Does the UK Government Want To Make GCHQ The 'Big Brother' For Europe?

Does the Government want to make GCHQ the 'Big Brother' for Europe?

GCHQ's giant Cheltenham facility is the only place in Europe capable of housing the projected cybercrime operation.

The vast GCHQ centre at Cheltenham, opened in 2004 Photo: ALAMY


7:00PM BST 07 Apr 2012

Two weeks ago it was “Pasty-gate”. Last week it was “Big Brother-gate”, the storm which erupted over reports that the Government is planning to set up a £2 billion cyber-surveillance centre at GCHQ, to monitor data on all electronic exchanges, through emails, Facebook, Skype and mobile phones.

As readers of this column will know, whenever the Government comes up with some proposal which is hugely unpopular and the justification for which is not immediately clear – from charging VAT on hot pies to creating a high-speed rail service from London to Birmingham – it is always worth inquiring as to whether there is some hidden European dimension at work. This Snoopergate furore is no exception.

Clues as to what is going on here proliferate in all directions. Last November, the Government announced that it would spend £650 million on beefing up British cyber-security as part of its Strategic Defence and Security Review; and that top British firms were to be offered the chance to buy top-secret security software from GCHQ.

Last week, GCHQ announced that it would be paying eight UK universities to set up Academic Centres of Excellence in Cyber-Security Research. The minister in charge of cyber-security, Francis Maude, makes no secret of the importance the Government attaches to this issue, although of course he makes no mention of Europe, but only claims that it wishes “to make the UK one of the most secure places in the world to do business”.

The biggest clue, however, was the announcement on March 28 by the EU’s Commissioner for Home Affairs, Cecilia Malmström, that Brussels is setting up a European Cybercrime Centre “to help protect European citizens and businesses against these mounting cyber-threats”. Initially this is to be part of Europol, at its headquarters in the Hague (formerly occupied by the Gestapo). But these premises are too small for an organisation on the scale that the Commission seems to have in mind. In fact, Europe has only one facility large enough to be an EU-wide cyber-surveillance centre, and that is GCHQ’s vast £330-million complex in Cheltenham, opened eight years ago.

Views: 71

Comment

You need to be a member of 12160 Social Network to add comments!

Join 12160 Social Network

"Destroying the New World Order"

TOP CONTENT THIS WEEK

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SITE!

mobile page

12160.info/m

12160 Administrators

 

Latest Activity

tjdavis posted a video

In 1994, He Exposed Their Entire System… and Predicted 2026 Perfectly. | Jordan Maxwell

In 1994, He Exposed Their Entire System… and Predicted 2026 Perfectly. | Jordan Maxwell#jordanmaxwell #knowledge #technology #history #facts✅ Explore Jordan ...
10 hours ago
Doc Vega posted a blog post

Halloween Story No. 4 “The Curse”

 Arnold Yates had spent 20 years in big city law enforcement. Ten years as a Cop and 10 years as an…See More
20 hours ago
tjdavis favorited cheeki kea's photo
yesterday
tjdavis posted a video

Rock Hudson - " Seconds " Trailer - 1966

Along "Giant" , "Seconds" remained one of Rock's favorite of his movies.The film was based on David Ely' s novel.Rock was finding himself pigeonhelded in co...
yesterday
Doc Vega posted blog posts
Thursday
tjdavis posted a video

A Disturbing Pattern Happened Again... Explain This

#strange #video #strangevideos #scary #scaryvideos #creepy In this video we dig into strange, disturbing, and odd stories that sit just outside nor...
Thursday
Doc Vega posted a blog post

Halloween Story Number Three- “They Came from the Sky!"

 Werner was from Westphalia, Germany-the Northwest Region. He had been in America for a few months…See More
Wednesday
Sandy posted a video

🚨 THEY SILENCED HIM! Barrie Jennings' SHOCKING 9/11 Testimony… Then He MYSTERIOUSLY DIED! (RIP)

‼️ WARNING: This Story Will Make You Question Everything…Barry Jennings was a key witness to the UNEXPLAINED explosions inside WTC Building 7 on 9/11—long be...
Tuesday
cheeki kea commented on cheeki kea's photo
Thumbnail

message approved

"Yip damn right. t"
Tuesday
cheeki kea posted a photo
Tuesday
cheeki kea favorited Doc Vega's blog post The Fantasy Clown World I Wake Up to Everyday
Tuesday
tjdavis posted a video

NAZA Official Trailer | Mongrel Media

The trailer for NAZA, a new documentary from Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, two of the Oscar®-winning filmmakers behind NO OTHER LAND.Shot at night on the ro...
Oct 17
Doc Vega posted blog posts
Oct 17
Sandy posted a video

Pentagon's LifeLog vs. Facebook: Same Day Shutdown? #shorts

LifeLog, the Pentagon's ambitious data collection program, was shut down by DARPA on February 4th, 2004. Coincidentally, Facebook was registered as a busines...
Oct 16
Doc Vega posted a blog post

The Fantasy Clown World I Wake Up to Everyday

 I never could have seen this coming before I was awakened by all the BS that I became aware of…See More
Oct 15
Doc Vega posted a blog post

Why Was the Movie “The Bedford Incident” Such a Threat?

 With wars looming in the Middle East and Vladimir Putin making more threats of using nuclear…See More
Oct 14
Doc Vega posted a blog post
Oct 13
tjdavis posted videos
Oct 12
cheeki kea commented on cheeki kea's photo
Thumbnail

Oil News ( not good )

"~ Amendment. New hope on the horizon. Quick updates. Diesel sanctions on Russia Lifted ! by…"
Oct 10
Doc Vega posted a blog post

The Death Doll-Halloween Story Two

 Retired Major Lionel Eldridge was browsing items in a bazaar of relics, antiques, and curios when…See More
Oct 9

© 2026   Created by truth.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

content and site copyright 12160.info 2007-2019 - all rights reserved. unless otherwise noted