GCHQ Plans to Open Source Bits of Its Spy Technology

After the Edward Snowden leaks, would anyone trust technology made by Western intelligence agencies? That question will soon be a more pertinent one, as GCHQ has announced it’s looking at which bits of its intellectual property it could share with the world.

In one of his last speeches as head of the UK intelligence agency, Sir Iain Lobban will today tell delegates of IA14, the government’s cybersecurity and information assurance conference, that GCHQ is looking at which pieces of its technology they could release to support the development of new business ventures that are beneficial for the country.

The agency plans to declassify intellectual property and share previously classified intelligence programs and innovations with UK companies. It’s part of GCHQ’s effort to be more open and share its expertise in a strategy the agency is calling Promoting Innovation in the Digital Economy.

During a press briefing yesterday, spokespeople said this could be done through joint initiatives with UK organisations, or open sourcing certain technologies, likely some security programs.

While it’s unlikely the UK snoops will release their most advanced tools for tracking targets, this could be hugely beneficial for anyone hoping to prevent digital crooks breaching their systems. GCHQ is home to some of the brightest minds in security, and likely has produced top-notch defence systems, from encryption to malware detection.

The Snowden leaks showed the secretive agency had a predilection and a talent for interception techniques, so their more offensive software would also prove useful to law enforcement suppliers.

By open sourcing that technology, the global security community can probe it for weaknesses and make it even stronger, said Professor Alan Woodward, security expert from the computing department at the University of Surrey. It should also inspire confidence that there are no backdoors or purposeful weaknesses, as the security community would be keen to probe the code, he added.

“I don’t think people should expect to see any intellectual property that gives the intelligence and security agencies their competitive edge emerge, but there are many items developed by GCHQ as a by-product of their core business which could prove really useful to the wider community,” Woodward said.

“Rather than see their fundamental research go to waste this would appear to be a very sensible way of ensuring the sunk costs of such developments are of benefit to the wider UK economy.”

But those still skeptical of GCHQ’s motives will unlikely to trust its technology, given its alleged widespread surveillance, including the tapping of fibre cables coming in and out of the UK as part of the so-called Project Tempora.

Even if there are no obvious flaws in its code, GCHQ would probably have a better understanding of how to exploit its own technology.