Spanish court acquits suspects denied access to 'raw' Sky ECC intercepts in landmark decision | Computer Weekly

"A Spanish court has raised questions about the validity and reliability of intercepted phone data, acquitting multiple defendants of drug trafficking charges in a case that relied solely on intercepted evidence from the encrypted phone network Sky ECC. The case is the most significant rejection by a court of the validity of electronic evidence intercepted during an international police hacking operation against an encrypted phone network used by criminal groups."

"The provincial court in València found that prosecutors could not rely on digital evidence to prove their case when defendants had been refused access to the raw data harvested from Sky ECC - denying experts the ability to test the reliability and authenticity of the data. The decision, released on 23 January, will have implications for future prosecutions that rely on interception from police hacking operations into the Sky ECC and EncroChat encrypted phone networks, where there is no other evidence to prove criminal behaviour."

A provincial court in València acquitted multiple defendants of drug trafficking after finding prosecutors could not rely on intercepted Sky ECC data when defendants were denied access to the raw material. The court determined that experts needed the original data to test reliability and authenticity, linking access to the right to a fair trial. The decision, released on 23 January, will affect future prosecutions that depend solely on interceptions from police hacking operations into Sky ECC and EncroChat. Defendants in such cases have routinely been denied raw data seized by French and Dutch investigators, with the French government withholding details citing military secrecy.

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