In the end, on this planet we are a happy atmosphere..
New revelations about the wiretaps by the Guardian.
The intelligence services of Germany, France, Spain and Sweden have implemented mass surveillance systems of telephone communications and those on the Internet in «close cooperation» with the British intelligence service GCHQ, the British newspaper «Guardian» reveals today.
The development of these systems has been over the past five years, according to the Guardian, which is based on documents it obtained from former technical advisor of the US National Security Agency (NSA) Edward Snowden, who has taken refuge in Russia.
These revelations are coming at a time when Europe and Asia are strongly reacting against the US over the massive data collection by Washington, and after Snowden's disclosure of the close cooperation between the British GCHQ and its American counterpart, the NSA.
In its 2008 report for its European partners, which the Guardian cites today, the British GCHQ states «its admiration regarding the technical capabilities» of the German intelligence service BND.
The BND has «a huge technological capability and good access to the heart of the Internet – they are already monitoring fiber optic connections with speeds of 40 gbps and 100 gbps» per second, the publication notes. In 2012, the British GCHQ was not yet able to monitor 10 gbps connections per second, the newspaper clarifies.
The «Guardian» also reports that GCHQ «played a substantive role in providing advice to its European counterparts on how they could circumvent the laws of their countries that aim to limit the surveillance capabilities of intelligence services».
«We help the BND secure a reform (…) of the highly restrictive legislation on the issue of wiretapping (communications) in Germany», the GCHQ report states, which the British newspaper cites.
The German intelligence services responded to this information of the «Gardian», noting that it is «inaccurate to say that the BND was trying to circumvent the law in order to be able to use British collection techniques». «The BND acts in accordance with the law and justice», the German intelligence services assure in their announcement.
In 2008 «there was an exchange of experiences with the British services», they continue however, clarifying that it was «primarily to raise technical issues and not legal ones». «There is regularly an exchange of experiences with the European services for technical developments», BND clarifies in its announcement.
At the same time, for the French intelligence service DGSE, which is also highlighted in the British GCHQ document, it is reported that it has «a advantage if its relationships with a telecommunications company, which is not named», are taken into account», according to the «Guardian». GCHQ «hopes to benefit from this relationship for its own operations», the newspaper adds, clarifying that GCHQ trained members of the French intelligence service (DGSE) for «multidisciplinary operations on the Internet».
At the same time, regarding Spain, the Spanish intelligence service CNI had proceeded, at least since 2008, to mass surveillance of telecommunications on the Internet through a British company, according to the publication.
The British intelligence service GCHQ also welcomes the adoption in 2008 by Sweden of a law that allows the collection of telephone and online data transmitted via fiber-optic connections.
The revelations made by Snowden since June have sparked an intense war in the US and worldwide regarding respect for individual freedoms and privacy.
Source: planet-greece.blogspot.com
