NSA shares raw intelligence including Americans' data with Israel (Snowden revelations)

[Catherina]

NSA shares raw intelligence including Americans' data with Israel

• Secret deal places no legal limits on use of data by Israelis
• Only official US government communications protected
• Agency insists it complies with rules governing privacy
• Read the NSA and Israel's 'memorandum of understanding'


Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras and Ewen MacAskill
theguardian.com, Wednesday 11 September 2013 15.40 BST


The agreement for the US to provide raw intelligence data to Israel was reached in principle in March 2009, the document shows. Photograph: James Emery

The National Security Agency routinely shares raw intelligence data with Israel without first sifting it to remove information about US citizens, a top-secret document provided to the Guardian by whistleblower Edward Snowden reveals.

Details of the intelligence-sharing agreement are laid out in a memorandum of understanding between the NSA and its Israeli counterpart that shows the US government handed over intercepted communications likely to contain phone calls and emails of American citizens. The agreement places no legally binding limits on the use of the data by the Israelis.

The disclosure that the NSA agreed to provide raw intelligence data to a foreign country contrasts with assurances from the Obama administration that there are rigorous safeguards to protect the privacy of US citizens caught in the dragnet. The intelligence community calls this process "minimization", but the memorandum makes clear that the information shared with the Israelis would be in its pre-minimized state.

...

According to the agreement, the intelligence being shared would not be filtered in advance by NSA analysts to remove US communications. "NSA routinely sends ISNU [the Israeli Sigint National Unit] minimized and unminimized raw collection", it says.

...

It is not clear whether any communications involving members of US Congress or the federal courts have been included in the raw data provided by the NSA, nor is it clear how or why the NSA would be in possession of such communications. In 2009, however, the New York Times reported on "the agency's attempt to wiretap a member of Congress, without court approval, on an overseas trip".

...

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/11/nsa-americans-personal-data-israel-documents

[MotherPetrie]

1. Transparency!

[jsr]

2. Recommend

[woo me with science]

3. "no legal limits on use of data by Israelis"

"no legal limits on use of data by Israelis"

"Only official US government communications protected."

"The disclosure that the NSA agreed to provide raw intelligence data to a foreign country contrasts with assurances from the Obama administration that there are rigorous safeguards to protect the privacy of US citizens caught in the dragnet."

Thank you. K&R

[Catherina]

5. "but the exchange is so robust, we sometimes share more than we intended."

NSA: "but the exchange is so robust, we sometimes share more than we intended."

[leveymg]

4. I always assumed the Five Eyes Agreement is really six. Probably more.

Not at all surprising since the primary supplier of domestic phone evesdropping equipment, and most of the NSA signal diversion devices that were installed by law pursuant to the 1995 CALEA Act, were made by Israeli-owned companies, which also did most of the credit card billing transactions in the United States from the 1990s on.

[Hydra]

6. I agree that it's 6 or more

And that this is evolving(already has become?) a worldwide thing via corps like Booz Allen.

The amazing thing is, the data is not being partitioned. They're sharing EVERYTHING with each other.

[leveymg]

7. G-d only knows how many files there really are floating around out there about all of us, and

how much of it is really accurate.

[Catherina]

8. Yes but the memorandum says that Israel will agree to "not deliberately target Americans identified

The memorandum says that Israel will agree to "not deliberately target Americans identified in the data".

I'm laughing so hard I peed.

[hobbit709]

11. Made mre spew my coffee.

[Catherina]

15. "This agreement is not intended to create any legally enforceable rights..."

Don't have any coffee in your mouth for this.


"This agreement is not intended to create any legally enforceable rights and shall not be construed to be either an international agreement or a legally binding instrument according to international law."

[FarCenter]

31. It has long been assumed that members of Echelon spy on each others citizens.

That way they avoid the prohibition of spying on their own citizen.

Israeli companies also provide firewall software, telephone company billing software, etc., which is undoubtedly backdoored.

[jmowreader]

62. Five Eyes is only with English speaking countries

Israel is considered a Third Party, as are any other non-English-speaking allies. What each country gets is different...the US treats Israel as the 51st state, so I'd imagine they get more than...oh, South Korea.

[leveymg]

65. What makes you think Israel isn't an English-speaking country?

Israel and Canada have the same percentage of English-speaking residents: about 85%

[jmowreader]

69. The two official languages of Israel are Hebrew and Arabic

English is a non-official language there. That is one of the reasons Israel is a third party. NSA officers also remember Jonathan Pollard and the USS Liberty, which is another reason they're a third party. Your friends don't try sinking your ships.

Percentages don't matter much here; Sweden, Denmark and Norway all have higher percentages of English-speaking citizens than Israel does, and they're not considered English-speaking countries therefore are also third-parties to NSA.

[Blue_Tires]

9. why did they redact the signature??

I'm curious to know who signed off on this...

And what's the date for this agreement?

[Catherina]

18. My best guess, based on a quick google is Meir Dagan, former Director of the Mossad

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meir_Dagan

He's the only name that pops up with "Israeli sigint National Unit" or ISNU and was in the position a long time, on those dates.

No signature date but "In March 2009. ISNU was given an overview briefing" (page 2)

[kelliekat44]

53. Why is it not signed by any US official? nt

[hootinholler]

10. Before the day is out

Greenwald and Snowden will be labeled antisemite.

[Blue_Tires]

13. I am curious to know how posters indignant on the U.S. spying on our allies

will reconcile the concept of an ally spying on us...

[hootinholler]

14. Why do you think I would know?

I don't see any connection between your question and my prediction.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

19. Yep, plus any DUer who observes this and disapproves of the sharing of the spy data with Israel.

[Hydra]

21. The day is out?

I give it 5 mins after the Boggers get into the office and get their coffee. But first they'll say it's not true that we're sharing all of our info in raw form with Israel or that they're not collecting anything in the first place...and btw, Snowden and Greenwald are both anti-semites and the anti-christ :p

[Fumesucker]

12. I'm sure it's just a good faith effort to avoid another USS Liberty incident

Of course the US would share intel with only democracy in the Middle East.

If you can't trust the Likud who can you trust?

[Autumn]

16. I'm real curious about this part

It is not clear whether any communications involving members of US Congress or the federal courts have been included in the raw data provided by the NSA, nor is it clear how or why the NSA would be in possession of such communications."

How many of our politicians personal call data and other communications data are shared with Israel ? It seems like that could set them up very well for blackmail.

[randome]

20. Why would the Guardian print such speculation?

If the data shared by the NSA is foreign communications only, why do they speculate if not to try and elicit panic on the part of their readers?

IOW, the communications of Congressmen are extremely unlikely to be in that pool of data.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]A ton of bricks, a ton of feathers. It's still gonna hurt.[/center][/font][hr]

[Autumn]

33. The Guardian didn't pose a question. The only panic I see is your panic

in your haste to "debunk" whatever it is you are trying to "debunk". I asked a question about a statement in the article because in my mind I am sure politicians who happen to go overseas, will at one point or another make some type of personal communication

Good luck luck with your "debunking" though. I'm sure if you can't bother to read the article and just assume that the Guardian asked a question and then give the reason for them asking the question that they didn't ask, you will need all the luck you can get.

[randome]

42. And Congressmen who go overseas never suspect they are being monitored?

The Guardian's concern for members of Congress is touching. Who says the NSA deliberately targets American politicians anyways? Does the Guardian say that?
[hr][font color="blue"][center]A ton of bricks, a ton of feathers. It's still gonna hurt.[/center][/font][hr]

[Autumn]

44. You can always read the article if you choose . Once again, I wish you luck.

[Catherina]

29. Well... "NSA Veterans Say they Scooped up Senator Obama's Information"

"NSA Veterans Say they Scooped up Senator Obama's Information"

(at 3:15)

and then if their information is in that unfiltered bucket.... Your guess is as good as mine.

Russell D. Tice (born 1961) is a former intelligence analyst for the U.S. Air Force, Office of Naval Intelligence, Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), and National Security Agency (NSA). During his nearly 20 year career with various United States government agencies, he conducted intelligence missions related to the Kosovo War, Afghanistan, the USS Cole bombing in Yemen, and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

In December, 2005, Tice helped spark a national controversy over claims that the NSA and the DIA were engaged in unlawful and unconstitutional wiretaps on American citizens. He later admitted that he was one of the sources that were used in The New York Times reporting on the wiretap activity in December 2005.[2][3] After speaking publicly about the need for legislation to protect whistleblowers, Tice received national attention as the first NSA-whistleblower in May 2005 before William Binney, Thomas Andrews Drake, Mark Klein, Thomas Tamm and Edward Snowden came forward.

Tice was terminated by the NSA in May 2005,[2] just days after publicly urging Congress to pass stronger protections for federal intelligence agency whistleblowers facing retaliation. In September 2005, the inspector general issued an unclassified report that found "no evidence" to support Tice's claims.[4]

In December 2005, Tice alleged the NSA and the DIA were engaged in unlawful and unconstitutional conduct against the American people, and helped spark a national controversy. Tice stated that the activities involved the Director of the NSA, the Deputies Chief of Staff for Air and Space Operations, and the U.S. Secretary of Defense, and were conducted via very highly sensitive intelligence programs and operations known as Special access programs (SAP), more commonly referred to as 'black world' programs, or 'black ops'. Tice was a technical intelligence specialist dealing with SAP programs and operations at both NSA and DIA.[1]

.....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russ_Tice

[Autumn]

40. I remembered that. If they get an unfiltered bucket

then I think it would be a real possibility that they have a lot of information on personal communications by any or all of our elected officials who travel overseas. What a wonderful opportunity for some agencies to gain information for blackmail. In my mind that could explain the craziness of some of these politicians in the shit that they push that sure as hell doesn't benefit American people. Look at how many of these bat shit crazy republicans haul ass on overseas junkets and come back and try to pass some of the stupidest legislation there is.

maybe my tin foil hat got a little bit tight there.

[randome]

17. And yet the NSA does not gather information on U.S. citizens.

The implication the Guardian wants to make is that some of the foreign communications turned over to allies may inadvertently contain U.S. communications.

The alternative is to view every bit of information to remove possible U.S. communications, which is kind of ridiculous to think about.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]A ton of bricks, a ton of feathers. It's still gonna hurt.[/center][/font][hr]

[Hydra]

22. Why is it rediculous to sort the info first?

Are we not paying them enough to verify what they are sending?

[randome]

28. Sort the info how? Do you think every communication contains a signature like 'Country: America'?

Foreign communications may be emails, cell phone records, who knows? Not all of it is going to be flagged for the NSA's convenience. If it was obtained from off our shores, however, it's a safe bet that it doesn't fall under our Bill of Rights.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]A ton of bricks, a ton of feathers. It's still gonna hurt.[/center][/font][hr]

[Hydra]

30. *lmao*

You do some amazing contortioning, but this one takes the cake.

The NSA does not know what data it has and is giving it to foreign gov'ts that we shouldn't trust...and that should be ok?

Wow.

[randome]

32. Foreign data shared with foreign allies? I'm okay with that.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]A ton of bricks, a ton of feathers. It's still gonna hurt.[/center][/font][hr]

[Hydra]

49. Ya, it's all foreign data...

Except that 16,000 other times it wasn't.

[nashville_brook]

41. we need to give ramdome a break while s/he figures out the whole bricks vs feathers thing.

[randome]

43. Maybe I've overused that one.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]You should never stop having childhood dreams.[/center][/font][hr]

[nashville_brook]

45. "a ton of bricks a ton of feathers...they hurt the same" --

[Ocelot]

23. Completely wrong, your claim has been disproven

A top secret National Security Agency program allows analysts to search with no prior authorization through vast databases containing emails, online chats and the browsing histories of millions of individuals, according to documents provided by whistleblower Edward Snowden.

The NSA boasts in training materials that the program, called XKeyscore, is its "widest-reaching" system for developing intelligence from the internet.

[link:http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/31/nsa-top-secret-program-online-data|
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/31/nsa-top-secret-program-online-data]

The National Security Agency is currently collecting the telephone records of millions of US customers of Verizon, one of America's largest telecoms providers, under a top secret court order issued in April.

The order, a copy of which has been obtained by the Guardian, requires Verizon on an "ongoing, daily basis" to give the NSA information on all telephone calls in its systems, both within the US and between the US and other countries.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/06/nsa-phone-records-verizon-court-order

[randome]

26. You're conflating metadata collection with the NSA's databases.

Your first paragraph makes no mention of the likely possibility that the NSA's databases, in that instance, contain foreign communications only. 'Millions of individuals' still does not answer the basic question of whether this data is foreign or domestic.

Your second paragraph is about the metadata, which we already know is a hot button issue for some. But nowhere is anyone saying that metadata is being turned over to Israel or anyone else.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]A ton of bricks, a ton of feathers. It's still gonna hurt.[/center][/font][hr]

[Ocelot]

34. Bullshit

"Your first paragraph makes no mention of the likely possibility that the NSA's databases, in that instance, contain foreign communications only"

You have a crystal ball that tells you, or is it just a bullshit guess?

Also Metadata is a huge invasion of privacy and not something to be flippantly brushed off:

The government has long argued that this information isn't private or personal. It is, they say, the equivalent of looking at the envelope of a letter: what's written on the outside is simple, functional information that's essentially already public.

That forms the basis of collection: because it's not personal information, but rather "transactional" or "business" data, there's no need to show probable cause to collect it. Collection is also helped by the fact this information is already disclosed by callers to their carriers – because your phone number is shared with your provider, you're not treating it as private.

But that is not a view shared by privacy advocates. Groups such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation say that by knowing who an individual speaks to, and when, and for how long, intelligence agencies can build up a detailed picture of that person, their social network, and more. Collecting information on where people are during the calls colours in that picture even further.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/06/phone-call-metadata-information-authorities

I've seen dozens of conversations on this topic in the past couple of months, many of them involving you. And you're constantly employing the same vague, flawed talking points and convincing no one.

[randome]

37. Of course I'm guessing.

Since the NSA is restricted to collecting foreign communications only, why assume they are doing more without evidence to support it? Why make the unwarranted leap that 'millions of individuals' automatically means American citizens?

The collection of metadata has long been ruled okay by the courts. I personally have no problem with the NSA having copies of what the telecoms already have. And I'm not trying to argue the merits or lack of them. I'm only pointing out that it is not currently against the law for the NSA to store such data.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]A ton of bricks, a ton of feathers. It's still gonna hurt.[/center][/font][hr]

[GoneFishin]

38. +1000

[WillyT]

24. K & R !!!

[snooper2]

25. Looks fine to me, more shitty reporting by the guardian

read the actual document instead of their reporting

[Mojorabbit]

57. The guardian does excellent reporting. nt

[another_liberal]

27. This is not a surprise.

It is, rather, a thoroughly sickening confirmation of long-standing suspicions.

[GoneFishin]

35. They have always received privileged treatment. I suspect that this is the rock they hoped would

never be turned over.

[City Lights]

36. How special!

I feel warm and fuzzy inside!

[Octafish]

39. AIPAC, too?

Gee. That would explain a lot.

[zeemike]

46. Thank you so much Catherina for keeping us so well informed.

You are a jewl....K&R.

[Catherina]

54. Thanks Zeemike

[cantbeserious]

47. American Citizens Exposed To The World - Privacy - There Is No Privacy

eom

[DonCoquixote]

48. Oh dear

I wonder when the usual crowd starts to scream "ANTI-SEMITE!" at the top of their lungs.

[Hydra]

50. After they get done saying no data is being collected

So none of it is shared.

I called it and voila! It appeared!

[stonecutter357]

51. .

[KamaAina]

52. WTF?

[arikara]

55. Some are protected from snooping though

And I'm SURE that Israel honors the deal.

But while the contents of emails and phone calls involving most US persons are fair game to be collected by Israeli intelligence, a select group of Americans are sparred from international surveillance: elected officials. The memo mandates that the Israelis must "destroy upon recognition" any communication "that is either to or from an official of the US government.” That pool of exempt persons is defined as "officials of the executive branch (including the White House, cabinet departments, and independent agencies), the US House of Representatives and Senate (member and staff) and the US federal court system (including, but not limited to, the Supreme Court)."

[Uncle Joe]

56. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Catherina.

[Catherina]

59. You're welcome. As always n/t

[xchrom]

58. du rec.

[indepat]

60. It is comforting to know the U.S. shares raw domestic intelligence with a foreign

government. Warms my cockles to the hilt. Can we sue for damages should this raw intelligence be used against us or for commercial purposes?

[randome]

61. There is nothing to suggest this is domestic intelligence data.

Except the Greenw...I mean, the Guardian.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]You should never stop having childhood dreams.[/center][/font][hr]

[Catherina]

63. Imagine how US citizens living overseas who support Palestine must feel

or anyone anywhere regardless of citizenship. Warm warm cockles.

[woo me with science]

64. kick

[Electric Monk]

66. k&r

[blackspade]

67. Who whould have thought that this would happen?

Oh, right, A lot of people.
Dragnet government surveillance? Check.
Weak and secret oversight? Check.
Bought and paid for politicians? Check.
The 'human' element? Check.
All of which equal corrupt and unconstitutional domestic spying.

[idwiyo]

68. K&R