Oddness all over the place, it seems the story has been pulled by the Guardian. Anyone who knows more?
2013/6/29 Paul Bernal (LAW) <[email protected]>: > None of this should be surprising, should it? It's a reasonable assumption > that all intelligence agencies share their data on a pretty regular basis - > certainly with 'friendly' nations, and almost certainly with others, on a > quid pro quo basis. It's always been that way. > > On 29 Jun 2013, at 21:42, "Jurre andmore" <[email protected]> wrote: > >> There was a hearing last week in Dutch parliament about PRISM. There >> was another interesting point being discussed a rumor that the TAT-14 >> cable in Katwijk was being eavesdropped. Not only is it eavesdropped, >> but data is shared with the US! >> >> Article below: >> >> Revealed: secret European deals to hand over private data to America >> >> Germany 'among countries offering intelligence' according to new >> claims by former US defence analyst >> >> >> At least six European Union countries in addition to Britain have been >> colluding with the US over the mass harvesting of personal >> communications data, according to a former contractor to America's >> National Security Agency, who said the public should not be "kept in >> the dark". >> >> Wayne Madsen, a former US navy lieutenant who first worked for theNSA >> in 1985 and over the next 12 years held several sensitive positions >> within the agency, names Denmark, the Netherlands, France, Germany, >> Spain and Italy as having secret deals with the US. >> >> Madsen said the countries had "formal second and third party status" >> under signal intelligence (Sigint) agreements that compels them to >> hand over data, including mobile phone and internet information to the >> NSA if requested. >> >> Under international intelligence agreements, confirmed by declassified >> documents, nations are categorised by the US according to their trust >> level. The US is first party while the UK, Canada, Australia and New >> Zealand enjoy second party relationships. Germany and France have >> third party relationships. >> >> In an interview published last night on the PrivacySurgeon.org blog, >> Madsen, who has been attacked for holding controversial views on >> espionage issues, said he had decided to speak out after becoming >> concerned about the "half story" told by EU politicians regarding the >> extent of the NSA's activities in Europe. >> >> He said that under the agreements, which were drawn up after the >> second world war, the "NSA gets the lion's share" of the Sigint >> "take". In return, the third parties to the NSA agreements received >> "highly sanitised intelligence". >> >> Madsen said he was alarmed at the "sanctimonious outcry" of political >> leaders who were "feigning shock" about the spying operations while >> staying silent about their own arrangements with the US, and was >> particularly concerned that senior German politicians had accused the >> UK of spying when their country had a similar third party deal with >> the NSA. >> >> Although the level of co-operation provided by other European >> countries to the NSA is not on the same scale as that provided by the >> UK, the allegations are potentially embarrassing. >> >> "I can't understand how Angela Merkel can keep a straight face, >> demanding assurances from Obama and the UK while Germany has entered >> into those exact relationships," Madsen said. >> >> The Liberal Democrat MEP Baroness Ludford, a senior member of the >> European parliament's civil liberties, justice and home affairs >> committee, said Madsen's allegations confirmed that the entire system >> for monitoring data interception was a mess, because the EU was unable >> to intervene in intelligence matters that remained the exclusive >> concern of national governments. >> >> "The intelligence agencies are exploiting these contradictions and no >> one is really holding them to account," Ludford said. "It's terribly >> undermining to liberal democracy." >> >> Madsen's disclosures have prompted calls for European governments to >> come clean on their arrangements with the NSA. "There needs to be >> transparency as to whether or not it is legal for the US or any other >> security service to interrogate private material," said John Cooper >> QC, a leading international human rights lawyer. "The problem here is >> that none of these arrangements has been debated in any democratic >> arena. I agree with William Hague that sometimes things have to be >> done in secret, but you don't break the law in secret." >> >> Madsen said all seven European countries and the US have access to the >> Tat 14 fibre-optic cable network running between Denmark and Germany, >> the Netherlands, France, the UK and the US, allowing them to intercept >> vast amounts of data, including phone calls, emails and records of >> users' access to websites. >> >> He said the public needed to be made aware of the full scale of the >> communication-sharing arrangements between European countries and the >> US, which pre-date the internet and became of strategic importance >> during the cold war. >> >> The covert relationship between the countries was first outlined in a >> 2001 report by the European parliament, but their explicit connection >> with the NSA was not publicised until Madsen decided to speak out last >> night. >> >> The European parliament's report followed revelations that the NSA was >> conducting a global intelligence-gathering operation, known as >> Echelon, which appears to have established the framework for European >> member states to collaborate with the US. >> >> "A lot of this information isn't secret, nor is it new," Madsen said. >> "It's just that governments have chosen to keep the public in the dark >> about it. The days when they could get away with a conspiracy of >> silence are over." >> >> This month another former NSA contractor, Edward Snowden, revealed to >> the Guardian previously undisclosed US programmes to monitor telephone >> and internet traffic. The NSA is alleged to have shared some of its >> data, gathered using a specialist tool called Prism, with Britain's >> GCHQ, although the British government denies any suggestion that it >> was obtained illegally. In return, GCHQ has allegedly provided huge >> amounts of data to the NSA. >> >> "The European parliament must intervene," said Simon Davies, who runs >> the Privacy Surgeon blog. "MEPs should put the interests of citizens >> above party politics and create meaningful reforms." >> >> http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/29/european-private-data-america?CMP=twt_fd >> >> -- >> With kind regards, >> >> Jurre van Bergen >> -- >> Too many emails? Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password by >> emailing moderator at [email protected] or changing your settings at >> https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech > -- > Too many emails? Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password by > emailing moderator at [email protected] or changing your settings at > https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech -- With kind regards, Jurre van Bergen -- Too many emails? Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password by emailing moderator at [email protected] or changing your settings at https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
