UK's GCHQ Intern Transferred Top Secret Files To His Phone (bbc.co.uk)
- Reference: 0176876659
- News link: https://yro.slashdot.org/story/25/03/31/2114234/uks-gchq-intern-transferred-top-secret-files-to-his-phone
- Source link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y6933pp9go
> A former GCHQ intern has admitted risking national security by [2]taking top secret data home with him on his mobile phone . Hasaan Arshad, 25, pleaded guilty to an offence under the Computer Misuse Act on what would have been the first day of his trial at the Old Bailey in London. The charge related to committing an unauthorised act which risked damaging national security.
>
> Arshad, from Rochdale in Greater Manchester, is said to have transferred sensitive data from a secure computer to his phone, which he had taken into a top secret area of GCHQ on 24 August 2022. [...] The court heard that Arshad took his work mobile into a top secret GCHQ area and connected it to work station. He then transferred sensitive data from a secure, top secret computer to the phone before taking it home, it was claimed. Arshad then transferred the data from the phone to a hard drive connected to his personal home computer.
"Seriously? What on earth was the UK's equivalent of the NSA doing allowing its hardware to carry out such a transfer?" questions Bruce66423.
[1] https://slashdot.org/~Bruce66423
[2] https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y6933pp9go
Dumbass (Score:2)
Should have stored it in his golden bathroom.
Phones in GCHQ? (Score:2)
Nevermind why the computers allowed such a transfer why did he even have his phone inside GCHQ in the first place? These things leak data and can be hijacked to record and upload information by other state actors - as GCHQ itself should know given that they have been accused of doing it themselves!
I'd have expected that, unless you were working in a very low security area, you'd need to leave your phone in a Faraday cage locker at the gate/door. Frankly, you probably also need to do that with watches as
Re: (Score:3)
> why did he even have his phone inside GCHQ in the first place?
Just try to pry a phone out of the hands of a zoomer and see what happens.
Re: (Score:3)
He should have applied to intern in the White House instead. Seems like a better "cultural fit".
Re: (Score:2)
He better consult this guide before applying. [1]https://imgur.com/gallery/fami... [imgur.com]
[1] https://imgur.com/gallery/family-guy-skin-tone-chart-hD9ggBt
Re: (Score:2)
Exactly. I'm guessing this wasn't a high security area - probably a corporate office annex. I'm also guessing the information involved was some corporate document that he wanted to work from home etc and he didn't have a work issued home computer.
Re: (Score:1)
Interesting supposition that "I'm guessing this wasn't a high security area", however the /. story here says in the second paragraph "which he had taken into a top secret area of GCHQ on 24 August 2022", so I'm not sure how your conclusion can be drawn
Re: Phones in GCHQ? (Score:2)
If you read the article you'd know that it was a work-issue mobile.
Signal (Score:1)
He should have used signal...it works in the USA.
No prosecution, no job loss...
Or you just let DOGE to get into your computers..... I wonder where musk is getting all that data to train his AI on...hmmmmm.....
Access problems (Score:4, Insightful)
Why did the intern have access? Why was a smartphone allowed into an area with top secret files and without controls to block it from being connected? So many fails.
Re: Access problems (Score:2)
Possibly because the article says it was a work mobile. Perhaps that's why the device was pre-authorised to connect.
They are currently clean on OPSEC. (Score:2)
They are doing all they can to enforce 100 percent OPSEC.
Sus (Score:1)
Why are there two of these types of issues in the news in as many weeks?
Are they trying to distract us?
Hold up (Score:1)
It's only a crime if you're not republican.
Re: (Score:2)
> It's only a crime if you're not republican.
This happened in the UK. Though, it seems like our "new normal" here in the US is contagious.
As Reality Winner once googled, (Score:1)
Secret computers [do] record usb drive insertions.
Clearly they need a new CIO (Score:4, Interesting)
The fact that a government agency doesn't have protections against this, when I can't even plug a thumb drive into my mere 'corporate' work PC is absurd.
Re: (Score:3)
I work for an automotive company and even we can't do what this guy did in spy-land where everything should be MORE locked down. As you say, the CIO is incompetent and should be bounced.
Re: (Score:3)
This is in the UK. Would that be Desmond Llewelyn? Perhaps they'll replace him with John Cleese.