32 Facts About GCHQ

Government Communications Headquarters, commonly known as GCHQ, is an intelligence and security organisation responsible for providing signals intelligence and information assurance to the government and armed forces of the United Kingdom.

GCHQ was originally established after the First World War as the Government Code and Cypher School and was known under that name until 1946.

In 2013, GCHQ received considerable media attention when the former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden revealed that the agency was in the process of collecting all online and telephone data in the UK via the Tempora programme.

GCHQ is led by the Director of GCHQ, Jeremy Fleming, and a Corporate Board, made up of executive and non-executive directors.

GCHQ had a very low profile in the media until 1983 when the trial of Geoffrey Prime, a KGB mole within it, created considerable media interest.

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In 1984, GCHQ was the centre of a political row when, in the wake of strikes which affected Sigint collection, the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher prohibited its employees from belonging to a trade union.

The objectives of GCHQ were defined as working as "in the interests of national security, with particular reference to the defence and foreign policies of His Majesty's government; in the interests of the economic wellbeing of the United Kingdom; and in support of the prevention and the detection of serious crime".

Aldrich suggests that Sir John Adye, the then Director of GCHQ performed badly in meetings with Aitken, leading Aitken to conclude that GCHQ was "suffering from out-of-date methods of management and out-of-date methods for assessing priorities".

The J Division of GCHQ, which had collected SIGINT on Russia, disappeared as a result of the cuts.

In March 2010, GCHQ was criticised by the Intelligence and Security Committee for problems with its IT security practices and failing to meet its targets for work targeted against cyber attacks.

GCHQ has had access to the US internet monitoring programme PRISM from at least as far back as June 2010.

From 2013, GCHQ realised that public attitudes to Sigint had changed and its former unquestioned secrecy was no longer appropriate or acceptable.

GCHQ transformed itself accordingly, including greatly expanded Public Relations and Legal departments, and adopting public education in cyber security as an important part of its remit.

In 2015, documents obtained by The Intercept from US National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed that GCHQ had carried out a mass-surveillance operation, codenamed KARMA POLICE, since about 2008.

In 2015, GCHQ admitted for the first time in court that it conducts computer hacking.

In 2017, US Press Secretary Sean Spicer alleged that GCHQ had conducted surveillance on US President Donald Trump, basing the allegation on statements made by a media commentator during a Fox News segment.

GCHQ personnel are recognised annually by King Charles III at the Prince of Wales's Intelligence Community Awards at St James's Palace or Clarence House alongside members of the Security Service, and Secret Intelligence Service .

From 1952 to 1954, the intelligence mission of GCHQ relocated to Cheltenham; the Security section remained at Eastcote, and in March 1954 became a separate, independent organisation: the London Communications Security Agency, which in 1958 was renamed to the London Communications-Electronic Security Agency .

In October 1969, CESD was merged into GCHQ and becoming Communications-Electronic Security Group .

CESG did not manufacture security equipment, but worked with industry to ensure the availability of suitable products and services, while GCHQ itself funded research into such areas, for example to the Centre for Quantum Computation at Oxford University and the Heilbronn Institute for Mathematical Research at the University of Bristol.

In 2016, the National Cyber Security Centre was established under GCHQ but located in London, as the UK's authority on cybersecurity.

GCHQ operates in partnership with equivalent agencies worldwide in a number of bi-lateral and multi-lateral relationships.

Judicial oversight of GCHQ's conduct is exercised by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal.

Furthermore, the IPT ruled that the legislative framework in the United Kingdom does not permit mass surveillance and that while GCHQ collects and analyses data in bulk, it does not practice mass surveillance.

Later that year, a ruling by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal found that GCHQ acted unlawfully in conducting surveillance on two human rights organisations.

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On 25 May 2021, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the GCHQ is guilty of violating data privacy rules through their bulk interception of communications, and does not provide sufficient protections for confidential journalistic material because it gathers communications in bulk.

Controversial GCHQ case determined the scope of judicial review of prerogative powers .

GCHQ Certified Training scheme was established to certify two main levels of cybersecurity training.

GCHQ have set a number of cryptic online challenges to the public, used to attract interest and for recruitment, starting in late 1999.

GCHQ appeared on the Doctor Who 2019 special "Resolution" where the Reconnaissance Scout Dalek storms the facility and exterminates the staff in order to use the organisation's resources to summon a Dalek fleet.

GCHQ is the setting of the 2020 Sky One sitcom Intelligence, featuring David Schwimmer as an incompetent American NSA officer liaising with GCHQ's Cyber Crimes unit.

GCHQ is the setting of the 2022 Channel 4 drama The Undeclared War.