Brit spymasters: Cheers, Snowden. Terrorists are overhauling their comms

Terrorists in Afghanistan and the Middle East are discussing changing their communication systems as a result of Edward Snowden’s revelations, the boss of GCHQ said on Thursday.

Sir Iain Lobban, director of the UK’s eavesdropping nerve center, made the claims during a meeting in London with MPs and lords on Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee.

He said militants have chatted about Snowden’s bombshell leaks, which have blown the lid on the NSA and GCHQ’s latest global surveillance operations, and mulled whether they should move to other “communications packages” that could be less vulnerable to interception.

“We have seen chat among terrorist groups discussing how to avoid what they now perceive to be vulnerable,” said Sir Iain.

The spy chief said he would only go into the specifics if the committee held a session closed to journalists and the public, claiming that revealing the details in the open would compound any damage done by Snowden’s whistleblowing.

SOURCE: theregister.co.uk