GCHQ - Freedom of Information and what to expect.

Hi ATS! Second post for me in a matter of minutes. (both vastly different).

Basically, I just wanted some advice, or any knowledge someone might have in what to expect

I first heard about the Freedom of Information act from my brother who said that you could 'apply'/ send a request for information under this Law. Though this was fascinating, so wanted to give it a go.

So firstly, I set about choosing whom I wanted Information from. I chose GCHQ as I knew that they were not forced to apply to the Freedom of Information act, So I wanted to see what I could get out of them.

Here are the three questions that I included in my FOI Letter.

1. Do GCHQ willingly share information with the NSA? (now this is a very cheeky question to ask of which I knew I would be refused on and I kind of wish that I hadn't. As I now feel I'm probably on a list of some sorts: mnky.

2. What is the figure in GBP of money sent to Isreal every year by the UK government? (also a very cheeky question to ask, which most definitely got me on a list somewhere. I know that the UK government realize papers on AID they send abroad but Isreal is not on this list and I have heard different somewhere along this short life of mine).

3. Anything/All information they hold on Me?


Now I was never expecting to get anything from questions 1&2 and that politely declined my request. However, they did accept to share information on myself as long as I was willing to prove my identity.

I sent these off about an hour ago. But my mind is fanciful and very imaginative.
Could anyone give me an insight of what information I might expect? Just to ease my overactive mind.


Thanks

These collaborated through project Tempora. Which allowed the GCHQ to tap the NSA fiber-optic cables.
More here


They work together as many of these intelligence agencies do.

Did GCHQ Partner With the NSA on Flame? In the document, prepared in April 2013 for a meeting between the NSA director and GCHQ, the author cites the Flame attack against Iran as an example of a US/GCHQ partnership. Flame was a massive spy platform exposed by Kaspersky Lab and Symantec in 2012. Flame targeted more than 10,000 machines in Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Sudan, the Israeli Occupied Territories and other countries in the Middle East and North Africa and was active for at least six years before it was discovered.

Source
It used some of the same coding that Stuxnet does.

a reply to: AncientPheonix

You can expect their on-the-ground operatives to look # scared when they realise you've clocked them. They know they're working for criminal scum, it doesn't give them confidence.

Occasionally one of them will allow themselves a little giggle, especially if you inject some absurdity into your act. Highly recommended if it suits you.

Personally I tried to get to the top of the lists when the fake terror attacks were used to justify lists. I consider it the correct response to such strangely stupid attempts at tyranny.

If you do find any disturbance in your private life resulting from your cheeky requests the best advice I can give you is to play different agencies off against each other.

It all comes down to are they stupid enough to believe the obvious lies or are they stupid enough to think they can get away with pretending to believe the obvious lies.

I look forward to hearing what they know about you, personal details omitted.

On Q1 both the Uk and US are part of 5 eyes so pretty much what one knows they all do and since its always about "foreign" intel its perfectly fine as we can spook on everyone else freely.

Q2...Who knows as information etc has a value not just cheques being cashed.

Q3.. They have a lot of info on everyone but its how much its worth for a human to actually vet the info to push you up the pile, just think they know where you was born, went to school, driving license, passport, registering kids, when and where you have flown to and from, banking details, medical info, marriage details and all that will be indexed against pretty much everyone you know...if its on computer based government system then you should consider it shared.

I'm surprised that for Q1 that they didn't direct you to the declassified UK/USA Agreement?

It is available through the GCHQ and NSA websites.

NSA have a nice timeline covering how the agreement developed.

1955 is the final agreement.

UKUSA Agreement 1955

See other links

NSA declassified docs

UK National Archives

NSA press releases UK/USA Agreement

Do you work with the NSA? Our relationship with the National Security Agency (NSA), the US equivalent of GCHQ, is particularly strong. It dates back to agreements signed at the end of the World War II and remains essential to the security of both nations. It has stopped many terrorist plots and has saved many lives at home and abroad.

GCHQ Frequently Asked Questions