GCHQ intern jailed over data breach which risked exposing 17 colleagues

A GCHQ intern has been jailed for seven and a half years after he took top secret data home which endangered national security, risked exposing 17 colleagues, and “threw away” thousands of hours of work.

Manchester University computer science student Hasaan Arshad, 25, was in “flagrant breach” of tight security rules when he used his mobile phone to remove material from a computer system and transfer it to his private computer on August 24 2022.

The defendant, who has an autism spectrum disorder, was said to be an academically gifted “perfectionist” who was motivated by a desire to complete the project he had been tasked with at GCHQ as his placement was coming to an end.

But sentencing him on Friday, Mrs Justice McGowan said his was “intellectual arrogance” and he acted under the belief that the “rules do not apply to him”.

Arshad, from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, pleaded guilty to an offence under the Computer Misuse Act which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

The defendant also admitted two charges of making an indecent photograph of a child in relation to 40 category A videos and four category B videos downloaded from the dark web and found on his personal phone following his arrest.

Sentencing, Mrs Justice McGowan jailed Arshad for six years for the data breach and a further year and a half for the sexual offences.

She said: “The risk raised by this conduct was at the highest level.

“I accept there is no evidence of any intention to sell, disclose or ransom the material.

“The risk was obvious and the actual damage that might have followed is incalculable.”

The judge went on: “The consequences are that all the material taken and anything linked to it is now valueless at best and positively dangerous at worst.