Tempora, the UK international
spying project

THE United States is not the only country interested in knowing what the rest of the world is talking and thinking about. During the past 18 months, the United Kingdom has been compiling enormous volumes of information streaming through the network of networks along fiber optic cables, including millions of personal telephone calls.

This information is provided by the influential British newspaper the Guardian and former U.S. analyst Edward Snowden. The former member of the National Security Agency acquired notoriety with his revelations on how U.S. intelligence bodies are monitoring the network activities of millions of people throughout the world.

According to the Guardian, GHCQ (Government Communications Headquarters), one of Britain’s three intelligence services, obtained the technology to intercept at least 200 cables transmitting global information and has been storing and leaking data through a secret program codenamed Tempora.

From the technological point of view, just one of these cables can send up to 10 gigabytes per second, which in theory is equivalent to close to 21 petabytes per day. These figures are equivalent to sending all the information contained in books housed by the British Library 192 times every 24 hours.

Snowden assured the Guardian that the capacity to penetrate the cables and store the information for up to 30 days has converted GCHQ into an intelligence superpower.

The UK service is also sharing information obtained with its U.S. partners at NSA and other agencies. A total of 850,000 people with due permits, including private contractors, have access to the GCHQ database, according to the article.

The Guardian also quotes an official source close to the intelligence services, who noted that the objective of Tempora is not to have access to this mountain of data, but to have the capacity to seek detailed information.

In a subsequent release, GCHQ said that it worked within a strict legal framework, that it scrupulously complied with the law and that it would not comment on intelligence matters.

"If GCHQ have been intercepting huge numbers of innocent people’s communications as part of a massive sweeping exercise, then I struggle to see how that squares with a process that requires a warrant for each individual intercept." Nick Pickles, Big Brother Watch director, stated to the BBC.

Shami Chakrabarti, director of the human rights group Liberty, said she was shocked by the Guardian’s report and accused GCHQ of allowing itself a "very generous interpretation of the law."

In any event, concerns about Tempora have extended beyond British borders. The German government has demanded explanations from the UK concerning its alleged espionage program.

If it is confirmed, this scandal would presuppose a catastrophe, said German Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, quoted by Europa Press.

"The accusations against the United Kingdom sound like a Hollywood nightmare. European institutions will be seeking clarification of this situation without delay," she affirmed.

Thomas Oppermann, leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, likewise expressed his indignation. In an interview granted to the German Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper, Oppermann said that the situation was untenable and demanded an explanation from London.