Renta-spook: GCHQ commercialisation 'is a live issue'
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GCHQ could be turned into a technology incubator under plans being discussed by the government, it's been revealed.
The security minister Baroness Neville-Jones told MPs that commercialisation of the Cheltenham spy agency's technology and services is a "live issue".
She appeared yesterday before the Science and Technology Select Committee to answer questions on the government's approach to national emergencies, including cyber attacks.
"You are taking me on to ground, chairman, that we are thinking about," she told the Committee.
"There are many ways of tackling the whole question of whether, for instance, Cheltenham were to supply a service to the private sector how that might be funded and what the financial relationship might be," Neville-Jones said, adding that she was uncomfortable disclosing the details of ongoing discussions.
The comments came in response to Committee's Labour chairman Andrew Miller, who cited GCHQ scientists' invention of public key cryptography in 1973 as a missed commercial opportunity. The innovation was kept secret, and civilian American scientists subsequently independently developed and similar algorithms, which formed the basis of major corporations.
"If RSL [sic - he meant RSA] had been created in the UK you'd have a bit more money to spend," he said.
GCHQ already acts as a services provider to the rest of government. Its information assurance arm, CESG, charges departments for security consultancy including penetration testing.
Offering CESG's services for a fee to selected private firms would be a relatively small policy change. Commercialising GCHQ's jealously guarded technical innovations - its modern equivalents of public key cryptography - would require a more radical shift. ®
COMMENTS
So, another bloody Qinetiq then?
Where all the smart stuff gets given away to the guy who used to bugger the politician in charge at Eton then? Yes, of course the Conservatives should stuff their own and their mates pockets with more cash at the taxpayers expense, can anyone say AEA?
Hasn't taken the tories long to scrounge about for taxpayer built value that they can flog off to their crooked mates has it? Sorry, I meant to say "commercialise", must remember to use the right euphemism for the current smash and grab.
Typical Politicians
"for instance, Cheltenham were to supply a service to the private sector how that might be funded and what the finaincial relationship might be,"
erm....supplier customer relationship where it is funded by the customer for a profit.
oh sorry, you work on the "We pay for everything using tax payer money that the poor taxpayer thought they were handing over to pay for schools and stuff."
Commercialisation of Big Brother. Oh joy.
"GCHQ could be turned into a technology incubator"
That sounds like a UK version of DARPA, but their focus seems to be narrower, so more spying and data gathering technology.
"The security minister Baroness Neville-Jones told MPs that commercialisation of the Cheltenham spy agency's technology" ... can go fuck themselves? ... no, shame. :(
So how much money will this "commercialisation" plan earn Phorm? ... Will GCHQ simply stream their data (i.e. our data formerly known as our privacy) into Phorm to legalise what Phorm wanted to do all along, which was violate our privacy for their profit?
Plus then the government can give out more of our tax payers money to research more ways to automate keyword detection on all of us to find out who of us use anti-government keywords and read anti-government news articles (like reading what these two faced bastards have been doing in wikileaks related news). Meanwhile the GCHQ / Phorm spying can help these two faced bastards in power to continue to violate our privacy to make them richer and more powerful.
So much for our privacy.
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