Meet the shadowy tech brokers that deliver your data to the NSA

Summary: These so-called "trusted third-parties" may be the most important tech companies you've never heard of. ZDNet reveals how these companies work as middlemen or "brokers" of customer data between ISPs and phone companies, and the U.S. government.

NEW YORK Picture two federal agents knocking at your door, ready to serve you a top secret order from the U.S. government, demanding that you hand over every shred of data you own from usernames and passwords, phone records, emails, and social networking and credit card data.

You can't tell anyone, and your only viable option is to comply.

For some U.S. Internet service providers (ISP) and phone companies, this scenario happens and often. Just one ISP hit by a broad-ranging warrant has the potential to affect the privacy of millions of Americans.

But when one Atlanta, Georgia-based Internet provider was served a top-secret data request, there wasn't a suited-and-booted federal agent in sight.

Why? Because the order was served on a so-called "trusted third-party," which handles the request, served fresh from the secretive Washington D.C.-based Foreign Intelligence Surveillance (FISA) Court. With permission from their ISP customers, these third-parties discreetly wiretap their networks at the behest of law enforcement agencies, like the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and even intelligence agencies like the National Security Agency (NSA).

By implementing these government data requests with precision and accuracy, trusted third-parties like Neustar, Subsentio, and Yaana can turn reasonable profits for their services.

Little is known about these types of companies, which act as outsourced data brokers between small and major U.S. ISPs and phone companies, and the federal government. Under the 1994 law, the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), any company considered a "communications provider" has to allow government agencies access when a valid court order is served. No matter how big or small, even companies whose legal and financial resources are limited do not escape federal wiretapping laws.

On a typical day, these trusted third-parties can handle anything from subpoenas to search warrants and court orders, demanding the transfer of a person's data to law enforcement. They are also cleared to work with classified and highly secretive FISA warrants. A single FISA order can be wide enough to force a company to turn over its entire store of customer data.

For Cbeyond, a Nasdaq stock exchange-listed ISP based in Atlanta, Georgia, data requests can be put almost entirely out of mind. The company generates more than $450 million in revenue each year and serves more than 50,000 business customers primarily small to medium-sized companies in more than a dozen U.S. states.

Continue reading here:

Meet the shadowy tech brokers that deliver your data to the NSA

Posted in NSA

Men Blaming Jennifer Lawrence & Kate Upon for Nude Pics Leak, Hate NSA Spying – Video


Men Blaming Jennifer Lawrence Kate Upon for Nude Pics Leak, Hate NSA Spying
The men who hate NSA spying blame Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Upton for leaked nude pictures http://www.theverge.com/2014/9/1/6092769/creeps http://metro.co....

By: David Pakman Show

Originally posted here:

Men Blaming Jennifer Lawrence & Kate Upon for Nude Pics Leak, Hate NSA Spying - Video

Posted in NSA

'Isis are using Snowden leaks to evade US intelligence': Former NSA boss warns terror group are exploiting massive …

Chris Inglis, NSA deputy chief during leaks, says IS 'clearly' harder to find Says they altered tactics, allowing them to operate away from gaze of U.S. He says Snowden spill went 'way beyond disclosing privacy concerns' Leaks also cover NSA's top-secret 'means and methods' of hunting enemies

By Matthew Blake for MailOnline

Published: 07:28 EST, 5 September 2014 | Updated: 07:59 EST, 5 September 2014

On the run: Snowden has been on the run from U.S. authorities since he laid bare the extent of the NSA's spying programme, particularly on internet communication, such as emails, and social media

Islamic State extremists have studied and exploited the leaks made by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden to operate under the radar of U.S. intelligence, a former agency chief has claimed.

Chris Inglis said militants in Iraq and Syria are 'clearly' harder to track down since the rogue agent made freely available a wealth of top-secret information about how the U.S. government hunts its enemies online.

The terror group, Inglis said, has drastically altered its evasive tradecraft as a result of the data spill, and now operates only in the darkest corners of the internet, where they remain one step ahead of the intelligence community.

Inglis,who was the National Security Agency's deputy director when Snowden exposed how the NSA eavesdrops, said the leak 'went way beyond disclosing things that bore on privacy concerns', and delved deep into the agency's 'means and methods' used to stay on terrorists' tails.

He told the Washington Times: 'Having disclosed all of those methods, or at least some degree of those methods, it would be impossible to imagine that - as intelligent as they are in the use of technology, in the employment of communications for their own purposes - they wouldn't understand how they might be at risk to intelligence services around the world, not the least of which is the U.S. And they necessarily do what they think is in their best interest to defend themselves.'

Snowden has been on the run from U.S. authorities since he laid bare the extent of the NSA's spying programme, with particular regard to internet communication, such as emails, and social media.

Originally posted here:

'Isis are using Snowden leaks to evade US intelligence': Former NSA boss warns terror group are exploiting massive ...

Posted in NSA

NSA HACKED COMPUTER OF WHISTLE BLOWER TO STOP ME FROM RESETTING COMPUTER – Video


NSA HACKED COMPUTER OF WHISTLE BLOWER TO STOP ME FROM RESETTING COMPUTER
CIA/DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE OPERATIVES NOW PREVENTING ME FROM RESETTING REFRESHING MY COMPUTER BECAUSE WHEN YOU DO THIS IT THROWS OUT ALL OF THEIR MALWARE, KEYLOGGERS, ETC., AND THEY HAVE TO...

By: Bryan Tew

Original post:

NSA HACKED COMPUTER OF WHISTLE BLOWER TO STOP ME FROM RESETTING COMPUTER - Video

Posted in NSA

NSA: Pictures, Videos, Breaking News – The Huffington Post

There is no doubt that the Visa Waiver Program merits a national discussion free from partisan politics. Terrorists have already used the VWP to gain access to soft targets. Whether additional security measures would have prevented their entry is the $64 million question.

Recent U.S. history paints a clear picture of abuses by law enforcement and intelligence agencies, often with the approval of politicians. Despite paternalistic assurances that Americans have no reason to fear their own government, caution is warranted.

T.A. Ridout

Global Politics, Economics, and Society from an American Perspective

In his latest article for The Intercept, Glenn Greenwald takes a highly critical look at a story by NPR's counterterrorism correspondent, Dina Temple-Raston, which aired on Morning Edition earlier this month.

Democracy Now!

Independent, weekday news hour, anchored by award-winning journalists Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzlez

co-authored by Tom Malatesta, CEO, Ziklag Systems For those focused on the subject matter, yesterday's Tweet fest from TeamAndIRC and Blackphone was ...

See the original post:

NSA: Pictures, Videos, Breaking News - The Huffington Post

Posted in NSA

Former NSA Chief Says JPMorgan Hack May Be a Warning

Sept. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Gen. Keith Alexander (Ret.), former director of the NSA, comments on the escalating situation in Ukraine. He speaks with Trish Regan on "Street Smart." (Source: Bloomberg)

Hackers who stole gigabytes of data from JPMorgan Chase & Co. may have been trying to send a message that U.S. financial institutions can be disrupted, the former director of the National Security Agency said.

The FBI is investigating the cyberattack on JPMorgan and whether other banks were penetrated in retaliation for U.S.- backed sanctions on Russia, according to people familiar with the investigation who asked not to be identified because the probe is still underway.

Graphic: Data Breaches in the U.S.

Keith Alexander, the NSA director from 2005 until last March, said he had no direct knowledge of the attack though it could have been backed by the Russian government in response to sanctions imposed by the U.S. and EU over the crisis in Ukraine.

Securing the Net

How would you shake the United States back? Attack a bank in cyberspace, said Alexander, a retired U.S. Army general who has started his own cybersecurity company to sell services to U.S. banks. If it was them, they just sent a real message: Youre vulnerable.

As NSA chief and head of the U.S. Cyber Command, Alexander tracked and tried to thwart international hackers, giving him knowledge of their tactics. He was head of the NSA in 2008 when the country of Georgia was invaded by Russia and experienced a series of disruptive cyberattacks believed to be the work of Russian hackers.

Keith Alexander, former director of the National Security Agency and former commander of U.S. Cyber Command, speaks during a Bloomberg Television interview in Washington, on June 3, 2014. Close

Keith Alexander, former director of the National Security Agency and former commander... Read More

Read the original post:

Former NSA Chief Says JPMorgan Hack May Be a Warning

Posted in NSA

Judges raise privacy concerns about NSA tactics

A panel of federal judges voiced significant concerns Tuesday about the privacy implications of NSA surveillance tactics during a wide-ranging hearing on a legal challenge brought by the ACLU.

In an oral argument that was set for less than 30 minutes and lasted nearly two hours, three judges on a panel hearing the case at the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan probed claims by the ACLU that the federal government's collection of data relating to "every phone call made or received by residents of the United States" is illegal and unconstitutional.

The ACLU appeal challenged a lower courts decision to uphold the NSA's mass bulk data collection of phone records.

Judges Gerard Lynch and Vernon Broderick were appointed by President Obama. Judge Robert Sack was appointed by President Clinton. At some point, each expressed significant concern about the privacy implications of allowing the federal government broad access to a wide range of information without any specific suspicion of wrongdoing.

Assistant Attorney General Stuart Delery first argued that federal courts do not have jurisdiction to review disputes regarding the NSA program. In addition, Delery argued the program is constitutional and has been repeatedly renewed by Congress.

Lynch asked how well briefed members of Congress were before voting, and questioned how much they understood about the program. At one point, Sack chimed in, "We don't know what we don't know"about NSA operations.

Lynch and Broderick both questioned why the government's justification for the bulk phone data collection program would not also extend to bank records, credit card transactions and other personal data. Lynch asked if the government's argument would not also entitle it to access "every American's everything."

Both sides acknowledged that President Obama has publicly stated that there are other ways to get the relevant intelligence, short of the sweeping NSA bulk data collection program that now exists.

That prompted Lynch to ask, if that was the case, why government attorneys were there to argue otherwise.

The panel also discussed the need for federal agencies such as the FBI and NSA to be able to move quickly when connecting dots on the intelligence landscape, acknowledging that having bulk data already at its disposal would speed the process.

Go here to see the original:

Judges raise privacy concerns about NSA tactics

Posted in NSA

NSA Surveillance: Supreme Court Could Debate Data Collection Program After ACLU Lawsuit

The U.S. Supreme Court could soon be asked to decide the constitutionality of the federal government'smassive data collection of phone records after two lawsuits challenging the National Security Agency's controversial surveillance program have begun to inch forward in federal circuit court for the first time. The American Civil Liberties Union and other privacy rights groups have denounced the NSA'sdata collection program, first revealed by former contractor Edward Snowden last summer.

"The phone-records program under which the NSA collects a record of the calls made by millions of Americans every single day is perhaps the most sweeping surveillance operation ever directed against the American public by our government," Alex Abdo, an ACLU staff attorney, said in astatementTuesday. "It raises profound questions about the role of government in a democracy and about the future of privacy in the digital era. And it threatens our constitutional rights in ways unimaginable by the founders of our country."

The NSA stores information about calls received and made on major U.S. telephone networks, including the time and length of the calls. The government claims it uses the information to track terrorist suspects.

ACLU lawyers called the surveillance program unconstitutional Tuesday in an oral argument before theSecond U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York. The DC Circuit Court is set to hear arguments in a similar case on Nov. 4. The surveillance program has previously been debated in district courts. An appeal in either circuit court case could come before the Supreme Court.

The U.S. government argued in court papers that the ACLU and other groups suing over the data collection program lack legal standing because they cant show their telephone data was reviewed by the NSA. The ACLU lawsuit was filed in June 2013, days after Snowden disclosed the program.

Members in both houses of Congress have proposed laws to overhaul the data collection program,but they are unlikely to be acted on this year, said the Wall Street Journal.

Continued here:

NSA Surveillance: Supreme Court Could Debate Data Collection Program After ACLU Lawsuit

Posted in NSA