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Ladybbird · 22-06-13, 19:52

'GCHQ is Worse than US', says whistleblower Edward Snowden as he claims British spies are collecting huge amounts of data from internet and phone calls

Operation Tempora sees agency storing web and telephone data for 30 days
Access to innocent people's phone calls, e-mails and even Facebook entries
Collecting general public's communication data as well as targeted suspects
Sharing sensitive data with U.S. counterpart the National Security Agency
NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden charged with espionage in the U.S.
Says GCHQ 'worse than the U.S' in terms of 'suspicionless surveillance'
Cheltenham-based agency said it was 'scrupulous' in complying with law

By Daily Mail UK, 22 June 2013

British eavesdropping agency GCHQ has secretly accessed fibre-optic cables carrying huge amounts of internet and communications data, according to documents disclosed by whistleblower Edward Snowden.

The agency is able to tap into and store data - including phone calls and e-mails between innocent people - from the cables for up to 30 days so it can be analysed under an operation codenamed Tempora, the Guardian reported.

The Cheltenham-based agency would not comment on intelligence matters but insisted it was 'scrupulous' in complying with the law.

Whistleblower: GCHQ has secretly been tapping into and storing internet and communications data via fibre optic cables, according to Edward Snowden

The information is the latest leak from Mr Snowden, the NSA whistleblower responsible for a string of disclosures about U.S. intelligence operations.

The newspaper claimed Operation Tempora had been running for 18 months and GCHQ and the NSA are consequently able to access vast quantities of communications between entirely innocent people as well as targeted suspects.
It means the agency has the ability to sift through everything from an individual's phone calls to their internet search history and even the content of their e-mails and Facebook entries.

The newspaper said there were two principal components to the agency's surveillance programme, called Mastering the Internet and Global Telecoms Exploitation.

It claimed the data was shared with the organisation's U.S. counterpart the National Security Agency (NSA).
Mr Snowden, who fled the US for Hong Kong after deciding to reveal the NSA's secrets, told the Guardian he wanted to expose 'the largest programme of suspicionless surveillance in human history'.

'It's not just a U.S. problem. The UK has a huge dog in this fight,' he said. 'They (GCHQ) are worse than the U.S.'

The Guardian reported that GCHQ lawyers told U.S. counterparts there was a 'light oversight regime' in Britain compared with America.
Yet the leaked documents reveal Britain has developed the technical capacity to access the cables that carry the world's communications and process the vast ocean of data.

The newspapers said the documents revealed that by last year GCHQ was handling 600 million 'telephone events' each day, had tapped more than 200 fibre-optic cables and was able to process data from at least 46 of them at a time.
Each cable carries data at a rate of 10 gigabits per second - giving some idea of the sheer quantity of information being processed by the British spy agency - and the operation is expanding further still as more and more cables are tapped, according to the report.

Surveillance: National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden said that when it came to 'suspicionless surveillance' Cheltenham-based GCHQ was 'worse than the U.S.'

Partner: It is claimed GCHQ is sharing sensitive information gleaned via Operation Tempora with its U.S. counterpart the National Security Agency

Privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch's director Nick Pickes said: 'This appears to be dangerously close to, if not exactly, the centralised database of all our internet communications, including some content, that successive governments have ruled out and Parliament has never legislated for.

'Britain has a clear legal process in place to govern the interception of the content of communications and blanket interception is not a part of that system.

'If GCHQ have been intercepting huge numbers of innocent people's communications as part of a massive sweeping exercise, then I struggle to see how that squares with a process that requires a warrant for each individual intercept. This question must be urgently addressed in Parliament.

'The fact GCHQ staff have been discussing how light the UK's oversight regime is compared to the US highlights why we need a wholesale review of surveillance law, including the fact that there is absolutely no judicial process within the current system and the people making these decisions are able to hide in the shadows rather than face public scrutiny.'
A GCHQ spokeswoman said: 'We do not comment on intelligence matters. Our intelligence agencies continue to adhere to a rigorous legal compliance regime.

'GCHQ are scrupulous in their legal compliance.'
Former NSA contracter Edward Snowden is facing up to 30 years in prison after he was charged with espionage and theft of government property by the Justice Department last night.
Snowden, believed to be holed up in Hong Kong, has admitted providing information to the news media about two highly classified NSA surveillance programs.

A one-page criminal complaint unsealed yesterday in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, says Snowden engaged in unauthorized communication of national defence information and willful communication of classified communications intelligence information.

The intelligence gathered via Operation Tempora is understood to have contributed to a number of arrests and convictions including a terror cell in the Midlands who were jailed for planning co-ordinated attacks.

It is also claimed to have led to the arrest of five Luton-based individuals preparing acts of terror, and three London-based people planning attacks prior to the Olympics.

A source with knowledge of the work of the intelligence agencies said: 'It's not about going through everybody's emails or phone calls. It's about homing in on criminal activity in order to lead the intelligence agencies to be able to take action.'
The source said the vast majority of the data gathered was discarded, with the agency focused on the 'needles' of relevant information within the 'haystack' of material.
The source said: 'What they do is scan the haystack of bulk data for any needles that could have national security implications.

'All the rest gets discarded and is not looked at. The vast bulk of the data is not looked at in any detail.'
The 'needles' are logged and the reason for holding any information has to be justified, the source said.

The logs are regularly audited and subject to scrutiny by the Interception of Communications Commissioner.

A ministerial warrant authorised the process of scanning the data and the work was done in a 'proportionate and legal way', the source said.

continued.......

Ladybbird · 22-06-13, 20:11

NSA Whistleblower Edward Snowden faces 30-years in prison as U.S. government asks Hong Kong to extradite NSA leaker and charges him with espionage

Snowden was charged in a federal court in Alexandria, Va. on Friday afternoon
He faces 30 years for charges including unauthorized communication of national defense information and theft of government property
U.S. officials have apparently asked Hong Kong to detain Snowden on a provisional arrest warrant
But Snowden could be flown to Iceland from Hong Kong by the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks
Businessman linked to website said the 'plane could take off tomorrow'

By Reuters/Daily Mail UK, 22 June 2013

The US Justice Department has charged former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden with espionage and theft of government property in the NSA surveillance case.
Officials have also asked the Hong Kong authorities to extradite the former government contracter who leaked the details of the NSA's top secret PRISM data collection programme.

Snowden, believed to be holed up in Hong Kong, has admitted providing information to the news media about two highly classified NSA surveillance programs.

A one-page criminal complaint unsealed Friday in federal court in Alexandria, Va., says Snowden engaged in unauthorized communication of national defense information and willful communication of classified communications intelligence information.

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has been charged with espionage and theft and U.S. officials are seeking his extradition from Hong Kong

Both are charges under the Espionage Act. Snowden also is charged with theft of government property. All three crimes carry a maximum 10-year prison penalty.

The federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia where the complaint was filed is headquarters for Snowden's former employer, government contractor Booz Allen Hamilton.

The complaint is dated June 14, five days after Snowden's name first surfaced as the leaker of information about the two programs in which the NSA gathered telephone and Internet records to ferret out terror plots.

The complaint could become an integral part of a U.S. government effort to have Snowden extradited from Hong Kong, a process that could turn into a prolonged legal battle.

Snowden could contest extradition on grounds of political persecution. In general, the extradition agreement between the U.S. and Hong Kong excepts political offenses from the obligation to turn over a person.

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, welcomed the charges. 'I've always thought this was a treasonous act,' he said in a statement. 'I hope Hong Kong's government will take him into custody and extradite him to the U.S.'

Assange: We're in touch with Snowden's lawyer

....

Helping hand: WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson, left, approached Iceland on behalf of Snowden and his middleman. Julian Assange, right, also sought help from Iceland ahead of Wikileaks' releases

IS ICELAND SAFE FOR SNOWDEN?

Quote:

Iceland has a reputation for promoting internet freedoms and has long been discussed as an option for Snowden.

As a U.S. citizen, Snowden would not need a visa to enter Iceland and could immediately apply for asylum. He would be free to live in Iceland while immigration authorities decide his case, which could take more than a year, experts have said.

But if Snowden wants to seek refuge in Iceland, he'll have to get there first. And this is where the U.S. could have a chance.

Interpol will sometimes issue a 'red notice' - which is like an international arrest warrant - but keep it sealed so that the person doesn't know it exists. If he tried to travel, he would be arrested at the airport.
If he did get to Iceland, it is unknown if he would be safe. The government of newly-elected Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson is believed to be closer to Washington than past administrations and less keen to foster the country's cyber-haven image.

'I would be very surprised if they (the government) would be eager to engage in any international disputes with the U.S. And it is pretty difficult to be granted asylum here,' Stefania Oskarsdottir, lecturer in political science at the University of Iceland, told Reuters. 'I think what this guy is saying is based on something he is imagining or hoping for rather than actual facts.'

Iceland does have an extradition treaty with the United States, but it is unclear if it would cover any crimes that he might be charged with.

Michael di Pretoro, a retired 30-year veteran with the FBI who served from 1990 to 1994 as the legal liaison officer at the American consulate in Hong Kong, said 'relations between U.S. and Hong Kong law enforcement personnel are historically quite good.'

'In my time, I felt the degree of cooperation was outstanding to the extent that I almost felt I was in an FBI field office,' said di Pretoro.
The U.S. and Hong Kong cooperate on law enforcement matters and have a standing agreement on the surrender of fugitives.

However, Snowden's appeal rights could drag out any extradition proceeding.

The success or failure of any extradition proceeding depends on what the suspect is charged with under U.S. law and how it corresponds to Hong Kong law under the treaty.

In order for Hong Kong officials to honor the extradition request, they have to have some applicable statute under their law that corresponds with a violation of U.S. law.

News of the charges broke on Friday evening, the same day it emerged that Snowden could be flown to Iceland from Hong Kong by the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks.

A businessman connected to the controversial website said a chartered private jet is ready for the 30-year-old, who fled to Hong Kong after leaking U.S security details.

It comes after Iceland admitted holding talks with Snowden over the possibility of seeking political asylum.
Olafur Sigurvinsson, head of DataCell, which handles donations to Wikileaks, revealed details of the private jet.
Speaking to Channel2 television, he said:

'Everything is ready on our side and the plane could take off tomorrow.
'We have really done all we can do. We have a plane and all the logistics in place.'

The jet is believed to belong to a Chinese firm and has been chartered at a cost of $240,000.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange revealed on Wednesday he had been in contact with Snowden's representatives to discuss his possible bid for asylum in Iceland.

The former US government contractor fled to Hong Kong on May 20 after leaking National Security Agency programs.

It also emerged that a contractor for the National Security Agency found possible discrepancies in a resume submitted by Edward Snowden, but the company still employed him, a source said on Thursday.

Snowden was hired this spring after he convinced his hiring screeners at Booz Allen Hamilton, that his description of his education was truthful.

It is unclear precisely which element of Snowden's resume caused personnel officials at Booz Allen Hamilton to raise questions about his background. Also unclear is how he satisfied their concerns.

Booz Allen Hamilton has said in a statement that 'we will work closely with our clients and authorities in their investigation of this matter.'

Snowden fled his home in Hawaii, where he worked for NSA contractor Booz Allen Hamilton, after exposing the U.S. government's top surveillance secrets. He is at a secret location in Hong Kong.

In a column in Icelandic daily newspaper Frettabladid, WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson wrote that a middleman had approached him on behalf of Snowden.

'On 2 June, I received a message from Edward Snowden where he asked me to notify the Icelandic government that he wanted to seek asylum in Iceland,' Hrafnsson, who is also an investigative journalist in Iceland, told Reuters.

Support: Snowden's image is displayed in Hong Kong, where the whistleblower is currently in hiding

He added that he has yet to receive a response from officials about his request but said they have a 'moral obligation' to answer the call for help.

The Icelandic government, which has refused to say whether they would grant asylum to Snowden, confirmed it had received the message from Hrafnsson.

'Kristinn Hrafnsson has contacted two ministries in an informal way but not the ministers,' a government spokesman said. 'There has been no formal approach in this matter.'

Hrafnsson would not identify who the middleman was.

Snowden has previously mentioned Iceland as a possible refuge.
Iceland has a reputation for promoting Internet freedoms, but Snowden has said did not travel there immediately from the United States as he feared the country could be pressured by Washington.

'Iceland could be pushed harder, quicker, before the public could have a chance to make their feelings known, and I would not put that past the current U.S. administration,' Snowden said in an online forum in the Guardian on Monday.

It had been suggested that he would actually flee to the Icelandic consulate in Hong Kong, rather than risking boarding a plane to fly there in person.

Safety: Iceland has a reputation for promoting internet freedoms. Reykjavik is pictured

Icelandic officials said last week that Snowden is missing a key element.

'The main stipulation for seeking asylum in Iceland would be that the person must be in Iceland to start the process,' said Johannes Tomasson, the chief spokesman for Iceland's Ministry of Interior in Reykjavik.

'That would be the ground rule No. 1.'

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden for questioning over allegations of sex crimes, visited Iceland several times in the run-up to some of the website's major releases.

Assange denies any wrongdoing.

Yet some experts added that Iceland might not be as welcoming as Snowden hopes.
The government of newly-elected Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson has not been tested in relation to these cases, but is believed to be closer to Washington than past administrations and less keen to foster the country's cyber-haven image.

'I would be very surprised if they (the government) would be eager to engage in any international disputes with the U.S. And it is pretty difficult to be granted asylum here,'

Stefania Oskarsdottir, lecturer in political science at the University of Iceland, told Reuters.

'I think what this guy is saying is based on something he is imagining or hoping for rather than actual facts.'

22-06-13, 19:52	#1
Ladybbird Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 47,614 Thanks: 27,637 Thanked 14,458 Times in 10,262 Posts Awards Showcase Total Awards: 8	UK's GCHQ Worse than US=Spying on Net Users 'GCHQ is Worse than US', says whistleblower Edward Snowden as he claims British spies are collecting huge amounts of data from internet and phone calls Operation Tempora sees agency storing web and telephone data for 30 days Access to innocent people's phone calls, e-mails and even Facebook entries Collecting general public's communication data as well as targeted suspects Sharing sensitive data with U.S. counterpart the National Security Agency NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden charged with espionage in the U.S. Says GCHQ 'worse than the U.S' in terms of 'suspicionless surveillance' Cheltenham-based agency said it was 'scrupulous' in complying with law By Daily Mail UK, 22 June 2013 British eavesdropping agency GCHQ has secretly accessed fibre-optic cables carrying huge amounts of internet and communications data, according to documents disclosed by whistleblower Edward Snowden. The agency is able to tap into and store data - including phone calls and e-mails between innocent people - from the cables for up to 30 days so it can be analysed under an operation codenamed Tempora, the Guardian reported. The Cheltenham-based agency would not comment on intelligence matters but insisted it was 'scrupulous' in complying with the law. Whistleblower: GCHQ has secretly been tapping into and storing internet and communications data via fibre optic cables, according to Edward Snowden The information is the latest leak from Mr Snowden, the NSA whistleblower responsible for a string of disclosures about U.S. intelligence operations. The newspaper claimed Operation Tempora had been running for 18 months and GCHQ and the NSA are consequently able to access vast quantities of communications between entirely innocent people as well as targeted suspects. It means the agency has the ability to sift through everything from an individual's phone calls to their internet search history and even the content of their e-mails and Facebook entries. The newspaper said there were two principal components to the agency's surveillance programme, called Mastering the Internet and Global Telecoms Exploitation. It claimed the data was shared with the organisation's U.S. counterpart the National Security Agency (NSA). Mr Snowden, who fled the US for Hong Kong after deciding to reveal the NSA's secrets, told the Guardian he wanted to expose 'the largest programme of suspicionless surveillance in human history'. 'It's not just a U.S. problem. The UK has a huge dog in this fight,' he said. 'They (GCHQ) are worse than the U.S.' The Guardian reported that GCHQ lawyers told U.S. counterparts there was a 'light oversight regime' in Britain compared with America. Yet the leaked documents reveal Britain has developed the technical capacity to access the cables that carry the world's communications and process the vast ocean of data. The newspapers said the documents revealed that by last year GCHQ was handling 600 million 'telephone events' each day, had tapped more than 200 fibre-optic cables and was able to process data from at least 46 of them at a time. Each cable carries data at a rate of 10 gigabits per second - giving some idea of the sheer quantity of information being processed by the British spy agency - and the operation is expanding further still as more and more cables are tapped, according to the report. Surveillance: National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden said that when it came to 'suspicionless surveillance' Cheltenham-based GCHQ was 'worse than the U.S.' Partner: It is claimed GCHQ is sharing sensitive information gleaned via Operation Tempora with its U.S. counterpart the National Security Agency Privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch's director Nick Pickes said: 'This appears to be dangerously close to, if not exactly, the centralised database of all our internet communications, including some content, that successive governments have ruled out and Parliament has never legislated for. 'Britain has a clear legal process in place to govern the interception of the content of communications and blanket interception is not a part of that system. 'If GCHQ have been intercepting huge numbers of innocent people's communications as part of a massive sweeping exercise, then I struggle to see how that squares with a process that requires a warrant for each individual intercept. This question must be urgently addressed in Parliament. 'The fact GCHQ staff have been discussing how light the UK's oversight regime is compared to the US highlights why we need a wholesale review of surveillance law, including the fact that there is absolutely no judicial process within the current system and the people making these decisions are able to hide in the shadows rather than face public scrutiny.' A GCHQ spokeswoman said: 'We do not comment on intelligence matters. Our intelligence agencies continue to adhere to a rigorous legal compliance regime. 'GCHQ are scrupulous in their legal compliance.' Former NSA contracter Edward Snowden is facing up to 30 years in prison after he was charged with espionage and theft of government property by the Justice Department last night. Snowden, believed to be holed up in Hong Kong, has admitted providing information to the news media about two highly classified NSA surveillance programs. A one-page criminal complaint unsealed yesterday in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, says Snowden engaged in unauthorized communication of national defence information and willful communication of classified communications intelligence information. The intelligence gathered via Operation Tempora is understood to have contributed to a number of arrests and convictions including a terror cell in the Midlands who were jailed for planning co-ordinated attacks. It is also claimed to have led to the arrest of five Luton-based individuals preparing acts of terror, and three London-based people planning attacks prior to the Olympics. A source with knowledge of the work of the intelligence agencies said: 'It's not about going through everybody's emails or phone calls. It's about homing in on criminal activity in order to lead the intelligence agencies to be able to take action.' The source said the vast majority of the data gathered was discarded, with the agency focused on the 'needles' of relevant information within the 'haystack' of material. The source said: 'What they do is scan the haystack of bulk data for any needles that could have national security implications. 'All the rest gets discarded and is not looked at. The vast bulk of the data is not looked at in any detail.' The 'needles' are logged and the reason for holding any information has to be justified, the source said. The logs are regularly audited and subject to scrutiny by the Interception of Communications Commissioner. A ministerial warrant authorised the process of scanning the data and the work was done in a 'proportionate and legal way', the source said. continued....... __________________ PUTIN TRUMP & Netanyahu Will Meet in HELL ..................*SHARKS are Closing in on TRUMP*.......................... *TRUMP WARNS; 'There'll Be a Bloodbath* If I Don't Get Elected'..MAGA - MyAssGotArrested...IT's COMING** PLEASE HELP THIS SITE..Click DONATE & Thanks to ALL Members of ... 1.. THIS SITE IS MORE THAN JUST WAREZ...& TO STOP SPAM-IF YOU WANT TO POST, YOUR FIRST POST MUST BE IN WELCOMES

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