OSINT NEWS NEWSLETTER- NSA: Issue 3 9/29/15

Is the NSA spying ON Americans...or FOR them?

     The National Security Agency was created in 1952 to be a cryptologic intelligence agency administered by the  Department of Defense. And, that's why it gets into trouble with freedom-loving Americans- its mission has always been to collect and analyze foreign communications and foreign signals intelligence... not domestic. However, it is also responsible for protecting U.S. government communications and information systems from foreign spy agencies and hackers, which involves cryptography. In short, domestically, it monitors U.S. federal agency computer networks to protect them against such attacks. 
     It does not perform field or human intelligence activities like the CIA does and its intelligence gathering activities are limited to foreign communications, although there have been numerous reports that the agency does not always abide by these laws. This OSINT NEWS Newsletter- NSA Issue 3 9/29/15 highlights current and past conflicts over the NSA's domestic vs. foreign spying activities:
    

Fiorina supplied NSA with HP servers

National Security Agency director Michael Hayden once asked Republican hopeful Carly Fiorina for servers to put the entire USA under unconstitutional surveillance. She leapt into action to supply him with them. Fiorina was HP CEO and promptly redirected truckloads of HP servers that had been destined for retail stores into the custody of federal officials who took them to NSA headquarters in Fort Meade, Md.

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NSA Director Rogers before Senate Intelligence Committee

National Security Agency Director Adm. Michael Rogers told the Senate Intelligence Committee that, if a rival country’s foreign minister kept a private email server, it would represent an “opportunity” for U.S. intelligence. Rogers, named to the top NSA spot by President Barack Obama in April 2014, was reluctant to enter the political row over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s private email server, which is under investigation by the FBI over concerns it contained classified information.

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The NSA will probably spy on foreign leaders like Iranian President Hassan Rouhani during the UN General Assembly in New York this week, applying a "full court press" that includes intercepting cellphone calls and bugging hotel rooms, former intelligence analysts told NBC News.

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A lawsuit against the National Security Agency’s dragnet interception of Internet communications had its first day in federal court. A coalition of organizations asked a judge to rule against the Obama administration’s request that their case be dismissed. U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis didn’t rule from the bench or betray a clear leaning during arguments.
The case was filed by Wikipedia, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Amnesty International USA, PEN American Center, Human Rights Watch, The Nation magazine and other human rights and advocacy groups.

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Snowden creating global treaty to outlaw govt. surveillance

Former National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden wants to lead the charge to take back the public's privacy. He leaked NSA files to the press to launch a campaign Thursday to pass what's informally being called the Snowden Treaty, an international agreement to outlaw mass surveillance and protect whistle-blowers like himself.

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Echelon is the NSA's most secret global spy system.By the time you finished reading this paragraph, Echelon intercepted more than 70,000 phone calls, e-mails, and faxes across America. It does, indeed, exist inside the NSA...and I'm glad it does. I believe this global surveillance system, which has been operating for decades, is necessary to effectively combat terrorism.

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NSA read classified data of foreign countries via Crypto AG

Memos reveal NSA made a secret deal with Crypto AG, a Swiss-based manufacturer of cryptographical equipment. The agreement, which lasted for much of the Cold War, allowed the NSA to read the classified messages of dozens of nations that purchased encoding equipment from Crypto AG.

Robert Morton, M.Ed., Ed.S. is a member of the Association Of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO) and writes the online spy series "Corey Pearson- CIA Spymaster in the Caribbean".  Contact him on the Secure Contact Form