National Security Agency

• The contract extension builds on the award for NASWI in 2021 and additional expansion in Hawaii in 2022, extending both through 2025 with additional 5G enhancements.
• EchoStar is a premier supporter of the use of Open Radio Access Network (ORAN) in DoD networks and recently won a $50M NTIA grant to build an ORAN test center.
• We are proud to join our industry partners in architecting, deploying, and operating the prototype networks that will set the foundation for 5G standalone ORAN and resilient networks for the DoD going forward."
• The initial NASWI deployment was completed with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on March 30, 2023 to commemorate the launch of the standalone 5G network.

• LONDON, March 05, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Arqit Quantum Inc. (Nasdaq: ARQQ, ARQQW) (Arqit), a leader in quantum-safe encryption, today announced a reseller agreement with Total Computers (Total), the digital transformation experts, for Arqit’s Symmetric Key Agreement Platform and NetworkSecure™ Adaptor.
• Compliant with NSA standards, Arqit’s Platform as a Service makes symmetric encryption keys which cannot be broken even by quantum attack.
• Easily integrated at modest cost with dynamic rotating authentication, Arqit’s groundbreaking technology is now available to Total customers as part of their comprehensive suite of services.
• At Total Computers, the extensive range of services and solutions encompasses Cloud, Cyber Security, Infrastructure, Managed Services, and Workspace.

• LONDON, Feb. 22, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Arqit Quantum Inc. (Nasdaq: ARQQ, ARQQW) (Arqit), a leader in quantum-safe encryption, and CableFree: Wireless Excellence Ltd (CableFree), a leader in 5G Radio solutions, have today announced the availability of integrated quantum-safe cellular technology products for Private 5G networks using Symmetric Key Agreement.
• Private enterprise networks based on 5G cellular technology are accelerating digital transformation across industries including manufacturing, healthcare, defence and smart cities.
• The integration of CableFree’s 5G Small Cell Radios with Arqit’s Symmetric Key Agreement encryption technology delivers enhanced security for Private 5G networks and are now available to customers worldwide.
• Arqit and CableFree representatives will be attending MWC Barcelona (26-29 February 2024) and will be available for interview.

• Bulk interception involves the surveillance of electronic signals, including communication signals and internet traffic, on a very large scale, and often on an untargeted basis.
• If intelligence agents misuse this capability, it can have a massive, negative impact on the privacy of innocent people.
• The court found that there was no law authorising the practice of bulk surveillance and limiting its potential abuse.

The dangers

• This is regardless of whether they are suspected of serious crimes or threats to national security.
• Their intention is to obtain strategic intelligence about longer term external threats to a country’s security, and that may be difficult to obtain by other means.
• The court rejected this argument because the act failed to address the regulation of bulk interception directly.

What the Constitutional Court said

• The 2021 Constitutional Court judgment did not address whether bulk interception should ever be acceptable as a surveillance practice.
• The court indicated that it would want to see a law authorising bulk surveillance that sets out “the nuts and bolts of the Centre’s functions”.
• The court would also be looking for detail on
  how these various types of intelligence must be captured, copied, stored, or distributed.

What the amendment bill says

• The amendment bill provides for the proper establishment of the National Communication Centre and its functions.
• A parliamentary ad hoc committee has set a deadline of 15 February 2024 for public comment.
• The fact that the judge would be an executive appointment also raises doubts about his or her independence.

Inadequate benchmarking

• These require that a domestic legal framework provide what the European Court of Human Rights has referred to as “end-to-end” safeguards covering all stages of bulk interception.
• How to restore its credibility

  The European Court has stated that a domestic legal framework should define

the grounds on which bulk interception may be authorised
the circumstances
the procedures to be followed for granting authorisation
procedures for selecting, examining and using material obtained from intercepts
The framework should also set out
the precautions to be taken when communicating the material to other parties
limits on the duration of interception
procedures for the storage of intercepted material
the circumstances in which such material must be erased and destroyed
supervision procedures by an independent authority
compliance procedures for review of surveillance once it has been completed.

• Incorporating these details in regulations would not be adequate on its own, as the bill gives the intelligence minister too much power to set the ground rules for bulk interception.
• These rules are also unlikely to be subjected to the same level of public scrutiny as the bill.

Jane Duncan receives funding from the British Academy and is a director of the non-governmental organisation Intelwatch.