Manchester University student pleads guilty to risking national security during internship

A Manchester University student has admitted to causing serious risk to national security after standing accused of removing top secret information during a work placement at GCHQ.

Hassan Arshad, 25, interned at the cyber agency in 2021, where he transferred sensitive data from a workstation to his mobile phone.

It is alleged that he transferred this information onto a personal computer at his home, BBC reports. 

Arshad, from Rochdale, plead guilty to offences under the Computer Misuse Act 1990, and is due to be sentenced in June.

GCHQ is the government’s primary intelligence, security and cyber agency, where Arshad had been seconded to a work placement during his degree.

The data stolen included the names of employees, and a tool that could have “put lives at risk”. It is said to be worth millions of pounds.

Following his arrest in 2022, Arshad gave a statement to officers stating that he had no intention of passing on the stolen information.

“I removed the data simply out of curiosity to further develop some of the changes I was unable to complete during the course of my placement,” he said.

“I had intended to use my developments when I hopefully returned to my previous team.

“I’m sorry for my actions, and I understand the stupidity of what I have done.”

The data removed was classified as “top secret”, meaning that this information is some of the government’s most sensitive, of which may cause widespread loss of life or threaten the security or economic well-being of the country if compromised.

An investigation found that he used WhatsApp to disclose information on “developed vetting” in the cyber sector in 2022.

The chat contained records of Arshad stating that “you can get like 10k for simple info leaks.”

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Arshad has been released on bail, but is due to be sentenced in summer for threats to national security along with two counts of making indecent images of children, that he plead guilty to in 2023.

Featured image via YouTube