Statewatch News Online, 28 October 2013 (18/13): full background coverage on EU-UK-USA Data Surveillance

28 October 2013 — Statewatch News Online, 28 October 2013 (18/13)

Home page: http://www.statewatch.org/
e-mail: office@statewatch.org

For full background coverage see Statewatch Observatory: EU-UK-USA Data Surveillance:
http://www.statewatch.org/eu-usa-data-surveillance.htm

1.    UN: US DATA SURVEILLANCE: General Assembly: Draft Resolution on Privacy
2.    GERMANY-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: US bugged Merkel’s phone from 2002 until 2013, report claims
3.    GERMANY-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: NSA surveillance: Germany to send intelligence officials to US
4.    UK-GCHQ: DATA SURVEILLANCE: Leaked memos reveal GCHQ efforts to keep mass surveillance secret
5.    EU-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: EU Summit: Merkel’s Delicate Dance over Spying Allegations
6.    EU: EUROPEAN COUNCIL: Statement of Heads of State or government: on USA data surveilance,
7.    FRANCE-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: USA and French intelligence
8.    EU: SURVEILLANCE: European Parliament study: National programmes for mass surveillance of personal data
9.    USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: NSA monitored calls of 35 world leaders after US official handed over contacts
10. USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: Berlin Complains: Did US Tap Chancellor Merkel’s Mobile Phone?
11. MEPS call for suspension of EU-US bank data deal in response to NSA snooping
12. UK-EU: DATA SURVEILLANCE: FROM 1998: UK “spying” on EU partners
13. UK: DATA SURVEILLANCE: Security services need full review
14. FRANCE-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: France in the NSA’s crosshair : phone networks under surveillance
15. USA-MEXICO: DATA SURVEILLANCE: Fresh Leak on US Spying: NSA Accessed Mexican President’s Email
16. UK-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: Documents reveal NSA’s extensive involvement in targeted killing program
17. UK: DATA SURVEILLANCE: Extent of spies’ mass surveillance to be investigated by parliamentary body
18, USA-NSA DATA SURVEILLANCE: NSA collects millions of e-mail address books globally
19. UK DATA SURVEILLANCE: Conservative peer Lord Blencathra hits out at online spying by GCHQ
20. GERMANY: DATA SURVEILLANCE: German NSA has deal to tap ISPs at major Internet Exchange
21. UK-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: New York Times says UK tried to get it to hand over Snowden documents
22. DATA SURVEILLANCE: Belgacom downplays UK hacking allegations at EU hearing
23. EU-USA DATA SURVEILLANCE: Letter from US Representation to the European Union declining to attend
24. EU-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: The Snowden files: why the British public should be worried about GCHQ
25. EU-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: Newsnight Greenwald interview
26. EU-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: US denies entry to German NSA critic
27. EU-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: How the NSA obtains and uses airline reservations
28. EU-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: A TIMELY REMINDER FROM HISTORY: A quote from Senator Frank Church
29. EU-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: NSA Gathers Data on Social Connections of U.S. Citizens
30. EU-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: Creeping Cloud
30. USA: SURVEILLANCE: Another watershed moment
31. INDIA-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: NSA planted bugs at Indian missions in D.C., U.N.
32. EU-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: European Parliament Briefing Note:
33. EU-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: Belgacom Attack: Britain’s GCHQ Hacked Belgian Telecoms Firm
34. ISRAEL-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: NSA shares raw intelligence including Americans’ data with Israel:
35. UK-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: Full-text: Secret Document Reveals NSA Campaign Against Encryption
36. EU-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: NSA and GCHQ unlock privacy and security on the internet
37. UK-SPAIN: DATA SURVEILLANCE: London spies on Spanish communications as well
38. EU-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: Report to the President of the European Parliament
39. EU-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: USA Congressional Research Service:
40. EU-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: EDRI (European digital Rights) and FREEGroup: Statement

1. UN: US DATA SURVEILLANCE: General Assembly: Draft Resolution on Privacy (pdf): Including:
http://www.statewatch.org/news/2013/oct/un-draft-resolution-on-privacy-us-surveillance.pdf

“Affirms that the same rights that people have offline must also be protected online, in particular the right to privacy, including in the context of the surveillance of communications.. [and Calls on all States]

To take measures to put an end to violations of these rights and to create the conditions to prevent such violations, including by ensuring that relevant national legislation complies with their international human rights obligations and is effectively implemented”

2. GERMANY-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: US bugged Merkel’s phone from 2002 until 2013, report claims (BBC News, link):
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24690055?print=true

It appears that Merkel’s telecommunications were placed under surveillance by the NSA’s Special Collection Service (SCS) from 2002, two years after she was elected the CDU’s party leader. Her party was then in opposition and this suggests that the net cast by the SCS operations in Berlin (and in other capitals) extended not just to governments but to potential future government parliamentarians too.

3. GERMANY-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: NSA surveillance: Germany to send intelligence officials to US – Move comes as Germany and Brazil lead calls for UN resolution on internet privacy in wake of Edward Snowden leaks (Guardian, link):
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/26/nsa-surveillance-brazil-germany-un-resolution/print

4. UK-GCHQ: DATA SURVEILLANCE: Leaked memos reveal GCHQ efforts to keep mass surveillance secret – Exclusive: Edward Snowden papers show UK spy agency fears legal challenge if scale of surveillance is made public (Guardian, link):
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/oct/25/leaked-memos-gchq-mass-surveillance-secret-snowden/print

“The UK intelligence agency GCHQ has repeatedly warned it fears a “damaging public debate” on the scale of its activities because it could lead to legal challenges against its mass-surveillance programmes, classified internal documents reveal.”

5. EU-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: EU Summit: Merkel’s Delicate Dance over Spying Allegations (Spiegel Online, link)
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/merkel-performs-diplomatic-balancing-act-in-brussels-over-us-spying-a-929976.html#ref=nl-international

6. EU: EUROPEAN COUNCIL: Statement of Heads of State or government: on USA data surveilance, 24-25 October 2013:
http://www.statewatch.org/news/2013/oct/eu-council-concl-24-25-oct-13-data-surveillance.pdf

“A lack of trust could prejudice the necessary cooperation in the field of intelligence gathering. The Heads of State or Government took note of the intention of France and Germany to seek bilateral talks with the USA with the aim of finding before the end of the year an understanding on mutual relations in that field. They noted that other EU countries are welcome to join this initiative.”

Tony Bunyan, Statewatch Director, comments:

“The European Council [Prime Ministers and Heads of State] is now the fourth formal EU institution, and some would argue the most powerful as it sets the agenda. Its statement only addresses the concerns of governments not those of the people or civil society groups who have been place under surveillance by unaccountable agencies in the USA and EU Member States.

This comes at the same time as it also agreed [see above] to put off the decision to adopt the new EU Regulation on data protection until 2015, when the expectation had been that it would be adopted before the European Parliament elections in May 2014. And comes just days after the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee adopted, by a large majority, a policy position to ensure that no personal data could be transferred outside the EU without the authorisation of the national data protection authority and that the individual concerned would have to be informed of the request.

It would appear that the priority of the European Council is to strongly oppose the USA spying on EU governments but not demanding that its own citizens are protected.”

7. FRANCE-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: USA and French intelligence : Concerning cyber attacks on the French Presidential network.
http://www.statewatch.org/news/2013/oct/nsa-and-fr-spies.pdf

See also: France in the NSA’s crosshair : phone networks under surveillance (M Technologies, link):
http://www.lemonde.fr/technologies/article/2013/10/21/france-in-the-nsa-s-crosshair-phone-networks-under-surveillance_3499741_651865.html

NSA Spying: Laurent Fabius convened “immediately” U.S. Ambassador (Le Monde, translation), Le Monde (link)
http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http:/www.lemonde.fr/&prev=/search%3Fq%3DLe%2BMonde%2Bdaily%26biw%3D1024%26bih%3D652

and Le Monde PRISM slides: http://www.statewatch.org/news/2013/oct/nsa-prism-le-monde-13.pdf

Snowden leaks: France summons US envoy over spying claims (BBC News, link):
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24607880?print=true

and US spy agency ‘monitored millions of French phones’ (France 24, link):
http://www.france24.com/en/20131021-usa-spy-agency-nsa-recorded-millions-french-phone-calls

8. EU: SURVEILLANCE: European Parliament study: National programmes for mass surveillance of personal data in EU Member States and their compatability with EU law): “It finds that four of the five EU member states selected for in-depth examination are engaging in some form of large-scale interception and surveillance of communication data, and identifies parallels and discrepancies between these programmes and the NSA-run operations.”
http://www.statewatch.org/news/2013/oct/ep-study-national-law-on-surveillance.pdf

9. USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: NSA monitored calls of 35 world leaders after US official handed over contacts (Guardian, link)
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/24/nsa-surveillance-world-leaders-calls/print

• Agency given more than 200 numbers by government official
• NSA encourages departments to share their ‘Rolodexes’
• Surveillance produced ‘little intelligence’, memo acknowledges

The NSA memo suggests that such surveillance was not isolated as the agency routinely monitors world leaders

10. USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: Berlin Complains: Did US Tap Chancellor Merkel’s Mobile Phone? (Spiegel Online, link):
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/merkel-calls-obama-over-suspicions-us-tapped-her-mobile-phone-a-929642.html

“Berlin is taking seriously indications that Chancellor Angela Merkel’s mobile phone might have been tapped by US intelligence, according to SPIEGEL information. Merkel spoke with President Barack Obama on Wednesday about her concerns.”

and UK: Angela Merkel phone-bugging claims are result of Snowden leaks, MP claims – David Winnick says disclosure shows wisdom of decision to hold Commons debate on oversight of UK spying agencies (Guardian, link)
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/24/angela-merkel-bugging-snowden-leaks-mp/print

11. MEPS call for suspension of EU-US bank data deal in response to NSA snooping:
http://www.statewatch.org/news/2013/oct/ep-swift-vote-prel.pdf

“The EU should suspend its Terrorist Finance Tracking Program (TFTP) agreement with the US in response to the US National Security Agency’s alleged tapping of EU citizens’ bank data held by the Belgian company SWIFT, says a non-binding resolution voted by Parliament on Wednesday. The resolution, tabled by the S&D, ALDE and Greens/EFA groups, was passed by 280 votes to 254, with 30 abstentions.

Although Parliament has no formal powers to initiate the suspension or termination of an international deal, “the Commission will have to act if Parliament withdraws its support for a particular agreement”, says the approved text. It adds that Parliament will take account of the Commission’s response to this demand when considering whether to give its consent to future international agreements.”

See: Unofficial version of the adopted Resolution (pdf):
http://www.statewatch.org/news/2013/oct/ep-swift-unofficial-version-swift-resolution.pdf

and European Commission: Statement by Commissioner Malmström on the European Parliament’s resolution on the EU-US TFTP agreement (pdf)
http://www.statewatch.org/news/2013/oct/eu-com-swift-statement.pdf

12. UK-EU: DATA SURVEILLANCE: FROM 1998: UK “spying” on EU partners (Statewatch Bulletin, January-February 1998) :
http://www.statewatch.org/news/2013/oct/uk-eu-spying-partners.htm

The UK’s overseas intelligence gathering service, MI6 (the Secret Intelligence Service, SIS), spies on other EU governments to strengthen their position in negotiations. As the Guardian put it: “The clearest confirmation from authoritative sources of a long-held suspicion comes in BBC 2’s How to be Foreign Secretary..”. The programme broadcast on Sunday 8 January 1998 quotes a senior official, who could not be identified, as saying:

“Of course, we spied on them. It is as vital to know what our European partners are doing as any Soviet battle plan.” (Times, 2.1.98)

13. UK: DATA SURVEILLANCE: Security services need full review (Guardian, link):
http://www.theguardian.com/law/2013/oct/18/security-services-need-full-review/print

Letter from: John McDonnell MP and Jeremy Corbyn MP: and see: Early day motion (link):
http://www.parliament.uk/edm/print/2013-14/576

“That this House considers that the revelations exposed in The Guardian that British security services have examined the internet activities of British citizens without the consent of Parliament demonstrate that the Intelligence and Security Committee is not fit for purpose; believes that the Committee should be chaired by an hon. Member who has not served in a Department with responsibility for intelligence and security services for the purpose of avoiding any potential allegations of conflict of interest; and calls for any independent review reporting to Parliament on the appropriate structure and arrangements to ensure effective Parliamentary democratic scrutiny of the intelligence and security services.”

14. FRANCE-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: France in the NSA’s crosshair : phone networks under surveillance (M Technologies, link):
http://www.lemonde.fr/technologies/article/2013/10/21/france-in-the-nsa-s-crosshair-phone-networks-under-surveillance_3499741_651865.html

NSA Spying: Laurent Fabius convened “immediately” U.S. Ambassador (Le Monde, translation):
http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http:/www.lemonde.fr/&prev=/search%3Fq%3DLe%2BMonde%2Bdaily%26biw%3D1024%26bih%3D652

Le Monde (link): http://www.lemonde.fr/technologies/article/2013/10/21/comment-la-nsa-espionne-la-france_3499758_651865.html

and Le Monde PRISM slides: http://www.statewatch.org/news/2013/oct/nsa-prism-le-monde-13.pdf

Snowden leaks: France summons US envoy over spying claims (BBC News, link) and US spy agency ‘monitored millions of French phones’ (France 24, link): http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24607880?print=true

15. USA-MEXICO: DATA SURVEILLANCE: Fresh Leak on US Spying: NSA Accessed Mexican President’s Email (Der Spiegel, link):
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/nsa-hacked-email-account-of-mexican-president-a-928817.html

“The NSA has been systematically eavesdropping on the Mexican government for years. It hacked into the president’s public email account and gained deep insight into policymaking and the political system. The news is likely to hurt ties between the US and Mexico.”

16. UK-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: Documents reveal NSA’s extensive involvement in targeted killing program (Washington Post, link):
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/documents-reveal-nsas-extensive-involvement-in-targeted-killing-program/2013/10/16/29775278-3674-11e3-8a0e-4e2cf80831fc_print.html

“It was an innocuous e-mail, one of millions sent every day by spouses with updates on the situation at home. But this one was of particular interest to the National Security Agency and contained clues that put the sender’s husband in the crosshairs of a CIA drone.” and:

The GCHQ scandal is not about the Guardian – It is an insult to parliament: Instead of shooting the messenger, MPs should be affronted that they have been kept in the dark over activity they are meant to oversee (Guardian, link):
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/18/gchq-scandal-guardian-parliament-mps/print

Also: UK’s top prosecutor defends journalists who break law in public interest – Keir Starmer says his guidelines are drafted to let journalists pursue difficult stories without fear of prosecution (Guardian, link):
http://www.theguardian.com/law/2013/oct/18/uk-prosecutor-journalists-law-public-interest/print

“Britain’s most senior prosecutor has launched a robust defence of journalists who break the law pursuing investigations that have a genuine public interest. Legal guidelines had been drafted, he said, to protect reporters.”

See: Guidelines for prosecutors on assessing the public interest in cases affecting the media (CPS, link)
http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/d_to_g/guidance_for_prosecutors_on_assessing_the_public_interest_in_cases_affecting_the_media_/

and Annex A: http://www.statewatch.org/news/2013/oct/uk-cps-media-guidelines-annex-a.pdf

17. UK: DATA SURVEILLANCE: Extent of spies’ mass surveillance to be investigated by parliamentary body – Intelligence inquiry begun after Edward Snowden leaks and Guardian revelations on GCHQ and NSA personal data sharing (Guardian, link):
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/oct/17/uk-gchq-nsa-surveillance-inquiry-snowden/print

18, USA-NSA DATA SURVEILLANCE: NSA collects millions of e-mail address books globally (Washington Post, link):
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/nsa-collects-millions-of-e-mail-address-books-globally/2013/10/14/8e58b5be-34f9-11e3-80c6-7e6dd8d22d8f_story.html

“The National Security Agency is harvesting hundreds of millions of contact lists from personal e-mail and instant messaging accounts around the world, many of them belonging to Americans, according to senior intelligence officials and top-secret documents provided by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

During a single day last year, the NSA’s Special Source Operations branch collected 444,743 e-mail address books from Yahoo, 105,068 from Hotmail, 82,857 from Facebook, 33,697 from Gmail and 22,881 from unspecified other providers, according to an internal NSA PowerPoint presentation. Those figures, described as a typical daily intake in the document, correspond to a rate of more than 250 million a year.”

See documents: Content Acquisition Optimisation (pdf):
http://www.statewatch.org/news/2013/oct/usa-surv-nsa-sso-content.pdf

SSO Collection Optimisation (pdf)
http://www.statewatch.org/news/2013/oct/usa-nsa-nsa-sso.pdf

and SSO Collection Optimization Overview (pdf):
http://www.statewatch.org/news/2013/oct/usa-nsa-sso-overview.pdf

19. UK DATA SURVEILLANCE: Conservative peer Lord Blencathra hits out at online spying by GCHQ – MPs should be able to vote to approve surveillance programmes or put a stop to them, says former minister (Guardian, link)
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/oct/14/conservative-peer-spying-gchq-surveillance/print

and Snowden leaks: MI5 chief accused of using ‘foolish self-serving rhetoric’ – Former DPP Lord Macdonald dismisses Andrew Parker’s claim that greater scrutiny would harm intelligence agencies (Guardian, link)
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/14/snowden-leaks-mi5-chief-rhetoric-dpp/print

20. GERMANY: DATA SURVEILLANCE: German NSA has deal to tap ISPs at major Internet Exchange (ars technica, link):
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/10/german-nsa-has-deal-to-tap-isps-at-major-internet-exchange/

“Spy agency BND stays mum on how it’s distinguishing domestic vs. foreign traffic.”

21. UK-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: New York Times says UK tried to get it to hand over Snowden documents – Jill Abramson says she was approached by UK embassy officials after announcing collaboration with Guardian over NSA files (Guardian, link):
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/13/new-york-times-snowden-nsa-files/print

GCHQ accused of monitoring privileged emails between lawyers and clients (link)
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/oct/13/gchq-accused-monitoring-privileged-emails-lawyer-client-libya/print

and GCHQ mass surveillance putting right to challenge state at risk, say lawyers (link):
http://www.theguardian.com/law/2013/oct/13/gchq-surveillance-right-challenge-state-law/print

See also: Spooks and secrets: what is the public’s right to know? (The Observer, link): “Last week, a row exploded over the Guardian’s disclosures of secret surveillance, with senior politicians and newspaper editors at loggerheads. Here, civil rights campaigner Shami Chakrabarti and ex-MI6 officer Nigel Inkster debate the rights and wrongs of exposing such practices in a free society”
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/12/observer-surveillance-debate/print

22. DATA SURVEILLANCE: Belgacom downplays UK hacking allegations at EU hearing (euobserver, link):
http://euobserver.com/justice/121668

“Belgian telecommunications firm Belgacom has played down revelations it was hacked by British intelligence…”

See: European Parliament press release: Belgacom hacking case: MEPs regret UK intelligence service absence at EP hearing (pdf)
http://www.statewatch.org/news/2013/oct/ep-press-release-uk-nsa-inquiry.pdf

See full text: UK Permanent Representative in Brussels turning down invitation and leaving an empty chair at the hearing: Letter to LIBE Committee (pdf) :
http://www.statewatch.org/news/2013/oct/uk-refusal-letter-ep-inquiry-gchq-cunliffe.pdf

“The activities of intelligence services are equally the sole responsibility of each Member State and fall outside the competences of the Union. For that reason, and with respect, the UK must decline your invitation for the Director of GCHQ to attend your Hearing. Further, it is my Government’s consistent policy not to comment on intelligence matters.” (and see USA’s response below)

And see original report: : Belgacom Attack: Britain’s GCHQ Hacked Belgian Telecoms Firm – A cyber attack on Belgacom raised considerable attention last week. Documents leaked by Edward Snowden and seen by SPIEGEL indicate that Britain’s GCHQ intelligence agency was responsible for the attack. (Spiegel Online, link): http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/british-spy-agency-gchq-hacked-belgian-telecoms-firm-a-923406-druck.html

23. EU-USA DATA SURVEILLANCE: Letter from US Representation to the European Union declining to attend the European Parliament inquiry (pdf):
http://www.statewatch.org/news/2013/oct/eu-usa-surv-inquiry-letter-usa-brussels.pdf

“In response to your invitation for US Government officials to participate in the LIBE Committee’s hearings on alleged NSA programs, I regret that we cannot offer any encouragement for official US participation…”

The response says that the “appropriate” channel is the Ad Hoc Working Group set up by the USA, the EU Council, Commission and EU Member states whose meetings and documents are secret.

24. EU-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: The Snowden files: why the British public should be worried about GCHQ – When the Guardian offered John Lanchester access to the GCHQ files, the journalist and novelist was initially unconvinced. But what the papers told him was alarming: that Britain is sliding towards an entirely new kind of surveillance society (Guardian, link):
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/03/edward-snowden-files-john-lanchester/print

““The documents make clear that GCHQ’s eavesdropping abilities are on a scale unmatched anywhere in the free world, and they privately boast about the “more permissive legal environment” in the UK – and yet, nobody seems to care. It’s tragicomic that the surveillance story which most gripped the public imagination concerned Poole borough council’s use of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (Ripa) to spy on a family suspected of cheating in regard to school catchment areas.”

25. EU-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: Newsnight Greenwald interview: Link (3-10-13, BBC)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1Zvo8N3G94

26. EU-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: US denies entry to German NSA critic (New Europe, link):
http://www.neurope.eu/article/us-denies-entry-german-nsa-critic

27. EU-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: How the NSA obtains and uses airline reservations (The Identity project, link):
http://papersplease.org/wp/2013/09/29/how-the-nsa-obtains-and-uses-airline-reservations/

and see: How airline reservations are used to target illegal searches (link)
http://papersplease.org/wp/2013/09/17/how-airline-reservations-are-used-to-target-illegal-searches/

28. EU-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: A TIMELY REMINDER FROM HISTORY: A quote from Senator Frank Church, who headed a seminal inquiry in 1975 into the surveillance of the peace movement in the USA (the “Church Committee report”), seems pertinent today:

“If a dictator ever took charge in this country, the technological capacity that the intelligence community has given the government could enable it to impose total tyranny, and there would be no way to fight back because the most careful effort to combine together in resistance to the government, no matter how privately it was done, is within the reach of government to know. Such is the capacity of technology.”

29. EU-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: NSA Gathers Data on Social Connections of U.S. Citizens (New York Times, link):
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/29/us/nsa-examines-social-networks-of-us-citizens.html?hp&_r=0&pagewanted=print

“Since 2010, the National Security Agency has been exploiting its huge collections of data to create sophisticated graphs of some Americans’ social connections that can identify their associates, their locations at certain times, their traveling companions and other personal information, according to newly disclosed documents and interviews with officials.”

See also: Documents on N.S.A. Efforts to Diagram Social Networks of U.S. Citizens (link):
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/09/29/us/documents-on-nsa-efforts-to-diagram-social-networks-of-us-citizens.html?ref=us

which again emphasise that surveillance of anyone in the world is OK so long as they are careful when it comes to involving US citizens:
“The primary new responsibility is the requirement: to enter a foreign intelligence (FI) justification for making a query or starting a chain”

30. EU-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: Creeping Cloud (New York Times, Sunday Review, link):
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/29/opinion/sunday/dowd-creeping-cloud.html?_r=0&pagewanted=print

“James Bamford, the chronicler of the untrammeled powers of the “Puzzle Palace,” as he calls the N.S.A., wrote in Wired that the Utah tower of Babel may be able to store a yottabyte. That is equal to a septillion bytes or about 500 quintillion (500,000,000,000,000,000,000) pages of text….”They saw 9/11 and all these other terrorist attacks on CNN. They didn’t have a clue. The more electronic hay they stack on their haystack, the more difficult it is to find the needle.” ” (emphasis added)

30. USA: SURVEILLANCE: Another watershed moment: Leahy Delivers Keynote Address On Foreign Surveillance Oversight At Georgetown University Law Center (link): http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/leahy-delivers-keynote-address-on-foreign-surveillance-oversight-at-georgetown-university-law-center

“I entered the Senate in 1975. The very first vote I cast as a United States Senator was in favor of the Senate resolution that created the Select Committee to Study Government Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities and the Rights of Americans – that is, the Church Committee. It was a watershed moment in history, and I remain proud of that first vote.

Through the work of the Church Committee, the American public learned of years of excesses and abuses that had occurred in the secretive and largely unchecked intelligence community. These revelations made clear that change was needed. They led to the enactment of the Foreign Intelligence Surveilance Act in 1978, as well as the establishment of the congressional Intelligence Committees to provide ongoing, comprehensive oversight of our intelligence agencies. Today, nearly 40 years later, we have arrived at another watershed moment. And once again, it is time for change.”

See also: Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, U.S. Senate Committee On The Judiciary, On Introduction of the FISA Accountability and Privacy Protection Act of 2013 Senate Floor (link):
http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/statement-of-senator-patrick-leahy-d-vt-chairman-us-senate-committee-on-the-judiciary-on-introduction-of-the-fisa-accountability-and-privacy-protection-act-of-2013-senate-floor

31. INDIA-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: NSA planted bugs at Indian missions in D.C., U.N. (The Hindu, link)
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/world/nsa-planted-bugs-at-indian-missions-in-dc-un/article5164944.ece

“Two of the most important nerve-centres of Indian diplomacy outside the country — the Permanent Mission of India at the United Nations and the embassy in Washington, DC — were targets of such sophisticated bugs implanted by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) that entire computer hard disks might have been copied by the American agency. The U.N. Mission building in New York and the embassy premises, including its annex, in Washington were on a top-secret list of countries and missions — many of them European allies of the U.S. — chosen for intensive spying.”

And see: NSA spied on Indian embassy and UN mission, Edward Snowden files reveal – Documents released by US whistleblower show extent and aggression of datamining exercises targeting its diplomatic ally (Guardian, link)
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/25/nsa-surveillance-indian-embassy-un-mission/print

See also: Secret bunkers, a challenge for U.S. intelligence (The Hindu, link)
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/world/secret-bunkers-a-challenge-for-us-intelligence/article5164833.ece?ref=relatedNews

32. EU-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: European Parliament Briefing Note: The US National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance programmes (PRISM) and
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) activities and their impact on EU citizens’ fundamental rights (pdf):
http://www.statewatch.org/news/2013/sep/ep-briefing-note-nsa-prism.pdf

“In light of the recent PRISM-related revelations, this briefing note analyzes the impact of US surveillance programmes on European citizens’ rights. The note explores the scope of surveillance that can be carried out under the US FISA Amendment Act 2008, and related practices of the US authorities which have very strong implications for EU data sovereignty and the protection of European citizens’ rights.”

33. EU-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: Belgacom Attack: Britain’s GCHQ Hacked Belgian Telecoms Firm – A cyber attack on Belgacom raised considerable attention last week. Documents leaked by Edward Snowden and seen by SPIEGEL indicate that Britain’s GCHQ intelligence agency was responsible for the attack. (Spiegel Online, link): http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/british-spy-agency-gchq-hacked-belgian-telecoms-firm-a-923406-druck.html

” A “top secret” Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) presentation seen by SPIEGEL indicate that the goal of project, conducted under the codename “Operation Socialist,” was “to enable better exploitation of Belgacom” and to improve understanding of the provider’s infrastructure.”

Edward Snowden has raised ‘real issues’, says head of UK spy watchdog – Sir Malcolm Rifkind defends UK intelligence agencies’ techniques but appears to concede laws may need review (Guardian, link):
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/sep/20/edward-snowden-uk-spy-watchdog/print

“GCHQ had been targeting the Belgian telecoms giant Belgacom, whose major customers include the European parliament, [European Council] and the European commission. The operation, codenamed “Socialist”, had given GCHQ the ability to secretly hack into Belgacom for at least three years.”

– Rifkind was responding to this article: Edward Snowden has started a global debate. So why the silence in Britain? We’re subject to huge unwarranted surveillance – but Westminster’s useful idiots are more likely to sanction than criticise it (Simon Jenkins, Guardian, link)
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/sep/20/edward-snowden-uk-spy-watchdog/print

34. ISRAEL-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: NSA shares raw intelligence including Americans’ data with Israel: (Guardian, link):
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/11/nsa-americans-personal-data-israel-documents/print

• Secret deal places no legal limits on use of data by Israelis
• Only official US government communications protected
• Agency insists it complies with rules governing privacy

Full-text of NSA and Israel’s ‘memorandum of understanding’ (pdf)
http://www.statewatch.org/news/2013/sep/nsa-israel-spy-share.pdf

The existence of this Israel-USA Agreement concerning the exchange of data on US citizens begs the question: Is there another Agreement covering access to data on non-US citizens?

35. UK-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: Full-text: Secret Document Reveals NSA Campaign Against Encryption (pdf):
http://www.statewatch.org/news/2013/sep/uk-usa-encryption-bullrun-guide-final.pdf

New York Times commented: “Documents show that the NSA has been waging war against encryption using a battery of methods that include working with industry to weaken encryption standards, making design changes to cryptographic software, and pushing international encryption standards it knows it can break.” NYT version with comments (pdf)
http://www.statewatch.org/news/2013/sep/nsa-sigint-enabling-nyt-13-0905.pdf

See also: How to remain secure against NSA surveillance, Bruce Schneier, Guardian (link):
http://cryptome.org/2013/09/nsa-decrypt-schneier-13-0905-02.pdf

and The US government has betrayed the internet. We need to take it back (link)
http://cryptome.org/2013/09/nsa-decrypt-schneier-13-0905-03.pdf

36. EU-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: NSA and GCHQ unlock privacy and security on the internet (Guardian, link)
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/05/nsa-gchq-encryption-codes-security/print

• NSA and GCHQ unlock encryption used to protect emails, banking and medical records
• $250m-a-year US program works covertly with tech companies to insert weaknesses into products
• Security experts say programs ‘undermine the fabric of the internet’

and: NSA and GCHQ unlock encryption programs that EVERYONE uses to email and make purchases on their phones and tablets (Daily Mail, link):
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2413436/NSA-GCHQ-unlock-encryption-programs-EVERYONE-uses-email-make-purchases-phones-tablets.html

37. UK-SPAIN: DATA SURVEILLANCE: London spies on Spanish communications as well (Spanish link to: Publico.es)
http://www.publico.es/espana/466011/londres-tambien-espia-las-comunicaciones-espanolas

“The British agency GCHQ has intercepted the underwater cable connecting Spain with the Middle East and Asia, to secretly control telephone and Internet connections. European intelligence sources confirmed this surveillance on a massive scale”

See also from Statewatch: UK/Spain/Gibraltar: Early 20th century communications interception in Spain: a historical perspective:
http://www.statewatch.org/news/2004/aug/10spain-gib-comint.htm

38. EU-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: Report to the President of the European Parliament by: Elmar BROK, Chairman of EP Foreign Affairs Committee, on his visit to Washington DC focused on the issue of NSA surveillance programmes of internet and telecommunications (pdf):
http://www.statewatch.org/news/2013/sep/eu-usa-brok-report.pdf

39. EU-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: USA Congressional Research Service:

– NSA Surveillance Leaks: Background and Issues for Congress:
http://www.statewatch.org/news/2013/sep/ep-eu-usa-surveillance-usa-congress-report.pdf

– Reauthorization of the FISA Amendments Act :
http://www.statewatch.org/news/2013/sep/ep-eu-usa-surveillance-usa-congress-fisa-amendment.pdf

40. EU-USA: DATA SURVEILLANCE: EDRI (European digital Rights) and FREEGroup: Statement: EDRi and FREE urge European Parliament to bring an end to lawless surveillance and Full submission (pdf). Statewatch is a member of both groups:
http://www.statewatch.org/news/2013/sep/ep-eu-usa-surveillance-edri-freegroup-statemment.pdf

USING THE STATEWATCH WEBSITE

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Statewatch: Monitoring the state and civil liberties in Europe
PO Box 1516, London, N16 0EW. UK
tel: +44(0)20-8802-1882; fax: +44(0)20-8880-1727
http://www.statewatch.org

The New Dark Age

'It's Socialism or Barbarism'

Statewatch News Online, 28 October 2013 (18/13): full background coverage on EU-UK-USA Data Surveillance

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