Researcher Finds GCHQ-Developed Phone Security Open to Surveillance!

Noor Qureshi January 21, 2016

Researcher Finds GCHQ-Developed Phone Security Open to Surveillance!

A Security Researcher Steven Murdoch Described Vulnerabilities in such a conversations were encrypted. He Claims to eavesdrop on Phone Calls in their software which were developed by GCHQ UK intelligence agency.

In Reply from GCHQ:

Steven Murdoch did not say that the vulnerability would give direct access to conversations, but that it would make it possible to undermine the system’s security.

The network operator could listen in to calls, or authorize someone else to, and anyone who hacked the system would be able to eavesdrop, he said.

‘What is GCHQ?’

At GCHQ we believe that success depends on great minds not thinking alike. That’s why as an organisation we aspire to recruit and nurture the brightest talent and are building an inclusive workforce the reflects the diversity of the nation we serve.

Talent

We’ve got a tough but crucial mission, so we need talented people with a broad range of skills who can rise to the challenge. That means hiring people with specialist skills in areas like technology, security or languages, but we also need talented individuals throughout our whole organisation, be that in IT, communications or HR. We take people with years of experience in their field right through to raw talent straight from university that we can harness and nurture.

Diversity

We look for talent no matter what package it comes in. We know we need diverse teams to take on the challenge of keeping this country safe, because we know that diverse teams perform better.

Some of the things we do to encourage a diverse workforce:

We have support networks for women, BAME, disabled, and LGBT employees
We are proactive in trying to recruit talent from underrepresented groups
We undergo regular diversity benchmarking by Opportunity Now and Race for Opportunity
We have relationships with organisations such as Stonewall and are one of their Diversity Champions
Through our Women in Technology (WITTY) initiative we engage with schools and universities to encourage more women to take up STEM subjects.

Inclusion

We don’t just seek to create a diverse organisation however, but also one that welcomes and values everyone for who they are. We have developed an inclusive environment where individuals can be themselves in the workplace, because staff who can bring their all to work, can give their all to work.

Some of the things we do to ensure an inclusive workplace:

We make workplace adjustments for people with disabilities
We have a prayer room for staff
We are proactive in offering part-time and flexible working arrangements to suit those with home or personal commitments
We have developed an award-wining Dyslexia and Dyspraxia toolkit.

Source: http://www.gchq.gov.uk/who_we_are/Pages/What-kind-of-people-work-at-GCHQ.aspx

‘Conflict’

One of Dr Murdoch’s chief concerns was that the security standard has “key escrow” by design – meaning, for example, that a third party has access to data sent between two people in a conversation.

This, he said, is an example of a backdoor.

In this case, it could allow an intelligence agency, or the organisation which is using the standard, to intercept phone calls, Dr Murdoch said.

“I think this comes from a conflict of interest within GCHQ in that they are there to prevent spying but they are also there to spy – so they facilitate spying,” he told the BBC.

Dr Murdoch added that he was aware of two products which use the standard, both of which are government certified.

“They could be in use inside government,” he said.