In a culture where individual privacy is considered paramount, it is not only the now closed News of the World that practiced the 'dark arts' to secure bits of information about celebrities, politicians and, as it turns out, even about victims of crime and terrorism.
At least five techniques used by tabloids to secure information have come to light: hacking of phones to access messages in voicemail, hacking computers to access personal data, 'blagging', 'pinging', and simply bribing policemen for information.
According to former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, such techniques were used by Rupert Murdoch-owned News International on an 'industrial scale'.
He has accused the group of having links with Britain's 'criminal underworld'.
In 2006, the Information Commissioner had revealed that over 300 journalists from 32 publications had obtained over 3,000 items of personal information by illegal means from one private investigator.
Rebekah Brooks, former editor of News of the World, admitted during an earlier hearing of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee to have paid the police for information.
How do phones get hacked? Until recently, mobile phones came with a four-digit number that was necessary to access voicemail messages.
The messages could be accessed from another phone by dialling the mobile number and then using the four-digit number.
The four-digit number usually that came with the new mobile was 1234, 0000 or 3333, and users were expected to change it immediately to their preferred number.
In practice, however, not many did so, which opened up opportunities for hackers who knew the mobile number of the target.
Thus, mobile phones of many celebrities were allegedly hacked to access messages, including that of Prince William.
Hackers went further in the case of the murdered teenager Milly Dowler, whose case blew the lid on the controversy that has so far caused serious setback to Murdoch's commercial interests as well as his standing in British politics.When Dowler was missing amidst fears of her being killed, hackers not only accessed her voicemail, but also deleted some of them, which prevented new callers getting the message that her voicemail was full, which, in turn, gave false hopes to her family that she could be alive.
In recent years, mobile companies have reconfigured voicemail to ensure that they can be accessed only from the handset and not from any other phone.
Under the Data Protection Act, 1998, 'blagging' is defined as "Knowingly or recklessly obtaining or disclosing personal data or information without the consent of the data controller".
'Blagging' involves the use of actors or other impersonating as the target and securing information through calls to banks and others repositories of personal data.
Gordon Brown's personal data was reportedly accessed using this technique.
'Pinging' is used to track the whereabouts of celebrities or other targets whose movements may reveal information relevant to news reports.
The police can ask mobile networks to determine the location of a phone, based on information from nearby radio masts.
Sean Hoare, a former News of the World journalist, has alleged that the tabloid paid the police to track mobile phones.
He told the BBC that it was possible to "ping" a handset's location for 300 pounds.
Under rules, only some police officers are authorised to make such enquiries, and their requests are supposed to be approved by a senior colleague.
The system is regulated and audited by the Interception of Communications Commissioner, but compliance is said to be poor in some cases of 'pinging'.
Nick Davies, a journalist for 'The Guardian' who has often exposed the 'dark arts', writes, "The truth is that what was once an occasion indulgence of a few crime correspondents has become the regular habit of most news organization".
He adds, "The hypocrisy is wonderful to behold. These organisations exist to tell the truth and yet routinely they lie about themselves. If falsehood and distortion are now the routine products of the corporate news factory, corruption is its most dangerous by-product".