A report by the Intelligence and Security Committee said GCHQ spies have "over-achieved" in the last 12 months, developing twice as many potential hacks than its targets.
The GCHQ is developing these hacking capabilities to use against criminals when they launch cyber crimes. It means the UK government is prepared to attack another country's vital infrastructure, such as their communications systems or automated weapons.
There are three stages to the GCHQ's mission, the first of which has been completed ahead of schedule according to the Intelligence and Security Committee report.
"We actually over-achieved and delivered [almost double the number of] capabilities [we were aiming for]," an official from the agency told the Committee (via the BBC).
Although much of the information has been omitted from the public version of the Committee's report, it did reveal that not all attempts to create offensive cyber-weapons were successful. For example, the Foxtrot project was designed to combat encryption, with the project described as an "equipment interference programme to increase GCHQ's ability to operate in an environment of ubiquitous encryption".
However, a lack of skills in the specific area means it hasn't been able to complete the work and needs to find better resources to help it finish the project.
Also highlighted was Project Golf, which focuses on supercomputing and enhancing the government's data analysis to help combat threats, but its development has been halted until next year.
Similarly, the MI5's Alfa project, which has been designed to manage the organisation's information, has been delayed and "significant risks" are stopping it from being completed.
-
M&S suspends online sales as 'cyber incident' continuesNews Marks & Spencer (M&S) has informed customers that all online and app sales have been suspended as the high street retailer battles a ‘cyber incident’.
-
Manners cost nothing, unless you’re using ChatGPTOpinion Polite users are costing OpenAI millions of dollars each year – but Ps and Qs are a small dent in what ChatGPT could cost the planet
-
Former GCHQ intern risked national security after taking home top secret dataNews A former GCHQ intern has pleaded guilty to transferring data from a top-secret computer onto his work phone.
-
Businesses must get better at sharing cyber information, urges former GCHQ chiefJeremy Fleming, the former head of GCHQ, has warned businesses face increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks on critical national infrastructure (CNI).
-
UK and US pledge to punish cyber criminals at annual meetingNews Intelligence and defence officials met at the annual forum to discuss approaches to cyber security for the years ahead
-
GCHQ opens up about concealing cyber threats from global communityNews In a series of publications from GCHQ and the NCSC, security directors explain why and how it keeps security threats a secret
-
Canada's spy agency releases its own anti-malware tool to the publicNews The CSE says its scalability makes it an ideal fit for enterprise applications
-
The Queen formally opens National Cyber Security CentreNews UK cyber chief talks tough in the face of hacker threats
-
UK hit 'by almost 200 Russian cyber attacks' in three monthsNews Cybersecurity chief: Britain could soon be hit by a "category one" attack
-
Top GCHQ director calls security industry "witchcraft"News Dr Ian Levy accuses the industry of creating a climate of fear
