Britain's GCHQ Celebrate 100 Years

Daily Mail: A century of protecting Britain: How GCHQ has evolved from a naval intelligence office in Whitehall to a world-beating surveillance operation

* GCHQ was founded on November 1, 1919 when the government combined two rival intelligence bodies
* The Admiralty's Room 40 and the War Office's MI1(b) were merged in the Government Code & Cypher School
* The Queen has been receiving GCHQ intelligence briefings for longer than anyone else in the world
* The organisation was not publicly acknowledged until 1983 when the government admitted its existence

Rapid changes in technology are posing 'unique challenges' to the security services which will face 'enormous complexity' in the future, the boss of GCHQ has said.

Speaking 100 years since Government Communications Headquarters was formed, director Jeremy Fleming described society as being in a 'period of accelerated change' with technological advances leaving the spy agency needing to alter the way it works.

GCHQ, which rarely speaks publicly about its work but has tried to become less secretive in recent years, is marking its centenary with a series of events including an exhibition at the Science Museum in London.

Read more ....

More News On Britain's GCHQ Celebrating 100 Years

GCHQ marks 100 years by unveiling details of wartime spy work -- The Guardian
Inside GCHQ as it celebrates 100 years -- BBC
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY Spying centre GCHQ ran more than 150 secret sites across the UK in its 100 years of existence, it has been revealed -- The SUN
Britain's GCHQ eavesdropping spies celebrate 100 years of cracking codes -- Reuters
GCHQ turns 100: Can you solve these brain-teasing puzzles? -- SKY News
GCHQ Looks Toward 'Unique Challenges' On Centenary -- Forces Network

Russian Group 'Hijacked' Iran Spy Operation To Attack 35 Countries

UK intelligence has exposed a Russian-based hacking group that hijacked APT34 to carry out cyber attacks in 35 countries (file photo)

Reuters: Hacking the hackers: Russian group hijacked Iranian spying operation, officials say

LONDON (Reuters) - Russian hackers piggy-backed on an Iranian cyber-espionage operation to attack government and industry organizations in dozens of countries while masquerading as attackers from the Islamic Republic, British and U.S. officials said on Monday.

The Russian group, known as “Turla” and accused by Estonian and Czech authorities of operating on behalf of Russia’s FSB security service, has used Iranian tools and computer infrastructure to successfully hack in to organizations in at least 20 different countries over the last 18 months, British security officials said.

The hacking campaign, the extent of which has not been previously revealed, was most active in the Middle East but also targeted organizations in Britain, they said.

Paul Chichester, a senior official at Britain’s GCHQ intelligence agency, said the operation shows state-backed hackers are working in a “very crowded space” and developing new attacks and methods to better cover their tracks.

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More News On NSA/GCHQ Claims That Russian Hackers Disguised As Iranian Spies Attacked 35 Countries

Russian hackers cloak attacks using Iranian group -- BBC
NSA and GCHQ say Russians government hackers hijacked Iranian hackers -- ITNews
British spooks expose Russian-based cyber hacking gang masquerading as Iranian crooks after they targeted a UK academic organisation -- Daily Mail
Russian Hackers Disguised As Iranian Spies Attacked 35 Countries -- Forbes
Hacking the hackers: Russian group 'hijacked' Iran spy operation -- Al Jazeera
Russian APT Turla targets 35 countries on the back of Iranian infrastructure -- ZDNet
UK, US Intel Claim Alleged Russian Hackers 'Hijacked' Iranian Cyber Op to Attack Various Facilities -- Sputnik

Britain's Intelligence Services Want To Recruit People With Dyslexia And Other Neurological Differences

Mr Fleming said hiring neurodiverse employees was integral for the intelligence agency ( Stefan Rousseau/PA )

The Independent: GCHQ targeting dyslexic and neurodiverse people in recruitment drive, spy chief says

'With the right mix of minds anything is possible, and dyslexics are definitely part of that mix.'

The nation’s intelligence services are directly looking to recruit people with dyslexia and other neurological differences, the head of GCHQ has confirmed.

Jeremy Fleming, the director of the wing of the intelligence service responsible for signals and digital intelligence, said neurodiverse employees were integral to the workings of the nation’s security services – adding that the agency has three times the national average of dyslexic people in its apprenticeship programmes.

Speaking at a conference put on by charity Made By Dyslexia, which also featured comments from Sir Richard Branson and health secretary Matt Hancock, Mr Fleming said: “With the right mix of minds anything is possible, and dyslexics are definitely part of that mix.

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Update #1: GCHQ director says cyber agency is targeting dyslexic people to work as analysts (The Telegraph)
Update #2: UK spy chiefs are searching for dyslexic codecrackers to work at GCHQ base (Mirror)

WNU Editor: The GCHQ must have done a lot of interesting research before making such a decision.

GCHQ Wants To Use Instagram To 'Open Up The World Of Espionage' To The Public

The GCHQ ‘doughnut’ base in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. Photograph: GCHQ/PA

The Guardian: GCHQ uses Instagram to 'open up world of espionage' to public

UK intelligence hub opens account on app that has become growing source of citizens’ metadata.

After years of secretly hoovering up metadata about millions of citizens, Britain’s spy agency has made its public foray into one of the growing sources for such information by opening its own Instagram account.

GCHQ’s account on the photo-sharing site claims the agency will provide a glimpse into its secret world. Its first post acknowledges GCHQ’s institutional suspicion about openness by including a photograph of the border fence with a “no photography” sign attached.

The account is part of GCHQ’s expanding presence on social media, and comes two years after it opened a Twitter account, which has 75,000 followers.

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WNU Editor: The GCHQ's website is here.

European Court Rules That UK Mass Surveillance Program Violates Right To Privacy

Information collected at the installation is sent to GCHQ's headquarters in Cheltenham (pictured) and shared with the National Security Agency in the US

Daily Mail: British spies violated privacy and free speech laws with GCHQ programme revealed by Edward Snowden, European court rules

* Court ruled Britain's programme of mass surveillance violated right to privacy
* The court ruled the existence of GCHQ surveillance programme was not illegal
* But interception of journalistic material violated right to freedom of information
* The case was brought to the ECHR by a group of journalists and rights activists

Britain's programme of mass surveillance, revealed by whistleblower Edward Snowden as part of his sensational leaks on US spying, violated people's right to privacy, Europe's top rights court ruled Thursday.

Ruling in the case of Big Brother Watch and Others versus the United Kingdom, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, said the interception of journalistic material also violated the right to freedom of information.

The case was brought by a group of journalists and rights activists who believe that their data may have been targeted.

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More News On The European Court Ruling That UK Mass Surveillance Program Violates Right To Privacy

GCHQ data collection regime violated human rights, court rules -- Guardian
British spies broke law in GCHQ mass surveillance, says European Court of Human Rights -- The Telegraph
Edward Snowden surveillance powers ruled unlawful -- BBC
Britain’s mass web-spying faulted by European rights court -- Reuters
UK mass surveillance programme violates human rights, European court rules -- The Independent
UK mass surveillance violates right to privacy, rules European court -- DW
“Bulk interception” by GCHQ (and NSA) violated human rights charter, European court rules -- Ars Technica

No White House Apology On Claim That British Intelligence Monitored Then Candidate Trump

New York Times: Trump Offers No Apology for Claim on British Spying

WASHINGTON — President Trump refused to back down on Friday after his White House aired an unverified claim that Britain’s spy agency secretly monitored him during last year’s campaign at the behest of President Barack Obama.

Although his aides in private conversations since Thursday night had tried to calm British officials who were livid over the claim, Mr. Trump made clear that he felt the White House had nothing to retract or apologize for. He said his spokesman was simply repeating an assertion made by a Fox News commentator.

“We said nothing,” Mr. Trump told a German reporter who asked about the matter at a joint White House news conference with Chancellor Angela Merkel. “All we did was quote a certain very talented legal mind who was the one responsible for saying that on television. I didn’t make an opinion on it.” He added: “You shouldn’t be talking to me. You should be talking to Fox.”

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WNU Editor: It is this story that started this GHCQ speculation .... Napolitano: Obama Admin Used British GCHQ To Spy On Trump During Campaign (RCP). More speculation is here .... How John Brennan and Some Brits Tried to Tip the Election to Hillary ( George Neumayr, Spectator).

Update: More fuel to the fire from President Trump .... Donald Trump says Fox News analyst who claimed GCHQ behind Obama 'wiretap' is a 'very talented legal mind' (The Telegraph). More here .... White House: No apology to British government over spying claims (CNN), and here .... Trump Deflects Blame for Spat With U.K. Over Spying Allegations (Bloomberg)

This refusal to apologise is a "back-track" from earlier reports in the day (see below):

UK says U.S. claims about spying will not be repeated -- Reuters
WH promises not to repeat claim that UK spied on Trump -- AP
UK raps White House over 'ridiculous' Trump spy claims -- AFP
GCHQ dismisses 'utterly ridiculous' claim it helped wiretap Trump -- The Guardian
US will 'not repeat' claims GCHQ wiretapped Donald Trump -- BBC
Claims GCHQ spy agency wiretapped Donald Trump will not be repeated, Theresa May's spokesman says -- ABC News Online
White House reassures London over 'ridiculous' GCHQ spying claims -- DW

Report: UK And US Intel Are Spyring On Israeli Diplomats, Army, And Defense Related Companies

Image from Mother Jones

Times of Israel: UK, US intel reportedly spied on Israeli diplomats, army

Leaked papers indicate British agency snooped on Foreign Ministry’s second-highest official

British and American intelligence spied on Israel’s diplomats and defense firms in addition to its military, the French daily Le Monde reported Wednesday based on leaked documents.

The report was based on material from Edward Snowden, the whistleblower who worked for US intelligence before publishing in 2013 classified material and fleeing to Russia.

According to the newspaper, Britain’s GCHQ intelligence-gathering apparatus collected information on a person described by Le Monde as the second-highest ranking official in the Israeli foreign ministry. That person was not named. The British also spied on the Palestinian Authority, the report said.

The paper reported that the GCHQ and NSA spied on Israeli diplomats at home and abroad, as well as private security companies, government bodies, and university research centers.

Read more ....

Update #1: NSA and British intelligence spied on Israeli defense-related companies: report -- i24 News
Update #2: Report: Britain spied on Israeli diplomats -- Arutz Sheva
Update #3: British spies monitor Israeli diplomats, with help from US and Jordan – Snowden docs reveal -- RT

WNU editor: I cannot say that I am surprised that Israel is being closely monitored .... but what I found interesting was this report .... U.K. Intelligence Called Israel 'True Threat' to Middle East (Haaretz).

A Fifth Of Britain's Spy Agency's Intelligence Comes From Hacking

It's the first time that GCHQ have admitted to carrying out hacking in the UK (Ministry of Defence - Wikimedia Commons)

The Telegraph: Fifth of GCHQ intelligence comes from hacking

The spy agency reveals scale of so-called equipment interference as it wins human rights challenge

A fifth of GCHQ intelligence comes from hacking in to phones and computers, the agency has revealed, as it won a human rights victory over its once secret technique.

The spy agency admitted last year that it regularly hacks electronic devices – known as equipment interference – to gather data on suspects.

It was forced to defend the power before the Investigatory Powers Tribunal after a civil liberty group and Internet companies claimed it breached human rights laws.

But the panel, which hears challenges against the security and intelligence agencies, ruled the methods were lawful.

Read more ....

More News On Britain's Courts Ruling That Hacking By The Intelligence Agency Is Legal

Tribunal rules computer hacking by GCHQ is not illegal -- BBC
GCHQ hacking does not breach human rights, security tribunal rules -- The Guardian
GCHQ hacking does not violate the UK's human rights laws, rules tribunal -- IBTimes
UK court: GCHQ hacking phones and computers is legal -- Wired
GCHQ did not break the law when it hacked networks, says tribunal -- ZDNet

How To Find Out If The NSA And GCHQ Spied On You

Image from Mother Jones

Kim Zetter, Wired: Now You Can Find Out if the NSA and GCHQ Spied on You

YOU JUST KNOW in your bones that the NSA spied on you and shared that data with Britain’s GCHQ spy agency, right? So how can you confirm this? Through a new online tool offered by the British civil liberties group Privacy International.

Thanks to a legal victory Privacy International obtained earlier this year, the UK’s Investigatory Powers Tribunal is now required to search through data the GCHQ obtained from the NSA for information collected on anyone in the world if that person so requests it. If you request the info and the Tribunal finds something, it must let you know. The catch is you have to make the request before December 5, 2015. Privacy International has made this easy with its “Did GCHQ Illegally Spy on You?” online tool.

WNU Editor: Hmmm .... am I being watched? Nah .... I am just a small person in the cog of life .... but I suspect that a few people who read this blog are. :)

Armed Guards Deployed For The First Time To Protect Britain's GCHQ Spy Agency

Armed police at GCHQ. Gloucestershire Echo

Daily Mail: Armed police patrol GCHQ for the first time amid heightened fears of a 'lone wolf' terror attack after Copenhagen atrocity

* Ministry of Defence armed officers now outside GCHQ in Cheltenham 24/7
* Terror threat level at 'severe' and MI5 say 'only matter of time' until attack
* Not clear if GCHQ's decision is based on plot to target the listening station
* Britain preparing for 'lone wolf' attack after extremist murders in Denmark

WNU Editor: I thought that armed guards were always deployed .... so this is a surprise.

More News On Armed Guards Being Deployed For The First Time To Protect Britain's GCHQ Spy Agency

Britain's GCHQ spy agency deploys armed guards for first time -- Reuters
Armed police to patrol GCHQ full time -- ITV
Armed police put on guard outside GCHQ in response to terror threat -- The Telegraph
GCHQ deploys armed police to counter terror threat at Cheltenham site -- RT
Exclusive: Armed Ministry of Defence Police go on patrol at GCHQ in Cheltenham -- Gloucestershire Echo

Edward Snowden Leaks: Britain`s GCHQ Stores Journalists’ Emails And Data

The Guardian: GCHQ captured emails of journalists from top international media

• Snowden files reveal emails of BBC, NY Times and more
• Agency includes investigative journalists on ‘threat’ list
• Editors call on Cameron to act against snooping on media

WNU Editor: What makes me surprised by these revelations is the complete lack of outrage from the U.S. journalist community. Even though this intelligence scooping operation was being done in Britain by their own intelligence agency .... U.S. journalists were also swept in by this surveillance/intelligence operation .... and on a massive scale. Are they afraid that there is an Obama White House tie-in ... or is there something else in play .... or do they care?

More News On Britain`s GCHQ Storing Journalists’ Emails And Data

British spy agency GCHQ labeled journalists an information security risk somewhere between terrorists and hackers in new Edward Snowden documents -- New York Post
Snowden documents show UK spies stored journalists' emails - report -- Reuters
Edward Snowden files reveal GCHQ scooped up journalist e-mails -- Washington Post
British spies nabbed journalists’ emails -- The Hill
‘Dangerous as terrorists’: Snowden leaks reveal GCHQ stores journalists’ data -- RT
British intelligence agency 'spied' on journalists -- Deutsche Welle
British intelligence captured emails from the New York Times, The Guardian, Reuters and more -- UPI
UK spy agency kept media emails: report -- The Australian
GCHQ intercepted emails from the BBC, New York Times, Guardian and others -- Mashable

British Court: UK Mass Surveillance Laws Do Not Breach Human Rights

Satellite dishes at a GCHQ outpost in Cornwall, near where transatlantic fibre-optic cables come ashore. Snowden revealed that GCHQ taps such cables and shares vast quantities of personal information with the NSA. Photograph: Kieran Doherty/Reuters

UK Mass Surveillance Laws Do Not Breach Human Rights, Tribunal Rules -- The Guardian

Rights groups brought case against GCHQ after Snowden revelations on extent of electronic surveillance in UK and US

Britain’s legal regime governing mass surveillance of the internet by intelligence agencies does not violate human rights, a tribunal has ruled.

But the investigatory powers tribunal (IPT) said it had identified one area where it has concerns about the adequacy of legal safeguards.

The tribunal will decide whether the human rights groups that brought the case have had their communications intercepted unlawfully in the past and whether any interception discovered was proportionate. The judgment said: “We have left open for further argument the question as to whether prior hereto there has been such a breach.”

Read more ....

More News On The British Courts Ruling That The U.K.'s Surveillance Laws Are Legal

GCHQ does not breach human rights, judges rule -- BBC
Spying techniques exposed by Snowden not unlawful: UK watchdog -- Reuters
GCHQ mass surveillance now lawful -- Press Association
UK Panel OKs Surveillance Practices -- AP
U.K. Judges Rule in Favor of Government Spying Program -- WSJ
GCHQ surveillance programme legal 'in principle' -- Wired.co.uk
GCHQ spying ‘doesn’t breach human rights’ – UK tribunal -- RT
Amnesty Int’l Slams UK Tribunal Decision on Government Surveillance -- Sputnik

Britain's New Spy Chief Says Some U.S. Hi-Tech Firms Are Aiding Terrorism (Update)

Top UK Spy: Twitter, Facebook Are Jihadi 'Command And Control Networks' -- CSM

Robert Hannigan called on US Internet giants to do more to help fight the militants using their networks to recruit new members abroad. The companies' cooperation has dropped off since Edward Snowden's intelligence leaks became public.

In the latest warning from European officials concerned with online recruiting of fighters for extremist groups like Islamic State, the new director of Britain’s surveillance agency said social media have become “the command and control networks of choice for terrorists.” He also said that US-based technology companies must work more closely with security and law enforcement agencies worldwide.

GCHQ director Robert Hannigan’s comments highlight the tension between government intelligence and Internet privacy more than a year after US contractor Edward Snowden leaked evidence of US and British government surveillance.

Read more ....

More News On Britain's New Spy Chief Saying That Some U.S. Tech Firms Are Aiding Terrorism

Facebook and Twitter Are ‘Command-and-Control Networks’ for Terrorists -- Time
UK spy chief says Web is command center for terror -- AP
GCHQ chief accuses US tech giants of becoming terrorists' 'networks of choice' -- The Guardian
British Intelligence Official Says U.S. Tech Companies Offer Terrorists ‘Networks of Choice’ -- NYT
British spy chief demands more access to Twitter, Facebook to thwart attacks -- Reuters
Britain's Spy Chief Says US Tech Firms Aid Terrorism -- The Telegraph
UK spy chief says big tech firms must help combat terror -- CNN
British spy chief: tech firms are terrorist targets -- UPI
Tech groups aid terror, says UK spy chief -- Financial Times
GCHQ Chief Says Social Media Aids Terrorists -- SKY News
Social media websites aid terrorism, claims GCHQ chief -- HITC Tech
British spy chief: Tech firms aiding terrorism -- The Hill
GCHQ's Robert Hannigan says tech firms 'in denial' on extremism -- BBC
Internet firms ‘in denial’ over terror role, warns GCHQ -- Channel 4
GCHQ chief: Tech firms 'in denial about online terrorism' -- ITV News
Web firms 'in denial' on terrorism -- Daily Mail/Press Association
Tech companies 'in denial' over use by extremists: senior UK spy -- AFP
GCHQ, terrorists, and the internet: What are the issues? -- BBC
Spy Chiefs Launch Operation Social Media -- Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg
How terrorists are using social media -- The Telegraph

My Comment: This is a big story that is finally getting the media attention that it deserves.

Update: This is very revealing .... Isis and Jihadi Terrorists 'Post 90 Tweets Every Minute' to Spread Propaganda -- IBTimes

Britain's New Spy Chief Says Some U.S. Hi-Tech Firms Are Aiding Terrorism

Robert Hannigan (right) took on the role of director of GCHQ (left) last month after a distinguished career as a senior diplomat Photo: Crown copyright

Britain's Spy Chief Says US Tech Firms Aid Terrorism -- The Telegraph

New GCHQ director Richard Hannigan accuses some Silicon Valley companies of becoming 'the command and control networks of choice' for terrorists

Technology giants such as Facebook and Twitter have become "the command and control networks of choice" for terrorists and criminals but are "in denial" about the scale of the problem, the new head of GCHQ has said.

Robert Hannigan said that Isil terrorists in Syria and Iraq have "embraced the web" and are using it to intimidate people and inspire "would-be jihadis" from all over the World to join them.

He urged the companies to work more closely with the security services, arguing that it is time for them to confront "some uncomfortable truths" and that privacy is not an "absolute right".

Read more ....

More News On Britain's New Spy Chief Saying That Some U.S. Tech Firms Are Aiding Terrorism

Tech groups aid terror, says UK spy chief -- Financial Times
GCHQ Chief Says Social Media Aids Terrorists -- SKY News
Social media websites aid terrorism, claims GCHQ chief -- HITC Tech
British spy chief: Tech firms aiding terrorism -- The Hill
Internet firms ‘in denial’ over terror role, warns GCHQ -- Channel 4
GCHQ chief: Tech firms 'in denial about online terrorism' -- ITV News
Web firms 'in denial' on terrorism -- Daily Mail/Press Association
Change at the top for Britain's spies -- BBC

UK Intelligence Monitors Facebook And YouTube As Well As Influencing Online Behavior

Satellite dishes are seen at GCHQ's outpost at Bude, close to where trans-Atlantic fibre-optic cables come ashore in Cornwall, southwest England (Reuters / Kieran Doherty)

GCHQ 'Can Spy On Facebook And YouTube Users And Has Ability To Manipulate Online Polls', Latest Snowden Leaks Claim -- Daily Mail

* Documents 'provided by Edward Snowden' reveal list of GCHQ's tools
* Software was designed to breach computers and manipulate internet
* Listed tools include ones designed to search for private Facebook pictures
* Others can change an online poll's outcome and censor extremist material
* List allegedly compiled by GCHQ Joint Threat Research Intelligence Group

Intelligence agency GCHQ is able to spy on Facebook and Youtube users and can manipulate online polls, according to the latest documents allegedly leaked by fugitive CIA worker Edward Snowden.

Documents thought to have been provided by the whistleblower allegedly show that the Cheltenham-based agency has developed a set of software programmes designed to breach users' computers and manipulate the internet.

Among the listed tools are ones capable of searching for private Facebook photographs, sending fake text messages, changing the outcome of online polls, censoring 'extremist' material, and collating comments on Youtube and Twitter.

Read more ....

More News On How British Intelligence Monitors And Influences Online Behavior

Hacking Online Polls and Other Ways British Spies Seek to Control the Internet -- The Intercept
GCHQ leak lists UK cyber-spies' hacking tools -- BBC
GCHQ has tools to manipulate online information, leaked documents show -- The Guardian
GCHQ's Online Spying Tricks: Rigged Polls, Facebook Propaganda, Skype, LinkedIn Info Capture -- IBTimes
U.K. Intelligence Agency's Bag of Tricks Includes Ability to Manipulate Online Polls -- Slate
UK Intel Develops Programs to Manipulate Online Polls, Web Traffic, Media -- RIA Novosti
Snowden files: Manipulating polls, netting from LinkedIn, YouTube in GCHQ bag of tricks -- RT
GCHQ's dark arts: Leaked documents reveal online manipulation, Facebook, YouTube snooping -- ZDNet
The United Kingdom can manipulate major communication services, from Facebook to phone calls -- Endgadget
Take a look inside GCHQ's manipulation toolkit -- Wired
UK spy agency manipulates online info, say documents -- Deccan Chronicle
GCHQ’s “Chinese menu” of tools spreads disinformation across Internet -- Ars Technica

U.K. Government Admits That It Conducts Mass Surveillance Of British Citizens On Facebook, Twitter, YouTube And Google

The Royal Air Force Menwith Hill base in Northern England provides intelligence support to Britain and the United States. Credit Nigel Roddis/Reuters

GCHQ Admits Mass Surveillance of Google, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook of UK Citizens -- IBTimes

The government's top anti-terror chief has been forced to admit to spying on UK citizens through Facebook, Google, Twitter and Youtube, due to a loophole in the law.

Charles Farr, the director general of the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism, issued a 48-page statement explaining that the domestic surveillance policy was in the name of national security.

The medium through which such communications are collected was justified by claiming that communications sent through such online services were classified as "external communications" due to the fact they passed through US servers.

Read more ....

More News On The U.K. Government Admitting That It Conducts Mass Surveillance Of British Citizens On Facebook, Twitter, YouTube And Google

State spies can snoop on your use of Google, Facebook and Twitter: GCHQ is allowed to monitor citizens' use of sites without warrants because they are not based in the UK -- Daily Mail
U.K. Says Laws Permit Mass Spying on Residents Online -- WSJ
Social media mass surveillance is permitted by law, says top UK official -- The Guardian
British Spy Agencies Assert Power to Intercept Web Traffic -- New York Times
British Spies Claim Right To Intercept Facebook, Twitter, Google -- Daily Caller
Revealed: UK govt intercepted Google, Facebook and Twitter comms -- RT
UK spies using foreign loopholes to monitor Google, Facebook and Twitter users -- Endgadget
UK admits to spying on citizens via Google, Facebook -- Tech Times
UK official reveals secret justification for gov’t social media spying -- Ars Technica
Why the government believes the law is on its side on social media interceptions -- The Guardian
The British Government Just Set a Dangerous Precedent for Online Spying -- Micah Singleton, Gizmodo

British Counter Terrorism Official: Edward Snowden's NSA Leaks Have Resulted In Terrorists Changing Tactics

Snowden Leaks Mean Terrorists Are Changing Tactics To Slip Under The Radar, Say British Secret Services -- Daily Mail

* A senior counter-terrorism official said Snowden had helped terrorists
* Stephen Phipson said terrorists were given 'full sight' of GCHQ tradecraft
* The 'very damaging' leaks were published in the Guardian newspaper

Terrorists are changing tactics to slip under the radar after being given ‘full sight’ of GCHQ tradecraft by whistleblower Edward Snowden, a counter-terrorism director warned today.

Stephen Phipson, one of the Government’s most senior counter terrorism officials, said the surveillance leaks published in the Guardian newspaper had led to a ‘substantial reduction’ in intelligence on suspects as they have changed their methods of communication.

The director at the Office for Security and Counter Terrorism (OSCT) said the release of information from the Snowden documents had given extremists ‘full sight’ of tools and techniques used by the British listening station GCHQ, which had had a ‘severe’ effect on spying operations.

Read more ....

Update #1: Terrorists have changed methods since Snowden leaks: UK official -- Reuters
Update #2: Terrorists given 'full sight' of spy methods by Snowden leak, warns counter terrorism official -- The Telegraph

My Comment: When in trouble blame the messenger .... and that is what is happening here.

New British Surveillance Chief Is An Intel Outsider

In Break With Tradition, New British Surveillance Chief Is An Intel Outsider -- Shane Harris, Foreign Policy

The United Kingdom's global surveillance agency is getting a new leader. But in a move widely seen as an attempt to bring the organization to heel following months of embarrassing leaks about its operations, the new director is a political operative who is more James Carville than James Bond.

Robert Hannigan, a career diplomat and former adviser to two prime ministers, was appointed director of the Government Communications Headquarters, the equivalent of the National Security Agency, earlier this week. Historically, all but two GCHQ directors have either climbed up the career ladder of the agency or had significant experience in signals intelligence. The most recent director, Iain Lobban, joined the agency in 1983. Hannigan, by contrast, is a political operative who has served as a government spokesman and was closely involved in the Northern Ireland peace process and other high-profile diplomatic negotiations.

Read more ....

My Comment: This is so typically British (and everyone else when you think about it) .... there is a hope that by changing the messenger it will end up changing the perception of the organization and it's message. Unfortunately .... that is rarely the case.

GCHQ/NSA Collected Webcam Images From Yahoo Users For Years

Yahoo Webcam Images From Millions Of Users Intercepted By GCHQ -- The Guardian

• Optic Nerve program collected Yahoo webcam images in bulk
• 1.8m users targeted by UK agency in six-month period alone
• Yahoo: 'A whole new level of violation of our users' privacy'
• Material included large quantity of sexually explicit images

Britain's surveillance agency GCHQ, with aid from the US National Security Agency, intercepted and stored the webcam images of millions of internet users not suspected of wrongdoing, secret documents reveal.

GCHQ files dating between 2008 and 2010 explicitly state that a surveillance program codenamed Optic Nerve collected still images of Yahoo webcam chats in bulk and saved them to agency databases, regardless of whether individual users were an intelligence target or not.

In one six-month period in 2008 alone, the agency collected webcam imagery – including substantial quantities of sexually explicit communications – from more than 1.8 million Yahoo user accounts globally.

Read more ....

More News On Reports That The GCHQ/NSA Collected Webcam Images From Yahoo Users For Years

GCHQ's cover for Optic Nerve provided by legislation introduced in 2000 -- The Guardian
UK spies 'intercepted webcam images of Yahoo users' -- BBC
British spy agency collected images of Yahoo webcam chats: Guardian -- Reuters
Report: UK spies intercept webcam pics, nudity -- AP
Report: British intelligence collected millions of Yahoo webcam images -- UPI
Report: U.K. spy agency collected Yahoo webcam images -- USA Today
Report: British spy agency collected millions of Yahoo users' images -- L.A. Times
UK spied on millions of intimate webcam chats -- Al Jazeera
Report: U.K. Spy Agency Stored Millions of Webcam Images -- Time
British surveillance reportedly collected webcam images from millions of Yahoo users -- The Verge
NSA helped UK spy agency collect millions of pics from Yahoo web chats -- BGR
The NSA Is Spying on Your Webcam Sex -- Time
UK spy agency's Optic Nerve monitored millions of Yahoo webcam chats, lots with 'undesirable nudity' -- Global Post
Have millions of British webcam users had their sex pictures harvested by UK spies? -- Daily Mail
UK Spy Agency Surprised Most People Use Webcam for Sex -- Liberty Voice
British spies confronted by ‘surprising’ amount of porn as they secretly monitored webchats -- Michael Higgins, National Post
Quote of the Day: People Sure Use Their Webcams for a Lot of Kinky Stuff -- Mother Jones
GCHQ's interception and storage of Yahoo webcam images condemned -- The Guardian

Britain's Spy Agency GCHQ Spoofed LinkedIn, Slashdot To Spy On Communications Firms

Satellite dishes are seen at GCHQ's outpost at Bude, close to where trans-Atlantic fibre-optic cables come ashore in Cornwall, southwest England (Reuters/Kieran Doherty)

GCHQ 'Set Up fake LinkedIn Profiles To Spy On Mobile Phone Networks' According To Documents Leaked By Edward Snowden -- Daily Mail

* British spies apparently spied on security staff at European telecoms firms
* Set up copies of LinkedIn pages which infected computers with malware
* Targeting telecommunications allows spies access to individuals' profiles

GCHQ set up fake pages on LinkedIn and other websites in order to spy on communications firms, it has been claimed.

Leaked documents apparently reveal that the British surveillance service targeted security staff responsible for safeguarding networks across Europe.

The claim is likely to lead to further controversy among Britain's allies coming just a week after it was reported that the UK was spying on Germany via its embassy in Berlin.

Read more ....

More News On How Britain's Spy Agency GCHQ Spoofed LinkedIn, Slashdot To Spy On Communications Firms

GCHQ Used Fake LinkedIn Pages to Target Engineers -- Spiegel Online
GCHQ spoofed LinkedIn site to target global mobile traffic exchange and OPEC – report -- RT
GCHQ Targeted Telecoms Staff Through Fake LinkedIn Website -- International Business Times
British intelligence reportedly intercepted LinkedIn and Slashdot traffic to plant malware -- The Verge
GCHQ Used Fake Slashdot Page To Install Malware To Hack Internet Exchange -- Tech Dirt
British spies reportedly spoofed LinkedIn, Slashdot to target network engineers -- PC World
Here’s how British intelligence used LinkedIn and Slashdot to dupe telecoms workers -- Gigaom