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NSA Waits Until Christmas Eve to Reveal a Decade #39;s Worth of Its Mistakes
The National Security Agency went all out on a Christmas gift this year: a decade #39;s worth of declassified documents on the unauthorized surveillance of Americans. Turns out it #39;s the NSA that...

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NSA Waits Until Christmas Eve to Reveal a Decade's Worth of Its Mistakes - Video

WASHINGTON, Dec. 26 (UPI) -- The National Security Administration released a report on a decade's worth of privacy violations -- on Christmas Eve.

The agency posted the report to comply with a Freedom of Information Act request by the American Civil Liberties Union. It includes redacted reports to the president's Intelligence Oversight Board from the fourth quarter of 2001, when surveillance increased because of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, to the second quarter of 2013.

The breaches include deliberate misuse of NSA surveillance capabilities by staffers who wanted to spy on spouses or lovers. But the agency said most violations of privacy were the result of unintentional mistakes.

In a statement, the NSA said the dozen or so cases of deliberate violations had been reported to the board and the Justice Department. There are also instances of data on U.S. citizens being stored on unsecured computers and of data that was supposed to be destroyed being kept.

"These materials show, over a sustained period of time, the depth and rigor of NSA's commitment to compliance," the statement said. "By emphasizing accountability across all levels of the enterprise, and transparently reporting errors and violations to outside oversight authorities, NSA protects privacy and civil liberties while safeguarding the nation and our allies."

Patrick Toomey, a lawyer with the ACLU's National Security Project, said the reports show "an urgent need for greater oversight by all three branches of government."

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NSA releases report on privacy violations -- on Christmas Eve

The National Security Agency released documents on Christmas Eve revealing surveillance activities that may have violated the law for U.S. policy over more than a decade, reports David Lerman at Bloomberg.

Compelled by an ACLU FOIA request, the agency published 12 years of quarterly reports that were created for the Presidents Intelligence Oversight Board between 2001 and mid-2013.

The reports are heavily redacted but include details of intentional and unintentional misuse of the NSAs signals intelligence gathering systems.

The reports detail unauthorized signals intelligence gathering that included data about U.S. citizens, unauthorized personnel using the intelligence gathering systems and abuses of the NSAs spying tools for personal use. NSA signals intelligence includes phone call metadata gathered through the NSAs links to telecommunications companies, as well as much more granular communications scooped up by the agencys electronic spy network. There are also several references to employees failing to complete required refresher training on signals intelligence systems.

In many instances, NSA employees ran poorly constructed or unauthorized queries in the NSA systems, and ended up gathering data on U.S. citizens or unintended targets. In most of these cases the data was then destroyed.

In one case, detailed in the third quarter of 2007, an NSA instructor ran an unauthorized search during a training session:

Lerman also reports on instances of NSA systems misuse that were already publicly known:

Those cases included a member of a U.S. military intelligence unit who violated policy by obtaining the communications of his wife, who was stationed in another country. After a military proceeding, the violator was punished by a reduction in rank, 45 days of extra duty and forfeiture of half of his pay for two months, according to the letter.

In a 2003 case, a civilian employee ordered intelligence collection of the telephone number of his foreign-national girlfriend without an authorized purpose for approximately one month to determine whether she was being faithful to him, according to the letter. The employee retired before an investigation could be completed.

In August, 2013, Judy Woodruff spoke with former NSA analyst Russell Tice who said the agency collects every domestic communication, word for word.

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NSA releases 12 years of damaging oversight reports on Christmas Eve

Published December 26, 2014

The National Security Agency has released heavily redacted accounts of its employees violations against Americans privacy after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.

Responding to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, the agency was required to file the reports with the Intelligence Oversight Board, the Wall Street Journal reports. However, the reports were released publicly Wednesday, covering activities from 2001-2013.

By emphasizing accountability across all levels of the enterprise, and transparently reporting errors and violations to outside oversight authorities, NSA protects privacy and civil liberties while safeguarding the nation and our allies, the agency said in a statement.

The reports show violations including communications from people in the U.S. being inadvertently targeted or collected by the agency. Some of the violations resemble the disclosures of NSA programs by Edward Snowden.

The report cites incidents of poorly constructed data queries that targeted Americans, improper handling of data and information used improperly.

Some incidents showed how a U.S. Army sergeant used an NSA system to target his wife, which led to a reduction in rank and further punishment.

The NSA says the reports involve human error and intentional misuse of the intelligence system.

The agency reaffirmed that appropriate disciplinary or administrative action was taken.

Click for more from the Wall Street Journal.

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Report: NSA releases accounts of privacy violations

The National Security Agency (NSA) on Christmas Eve released a grip of compliance reports that detail its own admitted failures to always operate inside the orbit of the law.

The reports spanned a 12 year period, from 2001 to 2013.According to the agency, Executive Order 12333 a controversial Regan-era law requires the NSA to detail and report intelligence activities they have reason to believe may be unlawful or contrary to Executive Order or Presidential Directive.

The reports, released in response to a Freedom of Information Act suit from the American Civil Liberties Union, are heavily redacted. That said, they still contain a wealth of information about what sort of errors the NSA makes, both on purpose and not. The language is, naturally, quite dry, but there is still much to glean from the reports, including what sort of compliance issues the NSA encounters, how often, and the mix between accidental, and willful issues.

You can find the whole trove here. For quick reference, Ive selected a few highlights from just the 2012 reports, which I think are illustrative of the overall tone of the other documents. Of course, nothing can beat a full reading on your own, which TechCrunch fully recommends.

First up, The Analyst Who NSAdHimself:

This is not a rare occurrence, however, and appears to be something of a running prank among analysts:

It seems to happen a lot!

A lot, a lot!

Read more here:
In Holiday Document Dump, NSA Declassifies Compliance Errors