Government Communications Security Bureau facts for kids
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| Agency overview | |
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| Jurisdiction | New Zealand |
| Headquarters | Pipitea House, 1-15 Pipitea St, Pipitea WELLINGTON 6011 |
| Minister responsible |
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| Agency executive |
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The Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) (Māori: Te Tira Tiaki, formerly Te Tari Whakamau Irirangi) is the public-service department of New Zealand charged with promoting New Zealand's national security by collecting and analysing information of an intelligence nature.
According to the Bureau's official website, it has a mission of contributing to the national security of New Zealand by providing:
- information assurance and cyber security
- foreign intelligence
- assistance to other New Zealand government agencies
History
The Government Communications Security Bureau was created in 1977 on the instructions of Rob Muldoon, the Prime Minister.
Prior to this, the functions now handled by the GCSB were split between three organisations:
- Communications security was the responsibility of the Communications Security Committee, based around the Prime Minister's office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- Signals intelligence was the responsibility of the Combined Signals Organisation, run by the military.
- Anti-bugging measures were the responsibility of the Security Intelligence Service.
Upon its establishment, the GCSB assumed responsibility for these three roles. Officially, the new organisation was part of the Ministry of Defence, and its functions and activities were highly secret – even Cabinet was not informed. In the 1980s, however, information was gradually released, first about the GCSB's security role, and then about its signals intelligence operations.
Also in the 1980s, the GCSB was split away from the Ministry of Defence, becoming a separate organisation. It was not until 2000, however, that it was decided to make the GCSB a government department in its own right. This decision was implemented through the Government Communications Security Bureau Act 2003.
In 2001, the Centre for Critical Infrastructure Protection was formed within the GCSB with a mandate to assist in the protection of national critical infrastructure from information borne threats. The National Cyber Security Centre was established within the GCSB in September 2011, and it absorbed the functions of the Centre for Critical Infrastructure Protection.
Staff and budget
The GCSB is considered to be a government department in its own right with its head office in Pipitea St, Wellington. Through its director, the GCSB reports to the minister holding the Intelligence portfolio, who, by convention, is always the Prime Minister. Its main functions are: the collection and processing of intelligence, the distribution of intelligence, IT security, technology and administration. It has about 300 staff with a range of disciplines including foreign language experts, communications and cryptography specialists,engineers, technicians and support staff.
In 2015/16 the budget for the GCSB is $89.6 million. Former Green MP Keith Locke says that despite the attention the GCSB received as a result of its illegal surveillance of Kim Dotcom, there has been little public discussion about its value. Locke questions GCSB's suitability for the task of protecting government computers given its security failures. Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Kitteridge's report noted the Bureau's problems included "under-resourcing and a lack of legal staff".
Oversight
An Inspector General has oversight of the GCSB (and other intelligence organisations). In 2013, that role was being filled by former judge, 79-year-old Paul Neazor. He has a part-time secretary as his one and only staff member - compared with the Australian inspector general who has a staff of 12. In her review of the GCSB released in 2013, Rebecca Kitteridge recommended the inspector general's office should be "beefed up along Australian lines".
The Prime Minister appoints both the director of the GCSB and the Inspector General. Associate Professor of law at Auckland University, Bill Hodge, says the watchdog should be appointed by Parliament rather than by the Prime Minister. Former prime minister, Sir Geoffrey Palmer agrees: "There needs to be some separation between the inspector and the agency he oversees."
Operations
The functions of the GCSB include signals intelligence, communications security, anti-bugging measures, and computer security. The GCSB does not publicly disclose the nature of the communications which it intercepts. It is frequently described by some authors, such as Nicky Hager, as part of ECHELON. In 2006, after the death of former Prime Minister David Lange, a 1985–86 report given to Lange was found among his papers, having been mistakenly released. The report listed a number of countries as targets of GCSB efforts, including Japan, the Philippines, Argentina, France, Vietnam, and many small Pacific island states. It also mentioned United Nations diplomatic traffic. In his book on the GCSB, Nicky Hager says that during the Cold War, the locations and activities of Soviet ships (including civilian craft such as fishing trawlers) were a major focus of the organisation's activities.
For the purposes of its signals intelligence activities, the GCSB maintains two "listening stations": a satellite communications interception station at GCSB Waihopai near Blenheim and a radio communications interception station at GCSB Tangimoana near Palmerston North. On 16 March 2015, the former National Security Agency contractor and whistleblower Edward Snowden dislosed that New Zealand's GCSB agency had a secret listening post, codenamed "Caprica", at the New Zealand High Commission in Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands. The "Caprica" outpost was reportedly modeled after the American National Security Agency's Stateroom outposts at selected United States Embassies across the world.
Waihopai station
The Waihopai Station has been operating since 1989. It is described as a satellite communications monitoring facility in the Waihopai Valley, near Blenheim. The facility has been identified by MP Keith Locke as part of ECHELON. Few details of the facility are known, but it is believed that it intercepts and processes all phone calls, faxes, e-mail and computer data communications. The site is a regular target for protesters and activists who are attempting to have the base closed down. The Anti-Bases Campaign have had regular yearly protests at the base.
Tangimoana station
The Tangimoana Station was opened in 1982, replacing an earlier facility at Irirangi, near Waiouru. According to the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), the facility is part of ECHELON; its role in this capacity was first identified publicly by peace researcher Owen Wilkes in 1984, and investigated in detail by peace activist and independent journalist Nicky Hager.
