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| GCHQ: Britain’s eyes and ears |
Top UK
spies approved the sale of a software system to Iran that allows the geographic
tracking of mobile phones. The system was developed by Surrey-based Creativity
Software and sold to MTN Irancell.
In March
2009 the National Technical Authority for Information Assurance, a branch of
the GCHQ, was given access to the system. The system was to be sold to MTN
Irancell, the second largest mobile phone operator in Iran.
In an
answer to a parliamentary question tabled by Lord Alton, Baroness Wilcox,
under-secretary of state in the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills,
said:
‘The UK
Government National Technical Authority for Information Assurance provides
technical advice to BIS on whether information security products are subject to
export controls. In this capacity, on 31 March 2009 officials from this
authority had a meeting with Creativity Software to consider products that the
company wishes to export.’
Mounting
concerns
The news
comes as tensions with Iran escalate with the closure of the Iranian Embassy in
London, and mounting concerns about human rights violations.
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Lord Alton
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Creativity
Software said its technology is intended for commercial use only. The software
allows internet and social networking services to use the location of the user,
so a search for restaurants, for example, would bring up only those in the
immediate area.
However,
concerns have been raised about the possibility of abuse by the Iranian regime
which controls 51% of MTN Irancell, as the software could potentially be used
to monitor the location of an individual.
Lord Alton,
who has doggedly pushed for details about the deal though a series of
parliamentary questions, said: ‘I find it really extraordinary that… the
government have conceded that an agency operating out of GCHQ held a meeting
with Creativity Software, and that they discussed the dual application of this
technology and then nothing at all was done to deter the export of technology
that could be used to abuse human rights activists to arrest democracy
activists.’
The deal
raises questions about transparency, and about the legislation available to the
state for dealing with technology that could be used for surveillance and other
software that could be abused by oppressive regimes. Campaigners have branded
the burgeoning surveillance sector as the new arms industry.
Much of
this kind of equipment is sold to authorities and police forces that want to
monitor terrorists and other threats to public order.
Some of the
systems, such as those supplied by Creativity Software, are intended purely for
commercial use to offer better online services.
Spying and
monitoring
However,
campaginers argue that in the wrong hands, the capabilities of many of these
systems can give repressive regimes the ability to monitor and spy on their
citizens.
There is no
way of knowing whether Creativity Software’s software has been used in this
way, and there is no suggestion that the company supplied the software for
anything other than legitimate commercial use.
The company
said: ‘We would like to reiterate that Creativity Software has deployed
commercial location based services with MTN Irancell and nothing more. Any
connection implied between the provision of commercial location based services
deployed by MTN Irancell in Iran and any possible human rights abuses is
equally erroneous.
‘Creativity
Software opposes any form of repression and strongly disapproves of the use of
technology in violation of human rights.’
The company
complied with all the correct legal procedures before exporting its product to
Iran. Baroness Wilcox confirmed on November 21:
‘Creativity
Software is under no obligation to apply for export licences unless the
equipment is controlled. In those circumstances, these applications are
considered on a case-by-case basis against consolidated EU and UK export
criteria in the light of prevailing circumstances and paying particular
attention to allegations of human rights abuses.’
The
Surrey-based company added: ‘Creativity Software is proud to be a supplier of
world class technology to MTN, in Iran and other countries. MTN is a company
with the vision of being the leading telecommunications provider in emerging
markets, with an avowed mission to speed up the progress of the emerging world
by enriching the lives of the people within it.’
Lines of
questioning
According
to UK law, arms export controls dicate that items that fall under the
categories of ‘military’ and ‘dual use’ goods require a licence for export
abroad.
Hague’s
links to Creativity Software
- Apparent links between Creativity Software and William Hague when he was in opposition were revealed last month. Two executives from MMC Ventures, which holds a stake in Creativity Software, donated £25,000 to William Hague’s private office between 2006-09.
- Bruce Macfarlane and Alan Morgan both paid part of the salary of researcher Chloe Dalton, whose father served as British ambassador to Iran between 2002-06.
At present,
UK export laws on technology state that only software that uses encryption
technology is subject to controls.
Baroness
Wilcox said: ‘We can only prevent trade in those cases where the law allows us
to do so. The Government will consider carefully the case for new legislation
in this area.’
Ross
Anderson, professor of security engineering at Cambridge University, said that
laws are available: ‘It is disgraceful that western governments have not used
the powers they already possess, such as the Export Control Act in the UK, to
crack down on this [kind of] trade. Ministers have said they lack they power to
do so; I suggest they read the military list ML11.c (p177) which includes monitoring equipment
for military intelligence or security purposes.’
Campaigning
for greater transparency
The laws on
software exports have not been updated for 10 years. Only directives passed
down from Europe ensure that the UK is kept up to date.
MEP
Marietje Schaake is concerned that there is a ‘serious lack of knowledge’ about
surveillance software and the extent of its capabilities. She argues that the
issue needs to be made more mainstream to make sure the internet is covered by
human rights policy.
‘Harmonised
and smarter legislation needs to be brought in to improve the monitoring of ICT
exports and to allow for restrictions in cases of serious human rights concerns. For that, we
also need more transparency on the side of companies, especially about their
subsidiaries or spin-offs which export freely without a reputation to lose,’ Ms
Schaake told the Bureau.
A debate
has been scheduled for December 2011.
Creativity
Software announced last November that it had made four sales in six months in
the Middle East for law enforcement purposes. It did not identify its
clients.
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