Newly Revealed Documents - AT&T Helped N.S.A. Spy on an Array of Internet Traffic

[Hissyspit]

Last edited Sat Aug 15, 2015, 03:34 PM - Edit history (2)

Source: New York Times

AT&T Helped N.S.A. Spy on an Array of Internet Traffic

By JULIA ANGWIN, CHARLIE SAVAGE, JEFF LARSON, HENRIK MOLTKE, LAURA POITRAS and JAMES RISEN
AUGUST 15, 2015
By Julia Angwin, Charlie Savage, Jeff Larson, Henrik Moltke, Laura Poitras and James Risen

The National Security Agency’s ability to spy on vast quantities of Internet traffic passing through the United States has relied on its extraordinary, decades-long partnership with a single company: the telecom giant AT&T.

While it has been long known that American telecommunications companies worked closely with the spy agency, newly disclosed N.S.A. documents show that the relationship with AT&T has been considered unique and especially productive. One document described it as “highly collaborative,” while another lauded the company’s “extreme willingness to help.”

AT&T’s cooperation has involved a broad range of classified activities, according to the documents, which date from 2003 to 2013. AT&T has given the N.S.A. access, through several methods covered under different legal rules, to billions of emails as they have flowed across its domestic networks. It provided technical assistance in carrying out a secret court order permitting the wiretapping of all Internet communications at the United Nations headquarters, a customer of AT&T.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/16/us/politics/att-helped-nsa-spy-on-an-array-of-internet-traffic.html

[cantbeserious]

1. Thank You Edward Snowden And Others

eom

[Jack Rabbit]

5. Yes, indeed

I think Mr. Snowden should came back to America and face the music: a marching band in a ticker tape parade at the end of which he is presented the presidential medal of freedom.

As for the top execs at ATT, we'll start with a vat of tar and a bag of feathers.

[erronis]

16. That would make for a nice kids movie but the snipers would put the kiss of death on it.

The only people that have survived the wrath of the PTB are the ones that hold some crown jewels (significant knowledge about these PTBs) and the way to make sure that this information will be distributed as necessary.

Sir Ed Snowden may be one such individual. I'd really like to see a movie of his life with a happy ending.

[Jack Rabbit]

23. From the motion picture "Mack the Knife"

The final scene of The Three-Penny Opera as Brecht wrote it . . .
[center]

[/center]

[wildbilln864]

28. yes indeed! thank you patriots.

[joanbarnes]

2. I'm sure they also wiretapped landlines...back in the day when my work came over phone lines.

[jalan48]

3. Apparentlystopping this type of government activity was not part of the change in "Hope and Change".

[Jack Rabbit]

6. Apparently not

But I thought so, once, many years ago.

I thought there would be an end Bush's tyranny. Those were my now dashed hopes for change.

[Xipe Totec]

4. I always assume the lines are tapped.

So at every opportunity I make sure to utter the phrase:

"Pinches gringos paranoides"

(Goddamned paranoid gringos)

In every phone conversation.

I figure, if they're going to snoop, I might as well give them an earful.

[valerief]

37. I always say, "Hi there, NSA!" to acknowledge them. nt

[Blue_Tires]

7. Of course I'd said the telecoms and Silicon Valley were complicit from the start

and everybody here pissed on me for saying so...

Just one tick in the column of "Things I've been right about all along"... And we're far from finished, too

As an aside, I am curious about what strings Poitras and Risen keep pulling to share byline credit, because the Times sure as fuck doesn't need their help in reporting...

[MrMickeysMom]

19. Give yourself some credit, Blue...

People really got pissed at you because of your hated distrust and unfoundedly ugly comments about Poitras and Greenwald.

Few hate them like you do.

[SusanaMontana41]

25. Don't stop there. Keep going.

These searches violate the Constitution. Obama took an oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution against ALL enemies, foreign AND domestic.. The Fourth amendment protects us from illegal searches and seizures. According to Edward Snowden, not only has Obama abdicate those responsibilities, he also is expanding these programs.

President Obama has continued the torture programs. He's a war criminal.

Not only should he and his administration be impeached, they should be frog-march and put on trial for war crimes at The Hague, alongside Bush and his administration.

[OnyxCollie]

30. Right, when you laid out your case that Snowden is a tool of Putin.

[Blue_Tires]

38. Nobody has proven me wrong on that yet...

[OnyxCollie]

39. Opinions can't be proven. nt

[Blue_Tires]

40. Then 90% of Snowden's revelations are "opinion"

Since there is nothing legally or ethically wrong with spying on foreign persons...

[OnyxCollie]

41. That blanket warrant of all of Verizon's US business customers

that Snowden revealed provides standing for the first time for cases against domestic spying.

It is NOT an "opinion."

Why don't you explain how revealing that FISA warrant shows that Snowden is a tool of Putin. Or Satan. Whichever.

Lay it all out in your "flimsy," "circumstantial" (your words) case.

The more you post, Blue_Tires, the more apparent it becomes that you're operating under delusions of grandeur.

[randome]

43. The 'blanket warrant' to collect business records?

Surely you remember how that argument goes.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]A ton of bricks, a ton of feathers, it's still gonna hurt.[/center][/font][hr]

[leveymg]

8. Operative phrase is "decades-long partnership" with AT&T. This goes back at least to 1994 CALEA Act

that mandated that all telecoms install surveillance-enabled switches at its hubs that could easily intercept and divert calls to the NSA.

Previous to the switchover to "CALEA-compliant" digital switches and routers (GOOGLE that), it used to require a warrant and human effort to tap individual lines.

[JDPriestly]

32. The book, Ike's Spies, suggests that gleaning intelligence by wiretapping at least international

lines goes back much further than that.

United Fruit Co. had its own telephone company, Tropical Telephone and Telegraph Company, somehow connected to their operations in the Caribbean and Guatemala (?) and Dulles who was with United Fruit Co.'s attorneys, Sullivan and Cromwell was one of big investors in United Fruit. Somehow AT&T was, I believe involved but I cannot find information on the internet on that. But it was back then that access to telephone and telegraph wires was, I believe first obtained and used by our intelligence services. I could be wrong.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Fruit_Company
/ / /
Somehow there was a link between AT&T, United Fruit and Tropical (the exact name of the company owned by United Fruit is a bit of a mystery to me because I think it is called different names.) and Guatemala and Dulles.

https://books.google.com/books?id=-36ItD1gcqcC&pg=PA168&lpg=PA168&dq=at%26t+tropical+telephone+and+telegraph&source=bl&ots=UGjfVQ68TM&sig=lbtxwgRSQfrVfDfaolkwZlQgFm0&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CFgQ6AEwB2oVChMIq9CwxJasxwIVATuICh1xmQUt#v=onepage&q=at%26t%20tropical%20telephone%20and%20telegraph&f=false

I read about this in the book, Ike's Spies, but don't have a copy of the book at hand. Perhaps someone could help with the research on this. I think I will get a copy of the book. It is fascinating.

But the use of telephone connections by our intelligence services was a fairly early development after WWII.

The problem in recent years has been the vast collection of electronic data and the horrendous invasion of privacy and deprivation of basic rights such as freedom of speech that entails.

Sorry I cannot be more specific about the United Fruit, AT&T connection with Dulles and Eisenhower's CIA. Someone with better research access could probably find out more. I would need to go to the libary.

[leveymg]

36. I was referring to mass domestic warrantless collection

That capability is about twenty years old and the practice goes back to just before 9/11.

[mrdmk]

9. Hope AT&T got paid well for their services to the NSA

Because their Cell Service sucked so bad and cost so much, I had to drop them...

[Fuddnik]

11. They used that money to buy DirecTV.

When they announced the deal, I decided to cancel them anyway.

[mrdmk]

14. Good move!

[dixiegrrrrl]

27. Apparently not enough people are upset with AT&T over this...

'cause they still keep using their service.

[mrdmk]

34. People do have their reasons for doing business with AT&T,

mostly due to their marketing and monopoly I suspect. True, some customers use AT&T because they are trustworthy. The article may change a few minds.

Another problem for AT&T at the present moment maybe with other large corporations. These corporations have concerns with security/secrecy for their communications. Having a company that gives information to a government agency, seemingly at a drop of a hat and a handshake which the article indicates could be a problem for AT&T. Some of these large contracts may be under review now.

Of course, AT&T will keep up their marketing strategy. In the long run, with this article, it will cost AT&T a good sum of money one way or the other. If nothing else, they will need to advertise in the NY Times with more and bigger ads to keep the newspaper from printing more of these articles.

[bananas]

10. The Presidents Analyst.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_President%27s_Analyst

[Jack Rabbit]

15. I think about that picture every now and then in these times

I thought designating the corporate villain as "TPC" (The Phone Company) was a stroke of genius.

[bucolic_frolic]

12. Sosthenes Behn

in the book "The Sovereign State of ITT" comes to mind

[LiberalArkie]

13. At the Alltel MTSO (mobile telephone switching offices) all the fiber leaving and heading

to the LD network went through taps that left the building to somewhere else.

[WillyT]

17. K & R !!!

[Fearless]

18. Also water now found to be wet

[closeupready]

26. +1. They're all still doing it. There's a reason they are so rich,

and a big part of that is the two-way cooperative relationship they have honored with the NSA, the FBI, and the CIA. In return, they get to use the federal government as their heavies in negotiating abroad, they get defense contracts, and who knows what else.

[MsTanja]

20. Huh... that makes this job posting all the more interesting

Copied from Indeed.com website

Sr. Intelligence Analyst
Location: Fairborn, Ohio
AT&T/GSI is currently seeking an Intelligence Analyst to conduct SIGINT analysis at Wright Patterson AFB, OH.

This position will provide subject matter expertise in SIGINT intelligence production techniques and products, threat assessments, and other analytical and collection related technical areas. Individual will provide subject matter expertise in executing a national-level SIGINT production initiatives. This position shall require significant interaction with key stakeholders from both Title 10 and Title 50 government organizations. Individuals must posses a demonstrated experience in US Intelligence Community Tasking, Collection, Processing, Exploitation and Dissemination activities and have the proven ability to manage complex projects.

Bachelors degree is desired with 5 years of experience in the intelligence community and program management fields or in a related area. Familiar with a variety of the field’s concepts, practices, and procedures. Relies on extensive experience and judgment to plan and accomplish goals. May lead and direct the work of others. May report to a supervisor or manager. Must possess highly developed communication skills, both verbal and written.

Top Secret Clearance required, w/SCI eligibility

Desired: Qualifications: Demonstrated experience in US Intelligence Community Tasking, Collection, Processing, Exploitation and Dissemination activities.

[MrMickeysMom]

21. My mother, rest her soul on earth, and I used to have a few messages for them when chatting...

She and I would say, "Well, HELLO there, NSA!" at some time during our phone gum bumping sessions.

Good times...

[RoccoR5955]

22. Back when they were doing it

Olbermann had a piece on this. It wasn't just ATT, it was EVERYONE.
They had their own closet in the Verizon office in NYC, with monitoring equipment.
Sheesh. Doesn't anyone remember this shit?

[Unknown Beatle]

33. Yes, I remember it well.

[kickysnana]

24. Only "breaking" if you have lived under a rock for the last 15 years. n/t

[mrdmk]

35. The big problem is AT&T in this piece is the following from the OP's link

It is not clear if the programs still operate in the same way today. Since the Snowden revelations set off a global debate over surveillance two years ago, some Silicon Valley technology companies have expressed anger at what they characterize as N.S.A. intrusions and have rolled out new encryption to thwart them. The telecommunications companies have been quieter, though Verizon unsuccessfully challenged a court order for bulk phone records in 2014.

[MattP]

29. When you watch everyone you cant filter the good and bad

Watching everybody is a waste of time they need to stop being so stupid

[OnyxCollie]

31. K&R. nt

[Deadbeat Republicans]

42. Kick for visibility

[Sunlei]

44. why can't we have free Gov. internet in this country? if the gov. has to pay AT&T billions anyway.