NSA broke privacy rules thousands of times per year, audit finds

[kpete]

Source: Washington Post



The National Security Agency has broken privacy rules or overstepped its legal authority thousands of times each year since Congress granted the agency broad new powers in 2008, according to an internal audit and other top-secret documents.

Most of the infractions involve unauthorized surveillance of Americans or foreign intelligence targets in the United States, both of which are restricted by law and executive order. They range from significant violations of law to typographical errors that resulted in unintended interception of U.S. e-mails and telephone calls.

............

The May 2012 audit, intended for the agency’s top leaders, counts only incidents at NSA’s Fort Meade headquarters and other facilities in the Washington area. Three government officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss classified matters, said the number would be substantially higher if it included other NSA operating units and regional collection centers.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/nsa-broke-privacy-rules-thousands-of-times-per-year-audit-finds/2013/08/15/3310e554-05ca-11e3-a07f-49ddc7417125_story.html

[Hubert Flottz]

1. Who believes anything coming out of Washington anymore?

Liars every way you turn.

[Hydra]

2. This is only a small sample

I suspect most of the non-paid posting DUers have been watched and TQ'ed. I know I have.

[Just Saying]

3. One thing the audit proves is that they are looking for mistakes

Analyzing and reporting them albeit internally. It seems to me those are good things. It seems to dispute claims that they can or are spying on everyone against all rules and laws. From the link:

The NSA audit obtained by The Post, dated May 2012, counted 2,776 incidents in the preceding 12 months of unauthorized collection, storage, access to or distribution of legally protected communications. Most were unintended. Many involved failures of due diligence or violations of standard operating procedure. The most serious incidents included a violation of a court order and unauthorized use of data about more than 3,000 Americans and green-card holders.

Where is the bold print from? I don't see it in the article and was looking for clarification.

[alp227]

4. FULL PAGE VIEW:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/nsa-broke-privacy-rules-thousands-of-times-per-year-audit-finds/2013/08/15/3310e554-05ca-11e3-a07f-49ddc7417125_singlePage.html

[mwrguy]

5. Obama will fix this

now that he knows about it.

[uhnope]

6. 0.009% of the population, most were unintended

and the NSA is auditing itself and reporting its own mistakes.

How evil of them.

[ronnie624]

7. The documents,

provided earlier this summer to The Washington Post by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, include a level of detail and analysis that is not routinely shared with Congress or the special court that oversees surveillance. In one of the documents, agency personnel are instructed to remove details and substitute more generic language in reports to the Justice Department and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/nsa-broke-privacy-rules-thousands-of-times-per-year-audit-finds/2013/08/15/3310e554-05ca-11e3-a07f-49ddc7417125_story.html

[Ash_F]

24. Interesting user name/political position combo. /nt

[blkmusclmachine]

8. Privacy, shmrivacy.

[Hekate]

9. KnR

[JoePhilly]

10. Why would an out of control program conduct regular audits?

I mean, from what I hear on DU, the NSA can, and does do, whatever it wants with absolutely no oversight.

Then why conduct audits at all?

And naturally, we can't trust the anything the NSA says, unless of course we're using the data from one of its own internal audits.

[ronnie624]

14. It says right there in the article

that this information was leaked, and that agency personnel were instructed to lie to the Justice Department.

[JoePhilly]

15. Your statement does not answer my question.

Why are there audits that can be "leaked" at all?

Why do them, I mean if you're intending to breaking the law anyway, why do them.

Its like taking pictures at a bachelor party.

Why create the "evidence" at all?

[ronnie624]

16. Instructing personnel to lie to the Justice Department *is* breaking the law.

I can't answer your questions because I can't read minds.

[JoePhilly]

17. Then why respond and say the answer is in the article?

[ronnie624]

19. The unspoken premise of your initial post,

is that the NSA isn't violating the law, even as the article makes clear that it is.

Governments keep records of their activities, even when the acts are nefarious and illegal. They always have, so there is nothing unusual about it. We see declassified documents on a regular basis, that indicate illegal conduct by our government. The fact that the NSA does audits, doesn't mean it isn't violating the constitution or making a mockery of the concept of democracy.

[Uncle Joe]

23. Think of this as a "Field of Nightmares"

This NSA spying program is just a tool or framework, but it has the potential to be a most devastating one in regards to the American People's civil rights when the wrong people come to power and make no mistake about it, they will come to power.

"Build it and they will come"

[cantbeserious]

11. When First We Practice To Deceive ...

eom

[Bragi]

12. Broke rules = Operated illegally

Interesting how the headline fails to say the NSA "Violated laws" but instead "broke rules". It makes it sound as though they forgot to file their expense claims properly.

[bemildred]

13. Spin, the one thing our "News" media does really, really well. nt

[progressoid]

18. No way!

[Live and Learn]

20. What a surprise,

not.

[bobthedrummer]

21. PRIVACY, TECHNOLOGY AND NATIONAL SECURITY: An Overview of Intelligence Collection by Robert S. Litt,

Office of the Director of National Intelligence/ODNI General Counsel
(ODNI pdf via cryptome.org)
http://cryptome.org/2013/08/dni-13-0719.pdf

K&R

[ronnie624]

22. What a pant load.

there is no military on earth, that poses a threat to the United States of America. No organization, whatsoever, threatens the existence of the political power structure of the US.

The ONLY threat the ruling order of this country faces, is the one posed by reform from its own citizens, and THAT is what the collection of information on US citizens is designed to prevent.