain of imprisonment. I don't think it's a good road to go down.