Government spooks greenlight Vodafone and Three merger but with strings attached

Government security agencies have approved the Vodafone and Three merger on condition that the National Security Committee oversees work deemed to have a potential impact on national security.

A technical group will be set up within the National Security Committee to monitor cyber, physical and personnel security facets and that the new merged network migration planning is reviewed by an external, Government-approved auditor.

A Government notice concluded that these measures would “mitigate any risks to national security in relation to Vodafone’s role as a strategic supplier of services to many parts of HM Government, the security of UK networks and data, including cyber, personnel and physical security, resulting from the process of merging two large, complex organisations and their respective staffing, policies, processes and networks”.

“ The Secretary of State considers that the Final Order is necessary and proportionate to mitigate risk to national security”.