Government Communications Security Bureau

Government Communications Security Bureau
Māori : Te Tira Tiaki
Jurisdiction	National security and government security and its communications and infrastructure
legal form	Public Service Department
Legal basis	Intelligence and Security Act 2017 and Government Communications Security Bureau Act 2003
Headquarters	Wellington
Establishment date	1977
minister	Andrew Little , Labor Party since October 26, 2017
budget	NZ $ 145 million as of June 30, 2017
Website :	www.gcsb.govt.nz

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GCSB facility in Waihopai

The Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB), in Māori Te Tira Tiaki , is an intelligence agency of the New Zealand government.

history

In 1977, then Prime Minister Robert Muldoon approved the establishment of the Government Communications Security Bureau . Up to this point in time, protection against eavesdropping was the responsibility of the government, in particular the security of communications, also called COMSEC, and the security of the government's technical facilities, called TECSEC, was the responsibility of the two services of the New Zealand Defense Force (NZDF) and the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS). The interception of radio signals across national borders, known as SIGINT and which New Zealand had been able to do since the First World War , was also assigned to the new organization.

At first, the public did not notice the founding of the GCSB, as the function and activities of the new service were kept secret. In 1980 Muldoon announced the existence of the service with its tasks to COMSEC and TECSEC to the cabinet and the opposition leaders and in 1984 the information about the service with all its tasks finally reached the public. In the spring of 2000, the government then started a legislative process that was to put the GCSB on a similar legal basis as the NZSIS. In 2001 the Center for Critical Infrastructure Protection (CCIP) was set up, which should be responsible for the protection of critical infrastructure, and in April 2003 the legislative process around the GCSB was concluded with a law.

In 2010 the GCSB began recruiting analysts for the newly created Geospatial and Imagery Foreign Intelligence (GEOINT) division. Since the area overlapped with the tasks of the New Zealand Defense Force , GEOINT was transferred to the New Zealand Defense Force two years later . In June 2011 the New Zealand Cyber ​​Security Strategy (NZCSS) was published and as part of the strategy the National Cyber ​​Security Center (NCSC) was founded within the GCSB in September 2011 .

After illegal sections in the legal basis of the GCSB were discovered in September 2012 and a report was released on April 9, 2013, there were initially some legislative changes on September 27, 2013, but in March 2016 the later Governor General Patsy Reddy and the former Minister of Finance Michael laid Cullen presented her report on the revision of the law. The Intelligence and Security Act 2017 , which followed, got its Royal Assent on March 28, 2017 and became legally binding on April 1 of the same year.

New Zealand Intelligence Community

The Government Communications Security Bureau is part of the so-called New Zealand Intelligence Community (NZIC), which includes the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS) and the National Assessments Bureau (NAB). While the NZSIS collects all available data relating to the security of New Zealand, analyzes it, compiles reports and makes security-related recommendations, the NAB, which is part of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC) , tries to assess and assess events and developments . The New Zealand Defense Force (NZDF), the New Zealand Police , the New Zealand Customs Service and the Immigration New Zealand have intelligence departments. All these services work together in the NZIC and exchange information.

Five-Eyes

The term Five-Eyes refers to the multilateral UKUSA agreement under which the intelligence services of the United States ( National Security Agency (NSA)), the United Kingdom ( Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ)), Canada ( Communications Security Establishment ( CSE)), Australia ( Australian Signals Directorate (ASD)) and New Zealand have joined forces to exchange intelligence information in a network.

tasks

• Protecting the national security of New Zealand through the provision of security services, advice, support and recommendations, assurance of information and activities in the field of security in cyberspace
• Gathering and analyzing intelligence information based on government guidelines and instructions
• Contribute to international relations and contribute to the well-being of the nation and the country's economy
• Cooperation with the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service and support of the New Zealand Defense Force and the New Zealand Police

The activities of the Government Communications Security Bureau are monitored by the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security , who controls the secret services independently.

Illegal surveillance of people

The activities of the Government Communications Security Bureau came under fire in 2012 after the then illegal surveillance of the former operator of the Internet platform Megaupload , Kim Dotcom alias Kim Schmitz, came to the public. Under New Zealand law at the time, the country's intelligence services were not allowed to monitor New Zealand citizens or citizens residing in New Zealand. The Government Communications Security Bureau did so to assist the police in their search for Kim Dotcom by monitoring his communications and finding out his location. The then Prime Minister John Key commissioned the responsible Inspector-General to investigate the case.

In response to the case, Key changed the Government Communications Security Bureau Act 2003 with his government majority a year later , according to which the surveillance of New Zealanders by the secret service was now allowed in certain cases, which aroused fears of total surveillance by the state in the population . The large majority of the population rejected the law for this reason after polls.

See also

• New Zealand Security Intelligence Service

literature

• Annual Report 2017 . Government Communications Security Bureau , Wellington 2017 (English, online [PDF; 2.6 MB ; accessed on August 9, 2018]).

Web links

• Homepage . Government Communications Security Bureau,accessed August 9, 2018. 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The Hon. Andrew Little . New Zealand Parliament , June 18, 2018, accessed August 9, 2018 .  
2. ↑ Annual Report 2017 . Government Communications Security Bureau , 2017, pp.  39 .
3. ↑ ^{a b c d} History of the GCSB . Government Communications Security Bureau , accessed August 9, 2018 .  
4. ^ The NZ intelligence community . Government Communications Security Bureau , accessed August 9, 2018 .  
5. ↑ UKUSA allies . Government Communications Security Bureau , accessed August 9, 2018 .  
6. ↑ Legislation . Government Communications Security Bureau , accessed August 9, 2018 .  
7. ↑ About . Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security , accessed August 9, 2018 .  
8. ↑ New Zealand's secret service spied on Kim Dotcom. In: Zeit Online. ZEIT ONLINE GmbH, September 24, 2012, accessed on August 9, 2018 .  
9. ^ Government Communications Security Bureau Act 2003 . New Zealand Legislation , September 28, 2017, accessed August 9, 2018 .  
10. ↑ Parliament passes controversial secret service law. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung GmbH, August 21, 2013, accessed on August 9, 2018 .