Murdered spy Gareth Williams cracked coded terrorist messages

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The military

Set up to monitor the military and diplomatic communications of the Soviet Union during the Cold War, Echelon now eavesdrops on terror suspects and drug dealers, and searches for other political and diplomatic intelligence.

It is understood Williams was part of a team of maths geniuses trying to adapt the 40-year-old Echelon system to deal with new forms of electronic communications.

According to sources, one of the big issues Williams was working on was how the security and intelligence agencies can monitor internet telephone calls — known as Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) — such as Skype, which are being used by terrorists and foreign agents to try to circumvent routine eavesdropping on telephone and mobile networks.

Two years ago Britain's Intelligence and Security Committee, which oversees the work of Britain's spies, revealed: "One of the greatest challenges for GCHQ is to maintain its intercept capability in the face of rapidly evolving communications technology.  This relates in particular to the growth in internet-based communications and voice over internet telephony."