Tag: surveiilance

British spies allowed warrantless access to US data

Newly released documents from the British government reveal a lack of judicial oversight for how it sifts through communications data collected by the NSA and other foreign governments

British authorities are capable of tapping into bulk communications data collected by other countries’ intelligence services—including the National Security Agency—without a warrant, according to secret government documents released Tuesday.

The agreement between the NSA and Britain’s spy agency, known as Government Communications Headquarters or GCHQ, potentially puts the Internet and phone data of Americans in the hands of another country without legal oversight when obtaining a warrant is “not technically feasible.”

The data, once obtained, can be kept for up to two years, according to internal policies disclosed by the British government. GCHQ was forced to reveal that it can request and receive vast quantities of raw, unanalyzed data collected from foreign governments it partners with during legal proceedings in a closed court hearing in a case brought by various international human-rights organizations, including Privacy International, Liberty U.K., and Amnesty International. The suit challenges certain aspects of GCHQ’s surveillance practices.

It is well known that the NSA and GCHQ closely share intelligence data with one another, as part of a long-standing surveillance partnership. Some details of the agencies’ spy pact were exposed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden last year, including the existence of GCHQ’s Tempora program, which taps into fiber-optic cables to scoop up online and telephone traffic across the Web for up to 30 days.

But this is the first time the British government has disclosed that it does not require a warrant to access data collected and maintained by its American counterparts. The revelation appears to counter statements made by an oversight committee of the British Parliament in July of last year that “in each case where GCHQ sought information from the U.S., a warrant for interception, signed by a minister, was already in place.”

Source: National Journal

International spy capital Vienna

According to a survey compiled by specialists in spying activities, Vienna, Austria, is home to more than 7,000 secret agents and spies, a number greater than any other city.

“Vienna is a stock exchange of information. We have the most liberal laws governing this activity in the world,” Gert Rene Polli, the former chief of BVT, the country’s counter-terrorism agency, said.

“It is also a nice place for spies to live and bring their families, with good education and health services after difficult postings in Serbia, Iraq or Afghanistan,” Polli added.

Embassies there are overcrowded with personnel, many of whom are secret agents serving as links to their home countries. Although Vienna hosts spies from a large number of countries, US and Russian spies dominate the numbers.

It was recently revealed that a US spy working for German foreign intelligence (BND) met at least two CIA agents working at the US Embassy in Vienna since 2012. In 2010, Vienna’s airport hosted the biggest “spy swap” in history, where 14 US and Russian spies were exchanged in broad daylight.

“All the services that worked here during the Cold War have a presence in Vienna today,” Siegfried Beer, historian and head of the Austrian Center for Intelligence, Propaganda and Security Studies (ACIPSS), said. “Between the two world wars, Vienna definitely became the center of European espionage,” he added.

Following World War II, Vienna became a battlefield for intelligence operations, competing for influence and information. At the forefront were CIA and KGB agents. After 1955, Vienna became neutral territory, but allied countries left their agents behind. Foreign intelligence agents can rest easy for now since according to law, Austria’s state police can only punish spying aimed at Austria.

As long as Vienna’s laws continue to only punish espionage against Austria, agents will continue to flock to the historically spy-friendly city.

Source: RIA Novosti

German heli conducts surveillance of US Consulate

usfrankfurtUnder orders from Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, a federal police helicopter conducted a flyover of the US Consulate in Frankfurt, the government in Berlin has confirmed. Officials were apparently searching for surveillance equipment.

The German government on Monday confirmed that a previously reported operation targeting potential American eavesdropping facilities located on German soil took place at the end of August. Both a spokesperson for Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Interior Ministry admitted on Monday that a Federal Police helicopter had conducted a low-altitude flyover of the United States Consulate in Frankfurt in order to take high-resolution photographs. The apparent aim of the mission was to identify suspected listening posts on the roof of the consulate.

According to the newsmagazine Focus, the Eurocopter circled over the US representation at an altitude of just 60 meters (200 feet). The magazine quoted an unnamed government official stating that Germany wanted to send a message to the Americans that it would not tolerate eavesdropping technologies on German soil. “The message to the American friends was meant to be: Stop. Germany strikes back!” The flyover was first reported last week by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper.

On Monday, the government in Berlin sought to play down the incident. The Interior Ministry said merely that the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, which had ordered the helicopter flyover, is responsible for the security of foreign installations in Germany, but also for defending the country from the spying activities of foreign countries. The spokeswoman refused to answer dozens of follow-up questions on whether the surveillance flight over the consulate had been a routine operation or whether it was a targeted search for hidden antennas. “I neither can nor want to provide any response,” the spokeswoman said.

But it doesn’t appear there was anything routine about the Eurocopter mission — if there had been, police would have almost surely notified the Americans beforehand. Instead, security personnel at the consulate appear to have been surprised by the flyover. They even took pictures as it happened during the morning of August 28. A short time afterwards, the deputy US ambassador telephoned with the German Foreign Ministry to discuss the issue. But what the ministry is now describing as an “information exchange,” was apparently a complaint.

The flight appears to be connected to the revelations of vast US surveillance made by former intelligence service contractor Edward Snowden. According to the American whistleblower, the National Security Agency’s (NSA) surveillance service has established secret eavesdropping posts at 80 US embassies and consulates around the world. In the internal documents exposed by Snowden, these are referred to as the “Special Collection Service”. The papers also state that the bugging units should be kept secret from partner countries. If it were leaked, a document reads, this would “cause serious harm to relations between the US and a foreign government.”

The response by domestic intelligence would seem to belie German government attempts to play down the surveillance affair. The report in Focus claims that the Frankfurt operation was ordered by Ronald Pofalla, Merkel’s chief of staff and the German government point man for intelligence services. The politician, a member of Merkel’s conservative CDU party, has made extensive public comments suggesting that the NSA affair has passed. But the report suggested he was furious at reports of spying technology at US diplomatic outposts in Germany.

The German government left open on Monday the question of whether the flyover had provided any clarity about the suspected eavesdropping technology. The spokesperson said that only relevant committees in the national parliament would be informed. Still, experts believe the move was intended more as a symbolic gesture that as a serious effort to try to find surveillance equipment. They believe that the Germans just want to show that if push comes to shove, they can also get more aggressive. One official spoke of a symbolic “shot across the bow.” – Der Spiegel