14-Eyes Are Tertiary Political Party Partners Forming The Sigint Seniors Europe

(Updated: September 16, 2017)

On Dec 11, the Swedish populace tv channel SVT published a gain of novel NSA-documents from the Snowden-collection. One is a text which for the root fourth dimension proves that intelligence agencies of nine European countries are 3rd Party partners of NSA.

These countries are: France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Kingdom of Norway in addition to Sweden. Earlier, these nations were identified every bit forming the 14-Eyes group, for which nosotros directly also cause got a existent name: SIGINT Seniors Europe or SSEUR.

(Click for a bigger version)

Unfortunately solely this real modest excerpt was published, thence nosotros don't know what the residual of the document is about. But every bit modest every bit it is, it reveals some interesting novel things, which volition live explained inwards this article:

- The 3rd Party condition of a number of European countries
- The existance of a grouping called SIGINT Seniors Europe
- More clarity most the mysterious 14-Eyes
+ UPDATE!

3rd Party countries

This is in all probability the root fourth dimension that an official NSA document is published inwards which several 3rd Party countries are named. Until now, nosotros solely had documents proving this condition for solely a few dissever countries, in addition to nosotros had a gain of countries that were suggested to live 3rd Party partners yesteryear intelligence experts.

From the countries mentioned inwards the fragment published yesteryear Swedish television, solely France, Germany, Norway, Italy, Kingdom of Belgium in addition to in all probability Espana were supposed to live 3rd Party partners. Sweden, Kingdom of Denmark in addition to peculiarly Holland were non listed every bit such, thence with this novel disclosure, nosotros directly know for sure enough that the intelligence agencies of all these nations cause got the 3rd Party status.

Being a 3rd Party agency that there's a formal bilateral understanding betwixt NSA in addition to a unusual (signals) intelligence agency. Probably the chief matter that distinguishes this from other, less formal ways of cooperating, is that alongside 3rd political party partners, there's also telephone commutation of raw data, in addition to non only of finished intelligence reports or other kinds of support. Also both parties cause got a Special Liaison Officer (SLO) assigned at each others agency.

It's non quite clear what the initial 3rd Party agreements are called, but nosotros know that afterwards on specific points are oftentimes set downwards inwards a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). An instance is the Memorandum of Understanding betwixt NSA in addition to the Israeli signals intelligence unit, which was published yesteryear The Guardian on September 11, 2013.



SIGINT Seniors Europe

As the newly published fragment starts with an asterisk, it seems to live a footnote inwards a document most intelligence training, explaining which countries are "SSEUR members": the Five Eyes (United States, Great Britain, Canada, Commonwealth of Australia in addition to New Zealand) in addition to nine other European countries: France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Kingdom of Norway in addition to Sweden.

The abbreviation SSEUR is seen hither for the root time, in addition to luckily Swedish tv also published some other document which says that SSEUR stands for SIGINT Seniors Europe (SIGINT is an acronym for Signals Intelligence):

Fragment of an NSA document mentioning SIGINT Seniors Europe (SSEUR)
(Names whited out are replaced yesteryear dark bars for amend readability)

Apart from this, nosotros cause got no farther information most the SIGINT Seniors Europe. But there's an explanation, provided to this weblog yesteryear our French counterpart Zone d'Intérêt, which in all probability comes real closed to what this grouping could be:

The term "SIGINT Senior" may designate the highest ranking SIGINT officeholder of a unusual (signals) intelligence agency, rather than a province every bit a whole. For example, inwards France, the Directeur Technique (DT) within the unusual intelligence agency DGSE is called "le Senior SIGINT" exactly.

Intelligence agencies aren't organized the same way inwards each country. Some countries cause got intelligence agencies within constabulary forces, armed services intelligence inwards the field, defence agencies which collect both for armed services operations in addition to counterterrorism, etc. Also the laws aren't the same inwards every country.

Therefore, it's evidently to a greater extent than convenient to cause got i unmarried betoken of contact inwards each country, to speak over SIGINT-related issues, or fifty-fifty for truly passing signals intelligence, with perhaps some pre-processing already done, instead of having to exercise this with unlike people from unlike agencies in addition to units inwards each country.


This explanation fits the fact that the document mentions SSEUR together with the NATO Advisory Committee on Special Intelligence (NACSI), which is also a platform for discussing SIGINT-related issues.

From the nine European countries of SSEUR, solely Sweden is non a fellow member of NATO, but every bit mentioned earlier, Sweden is oftentimes cooperating with NATO countries. More interesting is that Kingdom of Belgium is component of this grouping too. Kingdom of Belgium is a modest province in addition to reportedly has hardly whatever SIGINT capabilities. That is to say: domestically, but perhaps there's some to a greater extent than substantial SIGINT collection yesteryear Belgian troops participating inwards armed services operations abroad.

With SSEUR containing European 3rd Party partners, it's real good possible that at that spot are also similar groups of partner agencies inwards other parts of the world, with the East-Asian/Pacific Rim portion beingness the most likely.

The 14-Eyes

The SIGINT Seniors Europe comprise fourteen countries, in addition to when nosotros await at their names, nosotros regard that they are identical to the nations of which 14-Eyes.

As this latter grouping was also never heard of, nosotros looked for some possible explanations inwards an article on this weblog lastly month. But yesteryear thence nosotros didn't know just in addition to for sure enough which countries were 3rd Party partners, thence it was difficult to teach things clarified.

Now that nosotros know that all nine European countries, including Sweden, Kingdom of Denmark in addition to The Netherlands, cause got 3rd Party status, it's clear that our pick "A" came closest: 14-Eyes stands for a number of 3rd Party countries who cause got something inwards mutual - probable having a 'SIGINT Senior' officeholder every bit unmarried betoken of contact for NSA in addition to the Five Eyes.

As explained inwards our before article, an 'Eyes' designation is most oftentimes used every bit a treatment pedagogy for restricting dissemination of sensitive information alongside a sure enough grouping of countries. In this case, 14-Eyes apparently serves every bit dissemination mark for information authorized for unloosen to the fourteen members of the SIGINT Seniors Europe group.
 

UPDATE:

An article from 2001 most the history of Dutch signals intelligence clarifies that SIGINT Senior Meetings (SSMs) are attended yesteryear the heads of agencies responsible for signals intelligence, similar NSA, GCHQ, the High German BND, the French DGSE, the Italian SISMI, in addition to the armed services intelligence services of Norway, Denmark, Kingdom of Belgium in addition to other countries.

The SIGINT Senior Meetings coordinate the armed services intelligence needs for the participating countries, resulting inwards the actual telephone commutation of information in addition to information through the Signals Intelligence Data System (SIGDASYS). Originally this was some sort of reckoner organisation that acted every bit a back-up inwards instance i of the countries lost its ain SIGINT capacity.

Later, SIGDASYS became a database inwards which all participating nations poured armed services SIGINT in addition to other information, and, on a quid pro quo basis, could leave of absence the intelligence they needed themselves. In this way, SIGDASYS decreased the overlap inwards information collection in addition to played an of import exercise during the 1990-1991 Gulf War. The organisation is managed yesteryear the multinational SIGDASYS Committee which reports to the SIGINT Seniors meeting.

Update: an internal NSA SIDtoday newsletter from June 14, 2005, says that function was started for standardizing formats to facilitate the telephone commutation of telephone telephone chaining diagrams via SIGDASYS too.

The article says that for the Netherlands, it was the caput of the one-time armed services intelligence agency MID (1988-2002) who participated inwards the SIGINT Seniors meetings, oftentimes accompanied yesteryear the managing director of TIVC, a unit of measurement which processed Dutch signals intelligence.

On Twitter, a Dutch journalist working on the Snowden-papers added that initially it was the caput of the one-time Dutch navy intelligence agency MARID who attended the SIGINT Seniors meetings in addition to exhibit it's a senior official of the Military Intelligence in addition to Security Agency MIVD. He also said that membership of this 14-Eyes grouping is non fixed in addition to tin alter over time.

According to the majority 'The NSA Complex', which was published yesteryear Der Spiegel inwards March 2014, the Sigint Seniors Europe (SSEUR) grouping was established inwards 1982 for to a greater extent than efficiently monitoring the Soviet Union.*


Conclusion

All this makes clear that 14-Eyes is the designator for information that is restricted to the fourteen nations participating inwards a grouping called SIGINT Seniors Europe (SSEUR), which apparently exists for some xxx years. SSEUR meetings are attended yesteryear the heads or senior officials of the signals intelligence agencies of the fourteen countries, who coordinate the sharing of armed services intelligence. The actual information in addition to information telephone commutation takes house through a regional database of the Signals Intelligence Data System (SIGDASYS).



Links in addition to Sources
- Cees Wiebes, "Dutch Sigint during the Cold War, 1945-94", in: Matthew M. Aid & Cees Wiebes, "Secrets of Signals Intelligence during the Cold War in addition to Beyond", London, 2001, p. 276-277.
- DeCorrespondent.nl: Over Five Eyes en Third Parties - Met wie werkt de NSA samen (2013)
- SVT.se: Läs dokumenten om Sverige från Edward Snowden (2013)
- Heise.de: Paper 1: Echelon in addition to its exercise inwards COMINT (2001)