GCHQ cannot find thousands of data storage devices — Politico Europe

In the United Kingdom, the GCHQ intelligence service cannot determine the whereabouts of thousands of data storage devices, including USB flash drives, hard drives and memory cards. Some of these devices may contain sensitive information, Politico Europe reports, citing a report by the Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office (IPCO).

Oversight body’s remarks

Investigatory Powers Commissioner Brian Leveson said that GCHQ still cannot explain what happened to the removable storage devices that may contain sensitive data. According to him, he raised this issue with the service several years ago.

The report states that the devices may contain data related to the Investigatory Powers Act 2016. Such information may include intercepted emails, text messages and phone calls, as well as data extracted from people’s computers or phones.

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GCHQ’s response

IPCO said that GCHQ estimates the number of such devices to be in the thousands and is working to establish how many of them are confirmed as lost. The oversight body said it was concerned about the issue and disappointed by the time GCHQ had taken to investigate it.

Last year, IPCO reported that GCHQ and another British intelligence service, MI5, were also unable to find a significant number of data storage devices. Some of them potentially contained information classified as “top secret.”

A GCHQ representative acknowledged that the system for recording removable storage devices had previously not been sufficiently reliable to effectively track registered devices. The service said it had taken action on all IPCO recommendations and had mechanisms in place to reduce risks associated with such devices.