UK’s Government Communications Headquarters Says ‘Hello’ To The World On Twitter, Twitterverse Reacts

Krystle Vermes, Tech Times 16 May 2016, 11:05 am

"Hello, world."

That's what the UK's cyber intelligence agency Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) first posted on Twitter after it officially joined the social networking site on Monday.

"In joining social media GCHQ can use its own voice to talk directly about the important work we do in keeping Britain safe," Andrew Pike, director of communications at GCHQ, said in a statement.

It is the first of the UK's three agencies — the others being the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) and the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) or MI6 — to send out a tweet, TechCrunch noted.

GCHQ is hoping to provide more transparency by signing up for Twitter, but the agency has also promised quizzes, info on the work it does for the UK and regular debates, according to the Telegraph.

"We know that some will say we're joining the Twitter party slightly late but we're the first intelligence agency in the UK to do this and it's a big step for the organization as we become more open about the work we do to keep Britain safe," an agency spokesman said.

"We want GCHQ to be more accessible and to help the public understand more about our work, whilst also reaching out to the technical community and adding our voice to social media conversations about technology, maths, cyber security and other topics where we have a view."

Hello, world. https://t.co/SROtSsE8KB

— GCHQ (@GCHQ) May 16, 2016

However, Twitter users expecting the GCHQ to divulge its secrets online will be supremely disappointed.

"Some things have to stay secret — sorry — so we won't be providing intelligence updates or giving away tradecraft but we will be tweeting about our history, mission outcomes, languages, maths, cyber security, technology and innovation, information about GCHQ in general, job opportunities and yes, there will be puzzles!" the spokesman explained.

The agency will also use the Twitter account to share events, publications, news sites and opinion articles. The account already has more than 10,000 followers since it first launched, and has only followed 59 Twitter users so far, including the official James Bond page.

GCHQ has yet to follow Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who made headlines in 2013 for leaking classified information about the agency. He officially entered the Twittersphere back in September.

The first tweet sparked jokes about the agency following people online, with many thanking them for finally joining, instead of spying on Twitter users: