Jenab
February 6th, 2006, 10:04 PM
Here's a story from Yahoo in regard to the federal government having the cooperation of telephone companies to spy on private conversations. What they're not telling you is that this is not a new thing. The US government has had the cooperation of telephone companies for this sort of spying since the mid-1980s at latest inception, and probably since the mid-1970s.
And don't believe that part at the end where it says the government is only targeting 600 Americans for this spying. It is routine, and it is mostly automated, with computers scanning conversations for keywords and phrases using fourier analysis of the conversation waveform.
This article, however, falsely presents the cooperation between the government and the telecom companies as if it were something new. It also falsely suggests that "fighting terrorism" is the main reason for the snooping. In fact, the government snoops on private citizens for all kinds of reasons, ranging from lawbreaking to getting an advantage on political opponents. They probably snoop on people in order to obtain embarrassing information regarding acts that, while not illegal, is embarrassing enough to blackmail somebody with.
Jerry Abbott
Telecoms let NSA spy on calls
By Leslie Cauley and John Diamond, USA TODAY
http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/telecomsletnsaspyoncalls
The National Security Agency has secured the cooperation of large telecommunications companies, including AT&T, MCI and Sprint, in its efforts to eavesdrop without warrants on international calls by suspected terrorists, according to seven telecommunications executives.
The executives asked to remain anonymous because of the sensitivity of the program. AT&T, MCI and Sprint had no official comment.
The Senate Judiciary Committee begins hearings today on the government's program of monitoring international calls and e-mails of a domestic target without first obtaining court orders. At issue: whether the surveillance is legal, as President Bush insists, or an illegal intrusion into the lives of Americans, as lawsuits by civil libertarians contend. (Related: Committee chief says program violates law)
In domestic investigations, phone companies routinely require court orders before cooperating.
A majority of international calls are handled by long-distance carriers AT&T, MCI and Sprint. All three own "gateway" switches capable of routing calls to points around the globe. AT&T was recently acquired by SBC Communications, which has since adopted the AT&T name as its corporate moniker. MCI, formerly known as WorldCom, was recently acquired by Verizon. Sprint recently merged with Nextel.
The New York Times, which disclosed the clandestine operation in December, previously reported that telecommunications companies have been cooperating with the government, but it did not name the companies involved. (Related: Bush says NSA program is legal)
Decisions about monitoring calls are made in four steps, according to two U.S. intelligence officials familiar with the program who insisted on anonymity because it remains classified:
• Information from U.S. or allied intelligence or law enforcement points to a terrorism-related target either based in the United States or communicating with someone in the United States.
• Using a 48-point checklist to identify possible links to al-Qaeda, one of three NSA officials authorized to approve a warrantless intercept decides whether the surveillance is justified. Gen. Michael Hayden, the nation's No. 2 intelligence officer, said the checklist focuses on ensuring that there is a "reasonable basis" for believing there is a terrorist link involved.
• Technicians work with phone company officials to intercept communications pegged to a particular person or phone number. Telecommunications executives say MCI, AT&T and Sprint grant the access to their systems without warrants or court orders. Instead, they are cooperating on the basis of oral requests from senior government officials.
• If the surveillance yields information about a terror plot, the NSA notifies the
FBI or other appropriate agencies but does not always disclose the source of its information. Call-routing information provided by the phone companies can help intelligence officialseavesdrop on a conversation. It also helps them physically locate the parties, which is important if cellphones are being used. If the U.S. end of a communication has nothing to do with terrorism, the identity of the party is suppressed and the content of the communication destroyed, Hayden has said.
The government has refused to publicly discuss the precise number of individuals targeted.
The Times and The Washington Post have said thousands have had communications intercepted.
The two intelligence officials said that number has been whittled down to about 600 people in the United States who have been targeted for repeated surveillance since the Sept. 11 attacks.
And don't believe that part at the end where it says the government is only targeting 600 Americans for this spying. It is routine, and it is mostly automated, with computers scanning conversations for keywords and phrases using fourier analysis of the conversation waveform.
This article, however, falsely presents the cooperation between the government and the telecom companies as if it were something new. It also falsely suggests that "fighting terrorism" is the main reason for the snooping. In fact, the government snoops on private citizens for all kinds of reasons, ranging from lawbreaking to getting an advantage on political opponents. They probably snoop on people in order to obtain embarrassing information regarding acts that, while not illegal, is embarrassing enough to blackmail somebody with.
Jerry Abbott
Telecoms let NSA spy on calls
By Leslie Cauley and John Diamond, USA TODAY
http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/telecomsletnsaspyoncalls
The National Security Agency has secured the cooperation of large telecommunications companies, including AT&T, MCI and Sprint, in its efforts to eavesdrop without warrants on international calls by suspected terrorists, according to seven telecommunications executives.
The executives asked to remain anonymous because of the sensitivity of the program. AT&T, MCI and Sprint had no official comment.
The Senate Judiciary Committee begins hearings today on the government's program of monitoring international calls and e-mails of a domestic target without first obtaining court orders. At issue: whether the surveillance is legal, as President Bush insists, or an illegal intrusion into the lives of Americans, as lawsuits by civil libertarians contend. (Related: Committee chief says program violates law)
In domestic investigations, phone companies routinely require court orders before cooperating.
A majority of international calls are handled by long-distance carriers AT&T, MCI and Sprint. All three own "gateway" switches capable of routing calls to points around the globe. AT&T was recently acquired by SBC Communications, which has since adopted the AT&T name as its corporate moniker. MCI, formerly known as WorldCom, was recently acquired by Verizon. Sprint recently merged with Nextel.
The New York Times, which disclosed the clandestine operation in December, previously reported that telecommunications companies have been cooperating with the government, but it did not name the companies involved. (Related: Bush says NSA program is legal)
Decisions about monitoring calls are made in four steps, according to two U.S. intelligence officials familiar with the program who insisted on anonymity because it remains classified:
• Information from U.S. or allied intelligence or law enforcement points to a terrorism-related target either based in the United States or communicating with someone in the United States.
• Using a 48-point checklist to identify possible links to al-Qaeda, one of three NSA officials authorized to approve a warrantless intercept decides whether the surveillance is justified. Gen. Michael Hayden, the nation's No. 2 intelligence officer, said the checklist focuses on ensuring that there is a "reasonable basis" for believing there is a terrorist link involved.
• Technicians work with phone company officials to intercept communications pegged to a particular person or phone number. Telecommunications executives say MCI, AT&T and Sprint grant the access to their systems without warrants or court orders. Instead, they are cooperating on the basis of oral requests from senior government officials.
• If the surveillance yields information about a terror plot, the NSA notifies the
FBI or other appropriate agencies but does not always disclose the source of its information. Call-routing information provided by the phone companies can help intelligence officialseavesdrop on a conversation. It also helps them physically locate the parties, which is important if cellphones are being used. If the U.S. end of a communication has nothing to do with terrorism, the identity of the party is suppressed and the content of the communication destroyed, Hayden has said.
The government has refused to publicly discuss the precise number of individuals targeted.
The Times and The Washington Post have said thousands have had communications intercepted.
The two intelligence officials said that number has been whittled down to about 600 people in the United States who have been targeted for repeated surveillance since the Sept. 11 attacks.