Can You Solve the GCHQ Christmas Card Challenge?

Today we've released the 2022 #GCHQChristmasChallenge. The puzzle, masterminded by a team of our in-house puzzlers, features on our Director's annual Christmas card. 

The card is sent to partners in the UK and around the world who work with us to counter threats, including hostile state activity, terror groups and organised crime gangs.

Whilst the Challenge has been designed for schools and colleges, we're also encouraging the wider public to take on the challenge to pit their wits against our puzzlers. more  video   And, of course, count on the Security Scrapbook to provide the solution.

What 007 is Doing These Days

British Spy Unit Kills 2,000 COVID-19 Scams In Just One Month

Across the world, law enforcement and intelligence agencies are waging a different kind of war on COVID-19, one taking on scammers who’re exploiting fear around the coronavirus.

In the U.K., an arm of the GCHQ intelligence agency, has spent the last month wiping COVID-19 crooks from the web, with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) announcing Monday that it had taken down more than 2,000 scams in a single month. more

FREE: "Top Secret: From Ciphers to Cyber Security" GCHQ Exhibit in London

Historic gadgets used by British spies will be revealed for the first time later this week, as one of the country's intelligence agencies steps out the shadows to mark its centenary -- and to educate people about the risks of cyber-attacks.

The Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) will hold an unprecedented exhibition at London's Science Museum, taking visitors through 100 years of secret conversations and eavesdropping...

A prototype of the Enigma cipher machine used by the Germans will be on display. But the standout exhibit at this new exhibition is the 5-UCO machine developed in 1943 to send decrypted German messages to officers in the field...

"Top Secret: From Ciphers to Cyber Security" opens to the public on Wednesday and runs until February 2020. more

FREE but must book ahead: Science Museum, Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London SW7 2DD  ~Kevin

Double Oh Concession

The UK government is going to speed up the way it vets and hires new recruits at its spy agency Government Communications Headquarters, which is responsible for electronic surveillance, after it fell short of hiring targets at the end of the last fiscal year (pdf).

GCHQ v TECH

The spy agency has said that it’s losing potential top recruits to huge tech companies because of bumper salaries. GCHQ’s lengthy vetting process, which is backlogged, also doesn’t help...

GCHQ, one of Britain’s three intelligence and security agencies alongside MI5 and MI6, aims to increase headcount by 14% over the next four years to 6,639 people.

This is after it had a shortfall in recruitment of 22% in the fiscal year. The report added that in order to get more recruits through the door, it will have to assign more people to the vetting process. more

Spy Radio History - The Rhode & Schwarz ESM500A

This receiver was used by the top government surveillance agencies worldwide during the 1990's (CIA, NSA, GCHQ, BND, etc.) Some countries may still be using it today.

Depending upon the installed options, it would have set the purchaser back from $25,000 to $40,000 USD.

ESM series receivers are highly prized by premium receiver collectors, radio museums, and amateur radio / TSCM enthusiasts. It is is considered to be one of the best communications receivers ever made.

More photos and a chance to own it, here.

Spy History - Secret Radio Eavesdropping 'made operators deaf'

UK - 2 February 1982: GCHQ staff are suing for their loss of hearing after spending decades listening to ‘interesting’ frequencies...

...had been employed “to listen to radio signals — which the makers would not wish other people to listen to. “The desired signals would frequently be found among a large number of other signals — the way that one is accustomed to ‘finding on the ordinary radio particularly outside VHF and particularly in the evening.”

Many signals were “deliberately drowned” to prevent others hearing them. Their volume controls were always the highest pitch in case they missed anything. As a result, operators were listening to relatively faint signals among a barrage of much louder ones. Over a period of years, their hearing had been impaired. All had suffered from ringing in the ears.”

The case was settled a week later with damages of £25,000 paid to the operators. more

GCHQ Spy Master Quits UK’s Eavesdropping Nerve Centre

UK - GCHQ boss Robert Hannigan only took on the post in April 2014, but on Monday—in a surprise move—

he quit the job, citing "personal reasons."

He won't be handing in his (encryption) keys until a successor is found, GCHQ said.

In a letter to the UK's foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, Hannigan said that he was "proud" of the work he has overseen at the eavesdropping concrete doughnut.

He flagged up the National Cyber Security Centre as one of GCHQ's "achievements" under his tenure.

"While this work must remain secret, you will know how many lives have been saved in this country and overseas by the work of GCHQ," he added in his missive to Johnson. more