The National Security Agency has got to be numero uno on Barry O’s shit list of late, given that foreign political leaders are buzzing about little else these days.
But we begin on an ironic note with a headline from Business Insider:
The NSA Website Is Down
The National Security Agency’s website, nsa.gov, has been down the better part of the afternoon, and people are saying it’s the work of the collective of controversial hackers known only as “Anonymous.”
Next, a bit of legislative ornamental rage we suspect will lead to little. Via Techdirt:
Major New Anti-NSA Bill Dropping Next Week With Powerful Support
from the this-could-get-interesting dept
And from Los Angeles Times editorial cartoonist David Horsey. . .
Europeans are shocked — shocked! — about U.S. spying
From Haaretz, an unexpected twist:
Report suggests Israel behind attempt to hack into French communication network
U.S. officials deny involvement in May 2012 cyber attack on Elysee Palace, hinting that Mossad was responsible for attempt, according to leaked document published by Le Monde.
More from Radio France Internationale:
It’s not us it’s Israel, US told France over 2012 presidential snooping
France suspected the US of hacking into the president’s communications network during the 2012 presidential election but American officials hinted that Israel may have been behind the cyberattack, according to the latest revelation on the National Security Agency (NSA) published in Le Monde newspaper.
And leave it to the London Daily Mail for the omnium gatherum:
Was ISRAEL behind the hacking of millions of French phones and NOT the U.S.? Extraordinary twist in spying saga revealed
Agents said to have intercepted 70 million calls and text messages a month
France had previously blamed the United States of America
U.S. was first suspected of hacking into Nicolas Sarkozy’s phone in 2012
Americans insisted they have never been behind hacking in France
Comes after it emerged German officials are planning trip to U.S. to discuss allegations Angela Merkel’s phone was hack by the NSA
The German Chancellor said President Obama’s reputation has been shattered on an international scale because of espionage scandal
Next up, more leaks and the response from The Guardian:
NSA surveillance: more revelations as EU leaders meet in Brussels
Italian magazine reports allegedly vast scale of US and British spying, and Le Monde publishes another NSA document
And the kinder, gentler blowback via the New York Times:
Germany and France Propose Talks With U.S. on Spying
The offer was an attempt to defuse a trans-Atlantic dispute over eavesdropping by the United States that has hurt its relations with Europe and prompted calls to suspend trade talks.
More from the Washington Post:
Merkel, Hollande want new rules for sharing intelligence
The German leader says trust must be rebuilt after allegations that the NSA monitored world leaders’ phone lines.
Still more from MercoPress:
Germany and France demand a “no spying” agreement from Washington
German Chancellor Angela Merkel demanded that the United States strike a “no-spying” agreement with Berlin and Paris by the end of the year, saying alleged espionage against two of Washington’s closest EU allies had to be stopped.
Sky News adds another voice, albeit one with some murky associations:
Cameron Backs Calls For US Spying Talks
The PM refuses to comment on any involvement by Britain’s GCHQ spy agency in the surveillance of EU countries.
The London Telegraph gives the story its own inimitable rightward spin:
US spying: Britain forced to sign EU statement expressing ‘deep concern’
Britain signs EU statement that is critical of US spying on European governments
More from EUbusiness:
Don’t tinker with anti-terror spy network: Cameron
British Prime Minister David Cameron says shared intelligence with the US has benefited EU states as an eavesdropping row pushes France and Germany to demand a new code of conduct on data-gathering.
And Spiegel notes a certain reluctance in Angela Merkel, too:
EU Summit: Merkel’s Delicate Dance over Spying Allegations
While at the EU summit in Brussels, German Chancellor Merkel has been forced to perform a diplomatic balancing act. She must express the appropriate amount of indignation over allegations she was spied on by the US, but she must also avoid alienating her important allies.
From BBC News, not unexpected:
Italy data ‘targeted in UK-US spy operation’
UK and US intelligence services have been spying on Italy’s phone and internet traffic on a huge scale, the Italian weekly L’Espresso reports.
But the London Telegraph adds a telling detail, the approval of Italy’s own spooks:
Britain and US ‘spied on Italy’
Britain’s GCHQ and the USA accused of spying on Italy, but with consent of secret services
Whilst BBC News invokes the T-word:
EU says distrust of US on spying may harm terror fight
EU leaders meeting in Brussels said distrust of the US over spying could harm the fight against terrorism.
As does Channel NewsAsia Singapore:
Europe wants new spy deal with US following revelations
European leaders said on Friday they want a new deal with Washington to end a damaging spy row so as to keep an essential alliance and the fight against terrorism on track.
But umbrage does exist, reports the Associated Press:
German minister blasts alleged US surveillance
Germany’s defense minister says Europe can’t simply return to business as usual in its relations with Washington following allegations that U.S. intelligence may have targeted Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cellphone.
And Xinhua covers a response:
Germany to send senior security officials to U.S. for spying talks
High-ranking representatives of the German security services as well as the chancellery will travel to Washington next week to seek clarifications of widespread U.S. spying allegations, including those of mobile phone communications of Chancellor Merkel.
From El País, another target:
NSA revelations: Spain also a victim of US espionage
The agency tracked communications from government members
Officials hint that spying took place during Zapatero era
And the well-tempered blowback, via EUbusiness:
Spain summons US ambassador over spy reports
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said Friday he would call in the US ambassador to Madrid to explain reports of American spying on the country, a close ally of Washington.
From The Guardian, a focus:
NSA bugging turns spotlight on world leaders’ ‘safe’ communications
Angela Merkel says she makes a point of conducting conversations about matters of state through a variety of channels
And from euroews, a report from Friday’s gathering of European Union leaders:
Merkel’s mobile dominates EU summit chatter
And the Obama administration tries to play conciliatory, as in this headline form a USA TODAY op-ed from Lisa Monaco, assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism:
Obama administration: Surveillance policies under review
We want to ensure we are collecting information because we need it and not just because we can.
And from the editors at Bloomberg news, a clarion call:
Don’t Let the NSA Kill the Internet
Thirty, 20 or even 10 years from now, will historians write that the unbridled zeal of the National Security Agency fatally undermined U.S. leadership in the Information Age and the creation of a truly global Internet?
Concrete action coming? From the ACLU Blog of Rights:
International Rights Body to Press U.S. on Surveillance, Snowden
History has taught us that pervasive government surveillance has a profoundly adverse effect on the exercise of free speech – a universal right enshrined both in the Constitution and in international human rights law. This Monday, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) will hold its first-ever hearing on the NSA’s mass surveillance programs and their impact on the right to freedom of expression and other related rights in the Americas.
But there’s one country where Snowden’s revelations haven’t done the slightest harm, reports RIA Novosti, probably because its leader once headed an outfit that did many of the same things:
Russia Says Snowden Leaks Won’t Hurt US Ties
Russia Says Snowden Leaks Won’t Hurt US TiesLeaks by former US security contractor Edward Snowden regarding US intelligence-gathering on Russia will have no impact on relations between Moscow and Washington, Russia’s foreign minister said Friday.
From Paul Rosenzweig, former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy at Homeland Security, the ol’ “Don’t tell ‘em how tghe sausage is made” excuse, appropriately tweaked by Techdirt:
NSA Defender Argues That Too Much Transparency Defeats The Purpose Of Democracy
from the oh-really? dept
From Le Monde, background and context:
The NSA’s intern inquiry about the Elysée hacking revealed
The creation within ten years by the United States of an unprecedented electronic espionage system all over the world has generated tensions with countries nevertheless considered to be historical allies, such as France. The examination by Le Monde of unpublished documents from the NSA (National Security Agency) – the agency in charge of digital and other communications, shows the tensions and distrust between Paris and Washington.
Keith Alexander, goin’ bye-bye, reports Al Jazeera America:
NSA chief and top deputy expected to depart soon
Alexander has formalized plans to leave by next March or April, while his civilian deputy is due to retire by year’s end
From the Washington Post, belated acknowledgements:
U.S. alerting partner nations on Snowden files
Documents taken by Edward Snowden contain information on operations against adversaries such as Iran, Russia and China that involve countries not publicly allied with the U.S., officials say.
From The Guardian, can you hear him now?:
David Cameron still using mobile phone after US spying claims
British prime minister has not changed phones after allegations that NSA monitored calls of 35 world leaders
FRANCE 24 looks for others to worry about:
Should Europe be worried by Russia’s spying resurgence?
The revelations of the NSA’s surveillance programme have dominated the headlines in recent months. But Europe could also be at risk from a resurgence in Russian spying activity, according to intelligence experts.
And Kyodo News covers Japanese countermeasures:
Japan’s Cabinet approves bill to toughen penalties for secret leakers
The Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday approved a bill to impose tougher penalties on civil servants, lawmakers and others who leak national secrets and harm national security, amid criticism that it will lead to tighter government control of information.
Jiji Press adds a key detail:
Japan Govt Adopts State Secret Protection Bill
The government will try to have the bill enacted during the current Diet session together with legislation to establish a Japanese version of the U.S. National Security Council.
As does Reuters:
Japan secrecy act stirs fears about press freedom, right to know
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government is planning a state secrets act that critics say could curtail public access to information on a wide range of issues, including tensions with China and the Fukushima nuclear crisis.
And a Pakistani warning of other out-of-control spooks from Peshawar High Chief Justice Dost Muhammad Khan via the Press Trust of India:
Government, parliament not prepared to rein in ISI: Top judge
A top Pakistani judge has said nobody, including the federal govt and parliament, is prepared to bring in legislation to control the Inter-Services Intelligence agency.
From the Atlantic Wire, that old chilling effect:
Conservative Reporter Says Feds Took Her Files While Searching Her Home for Guns
Conservative investigative journalist Audrey Hudson says that her reporting notes were taken during a search of her home by the Department of Homeland Security and Maryland police.
From the London Daily Mail, a real chiller — with a shout-out to Di Fei:
‘No phone call, no Internet transaction, isn’t recorded by the NSA’: Edward Snowden fires back at U.S. government surveillance denials
Senator Dianne Feinstein claimed that the NSA’s phone-tracking is benign
Whistle-blower Snowden said in a statement that it is pervasive in nature
Dvice brings us another chiller:
Drones that can launch repeatedly from an unmanned skiff are here
And the Atlantic Wire covers another black op exposed:
Koch Brothers’ Groups Pay $1 Million for Not Disclosing Contributions
Two dark money groups linked to conservative billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch have paid a record $1 million in fines to California to settle allegations that the combined $15 million they spent on two ballot proposals in the state was not properly disclosed.
More chill from Rolling Stone :
Meet the Private Companies Helping Cops Spy on Protesters
Promotional materials for private spy companies show that mass surveillance technology is being sold to police departments as a way to monitor dissent
And, to close, a spot of warmth from the Daily Dot:
Grassroots anti-NSA movement scores a victory in Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania General Assembly—the equivalent of the state’s House of Representatives—passed a resolution calling out NSA spying Wednesday. And it started with a single concerned citizen.
