| GCHQ Bude, also known as GCHQ Composite Signals Organisation Station Morwenstow | |
|---|---|
| Part ofGovernment Communications Headquarters | |
| Located nearCoombe, Bude,Cornwall in United Kingdom | |
 Part of the satellite dish array of GCHQ Bude | |
| Site information | |
| Type | UK Governmentsatellite ground station andeavesdropping centre |
| Owner | Government of the United Kingdom |
| Operator | GCHQ |
| Condition | Active |
| Website | https://www.GCHQ.gov.uk/gchq-bude |
| Location | |
  GCHQ Bude | |
| Coordinates | 50°53′10″N4°33′13″W / 50.8862°N 4.5537°W /50.8862; -4.5537 |
| Grid reference | SS 2046 1246[1] |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1969–2001 |
| In use | 1974–present |
GCHQ Bude, also known asGCHQ Composite Signals Organisation Station Morwenstow,[1] abbreviated toGCHQ CSO Morwenstow,[1] is aUK Governmentsatellite ground station andeavesdropping centre located on the northCornwall coast at Cleave Camp,[2] between the small villages ofMorwenstow andCoombe. It is operated by the Britishsignals intelligence service, officially known as theGovernment Communications Headquarters, commonly abbreviated GCHQ. It is located on part of the site of the formerWorld War II airfield,RAF Cleave.
The site of GCHQ Bude is inMorwenstow, the northernmostparish ofCornwall. DuringWorld War II, the location was developed for and used by theRoyal Air Force (RAF).RAF Cleave was conceived as housing target and target supportaircraft for firing ranges along the north Cornwall coast, and land was acquired from Cleave Manor. In 1939, it became home to twoflights of1 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit (1AAC). In 1943,No. 639 Squadron was established on the site for the remainder of the war. The airfield was put under maintenance in April 1945, staying under government ownership.[3]
In the early 1960s, developments occurred which appear to have prompted the establishment of the facility now known as GCHQ Bude. In 1962, a satellite receiving station for the commercialcommunication satellites ofIntelsat was established atGoonhilly Downs, just over 60 miles (100 kilometres) south-southwest of Morwenstow.[4]
The downstream link from the Intelsat satellites could easily be intercepted by placingreceiver dishes nearby in the satellites' 'footprint'. For that, the land at Cleave was allotted to theMinistry of Public Building and Works in 1967, and construction of the satellite interception station began in 1969. Two 27 m (90 ft) dishes appeared first, followed by smaller dishes in the ensuing years. The station was originally signposted as 'CSOS Morwenstow', with 'CSOS' standing for Composite Signals Organisation Station. In 2001, a third large dish appeared, and the station eventually became known as 'GCHQ Bude'.[3]
From its inception, the station has been anAnglo-American co-operative project. The United StatesNational Security Agency (NSA) paid for most of the infrastructure and the technology. The running costs, like payments for the staff, were paid by GCHQ, who also provided the land. The intelligence that was collected by the Bude satellite station was shared between NSA and GCHQ, and was jointly processed.[4]
Another sign of the close cooperation between both countries was thatSir Leonard Hooper, GCHQ director in the late 1960s, wrote to his NSA counterpart regarding the then two largedishes. He suggested naming them 'Pat' and 'Louis', after NSA directorMarshall 'Pat' Carter and his deputy,Louis Tordella.[5]
In 2010, the National Security Agency paid GCHQ £15.5m for redevelopments at the site.[6]
In 1963,TAT-3, anundersea cable linking the United Kingdom to the United States, was laid fromTuckerton, New Jersey, US toWidemouth Bay, Cornwall, just 10 km (6 mi) south of the site at Cleave Camp.[5] The BritishGeneral Post Office (GPO) routinely monitored all communications passing along the TAT-3 cable, forwarding any messages they felt were relevant to the security services.[5]
The site at Cleave Camp presented an opportunity to monitor submarine cable traffic from the nearbylanding points, while at the same time intercepting communications meant for the commercial satellite ground station at Goonhilly Downs.[4]
TheGrace Hopper is a private undersea cable funded by Google that connects New York with Bude, with the location chosen as it was "an ideal, nicely protected beach and adjacent to a lot of the terrestrial infrastructure needed".[7]
GCHQ Bude station comprises twenty onesatellite antennas[1] of various sizes, including three that have a diameter of 30 m (100 ft), that could theoretically cover all the main frequency bands:L band,C band,Ku band,X band,Ka band, andV band. Calculated on the basis of their position, their elevation, and their compass (azimuth) angle, the antennas are generally orientated towardssatellites of theINTELSAT,Intersputnik, andINMARSAT communications networks over theAtlantic Ocean,Africa, and theIndian Ocean, as well as towards theMiddle East and mainlandEurope. Somewhere between 2011 and 2013, atorus antenna[8] was installed, which is able to receive the signals of up to thirty-five satellites simultaneously. This antenna is not covered by aradome.[9]
Staff are drawn from GCHQ (UK) and the NSA (US), and the station is operated under theUKUSA agreement, gathering data for theECHELON signals intelligence (SIGINT) network. Comparable stations in operation includeRAF Menwith Hill (UK),Sugar Grove Station (West Virginia, US), Yakima (Washington, US),Sabana Seca (Puerto Rico),Misawa Air Base (Japan),Pine Gap (Australia), Geraldton (Australia),GCSB Waihopai (New Zealand), andGCSB Tangimoana (New Zealand), that cover other INTELSAT areas such asSouth America and thePacific Ocean.[10]
The activities of GCHQ Bude usually remainclassified, partly in response to concerns expressed by someEuropean Union (EU) member states that Morwenstow is responsible forindustrial espionage and the interception of civilian communications; a report by theEuropean Parliament (referenced below) was made public in 2001 that provides some details about the station. TheIntelligence Services Act 1994 grants GCHQ the power 'to monitor or interfere with electromagnetic, acoustic and other emissions and any equipment producing such emissions, and to obtain and provide information derived from or related to such emissions or equipment'. This includesBlackBerry Messenger (BBM) and audio messages.[11]
On 1 June 2007, GCHQ Bude was designated as a protected site for the purposes of Section 128 of theSerious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005. The effect of the act was to make it a specific criminal offence for a person totrespass into the site.[12]
Up until early 2014, the GCHQ careers website had a page on GCHQ Bude, which said that it employs digital communications experts who play an important role in formulating the United Kingdom Government's response to issues involving national security, military operations and serious crime. The web page mentioned that the site is adjacent to the coastal footpath, which is part of theSouth West Coast Path.[13] Elsewhere on the website, job applicants were warned that they will be subject toDeveloped Vetting Security Clearance, which could take up to nine months to proceed.[14]
As of 2016, the GCHQ careers website had a 'Life at GCHQ' page, its 'Bude' section of the page describes working at GCHQ Bude a little. It mentions a gym and restaurant (boasting a "sea view") within the facility. It also describes a range of social and outdoor sporting events which employees can take part in.[15]
In June 2013,The Guardian newspaper, using documents leaked by formerNational Security Agency (NSA) contractor,Edward Snowden, revealed the existence of an operation codenamedTempora, wherebyGCHQ is able to tap into data which flows along undersea cables and then store it for up to 30 days, to assess and analyse it. The article refers to a three-year trial set up at GCHQ Bude which, by mid-2011, was probing more than 200 internet connections.[16]
A furtherGuardian report in December 2013 stated that eavesdropping efforts to targetcharities,German government buildings, theIsraeli Prime Minister, and anEU commissioner centred on activities run from GCHQ Bude.[17]
GCHQ Bude was featured extensively in the 3 September 2014BBC TwoHorizon television programme: 'Inside the Dark Web'.[18] This programme estimated that 25% of all internet traffic travels through Cornwall. Dr Joss Wright of theUniversity ofOxford Internet Institute[19] explained how mirror images of the signals running down submarine Ethernet cables are used to gather and analyse data. The programme claimed that this procedure involves an optical tap device which is inserted at thesubmarine cablerepeater station. A second copy of the data then travels to GCHQ, while the original carries on its intended journey. GCHQ, it was claimed, then have three days to replay the data. It was stated that everything that comes across the internet can theoretically be accessed; includingemails,websites,BitTorrent downloads, films that have been watched, etc. Wright added that internal documents show that in 2011, 200 10-gigabit cables coming into Cornwall were being tapped by GCHQ. Wright said that the entire digitised contents of theBritish Library could be transferred down that set of cables in about 40 seconds. On the same programme,Tim Berners-Lee explained how huge volumes of data are analysed by GCHQ computer programmes to identify trends of communication which are deemed to require further examination.[20]
On 20 November 2014,Channel 4 News broadcast an investigation prepared in collaboration with German broadcasterWestdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR). This report revealed that a leading UK communications company (Cable & Wireless, nowVodafone) cooperated with GCHQ to allow access to data, including that carried by a rival Indian telecommunications company. The broadcast detailed an operation centred on fibre-optic cables surfacing atPorthcurno beach andSennen Cove in Cornwall, with data travelling to a nearbycable landing station atSkewjack Farm, and then onwards to GCHQ Bude.[21]
On 4 April 2016,The Princess Royal made the first Royal visit to GCHQ Bude Station. She arrived by helicopter and was greeted by the head of GCHQ Bude Station, along with theLord Lieutenant of Cornwall,Colonel Edward Bolitho. The visit consisted of a short tour of the site, and the princess met many members of staff, of all grades, from whom she learnt about some of the activities carried out at Bude.[22][23][24]
In July 2016, GCHQ launched its CyberFirst scheme for students in the 2016/17 academic year, offering bursaries for those studying relevant Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) graduate courses, followed by guaranteed jobs at GCHQ, including at Bude GCHQ.[25]
On 17 May 2016, the satellite dishes at GCHQ Bude Station were lit up in a display of rainbow colours. This was to mark theInternational Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOBiT). This display was a public act of unity and recognition of Pride GCHQ, and to assert the continued commitment by GCHQ to diversity and pride in its staff. It follows a similar rainbow coloured themed display in support of the 2015 IDAHOBiT at theGCHQ Cheltenham site a year earlier.[26][27][28][29]
10 km (6 mi) south of GCHQ Bude, atWidemouth Bay, numerous submarine cables make landfall. They, followed by the locations to which they link in brackets, include: Apollo (US), TAT-3 (US),CANTAT-1 (Canada),TAT-8 (US and France - last used in 2002),TAT-14 (US and Europe),AC-2 (US),EIG (Europe and India), andGLO-1 (West Africa).Crooklets Beach at Bude, 5 km (3 mi) south of GCHQ Bude, is a key submarine cable landing point, in particular carrying financial trading data from New York.[30]
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