Watching them, watching us : First ever pictures from inside the heart of Britain's GCHQ spying station show intelligence agency keeping eyes (and ears) on global communications
- GCHQ is home to one of three UK Intelligence and Security Agencies
- Visit granted by David Cameron who wants to give agencies access to encrypted communications
- Yesterday, a report stated 80 per cent of big firms suffered cyber attacks
- These crimes cost the UK economy millions of pounds annually
- GCHQ has increased communication with private firms because of threat
News
cameras have been allowed unprecedented access to a top secret
Government spy agency as it announces eight in every 10 of the biggest
British companies have suffered a serious cyber attack.
The
media was allowed to film in the secretive GCHQ in Cheltenham, which
is home to one of the three UK Intelligence and Security Agencies, along
with MI5 and MI6.
The
visit comes after staff at the HQ, known as The Doughnut due to the
shape of the building, were involved in the response to last week's
terrorist attacks in Paris.
GCHQ identifies cyber espionage
activity targeting UK industry and individuals, and gathers intelligence
to better understand new and emerging threats
Access: The media was allowed to film
in the secretive GCHQ headquarters in Cheltenham, which is home to one
of the three UK Intelligence and Security Agencies, along with MI5 and
MI6
A GCHQ report was released yesterday revealing that serious cyber attacks cost the UK economy millions of pounds annually.
The
agency, along with MI5 and the Cabinet Office, has increased
communication with private firms because the threat posed by cyber
attacks has risen.
The visit to the HQ was granted by David Cameron who is pushing to give agencies like GCHQ access to encrypted communications.
Last
night, the Prime Minister warned internet firms they must work with
security agencies to stop their networks becoming a 'safe haven' for
terrorists.
He
used a press conference in the White House in the U.S. to insist the
likes of Facebook and and WhatsApp cannot be used as a secret way for
extremists to plot atrocities away from the glare of MI5 and the FBI.
Mr
Cameron insists the security agencies must be able to intercept
communications between extremists and terror suspects who use encrypted
messaging services and social media sites to plot atrocities.
He
said: 'I take a very simple approach to this, which is ever since we've
been sending letters to each other or making telephone calls to each
other or mobile phone calls to each other or, indeed, contacting each
other on the internet, it has been possible in both our countries in
extremis, in my country by signed warrant by the Home Secretary, to
potentially listen to a call between two terrorists, to stop them in
their activity.
'The Doughnut': The Government Communication Headquarters base in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire
GCHQ protects the UK and its citizens,
keeps deployed forces safe and helps law enforcement agencies to
prevent terrorist activity and serious and organised crime
Film crew: The visit to the HQ was
granted by David Cameron who is pushing to give agencies like GCHQ
access to encrypted communications
Response: The
visit comes after staff at the HQ, known as The Doughnut due to the
shape of the building, were involved in the response to last week's
terrorist attacks in Paris
Prime Minister: Last night, David
Cameron warned
internet firms they must work with security
agencies to
stop their networks becoming a 'safe
haven' for terrorists
'We're
not asking for back doors. We have - we believe in very clear front
doors through legal processes that should help to keep our country
safe.
'And
my only argument is that as technology develops, as the world moves on,
we should try to avoid the safe havens that could otherwise be created
for terrorists to talk to each other.
'That's
the goal that I think is so important. Because I'm in no doubt as,
having been Prime Minister for four-and-a-half years, having seen how
our intelligence services work, I know that some of these plots that get
prevented, the lives that get saved.
'There
is a very real connection between that and the capabilities that our
intelligence services, within the law, use to defend our people.'
GCHQ
protects the UK and its citizens, keeps deployed forces safe and helps
law enforcement agencies to prevent terrorist activity and serious and
organised crime.
The
agency identifies cyber espionage activity targeting UK industry and
individuals, and gathers intelligence to better understand new and
emerging threats.
It also strives to safeguard current systems, communications and electronic data.
Unprecedented: The visit comes after
staff at the HQ, known as The Doughnut due to the shape of the building,
were involved in the response to last week's terrorist attacks in Paris
GCHQ's electronic monitoring network
of satellites and ground stations covers every part of the globe,
eavesdropping on military, commercial and diplomatic communications
Expansion: GCHQ is a far cry from what
was formerly known as the Government Code and Cipher School, founded in
1919 with just 25 cryptologists and 30 support staff
The agency's renowned intelligence-gathering expertise is seen as a key weapon in the war against terrorism
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