Spy base opens up to reveal cyber war on crime

SLIM and smartly dressed, 50-year-old Simon has the appearance of a typical Civil Servant but he has a most unusual desk job.
Staff at work at GCHQ Scarborough base. Picture by Gerard Binks.Staff at work at GCHQ Scarborough base. Picture by Gerard Binks.
Staff at work at GCHQ Scarborough base. Picture by Gerard Binks.

Visiting his workplace involves security checks and passing through blast-proof doors.

For the last 30 months Simon - his surname isn’t disclosed and we cannot take his photo - has been Head of Station at the Scarborough spy base known as General Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), which is celebrating its centenary year.

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Simon, one of the spy agency most experienced employees, oversees eavesdropping carried out by several hundred analysts and specialists.

The Yorkshire Post was granted a tour of the facility, the first print journalists allowed access in a century.

Although Simon gives little away about what he actually does, he is happy to talk in general terms.

Allowing journalists to visit, he admits, is “exceptional and a little bit scary”, adding: “We are coming out of the shadows a little bit.”

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The move towards greater openness, according to GCHQ, pre-dates the negative publicity it faced in the wake of allegations by US intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden.

And while staff won’t comment on the Snowden allegations, they state that everything they do is “lawful, authorised, necessary and proportionate”.

“We have been defending national security for an awful long time,” says Simon. “We are ordinary folk who are proud of the job we do, which we do tirelessly and selflessly.”

The languages graduate joined GCHQ in 1987 and worked as a linguist.

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“I’ve had various jobs, including overseas. This is the best job I have had out of the lot of them. It’s a great site to work at, a perfect size, not too unwieldy. The site and the people are adaptable and can get things done.”

He has overseen changes in the kind of people GCHQ employs.

It used to be dominated by middle aged men, often ex military types, but is now reliant on technically-minded people in their 20s.

A recent recruitment search for intelligence analysts discovered that the five top were women - all were taken on - and about half the linguists are women, though the technical ‘geeks’ tend to be men.

Countering terrorism and organised crime, including hacking, are key aspects of the work.

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Simon adds: “GCHQ is involved in countering domestic and international terrorism, serious and organised crime and counter proliferation of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons and the problem of cybercrime, which is a huge growth area.”

Assisting the military is another key area.

Our tour takes in training rooms and former operations rooms with blast walls dating back to the Second World War and the Cold War.

There is a museum containing a German Enigma code machine, maps and old ‘spying’ equipment. It must be the least-visited museum in the country as it is closed to the public.

Just one room is off-limits during the tour - ‘Operations’: anyone with aspirations of getting inside will need to show special abilities to be granted an interview.

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New recruits are taught “tradecraft” - the basics of gathering information using technology.

Tony, a manager at Scarborough, says: “We are not just looking for Oxbridge graduates; gone are the days of the tap on the shoulder. The thinking these days is that great minds often don’t think alike. If you have got the right background and skills, we are interested.”

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