GCHQ “Tempora” Collection System Can Monitor 100% Of UK Internet Traffic

Edward Snowden has revealed new details on the UK’s spying activities. Britain’s Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) is the UK’s main secret service organisation dealing with surveillance and is roughly equivalent to the USA’s NSA. Edward Snowden says that GCHQ’s “Tempora” system is capable of being a “full-take internet buffer” which in effect means it can collect all data passing through the UK .

The Tempora system stores communications data up to 30 days and saves all content for up to three days in this internet buffer. NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden stated it is possible to get around the UK’s total surveillance but you cannot route through or peer with the UK internet service providers or servers essentially meaning it is near-on possible for the average user.

Edward Snowden’s revelations are likely to anger a lot of people in the UK since our government has been attempting to take a “tough stance” on the USA over PRISM yet our government is much worse and up to even more surveillance. Let’s see what comes of this new revelation. Even in France it was recently revealed that the French intelligence agencies have their own equivalent to PRISM. The reason why most governments aren’t attacking the USA over PRISM is because they all have their own equivalent that they are trying to keep under-wraps. Any anti-NSA/PRISM rhetoric from western governments seems likely to be total hypocrisy.

Image courtesy of GCHQ