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4 Nov, 2014

Britain’s new electronic spy chief says US tech giants aid terror — RT UK

Robert Hannigan, the new director of GCHQ, has accused US technology companies of being “in denial” about how their services are used as “command and control” networks by terrorists, calling on them to cooperate more with intelligence agencies.

Hannigan’s remarks, published in an opinion piece for the Financial Times (FT) on Monday, reflect growing tension in many Western intelligence agencies, as tech giants have started protecting their brands following revelations made by Edward Snowden last year regarding the extent of US and UK mass surveillance.

“However much they dislike it, they have become the command and control networks of choice for terrorists and criminals, who find their services as transformational as the rest of us,” writes Hannigan, who came to GCHQ from the Foreign Office and is a relative outsider to the Cheltenham spooks.

Hannigan says he believes most internet users would be happy if there was a more “sustainable relationship” between intelligence agencies and tech companies.

Read the rest: Britain’s new electronic spy chief says US tech giants aid terror — RT UK.