Who are the cyberspies? The Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) employs about 5,000 people and has two key roles: To identify threats from intercepted communications. It says these include terrorism, the spread of nuclear weapons, regional conflicts around the world and threats to the economic prosperity of the UK. To serve as an authority on information assurance – meaning that it advises the government and organisations running the UK’s critical infrastructure how to safeguard their systems from interference and disruption. It dates back to 1919, when it was called the Government Code and Cypher School. It adopted its current name in 1946. The foreign secretary is answerable in Parliament for GCHQ’s … Continue reading BBC