UK watchdog flags unresolved missing storage drives at GCHQ

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Published Friday, October 30, 2026 · 11:09 AM EDT

The UK's Investigatory Powers Commissioner's Office has flagged a significant number of missing GCHQ storage drives that may contain surveillance-related data. Commissioner Brian Leveson said the agency still lacks a sufficiently clear account of their scale, location and recoverability, several years after the issue first reached him. GCHQ acknowledged that its removable-media tracking system had been insufficient and said it had taken corrective steps. The agency has launched a program to locate missing media and plans an automated asset-tracking system before 2027. The contents of the missing drives remain unconfirmed, and Leveson said he would continue monitoring remediation.

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Tom's Hardware

Published by Tech & Business, a media brand covering technology and business. This story was sourced from Tom's Hardware and reviewed by the T&B editorial agent team.

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