SPY chiefs are giving special mobile phones to ministers so they can read top-secret documents without being hacked.
The cyber defence arm of GCHQ has made the new secure devices for members of the Cabinet and senior civil servants in a project known as Foxhound.
Ben Gurr – The Times
It means they will be able to open Government papers market ‘secret’ on the move without fear of being hacked by criminals or foreign spooks.
Ciaran Martin, head of the National Cyber Security Centre, told MPs: “Foxhound is about ‘secret’ desktop and mobiles for senior policy makers and ministers.
“As the Government’s chief cyber security adviser, I was not content with the situation where members of the Cabinet, the Cabinet Secretary and so forth did not have access safely to secure mobile technology that allowed them to talk at ‘secret’.
“Thanks to this programme, Cabinet Office led, supported by our cryptographic experts, we’re now getting there and rolling out the handsets.”
The £50million Foxhound project was meant to provide a single network for top secret communications across Government, saving millions of pounds by replacing old systems as well as improving national security.
But the Public Accounts Committee has warned ‘poor planning’ has meant it is ‘slow to deliver planned benefits’.
