GCHQ worker accused of taking top secret data home

A former GCHQ employee accused of damaging national security by taking top secret data home is to go on trial partly in secret, a senior judge has ruled.

Hasaan Arshad, 25, is charged with an offence under the Computer Misuse Act after an investigation led by the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command.

Mrs Justice McGowan confirmed his trial would take place on 31 March at the Old Bailey with some of the proceedings to be heard behind closed doors.

Mr Arshad, from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, who is currently on bail, has denied wrongdoing and was not required to attend the hearing.

Mrs Justice McGowan also ruled some witnesses would give evidence anonymously and parts of the trial would be heard behind closed doors.

GCHQ is the UK's intelligence agency focusing on communications data and areas such as cyber crime and infiltrating hidden messaging networks.

The charge relates to the defendant's alleged activities before going home on 24 August 2022.

It is claimed he took his work mobile phone into a top secret area and connected the device to a top secret work station.

He is accused of transferring sensitive data from a secure, top secret computer to the phone before taking it home.

Mr Arshad allegedly then transferred the data from the phone to a hard drive connected to his personal home computer.

He was arrested and his home was searched on 22 September 2022, before he was charged under Section 3ZA of the Computer Misuse Act 1990, relating to "unauthorised acts causing, or creating risk of, serious damage".

The charges states: "Between August 23 2022 and September 23 2022 (he) did an unauthorised act in relation to a computer and at the time of doing the act knew that it was unauthorised.

"And the act caused, or created a significant risk of a material kind, this being damage to the national security of a country; and he intended by doing the act to cause serious damage of a material kind or was reckless as to whether such damage was caused."

"Top secret" is the classification for the government's most sensitive information, according to Ministry of Justice security guidance.

This includes material where compromise might cause widespread loss of life or threaten the security or economic wellbeing of the country or friendly nations.

GCHQ's headquarters is in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, but the intelligence agency also runs a smaller office in Manchester, as well as bases in Cornwall and North Yorkshire.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas to [email protected] and via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.