Archiv: GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters)


10.01.2021 - 14:23 [ theCanary.co ]

Coronavirus data contractors engaged in dirty tricks and disinformation campaigns

(10.05.2020)

Palantir was co-founded in 2004 by Paypal owner and billionaire Peter Thiel. What the blog doesn’t reveal is that Palantir’s client list has included amomgst others, the CIA, the FBI, the NSA, the Centre for Disease Control, the Marine Corps, the Air Force, Special Operations Command, West Point and the IRS.

Furthermore, in 2016, it was revealed Palantir had a $34.6m contract with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and helped the Customs and Border Protection Agency create the Analytical Framework for Intelligence (AFI) system to track immigrants.

Nor does the blog mention that Palantir worked for UK intelligence and was awarded contracts to handle vast data sets on UK citizens for British spy agency GCHQ.

04.01.2021 - 17:59 [ Wikispooks.com ]

Document:Senior spy appointed to lead UK’s joint biosecurity centre

(05.06.2020)

Clare Gardiner, head of cyber resilience and strategy at the UK National Cyber Security Centre — a branch of signals intelligence agency GCHQ — will become the centre’s first director-general, responsible for advising ministers on the “alert level” for the virus; which is similar to assessing the terror threat.

Ms Gardiner’s role at the NCSC involves advising businesses and public organisations on how to improve their cyber defences, and she will return to this post after her secondment at the centre. But her research background in epidemiology and medical statistics make her well-suited to the role, according to one person familiar with her appointment.

She will report to Dido Harding, who is in charge of the NHS test and trace service.

The decision to put a security official in charge is likely to cause consternation among public health experts, who have questioned whether the template of a terror analysis centre is appropriate for managing a viral pandemic,

04.01.2021 - 17:48 [ Nick Eardley / Twitter ]

NEW: Sources have told the BBC the Covid threat level – decided by the Joint Biosecurity Centre, which includes the UK’s four Chief Medical Officers – is being moved up to 5, the highest level. This is different from tiers

18.06.2020 - 17:47 [ DailyMail.co.uk ]

The REAL reason Boris Johnson is so fearful of ditching two-metre rule: Doom-monger advisers led by grim private polls, and the terror of being blamed for a new spike are paralysing the PM, write ANDREW PIERCE and RICHARD KAY

If Boris is to rediscover the vim and vigour that brought him into Downing Street then the role of the new committee examining the distancing rule is crucial. It is being chaired by a civil servant, Simon Case, the new permanent secretary at No 10, who until a month ago was working for Prince William.

A former private secretary to both David Cameron and Theresa May and a one-time director of strategy at GCHQ, Mr Case was brought in to coordinate the Government’s pandemic response – a sure sign that it had not been working well.

The Cambridge-educated mandarin is used to the trickiest of political problems.

16.09.2019 - 13:15 [ Spectator ]

Katharine Gun: the spy who tried to stop the Iraq war

Gun believes that because there was no specific UN authority to attack Iraq, ‘in theory’ Bush and Blair could be put on trial for waging an aggressive war (the charge at Nuremberg). ‘That is the only consolation I have… A lot of people would welcome that. It would show that there isn’t a double standard. It would show that when our politicians break the law they are held accountable.’ There is no chance of such a war crimes trial. Gun, the conscience–stricken spy, will almost certainly remain the only British official charged with anything to do with the war in Iraq.

05.07.2019 - 12:01 [ Heise.de ]

Britischer Geheimdienst GCHQ sucht Mitarbeiter, die „Gegner“ online „frustrieren“

„Sie nutzen also Ihre emotionale Intelligenz, um nationale Bedrohungen abzuschrecken. Dabei arbeiten Sie mit [auch] mit Technikern und Verhaltensforschern, um Strategien zu entwickeln, die unsere Gegner stören, abschrecken und frustrieren. Und wir stellen dabei sicher, dass alles was sie machen, im Rahmen der Gesetze geschieht.“ (GCHQ-Stellenanzeige)

07.01.2019 - 09:07 [ justsecurity.org ]

Give Up the Ghost: A Backdoor by Another Name

(4.1.2018) Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ,) the UK’s counterpart to the National Security Agency (NSA), has fired the latest shot in the crypto wars. In a post to Lawfare titled Principles for a More Informed Exceptional Access Debate, two of Britain’s top spooks introduced what they’re framing as a kinder, gentler approach to compromising the encryption that keeps us safe online. This new proposal from GCHQ—which we’ve heard rumors of for nearly a year—eschews one discredited method for breaking encryption (key escrow) and instead adopts a novel approach referred to as the “ghost.”

07.01.2019 - 08:00 [ GOV.uk (Regierung des Vereinigten Königreichs) ]

Defence Secretary reveals new generation of ‘cyber cadets’

(30.9.2018) The Cadets CyberFirst programme, delivered by Ministry of Defence cadet organisations and the GCHQ National Cyber Security Centre, will equip over 2,000 cadets a year with the skills and expertise to become future leaders in this emerging industry.

Over £1 million will be invested in the programme each year, giving cadets the opportunity to learn how to protect systems connected to the internet from cyber attacks.

07.01.2019 - 07:10 [ eccouncil.org ]

Top British Intelligence Agency, GCHQ, Recognizes EC-Council’s Certified Ethical Hacker and Certified Security Analyst Training Programs

(21.8.2018) In a showcase of trust and confidence, GCHQ provided the GCT (GCHQ Certified Training) accreditation to EC-Council’s globally renowned Certified Ethical Hacker (C|EH) and Certified Security Analyst (ECSA) programs. This recognition is a feather in the cap for EC-Council’s much sought-after credentials, which are among the most comprehensive programs in the field of Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing.

Many intelligence agencies including the Pentagon, FBI, the US Army, and most Fortune 500 companies prefer the C|EH program to enhance the knowledge and skills of their security personnel. Over the years, more than 200,000 cyber professionals were trained and certified with what has become the standard norm for hiring authorities as well as security champions.

05.10.2018 - 08:15 [ Radio Utopie ]

Totalüberwachung, und damit ermöglichte politische Verfolgung, wird nun „gezielt“ erlaubt

(2.7.2016) Damit hat die Simulation von „Opposition“ und „Untersuchungsausschuss“ in der seit Beginn der Snowden-Affäre außer Funktion gesetzten Republik ihren objektiven Zweck erfüllt.

Unter dem Netzpolitik.org zugesandten Geschwafel irgendwelcher Simulanten ist lediglich das Statement vom Beirat der DE-CIX Management GmbH relevant. Klaus Landefeld gegenüber Netzpolitik.org:

„Alles, was NSA und GCHQ vorgeworfen wurde, soll dem BND jetzt auch erlaubt sein – die Bundesregierung legalisiert die Praxis sozusagen im Nachhinein.“

Das ist falsch.

Erlaubt war dem B.N.D. das vollständige Kopieren an den Netzknoten, auch am Frankfurter DE-CIX, spätetens durch die im November 2005 erneut verschärfte Regierungsverordnung „Telekommunikations-Überwachungsverordnung“ (TKÜV). Darunter fielen auch „inländische Fernmeldenetzknoten, die jeweils mit einem ausländischen Netzknoten zusammengeschaltet sind“ und „vom und in das Ausland“ geführter Telekommunikationsverkehr (Zitat Bundesverfassungsgericht, Beschluss 1 BvL 7/08, 13.05.2009).

Der Bundestag, natürlich auch „Linke“ und „Grüne“, wusste davon spätestens seit 2012.

21.05.2018 - 16:23 [ Creators.com ]

Could the FBI and MI6 Have Planted a British Mole in Trump Campaign?

The entire allegation of collusion with Russia may have been dreamed up by MI6. Consider (reprinted from „Rogue Spooks“):

1: It was Government Communications Headquarters — Britain’s NSA — that first warned the U.S. that the Russians had hacked the Democratic Party’s computers. Back in September 2015, long before the FBI and CIA knew anything about it or showed any interest in it, GCHQ was waving warning flags about Russian hacking. For a long time, the U.S. did nothing about it.

2: During the campaign and even after, both MI6 and GCHQ routinely passed along classified intelligence information to the U.S. intelligence community about Trump’s associates.

3: It was Christopher Steele, an ex-MI6 spy, who says he wrote the dossier that contained all the unsubstantiated and unreliable but nevertheless explosive material about Donald Trump. Was Steele only a former MI6 agent? Bear in mind what the Russian embassy said: „MI6 officers are never ex.“