Alliance of Spies
Artificial intelligence wiretapping: British secret service and Amazon close deal
The Amazon Clud service AWS is supposed to collect huge amounts of data for the British secret service.
© Ivan Alvarado / Reuters
The British secret service wants to expand the use of artificial intelligence. To this end, he is now cooperating with the Amazon cloud service Amazon Web Service (AWS) – a major power in the network.
British secret services are said to have concluded a deal with Amazon, reports the news agency Reuters, citing a report by the Financial Times. As the paper reported, it was Amazons Cloud service Amazon Web Service (AWS) hired to process confidential material for the espionage authorities. Data analysis and artificial intelligence (AI) should therefore increasingly be used for espionage purposes. According to the report, the contract was said to have been signed this year.
The British espionage agency GCHQ had previously campaigned for the procurement of a highly secure cloud system, the report says. This is to be used by the sister services MI5, MI6 and government departments such as the Ministry of Defense for joint operations. The data will be stored in the UK, the newspaper reports, citing people familiar with the discussions. The British bugging service announced in February that it would use artificial intelligence to uncover patterns in huge amounts of global data. Among other things, the authority wanted to counteract hostile disinformation and intercept criminal material.
Secret service cooperates with the world’s largest cloud service
An official confirmation from the British authorities or the tech giant has not yet been received. The agency initially did not want to comment on inquiries from the Reuters news agency about the relationship between Amazon and the espionage services. The AWS also declined to make a statement.
The British espionage agency GCHQ has been using AI for years, especially to translate foreign languages. Now the use of the technology is to be increased. With this, Great Britain is reacting, among other things, to the increased use of AI by hostile states. In addition, large amounts of data, such as those currently generated, can be processed effectively. It is apparently no coincidence that the authorities are cooperating with the Amazon cloud service AWS for this purpose. AWS is, according to the report, the Synergy Research Group the largest cloud service in the world with a market share of 30 percent.