Monitoring NSA in de VS en erbuiten, deel 5

quote:

Op vrijdag 5 juli 2013 20:39 schreef Pietverdriet het volgende:
Karl bedoel je?

quote:

Bugged by US spying, EU may sever ties with American internet providers — RT News

EU businesses are threatening to terminate relations with American internet providers in response to the National Security Agency surveillance scandal, the European Commission has warned.

Neelie Kroes, Vice President of the European Commission, said that US providers of ‘cloud services,’ a technology that permits clients to store data on remote servers, could suffer steep losses if users fear the security of their material is at risk of being compromised.

"If businesses or governments think they might be spied on, they will have less reason to trust cloud, and it will be cloud providers who ultimately miss out,” Kroes said. “Why would you pay someone else to hold your commercial or other secrets if you suspect or know they are being shared against your wishes?"

The EC vice president then pointed to the “multi-billion euro consequences” facing US internet companies in the wake of the scandal.

"It is often American providers that will miss out, because they are often the leaders in cloud services. If European cloud customers cannot trust the United States government, then maybe they won't trust US cloud providers either. If I am right, there are multibillion-euro consequences for American companies. If I were an American cloud provider, I would be quite frustrated with my government right now."

AFP Photo / John Macdougall

On Thursday, the European Parliament overwhelmingly passed a non-binding resolution that says the US should provide full disclosure about its email and communications data, otherwise two EU-US transatlantic information-sharing deals - the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program (TFTP) and Passenger Name Records (PNR) - could be revoked.

Relations between Washington and Brussels suffered a setback in June when former NSA analyst Edward Snowden leaked details of a top-secret US data-mining surveillance program, known as Prism, which operated both in the United States and the European Union.

Prism is said to give the NSA and FBI user information from some of the world’s largest internet companies, including Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, Yahoo and Skype.

Der Spiegel cited a secret 2010 document alleging that the US spied on internal computer networks in Washington, as well as at the 27-member bloc's UN office and EU offices in New York.

The NSA paper also allegedly refers to the EU as a "target.”

According to Der Spiegel, the US surveillance system spied on some 500 million telephone and internet recordings in Germany each month, ramping up fears that the United States was not simply collecting data to prevent against acts of terrorism, but was involved in full-scale industrial espionage.

In response to heated European criticism of the US surveillance activities, US President Barack Obama this week seemed to downplay the severity of the situation when he commented: "I guarantee you that in European capitals, there are people who are interested in, if not what I had for breakfast, at least what my talking points might be should I end up meeting with their leaders. That's how intelligence services operate."

During a Wednesday phone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Obama sought to reassure her that the United States would provide the Europeans with details of their surveillance program.

Meanwhile, in an effort to contain the damage from the revelations, ambassadors to the European Union agreed on Thursday to proceed with EU-US negotiations on a new transatlantic free trade pact, scheduled to open in Washington on Monday.


EU commissioner for Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes.(AFP Photo / Georges Gobet)

During the EU-US trade negotiations it will certainly not go unnoticed that crucial European positions in the trade talks may already be compromised due to the wide-scale surveillance. EU officials do not want the issue of America’s covert spy program to be the elephant in the room which nobody talks about.

Dalia Grybauskaitė, the president of Lithuania, which takes over the rotating six-month EU presidency this week, said on Thursday that she awaits “information” – not apologies - from the Americans over the spying allegations.

"They are open to co-operation. They are open to explain," she said. "I never seek an apology from anyone. I seek information … We don't want to jeopardize the strategic importance of free trade."

Grybauskaite insisted that the scandal, which has shown no sign of abating, should not be allowed to obstruct the trade talks but acknowledged that "some countries are very sensitive on this question."

Meanwhile, Britain may also have some explaining to do on the sidelines of next week’s trade talks since it was suggested that the UK's Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), through a system known as Tempora, has had access to the US internet monitoring program since at least June 2010.

The European Commission vice president said that US companies could suffer from the US government's covert intelligence-gathering activities.

"Concerns about cloud security can easily push European policy-makers into putting security guarantees ahead of open markets, with consequences for American companies,” Kroes warned. “Cloud has a lot of potential. But potential doesn't count for much in an atmosphere of distrust."

_{Robert Bridge is the author of the book, Midnight in the American Empire, which discusses the dangerous consequences of excessive corporate power now prevalent in the United States.}

Bron: rt.com

quote:

'Spionagepraktijken in de VS? Kijk eerst eens naar Nederland'

Ophef in de Tweede Kamer: de VS spioneren op grote schaal. Gek die ophef, zegt John Knieriem. Dit wisten we toch? Zijn bedrijf sluist massa's privégegevens door naar justitie, elke dag. Wat hij wil weten: wat gebeurt er met al die data?

Elke nacht stuurt John Knieriem de privégegevens van zijn klanten naar justitie. Duizenden namen, adressen, woonplaatsen, telefoonnummers, e-mailaccounts en IP-nummers. Dat is hij verplicht volgens de wet - álle Nederlandse internetondernemers en telefoniebedrijven doen dat.

Wat er precies mee gebeurt? 'Ik heb geen idee.' Maar hij weet wel dat de verzamelde data 2,3 miljoen keer per jaar worden geraadpleegd door overheidsdiensten. 'Zelfs een boswachter kan erbij, als hij een cursus tot buitengewoon opsporingsambtenaar heeft gevolgd. De meeste mensen hebben geen idee wat er in Nederland allemaal mogelijk is.'

Intermax
John Knieriem is directeur van het Rotterdamse hostingbedrijf Intermax, dat websites onderhoudt voor onder meer ziekenhuizen, gemeenten en media. Vertellen over de manier waarop de overheid gebruikmaakt van de persoonlijke gegevens die hij bewaart: als ondernemer heeft hij er niet veel belang bij. 'Maar ik ben ook een burger en een democraat, en ik wil inzicht. En de zekerheid dat justitie onze privacy goed beschermt. Potverdorie, je kunt dat wel allemaal willen weten, maar ga je er dan ook fatsoenlijk mee om?'

Gisteren bleek dat vier telefoonbedrijven (KPN, Vodafone, T-Mobile, Tele2) de wet overtreden door internetgegevens van hun klanten lang en tot in detail te bewaren. Ze weten precies wie wanneer welke website bezocht. Woensdag besloot de Tweede Kamer tot een onderzoek naar het Amerikaanse afluisterprogramma PRISM, aan het licht gebracht door klokkenluider Edward Snowden. Ze wil duidelijkheid over de rol van de Nederlandse veiligheidsdiensten in het schandaal.

Allemaal erg interessant en belangrijk, zegt John Knieriem, 'maar ik ben vooral verbaasd over de verbazing. Het is toch allang bekend hoe de Amerikanen werken? Dat we hier in Nederland veel meer tappen dan in de Verenigde Staten, daar hoor je niemand over. Hoe is dat spreekwoord ook alweer, van de splinter en de balk?'

Bunker
Zijn bedrijf is verplicht elke 24 uur gegevens te leveren aan de database van het Centraal Informatiepunt Onderzoek Telecommunicatie (CIOT), een afdeling van justitie die de data bewaart in een bunker in Maasland en beschikbaar stelt aan opsporingsdiensten. Die kunnen daar, in de woorden van Knieriem, 'naar hartelust in frotten'. 'En de enige controle op het gebruik van die gegevens wordt uitgeoefend door het ministerie zelf. Dat is toch merkwaardig? De slager keurt zijn eigen vlees. Waarom is daar geen onafhankelijke instantie voor?'

Op zijn bureau ligt een rapport over het CIOT uit november vorig jaar. Het is opgesteld door het ministerie. 'In de helft van de gevallen is niet vast te stellen of het opvragen van gegevens rechtmatig gebeurde. Dat staat er gewoon in. Natuurlijk is het goed dat ze misdrijven oplossen met internetgegevens. Graag zelfs. Zo'n agent of boswachter zit met de beste bedoelingen in het systeem te kijken. Maar dat mag echt alleen als er een vermoeden is van een strafbaar feit.'

Af en toe melden zich de diensten zelf bij Intermax, voor informatie. Een paar weken geleden was het de FIOD, 'die komen dan gewoon in spijkerbroek gegevens halen. Ik probeer te checken of het juridisch oké is, maar moet ze vooral op hun woord geloven. Als ze willen, krijgen ze een hele server mee.'

Black box
Om een website af te tappen, rijden ambtenaren bij tijd en wijle 'een apparaat' naar binnen 'met een kabel eraan', zegt systeemarchitect Rijnier Renes van Intermax. 'Die kabel klikken ze dan bij ons in een switch of in een andere kabel, en dat is het dan. Wat er in dat apparaat zit, een black box, weten we niet. Maar het leest alles mee op bitniveau - wie met wie e-mailt, wat er in die berichten staat, alles gewoon.'

Ook dat is begrijpelijk en belangrijk, zegt Knieriem, 'het is een soort huiszoeking, daar heb ik geen problemen mee. Maar we weten niet wat we niet weten. En het is zó veel informatie die wordt opgehaald, big data, te veel om te verwerken. Hoe filter je eruit wat je nodig hebt? En hoe kan de Tweede Kamer ooit goed controleren wat ermee gebeurt?'

Nederlanders, vindt Knieriem, zijn veel te gemakkelijk over hun privacy. Ze denken: ik heb niks te verbergen, van mij mag iedereen alles weten. 'Het is onzichtbaar. Je merkt er niks van en hebt er dus ook geen last van. Maar ik zie privacy als een grondrecht. En mijn vraag is: hoe voorkomen we dat dit uit de hand loopt?'

Bron: Volkskrant

quote:

Edward Snowden Accuses Germany of Aiding NSA in Spying Efforts - SPIEGEL ONLINE


^{Protesters in Berlin wear Edward Snowden masks.}

In an interview, Edward Snowden accuses the National Security Agency of partnering with Germany and other governments in its spying activities. New information also indicates close working ties between the German foreign intelligence agency and the American authority.

In an interview to be published in this week's issue of SPIEGEL, American intelligence agency whistleblower Edward Snowden criticizes the methods and power of the National Security Agency. Snowden said the NSA people are "in bed together with the Germans." He added that the NSA's "Foreign Affairs Directorate" is responsible for partnerships with other countries. The partnerships are organized in a way that authorities in other countries can "insulate their political leaders from the backlash" in the event it becomes public "how grievously they're violating global privacy." Telecommunications companies partner with the NSA and people are "normally selected for targeting" based on their "Facebook or webmail content."

The interview was conducted by American cryptography expert Jacob Appelbaum and documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras with the help of encrypted e-mails shortly before Snowden became known globally for his whistleblowing.

SPIEGEL reporting also indicates that cooperation between the NSA and Germany's foreign intelligence service, the BND, is more intensive than previously known. NSA, for example, provides "analysis tools" for the BND's signals monitoring of foreign data streams that travel through Germany. Among the BND's focuses are the Middle East route through which data packets from crisis regions travel. In total, SPIEGEL reported that the BND pulls data from five different nodes that are then analyzed at the foreign intelligence service's headquarters in Pullach near Munich. BND head Gerhard Schindler confirmed the partnership during a meeting with members of the German parliament's control committee for intelligence issues.

The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, which is responsible for counter-espionage, is currently investigating whether the NSA has gained access to Internet traffic traveling through Germany. According to information provided by Hans-Georg Maassen, the president of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, an initial analysis failed to provide clarity on the issue. "So far, we have no information that Internet nodes in Germany have been spied on by the NSA," Maassen told SPIEGEL.

At the same time, a new US Army base being built in Germany that is also to be used by the NSA has been approved by German authorities. Currently, a new Consolidated Intelligence center is being built in Wiesbaden. The bug-proof offices and a high-tech control center are being built for $124 million. As soon as the Wiesbaden facility is completed, a complex currently being used in Darmstadt wil be closed. The facilities are being built exclusively by American citizens who have security clearances. Even the material being used to construct the buildings originates from the United States and is guarded throughout the shipping process to Germany.

Bron: www.spiegel.de

quote:

Snowden Reveals How GCHQ in Britain Soaks Up Mass Internet Data - SPIEGEL ONLINE


^{A British military base near Harrogate provides signals intelligence for Britain and the United States: "It snarfs everything."}

Britain's intelligence service stores millions of bits of online data in Internet buffers. In SPIEGEL, Edward Snowden explains GCHQ's "full take" approach. All data that travels through the UK is captured.

In an interview published in the latest edition of SPIEGEL, National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden reports on how America's NSA intelligence service works together with Germany's federal intelligence agency, the BND, more intensively than previously known.

He also provides an in-depth account of the surveillance operations of the NSA and its British counterpart, the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). Britain's Tempora system is the signal intelligence community's first "full-take Internet buffer," Snowden said in an interview.

The scope of this "full take" system is vast. According to the whistleblower and Britain's Guardian newspaper, Tempora stores communications data for up to 30 days and saves the content of those messages for up to three days, in a so-called Internet buffer. "It snarfs everything, in a rolling buffer to allow retroactive investigation without missing a single bit," Snowden said. If you send a single data packet, he further explains, "and it routes through the UK, we get it."

Asked if it is possible to get around this total surveillance of all Internet communication, he said: "As a general rule, so long as you have any choice at all, you should never route through or peer with the UK under any circumstances."

But is that a realistic scenario? Can one really escape the British data vaccuum cleaner by channelling one's own Internet data parcels through lines that are out of reach of British security authorities?

"There is no way that you as an ordinary Internet user can say: I want my data to be routed this or that way," said Philipp Blank of German telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom. Klaus Landedfeld, a board member in charge of infrastructure and networks at the German Internet industry association Eco, agreed. "You've got no influence over that as the end-user." Theoretically, one could try to influence the data flow by changing one's telecommunications provider -- "not every undersea cable runs via Great Britain." But the providers constantly change the cables they send their customers' data through, he added.

In addition, many of the most important services for private Internet users are based in the United States. "You can't get around the American companies," said Landefeld. Anyone using Facebook, Google, Microsoft services, Skype, AOL services or Yahoo could be an open book for the NSA thanks to its Prism spying program, should the organization be interested in taking a look.

Companies Can 'Make Certain Choices'

For commercial clients, Landefeld considers it possible that they can find targeted pathways for their data. Such companies generally have tech experts and they can directly negotiate with service providers on bandwidth issues and access. "If you have enough knowhow and ability, you can make certain choices," he says.

Practically, however, it is likely to be virtually impossible that data sets can be sent somewhere through a cable to which NSA and GCHQ has no access. Most trans-Atlantic cables with significant capacity run through the British isles. In addition, most providers simultaneously use several different cables to protect themselves should one of the channels fail. Redundancy is the best protection against significant service disruption.

"Deutsche Telekom sends data via six different channels to North America," says Telekom spokesperson Blank. Multiple channels can even be involved in merely calling up a single website from a single computer. "Essentially, routers and switches make specific decisions for each connection," says Landefeld. When five images can be seen on a single site, it represents five different connections.

None of that changes the fact that the service provider has control abilities and can determine which paths certain data takes to reach its endpoint. But content and geography are not considered in making those determinations. "We manage traffic flows, but only based on what the fastest route is at that moment," says Blank. Theoretically, he says, "data packets could be marked and sent by routers via specific channels." But that is currently not the standard practice, he adds. Telekom is considering the possibility of so-called Managed Services for its video service T-Entertain, for example. At the moment, however, this method is not being used, according to Blank.

Could the state order telecommunications providers to not use connections that are currently considered to be insecure? No, says Landefeld. "The state cannot tell me as a provider which undersea cable I should use." German law, he says, does not allow such a thing.

Bron: www.spiegel.de

quote:

Snowden Claims That NSA Collaborated With Israel To Write Stuxnet Virus
"In an interview with Der Spiegel Snowden claims that the NSA, amongst other things, collaborated with Israel to write the Stuxnet virus. Not that this is news, as it has been suspected that it was a collaborative effort for some time.

When asked about active major programs and how international partners help, Snowden says: 'The partners in the "Five Eyes" (behind which are hidden the secret services of the Americans, the British, the Australians, New Zealanders and Canadians -- ed.) sometimes go even further than the NSA people themselves. Take the Tempora program of the British intelligence GCHQ for instance.

Tempora is the first "I save everything" approach ("Full take") in the intelligence world. It sucks in all data, no matter what it is, and which rights are violated by it. This buffered storage allows for subsequent monitoring; not a single bit escapes. Right now, the system is capable of saving three days’ worth of traffic, but that will be optimized. Three days may perhaps not sound like a lot, but it's not just about connection metadata. "Full take" means that the system saves everything. If you send a data packet and if makes its way through the UK, we will get it. If you download anything, and the server is in the UK, then we get it. And if the data about your sick daughter is processed through a London call center, then ... Oh, I think you have understood.'"

quote:

Op maandag 8 juli 2013 17:06 schreef deelnemer het volgende:
Is dit echt?

Edward Snowden received the citizenship of the Russian Empire

quote:

Op maandag 8 juli 2013 17:10 schreef Opa2012 het volgende:

[..]

Nee, en ik krijg het idee dat Snowden alles uit z'n grote duim zuigt.

quote:

Op woensdag 10 juli 2013 20:29 schreef deelnemer het volgende:

[..]