Back-up for GCHQ is too expensive

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Infrastructure to back-up the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) is not likely to be funded for some time, the government has admitted.

The latest report by the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) called on the GCHQ to ensure it establishes a back-up site at a different location, as its key operational equipment is concentrated in the Cheltenham area.

In its response to the report, the government said it recognised the importance of robust business continuity measures and is looking at a number of options, including using other GCHQ sites with the UK.

But the government also revealed GCHQ is considering participating with MI5 and MI6 in their plans for a joint, off-site datacentre for back-up purposes.

"However, a fully resilient data centre requires substantial funding, which, in the short term and in the current economic climate, is unlikely to be forthcoming," the response said.

The use of data centres is expected to boom in the next few years as government moves towards more cloud-based computing, which requires secure, high-power facilities.