The head of Britain’s electronic surveillance agency GCHQ* has resigned!
23 January 2017*
Robert Hannigan, who has held the post of GCHQ director since 2014, said he was stepping down for family reasons.
He said he was proud of his work but that 20 years in public service roles had “demanded a great deal of my ever patient and understanding family”.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Mr Hannigan had “led the renewal” of national security capabilities to fight terrorism during his time at GCHQ.
Mr Hannigan was director general of defence and intelligence at the Foreign Office before taking over the leadership of GCHQ in 2014.
In a letter to the foreign secretary, he said he was proud of the work he had done and “how many lives have been saved in this country and overseas by the work of GCHQ” but added “now is the right time for a change in direction”.
Mr Hannigan said it was “right” that a new director be in place ready for GCHQ’s 100th anniversary in 2019, but he would stay in the post until a replacement was appointed.
‘Cyber defences’
Sources have told BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera that the resignation was not the result of any concerns over policy in the UK or in the US.
Mr Johnson thanked him for his service, saying he had “set the groundwork for a major transformation of our cyber defences” during his tenure.
There will now be an internal competition within government to identify candidates for the job. Recommendations will then be sent to Mr Johnson and Prime Minister Theresa May for a final decision.
Mr Hannigan was born in Gloucestershire and is a married father-of-two.
He was previously responsible for the UK’s first cyber security strategy, oversaw the first national security strategy, and chaired Cobra emergency committee meetings on terrorist incidents.
He also worked as principal adviser to then Prime Minister Tony Blair on the Northern Ireland peace process.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-38723040
*23 January 2017 (A couple of days after the $$$$ hit the fan aka Muscular and the UK’s
GCHQ spying on Trump, his people and us, yes, you, me/us!
BBC on Echelon: Big brother without a cause?
The Echelon spy system, whose existence has only recently been acknowledged by US officials, is capable of hoovering up millions of phone calls, faxes and emails a minute.
Crack open a fresh beer or pour a big glass of wine and take a baby aspirin and then go to the link below for about 5 minutes.
Remember while reading this. Echelon was retired decades ago by the faster and more powerful Muscular.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/820758.stm
Echelon has been replaced by the faster and more powerful MUSCULAR:
For info on Muscular go to the link below:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MUSCULAR_(surveillance_program)