(Updated: Jan 25, 2014)
Last Tuesday, August 20, the Wall Street Journal came with a big story with novel details well-nigh the NSA surveillance programs. The article claims that NSA has the capacity to attain roughly 75% of all US mesh traffic that flows through domestic fiber-optic cables. However, this was strongly denied yesteryear the NSA
The 75% claim got a lot of attention, but most media plainly oversaw a department later on on inwards the article, which reveals a far to a greater extent than sensitive NSA collection method:
"The NSA started setting upwards Internet intercepts good earlier 2001, onetime intelligence officials say. Run yesteryear NSA's secretive Special Services Office, these types of programs were at starting fourth dimension designed to intercept communications overseas through arrangements with unusual Internet providers, the onetime officials say. NSA withal has such arrangements inwards many countries, peculiarly inwards the Middle East too Europe, the onetime officials say."
Documents which were lately leaked yesteryear Edward Snowden already confirmed that the NSA collects mesh information from telecommunication cables going through the United States. But instantly nosotros acquire that also unusual mesh providers are cooperating with NSA inwards gild to intercept unusual communications.
For Americans it may last embarrassing that NSA is tapping into domestic mesh cables, but for people elsewhere inwards the globe it must last fifty-fifty to a greater extent than embarrassing that their telecommunication provider mightiness convey some secret understanding with a unusual intelligence agency.
Here nosotros volition combine this with a issue of other recent stories too this shows us that NSA too its British counterpart, the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), convey arrangements with a issue of large American too British telecommunication companies, too also with an unknown issue of unusual mesh providers. These are cooperating because they are required yesteryear police line too both NSA too GCHQ are paying them for the expenses. The effect is a global mesh surveillance network.
The doughnut-shaped edifice of GCHQ inwards Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.
Cooperating with GCHQ
The names of the companies cooperating with GCHQ were published on August 2 yesteryear the High German paper Süddeutsche Zeitung too the NDR television channel. As these are smaller regional media, it seems that The Guardian didn't dare to pose out these names themselves. Both media were given access to some top secret GCHQ documents from 2009, partly from an internal scheme called GC-Wiki, which yell the next telecommunication providers (meanwhile some convey merged) too their codenames:
- Verizon Business (DACRON)
- British Telecom (REMEDY)
- Vodafone Cable (GERONTIC)
- Global Crossing (PINNAGE)
- Level 3 (LITTLE)
- Viatel (VITREOUS)
- Interoute (STREETCAR)
GCHQ has hush-hush agreements with these 7 companies, described inwards i document every bit "intercept partners", inwards gild to give the way access to their network of undersea cables. The companies are paid for logistical too technical assistance too British Telecom fifty-fifty developed software too hardware to intercept mesh data. At GCHQ this collection endeavor is conducted nether the "Mastering the Internet" ingredient of the TEMPORA program.
The identity of the participating companies was regarded every bit extremely sensitive, inwards official documents referred to every bit "Exceptionally Controlled Information" (ECI), with the fellowship names replaced with the codewords. Disclosure of the names would non exclusively motility "high-level political fallout", but would also last real damaging for the trustworthiness of the companies.
One of the doors of room 641A inwards the edifice of AT&T inwards San Francisco,
where the NSA had a secret mesh tapping device installed,
which was revealed yesteryear an AT&T technician inwards 2006.
In reaction to these disclosures, Vodafone too Verizon said that they comply with the laws of all the countries inwards which they operate cables too that they won't divulge whatsoever client information inwards whatsoever jurisdiction unless legally required to exercise so. This is the same form of respond some of the US mesh companies gave regarding to their alleged involvement inwards the PRISM program.
Tapping the mesh backbone
Together, the 7 companies operate a huge percentage of the high-capacity undersea fibre-optic cables that brand upwards the backbone of the internet's architecture. The High German media also noted that these companies also run some of import mesh nodes inwards Germany, too for event Interoute owns too operates Europe's largest cloud services platform.
We exercise non know how many of the mesh cables too nodes of these providers convey collection too filtering devices attached. Former NSA official too whistleblower William Binney gives quite a large issue of major points inwards the global fiber optic networks where at that spot would probable last Narus, Verint or similar intercepting devices. In this article there's a listing of the most probable surveillance nodes on the networks of AT&T, Verizon, BT Group too Deutsche Telekom - situated all over the world.
The Guardian confirms that inwards 2012 GCHQ had tapped to a greater extent than than 200 fibre-optic cables too was able to procedure information from at to the lowest degree 46 of them at a time. The collected metadata is stored for upwards to thirty days, piece the content of communications is typically stored for 3 days.
On August 28, novel reports yesteryear the Italian paper L'Espresso too the international website of the High German paper Süddeutsche Zeitung revealed the names of at to the lowest degree xiv undersea fiber-optic mesh cables which GCHQ is tapping:
- TAT-14, connecting the the States with the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Germany, too Denmark
- Atlantic Crossing 1, linking the USA too the United Kingdom, the Netherlands too Germany
- SeaMeWe3, which connects Europe, Asia too the Middle East
- SeaMeWe4, linking Europe, North Africa too Asia
- FLAG Europe Asia (FEA), linking Europe to Nippon through the Middle East too Republic of Republic of India
- FLAG Atlantic-1, linking New York with French Republic too England
- Circe North, connecting the UK with Belgium, France, Deutschland too the Netherlands
- Circe South, idem
- Solas, betwixt the UK too Republic of Ireland across the Irish Gaelic Sea
- UK-France 3
- UK-Netherlands 14
- Ulysses 1 too 2, running betwixt Dover too Calais, resp. IJmuiden too Lowestoft
- Yellow/AC-2, connecting New York with Bude inwards the United Kingdom
- Pan European Crossing (PEC), linking the United Kingdom, Belgium, too France
Overview of the undersea fiber-optic cables
Click for an interactive map!
The existance of mesh tapping points exterior the US too the UK was confirmed inwards a report yesteryear The Independent from August 23. It says GCHQ runs a secret internet-monitoring station at an undisclosed location inwards the Middle East to intercept too procedure vast quantities of emails, telephone calls too spider web traffic on behalf of Western intelligence agencies.
The station is able to tap into too extract information from the underwater fibre-optic cables passing through the region. All of the messages too information passed dorsum too forth on the cables is copied into giant figurer storage buffers too so sifted for information of special interest. These information are so processed too passed to GCHQ inwards Cheltenham too shared with the NSA.
Network Security Agreements
On July 7, The Washington Post published well-nigh a "Network Security Agreement" betwixt the US authorities too the fiber-optic network operator Global Crossing, which inwards 2003 was beingness sold to a unusual company. Global Crossing was later on sold to Colorado-based Level 3 Communications, which owns many international fiber-optic cables, too the 2003 understanding was replaced yesteryear a new i (pdf) inwards 2011.
According to the Post, this understanding became a model for similar arrangements with other companies. These ensure that when US authorities agencies attempt access to the massive amounts of information flowing through their networks, the companies convey systems inwards house to supply it securely. The 2011 understanding with Level 3 clearly says that all domestic communication cables shall pas through a facility from which lawful electronic surveillance tin last conducted:
The bottom line hither is inwards the give-and-take "lawful". As long every bit information requests yesteryear NSA or GCHQ are lawful, the mesh providers volition assist inwards gathering the required data. They fifty-fifty convey to.
Corporate Partner Access program
Just similar GCHQ, NSA is also paying telecommunication companies. This came out when on August 30, The Washington Post published parts of the highly classified US Intelligence Budget. This revealed that NSA’s Special Source Operations (SSO) sectionalization runs a projection called Corporate Partner Access, which involves major US telecommunication providers to tap into "high book circuit too packet-switched networks".
For the financial twelvemonth 2013 this plan was expected to toll $ 278 million, downwards nearly one-third from its pinnacle of $ 394 i one m thousand inwards 2011. Among the possible costs covered yesteryear this amount are "network too circuit leases, equipment hardware too software maintenance, secure network connectivity, too covert site leases". The full of 278 i one m thousand breaks downwards every bit follows for specific programs:
- BLARNEY: $ 65.96 million
- FAIRVIEW: $ 94.74 million
- STORMBREW: $ 46.04 million
- OAKSTAR: $ 9.41 million
Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 terminal $ 56.6 i one m thousand is for "Foreign Partner Access", but according to The Washington Post it's non clear whether these are for unusual companies, unusual governments or other unusual entities.
The article says that telecommunication companies to a greater extent than frequently than non accuse to comply with surveillance requests from state, local too federal police line enforcement too intelligence agencies. This simplifies the government’s access to surveillance too the payments comprehend for the costs of buying too installing novel equipment, along with a reasonable profit, which makes it also profitable for the companies to cooperate with NSA too other agencies.
Some to a greater extent than details well-nigh collecting information with the assist of unusual facilities came from NSA slides shown inwards the background of a Brazilian idiot box written report on September 8, 2013. These slides yell at to the lowest degree 3 sub-programs of OAKSTAR for collecting telephone too mesh communications "through a unusual access point":
- MONKEYROCKET
- SHIFTINGSHADOW
- ORANGECRUSH
The latter plan is specified every bit a "Foreign access betoken through PRIMECANE, too 3rd political party partner" (see below).
2nd too 3rd political party countries
Similar arrangements with telecommunication providers tin last expected inwards Canada, Commonwealth of Australia too New Zealand, every bit the signals intelligence agencies of these countries convey a real closed information sharing human relationship with GCHQ too NSA nether the UKUSA-Agreement from 1946. Regarding signals intelligence these countries count every bit 2d political party allies of the NSA.
One measuring below, there's a grouping of around thirty countries that are considered to last 3rd political party partners. According to the Snowden-leaks Germany, France, Austria, Denmark, Kingdom of Belgium too Poland are with them.* Probably Norway, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Israel, Taiwan too South Africa are 3rd political party partners too.*
Update #1:
New documents demonstrate that Sweden is a 3rd Party partner of NSA since 1954.
Update #2:
Another disclosed NSA document has confirmed that France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Kingdom of Norway too Sweden are 3rd Party partners of NSA too that they are component subdivision of a grouping called SIGINT Seniors Europe (SSEUR) or 14-Eyes.
As the Wall Street Journal article says that the unusual mesh providers are "particularly inwards the Middle East too Europe", this reminds of a special human relationship the the States has with a issue of countries inwards peculiarly these regions. We know them yesteryear the fact that they convey a so-called Defense Telephone Link with the US:
- In Europe: Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovenia too Slovakia.
- In the Middle East: Bahrein, Israel, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, too the United Arab Emirates.
Most of these countries are small, subject on US armed forces back upwards too thence frequently willing to cooperate with US intelligence agencies. Of course of study this doesn't necessarily hateful that inwards all of these countries the NSA has agreements with local mesh providers, but the listing may give an indication of where nosotros tin hold off cooperating companies. Having secret arrangements with a unusual intelligence way is a highly sensitive too tricky business, so mesh providers convey to last covered yesteryear their government.
> See for the latest: NSA's unusual partnerships
The novel way of intercepting
For the NSA these arrangements with unusual mesh providers brand proficient sense. Before the Internet-age, NSA could intercept many communications on its own, for event yesteryear placing taps at underwater telephony cables too intercepting satellite transmissions too microwave links. These were the long-distance connections for Earth switched telephone network, which also carried most of the early mesh traffic.
The xx feet/6 meter too six tons tapping device for a Soviet cable in
the Sea of Okhotsk, which was placed inwards the 1970's nether functioning Ivy Bells
too was discovered too removed yesteryear the Soviets inwards 1981.
With the rapid expansion of the mesh after the twelvemonth 2000, the copper cables too satellite too microwave links convey been replaced yesteryear fiber-optic cables, which are far to a greater extent than hard to intercept. NSA is reportedly capable of placing taps at underwater fiber cables, but these are of course of study real cumbersome too costly operations.
Therefore, the way to acquire was to house taps at locations where the fiber-optic communications are switched. For the internet, much of the switching occurs at relatively few sites, but hither intercepting has to last done with the help, or at to the lowest degree the knowledge, of the companies who are operating these sites.
Before 2001, NSA was exclusively authorized to intercept communications with both ends beingness foreign. So the starting fourth dimension mesh providers to cooperate with had to last exterior the US. But due to the real nature of the internet, NSA before long constitute out that it was increasingly hard to move on unusual too domestic communications separated.
For that argue president George W. Bush secretly authorized NSA to also wiretap international communications where simply i political party is believed to last affiliated with terrorism. Under this novel authorisation NSA could instantly also involve American telecommunication providers, starting fourth dimension those providing hardware transmissions (AT&T, Verizon, etc) too later on companies offering the software for today's communications (Microsoft, Google, Apple, etc).
Nothing actually new
Now, NSA too its UKUSA partners are cooperating with a attain of national too unusual mesh providers, which gives them access to the top dog mesh cables too switching points all around the world. This is simply similar they operated the ECHELON network with listening stations worldwide, intercepting the onetime satellite communications.
For some people all this may audio similar Snowden's claim well-nigh the NSA beingness able to eavesdrop on every conversation of everyone inwards the world, but there's no bear witness for that. NSA does desire access to every bit many communication channels every bit possible, but exclusively for gathering information well-nigh enemies of the United States, non well-nigh ordinary people. Given the enormous amount of information traffic, NSA volition simply exercise everything to assemble that information every bit focussed too efficiently every bit possible - to a greater extent than well-nigh that side yesteryear side time.
(This article was updated with information well-nigh the Level 3 agreement, the British base of operations inwards the Middle East, the names of the fiber-optic cables too the budget for cooperation of telecom providers)
Links too Sources
- NY Times: N.S.A. May Have Penetrated Internet Cable Links
- Wall Street Journal: New Details Show Broader NSA Surveillance Reach - withal availabe here
- Süddeutsche Zeitung: Snowden enthüllt Namen der spähenden Telekomfirmen
- The Guardian: BT too Vodafone with telecoms companies passing details to GCHQ
- The Washington Post: Agreements with somebody companies protect U.S. access to cables’ information for surveillance
- Süddeutsche Zeitung: British Officials Have Far-Reaching Access To Internet And Telephone Communications
- Wikipedia listing: List of international submarine communications cables
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