GCHQ worker admits taking 'top secret' data home

Former GCHQ intern Hasaan Arshad, from Rochdale, pleads guilty to a computer misuse offence.

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A former GCHQ intern has admitted risking national security by taking "top secret" data home with him on his mobile phone. Hasaan Arshad, 25, pleaded guilty to an offence under the Computer Misuse Act on what would have been the first day of his trial at the Old Bailey in London. The charge related to committing an unauthorised act which risked damaging national security.

Arshad, from Rochdale in Greater Manchester, is said to have transferred sensitive data from a secure computer to his phone, which he had taken into a "top secret" area of GCHQ on 24 August 2022. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook , X , and Instagram . You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.



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