Since March 5, The New Zealand Herald in addition to the website The Intercept published a issue of stories based on overstep undercover documents regarding New Zealand. These stories followed final year's claims yesteryear Edward Snowden proverb that the New Zealand signals intelligence agency GCSB is involved inward indiscriminate in addition to illegal mass surveillance of ordinary citizens.
Here nosotros volition accept a unopen aspect at the master copy documentes that accompanied these reportings in addition to position them inward a broader context inward lodge to encounter whether they back upward these claims or not. Attention volition also last paid to the notorious XKEYSCORE system.
The listening station at Waihopai (SIGAD: NZC-333) inward New Zealand
after activists deflated 1 of the kevlar radomes inward Apr 2008
(Source: GCSB presentation - Click to enlarge)
GCSB satellite collection
In the commencement story from March 5, it was claimed that New Zealand's signals intelligence agency GCSB conducted "mass spying on friendly nations" inward the South Pacific on behalf of the Five Eyes partnership, which consists of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Commonwealth of Australia in addition to New Zealand.
The allegation of "mass spying" seems to last based upon an excerpt from an GCHQ wiki page from nearly 2011, which talks nearly "full-take collection" at New Zealand's satellite intercept station inward Waihopai (codenamed IRONSAND):
Excerpt from a GCHQ wiki page from nearly 2011 nearly XKEYSCORE (XKS)
access at the Waihopai satellite station, codenamed IRONSAND
(Click to enlarge)
Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 GCSB report from July 2009 says that GCSB users were trained yesteryear NSA XKEYSCORE trainers "in anticipation of full-take collection in addition to sec political party sharing" amongst the full-take collection expected to last running yesteryear Oct 2009.
"Full-take" collection
The New Zealand Herald explained that "full-take collection way the base of operations directly collects in addition to retains everything it intercepts: both the content of all the messages in addition to the metadata". If that would last true, in addition to so 1 could in all probability speak of "mass surveillance".
But after on, the study quotes the German linguistic communication periodical Der Spiegel, which reported already inward 2013 that XKEYSCORE "enables 'full-take' of all unfiltered information over a menstruum of several days". The latter is an of import detail, but neither The New Zealand Herald, nor The Intercept paid whatsoever farther attending to it.
When New Zealand's prime number government minister John Key was asked nearly the "full-take" at a press conference, he told a reporter: "With the greatest of respect, I don't truly call back y'all empathize the technical term in addition to it's non my chore to explicate it to you". This is the measure reply governments laissez passer inward these matters, rather letting citizens call back they are nether massive surveillance than explaining what truly happens...
XKEYSCORE
In the GCHQ wiki entry nosotros also encounter ii banking concern fit boxes amongst adjacent to them the Waihopai station mentioned equally "GCSB_IRONSAND_WC2_FULL_TAKE". The abbreviation WC2 stands for WEALTHYCLUSTER 2, which is evidently the minute generation of a arrangement that is used to procedure depression information charge per unit of measurement signals: it sessionizes all of them in addition to and so forwards them to XKEYSCORE.
Using WEALTHYCLUSTER processing is called the traditional version of XKEYSCORE, which is used for satellite in addition to terrestrial radio signals. For higher information rates, similar on fiber-optic cables, it was/is non possible to frontwards all information to XKEYSCORE.
These yet unfiltered meshing communication sessions forwarded to XKEYSCORE are called the 'full-take'. They are solely stored for a brusk menstruum of time: content is buffered for iii to v days (sometimes shorter or sometimes longer, depending on the amount of traffic), in addition to metadata for upward to xxx days. In other words, XKEYSCORE creates a rolling buffer which is continually beingness rewritten:
Slide amongst to a greater extent than or less principal characteristisc of the XKEYSCORE system
See also another, similar NSA presentation nearly XKEYSCORE
This buffering enables analysts to perform federated queries using so-called "soft selectors", similar keywords, against the trunk texts of email in addition to chat messages, digital documents, spreadsheets inward English, equally good equally inward Standard Arabic in addition to Chinese. XKEYSCORE also allows analysts to aspect for the usage of encryption, the usage of a VPN or the TOR network, in addition to a issue of other things that could Pb to a target.
This is specially useful to describe target's meshing activities that are performed anonymous, in addition to thence cannot last institute yesteryear just filtering out known email addresses of a target. When such content has been found, the analyst powerfulness last able to discover novel intelligence or novel "strong selectors", which tin in addition to so last used for starting a traditional search.
XKEYSCORE Fingerprints
To usage XKEYSCORE to a greater extent than efficient, analysts tin exercise so-called 'fingerprints', which are rules that comprise search damage (especially all the disclosed yesteryear German linguistic communication regional tv on July 3, 2014, who presented them equally excerpts of XKEYSCORE's source code.
Until now, The New Zealand Herald has published ii XKEYSCORE fingerprints that define GCSB targets: one related to candidates for the chore of director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), in addition to to a greater extent than or less other one related to the Solomon Islands, for which the fingerprints present that GCSB (and/or NSA) was interested inward documents from the authorities of this isle state, equally good equally inward the Truth in addition to Reconciliation Commission in addition to onetime militia groups.
GCSB targets
Another document disclosed yesteryear The New Zealand Herald in addition to The Intercept shows that GCSB also spies on China, Pakistan, India, Iran, South Pacific Island nations (like Tuvalu, Nauru, Republic of Kiribati in addition to Samoa, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Fiji, Tonga in addition to French Polynesia), the diplomatic communications of Japan, North Korea, Vietnam, in addition to South America, equally good equally French police draw in addition to nuclear testing activities inward New Caledonia, in addition to fifty-fifty on Antarctica.
Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 issue of these targets, in addition to to a greater extent than or less others, were already listed inward a 1985-86 annual study of GCSB (classified equally TOP SECRET UMBRA), which was accidently released inward 2006. So although it powerfulness last embarrassing for the New Zealand authorities that the spying on nearby friendly isle states was exposed, it is aught novel in addition to aught what is real far out of the make of what intelligence agencies ordinarily do.
"Collect it All"
In a GCSB presentation (pdf) nearly the Waihopai satellite station from Apr 2010 nosotros read: "To brief IS on the MHS ‘Collect It All’ initiative" - amongst IS beingness the abbreviation for IRONSAND, the codename for Waihopai; in addition to MHS for Menwith Hill Station, NSA's large satellite facility inward England.
This seems to confirm that "Collect It All" was initially a projection for the Menwith Hill Station, perchance meant to last extended to other satellite collection facilities, but non the primary aspiration for NSA's collection efforts inward general, equally Glenn Greenwald claimed inward his volume No Place To Hide.*
As evidence, Greenwald presented a slide from a 2011 presentation for the annual Five Eyes conference, but that shows that "Collect it All" truly refers to just 1 particular phase of the collection procedure for satellite traffic:
- On overstep of the diagram, the procedure starts amongst receiving the satellite signals ("Sniff it All") in addition to this is followed yesteryear "Know it All", which is nearly detecting (survey) what variety of traffic certainly communication channels contain.
- The phase for which they aim "Collect it All" is when signals are processed into usable information yesteryear conversion, demodulation in addition to demultiplexing. This is done through systems codenamed ASPHALT in addition to ASPHALT PLUS, but no farther information on these arrangement has been published. Apparently "Collect it All" is nearly increasing the capability to procedure signals.
- The adjacent phase is "Process it All" where, after a Massive Volume Reduction (MVR) to teach rid of useless data, XKEYSCORE (XKS) is used to search for things that are of interest. The final ii stages are nearly analysing information at a large scale in addition to part them amongst GCHQ in addition to NSA's satellite intercept station inward Misawa, Japan.
Photo of what powerfulness last XKEYSCORE equipment at the NSA's
European Cryptologic Center (ECC) inward Griesheim, Germany
(Source: ECC presentation (pdf) - Click to enlarge)
Targeted collection
Combining the before disclosed information nearly XKEYSCORE shows that neither "full-take", nor "Collect it All" way that "everything" ends upward inward to a greater extent than or less NSA database (typically PINWALE for content in addition to MARINA for metadata). This solely happens amongst information that is extracted based upon 'strong selectors', 'fingerprints', or manual searches yesteryear analysts when they call back it contains valuable unusual intelligence information.
Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 2012 NSA document nearly a training course for XKEYSCORE, published yesteryear Der Spiegel inward June 2014, says that this arrangement helps analysts to "downsize their gigantic shrimping nets [of traditional collection methods] to tiny goldfish-sized nets in addition to just dip them into the oceans of data, working smarter in addition to scooping out just what they want".
This suggests that XKEYSCORE is able to sort out information inward a way that is fifty-fifty to a greater extent than targeted than the traditional method, inward which communications are filtered out yesteryear meshing addresses. This would brand XKEYSCORE fifty-fifty less the "mass surveillance tool" equally it is called yesteryear Snowden.
GCSB cable access
Besides the satellite station inward Waihopai in addition to the High-Frequency radio intercept facility close Tangimoana, Snowden would non receive got been able to legally "wiretap anyone"
Not solely must all queries against information from New Zealand sources last compliant amongst both the NZSID7 in addition to the Human Rights Act (HRA), they volition also last audited yesteryear GCSB:
Excerpt from a GCHQ wiki page from nearly 2011 nearly XKEYSCORE (XKS)
access at the Waihopai satellite station, codenamed IRONSAND
(Click to enlarge)
Snowden notwithstanding considers these policy restrictions non sufficient because analysts "aren't truly overseen". For GCSB, a 2013 review study institute that at that topographic point were indeed problems amongst oversight, but the novel GCSB law, which is opposed yesteryear many people because it would supposedly enable "mass surveillance", truly also strengthens oversight. NSA noticed this too.
The government's response
New Zealand's prime number government minister John Key rejected the reportings yesteryear The New Zealand Herald, proverb that "Some of the information was incorrect, to a greater extent than or less of the information was out of date, to a greater extent than or less of the assumptions made were just champaign wrong". He strongly denied that GCSB collects mass metadata on New Zealanders, but he acknowledged that the agency had tapped into the cable, but solely for the purposes of a cybersecurity plan codenamed CORTEX.
As a proof, several undercover authorities documents were declassified, but from them it doesn't croak clear whether CORTEX truly is the same plan equally the cable access which is codenamed SPEARGUN inward the NSA in addition to GCSB documents. According to Key, the CORTEX cybersecurity arrangement was eventually scaled dorsum in addition to directly solely protects specific entities inward earth sector in addition to to a greater extent than or less somebody companies.
Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 snippet from an NSA document says that the implementation of the cable access projection SPEARGUN was awaiting the novel 2013 GCSB Act. It was said this was because the novel law would enable "mass surveillance", but the proposed law also authorizes GCSB to ensure cybersecurity, which would back upward the contestation of the government.
Conclusion
As the disclosed documents solely comprise a few lines in addition to no farther details nearly the cable acces codenamed SPEARGUN, it is non possible to say for certainly whether this is nearly intercepting communications from the Southern Cross cable, similar the Snowden-related media claim, or that it is truly a cybersecurity program, similar the authorities says.
What did croak clear is that XKEYSCORE isn't truly a "mass surveillance tool", but is truly used to collect information inward a way that is at to the lowest degree just equally targeted equally traditional methods. Many of GCSB's targets came out equally legitimate, to a greater extent than or less are to a greater extent than questionable, but none of them included the mass collection of communications from ordinary citizens, whether domestic or abroad.
Snowden also said that at that topographic point are "large amounts of indiscriminate metadata nearly the communication in addition to other online events of citizens" from all Five Eyes countries. But apart from the domestic telephone records collected yesteryear the NSA, no bear witness has yet been presented for such collection inward the other countries.
Links in addition to Sources
- EmptyWheel.net: What an XKeyscore Fingerprint Looks Like
- The New Zealand Herald: Bryce Edwards: The ramifications of the spying scandal
- The Press: We're snooping on the Pacific...so what?
- Report: Review of Compliance at the Government Communications Security Bureau (pdf) (2013)
- ArsTechnica.com: Building a panopticon: The development of the NSA’s XKeyscore
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