Britain’s spy agency doesn’t know where thousands of its memory sticks are
Intelligence agency GCHQ acknowledges its plan for keeping track of USB sticks and other devices with potentially sensitive data on were 'not sufficiently robust.'
London — The Investigatory Powers Commissioner (IPCO) has revealed that Britain’s intelligence agency, GCHQ, is unable to locate thousands of storage devices which may contain sensitive information. A report released on Thursday by the watchdog found that GCHQ is still unsure about the fate of removable media such as USB sticks, hard drives and memory cards.
Brian Leveson, the Commissioner, stated that GCHQ has been unable to provide an update on these devices, despite being asked multiple times. The devices, which could be holding IPA-related data — classified information collected under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 — could include intercepted communications and data extracted from devices.
GCHQ currently estimates the number of lost devices to be in the thousands and is working to determine the exact figure. The IPCO report expressed disappointment with the time taken to investigate the issue. A GCHQ spokesperson acknowledged the shortcomings in their management system for tracking these devices and stated that they have taken action to rectify the problem.
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