GCHQ Bude
GCHQ Bude, also known as GCHQ Composite Signals Organisation Station Morwenstow,[1] abbreviated to GCHQ CSO Morwenstow,[1] is a UK Government satellite ground station and eavesdropping centre located on the north Cornwall coast at Cleave Camp,[2] between the small villages of Morwenstow and Coombe. It is operated by the British signals intelligence service, officially known as the Government Communications Headquarters, commonly abbreviated GCHQ. It is located on part of the site of the former World War II airfield, RAF Cleave.
From its inception, the station has been an Anglo-American co-operative project. It was the United States National Security Agency (NSA) that paid for most of the infrastructure and the technology. The running costs, like payments for the staff, were paid by GCHQ, who also provided the land. The intelligence that was collected by the Bude satellite station was shared among NSA and GCHQ, and was also jointly processed.[4]
In 1963, TAT-3, an undersea cable linking the United Kingdom to the United States, was laid from Tuckerton, New Jersey, US to Widemouth Bay, Cornwall, just 10 kilometres (6 miles) south of the site at Cleave Camp.[5] The British General Post Office (GPO) routinely monitored all communications passing along the TAT-3 cable, forwarding any messages they felt were relevant to the security services.[5]
The site at Cleave Camp presented an opportunity to monitor submarine cable traffic from the nearby landing points, while at the same time intercepting communications meant for the commercial satellite ground station at Goonhilly Downs.[4]
The TAT-14 undersea cable landing at Bude was identified as one of few assets of "Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources" of the US on foreign territory, in a diplomatic cable leaked to WikiLeaks.[7]
GCHQ Bude station comprises twenty one satellite antennae[1] of various sizes, including three that have a diameter of 30 metres (100 feet), that could theoretically cover all the main frequency bands: L band, C band, Ku band, X band, Ka band, and V band. Calculated on the basis of their position, their elevation, and their compass (azimuth) angle, the antennae are generally orientated towards satellites of the INTELSAT, Intersputnik, and INMARSAT communications networks over the Atlantic Ocean, Africa, and the Indian Ocean, as well as towards the Middle East and mainland Europe. Somewhere between 2011 and 2013, a torus antenna[8] was installed, which is able to receive the signals of up to thirty-five satellites simultaneously. This antenna is not covered by a radome.[9]
In June 2013, The Guardian newspaper, using documents leaked by former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor, Edward Snowden, revealed the existence of an operation codenamed Tempora, whereby GCHQ is able to tap into data which flows along undersea cables and then store it for up to 30 days, to assess and analyse it. The article refers to a three-year trial set up at GCHQ Bude which, by mid 2011, was probing more than 200 internet connections.[16]
On 17 May 2016, the satellite dishes at GCHQ Bude Station were lit up in a display of rainbow colours. This was to mark the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOBiT). This display was a public act of unity and recognition of Pride GCHQ, and to assert the continued commitment by GCHQ to diversity and pride in its staff. It follows a similar rainbow coloured themed display in support of the 2015 IDAHOBiT at the GCHQ Cheltenham site a year earlier.[26][27][28][29]
Bibliography
Schmid, G. (11 July 2001). "Report on the existence of a global system for the interception of private and commercial communications (ECHELON interception system) (2001/2098(INI))". Session document A5-0264/2001. European Parliament. Retrieved 21 December 2006.
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//NONSGML+REPORT+A5-2001-0264+0+DOC+PDF+V0//EN&language=EN
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GCHQ_Bude