Explosive new material on NZ spies involvement with NSA

When I asked my partner if there was any important news this morning she replied that this was top of the headlines at 4 am this morning. 

By the time morning report came along it was buried under stories like this bit of a govenment propaganda  - parties hint at tax cuts in election campaign. 

Meanwhile in the press media it's there also on a " find it if you can" basis. While we're being told that we might, or might have, (it's all put in the past tense for some reason) the top headlines in the New Zealand Herald are " Kiwi prices among the highest in the world"

Lesson: don't worry about giving up your freedom so long as you can get your iPad and Coca Cola for bargain prices - even as you get done out of your livelihood. Go back to sleep!

Snowden docs: GCSB links to US spying programmes

New documents released by whistleblower Edward Snowden show New Zealand's GCSB closely enmeshed with some of the most controversial parts of the United States' spying apparatus.

David Fisher

NZ Herald,

14 May, 2014

The documents were released with journalist Glenn Greenwald's new book No Place To Hide, which tells the story of Snowden's National Security Agency disclosures and what they mean.

Among the documents are a cluster relating to New Zealand which show:
* our GCSB spies were shown instructional slides on how to operate the X-Keyscore surveillance program which trawls mass harvested email addresses, phone numbers, online chat, web-based email and attachments sent;

* they were privy to diplomatic espionage by other Five Eyes partners, including spying which was Canadian spies capturing the emails, text messages and phone calls between the Brazilian president and her aides;

* they were briefed on the NSA's efforts to deliberately put backdoors into private companies' computer networks;

* and the were given access to a program called "Homing Pigeon" which allowed in-air communications on passenger jets to be monitored.

One NSA document tells New Zealand and its other "Five Eyes" intelligence partners the ambition is to "know it all", "collect it all", "exploit it all" and "partner it all".

The details were in a slide presented at a Five Eyes conference in 2011, released with journalist Glenn Greenwald's new book No Place To Hide.

He also released another NSA slide detailing new invasive techniques, in which it stated the spy agency was "one step closer to 'collecting it all"'.

The no-limits approach by the NSA is reflected locally in details released to the Herald through the Official Information Act.

Excerpts of a "GCSB Strategy" from 2008 stated "complete mastery of the internet (even if we take this to mean just the internet) is a Nirvana that everyone is working towards".

The document stated it was "an almost impossible vision" but one which was "intended to stretch the organisation".

At the time the GCSB had given itself the vision statement "Mastery of the Cyberspace for the Security of New Zealand". In March last year, as it prepared to release details showing the GCSB had illegally spied on Kiwis, it changed the statement to the less confrontational "Guardianship of the Security of New Zealand".

In his book, Mr Greenwald said "Five Eyes members share most of their surveillance activities and meet each year at a Signal Development conference where they boast of their expansion and the prior year's successes".

The description - and the NSA's desire to "partner it all" - clash with previous comments by Mr Key, who had previously claimed there was limited sharing.
"We share information in isolated cases about New Zealanders with our partners, and we do that when there's a really good reason to do that."

A spokeswoman for Mr Key said "we do not comment on matters of intelligence or national security, but as the Prime Minister has stated in the past, we do not carry out wholesale collection of metadata".

The spokeswoman said the GCSB acted within the law. "The PM does not comment on the GCSB's capabilities or operational activity."

Green co-leader Russel Norman said the Prime Minister's refusal to talk about how spies worked meant the public could not judge the extent of the intrusion.
"You have to talk about the tools that are used to understand the sort of mass surveillance intelligence agencies are engaged in.

"The reason the Prime Minister doesn't want to talk about it and says it operational is because everyone will realise what's going on and then the game is up."

NSA tells NZ spies: 'Sniff it all'

Documents released by US whistle blower Edward Snowden allegedly show New Zealand links to mass surveillance from overseas spy agencies, a new book on his revelations show.

Stuff,

15 May, 2014

The documents were published in journalist Glenn Greenwald’s book, No Place to Hide, which tells the story of Snowden’s disclosures.

Links between NZ and NSA have been revealed before, when Snowden said last year that NZ was involved in mass spying. The New Zealand Government

One NSA document told New Zealand’s security services and those of other Five Eyes nations to "sniff it all, know it all, collect it all, process it all and exploit it all".

The Five Eyes is a spying alliance between New Zealand, Britain, Canada, Australia and the United States.

A slideshow showed Government Communications Security Bureau spies how to operate a system that trawled through massive amounts of phone numbers, email addresses and online chat.

Other files state New Zealand was forwarded intercepted phone calls, texts and emails between the Brazilian president and her staff.

GCSB was also briefed on NSA’s efforts to put back doors into private companies’ computer networks, and given access to a program called “Homing Pigeon” which allowed in-air passenger jet conversations to be monitored, according to the book.

Spy boss Ian Fletcher last week refused to confirm if Snowden had files relating to New Zealand and if so, what they contained.

Prime Minister John Key has earlier said he had no concerns about Snowden's revelations, and that they would not challeged the integrity of GCSB.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that in 2011 the top secret Australian Signals Directorate "explicitly pleaded" with the NSA to "extend" their intelligence partnership and subject Australian citizens to greater surveillance.

The Australian spies and NSA worked together to collect intelligence resulting in the arrest of one of the terrorists responsible for the 2002 Bali bombings. Umar Patek was captured in January 2011.

The following month Australia asked to extend its partnership with the NSA.

Greenwald's book did not reveal the answer to this request, but the SMH said it was likely such co-operation had increased in the contact of the concerns about Australians who have travelled to fight in the Syrian civil war.

There's a bit more about this in Australia

Australian spies sought US assistance to listen in on Australian citizens

Documents released by US whistle blower Edward Snowden allegedly show New Zealand links to mass surveillance from overseas spy agencies, a new book on his revelations show.

SMH,

15 May, 2014

Australia's electronic espionage agency sought the help of American spies to monitor the communications of Australian citizens suspected of terrorist connections, according to a new book by American journalist Glenn Greenwald.

Drawing on documents provided by former United States intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, Mr Greenwald has revealed that in 2011 the top secret Australian Signals Directorate "explicitly pleaded" with the US National Security agency to "extend" their intelligence partnership and subject Australian citizens to greater surveillance.

The newly released documents also show that the Australian Signals Directorate and the National Security Agency worked together to collect intelligence resulting in the arrest of one of the terrorists responsible for the 2002 Bali bombings.

Mr Greenwald's new book has previously undisclosed documents from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden in it.

In a February 2011 letter reported in Mr Greenwald's newly published book, No Place to Hide, the acting director of the Australian Signals Directorate, then known as the Defence Signals Directorate, wrote to the National Security Agency seeking assistance to targeting the communications of "home grown" terrorists "active both abroad and within Australia".

"While we have invested significant analytic and collection effort of our own to find and exploit these communications", the letter states, "the difficulties we face in obtaining regular and reliable access to such communications impacts on our ability to detect and prevent terrorist acts and diminishes our capacity to protect the life and safety of Australian citizens and those of our close friends and allies".

"We have enjoyed a long and very productive partnership with NSA in obtaining minimised access to United States warranted collection against our highest value terrorist targets in Indonesia. This access has been critical to DSD's efforts to disrupt and contain the operational capabilities of terrorists in our region as highlighted by the recent arrest of fugitive Bali bomber Umar Patek."

Mr Greenwald's new book.

Umar Patek was captured by Pakisanti security forces in Abbotabad, in January 2011. He was extradited to Indonesia in August 2011 and in June 2012 was convicted and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for involvement in the 2002 Bali bombings as well as terrorist attacks against churches in Indonesia two years earlier.

In February 2011 the Australian Signals Directorate asked to extend its "partnership" with NSA "to cover the increasing number of Australians involved in international terrorist activities – in particular Australians involves with AQAP (Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula)".

A leaked US Embassy cable published by WikiLeaks that revealed in early 2010 the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation recommended 23 Australians suspected of terrorism links for inclusion on US no-fly and border-control watch lists. Nine of the 23 people listed were overseas and most were alleged to be associated with AQAP.

The Australian Signals Directorate is allowed with ministerial authorisation to collect intelligence relating to Australian citizens overseas if they are suspected of involvement with terrorist activities, espionage, arms trafficking or serious crime.

In a recent public talk to the Law Society of NSW, Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security Vivien Thom said that Australia's spy agencies couldn't access intelligence collected by foreign partners, such as the National Security Agency, unless accessing such data would be authorised in Australia. However she emphasised that intelligence sharing was allowed subject to "limits and boundaries" which her office monitored.

Mr Greenwald's book does not reveal whether the National Security Agency agreed to the February 2011 request for assistance in intercepting the communications of Australian citizens overseas, though it is likely such cooperation has increased in the context of current concerns about Australians who have travelled to fight in the Syrian civil war.

In a speech in Washington last month, Attorney-General George Brandis hit out at Edward Snowdon as a "traitor" for disclosing details of US and allied capabilities, and called for continued intelligence co-operation between the "5-eyes" partners – the US, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand – in the "post-Snowdon environment".

"That collaboration must continue unaffected by the Snowden

Aussie intelligence requested US help to spy on own citizens

RT,

14 May, 2014

The Australian intelligence agency asked for US help to spy more effectively on Australian citizens suspected of terrorist activities in Indonesia, according to documents published by Glen Greenwald in his book based on Edward Snowden’s leaks.

The extract was published by the British newspaper, The Guardian, as part of a promotion for the book, which is published on Tuesday.

The extract comes from a February-21, 2011 letter from the acting deputy director of the Australian intelligence agency, Defense Signals Directorate (DSD), which has since been renamed the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD).

The letter, which was sent to the NSA, mentioned DSD’s difficulties in obtaining “regular and reliable access” to communication data related to terrorist activities through their own effort.

“We have enjoyed a long and very productive partnership with the NSA in obtaining minimized access to US warranted collection against our highest value terrorist targets in Indonesia,” the letter said. "This access has been critical of DSD’s efforts to disrupt and contain the operational capabilities of terrorists in our region, as highlighted by the recent arrest of fugitive Bali bomber, Umar Patek.”

Patek was an Indonesian member of the terrorist organization, Jemaah Islamiyah. He was arrested in January 2011 for the role he played in the 2002 Bali bombings, which claimed 202 lives, including 88 Australians. Patek was sentenced to 20 years in jail in June 2012.

“We would very much welcome the opportunity to extend that partnership with NSA to cover the increasing number of Australians involved in international extremist activities – in particular Australians involved with AQAP,” the extract said, as cited by the newspaper.

AQAP stands for Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, a branch of the international terrorist network.

Australia is part of the so-called Five Eyes agreement on intelligence sharing together with the US, Canada, the UK and New Zealand. Previous publications based on documents leaked by Snowden showed that DSD offered sharing its the electronic communications metadata of Australian citizens it collected with its Five Eyes partners. It also targeted Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, his ministers, advisers and even his wife, in efforts to monitor their mobile phone communications.

Meanwhile in Canada and the UK

NSA Gave Canada Money For Surveillance Program

British Spy Chiefs Secretly Begged to Play in NSA’s Data Pools

To release his new book, "No Place to Hide" Glenn Greenwald gave an hour-long interview to Democracy Now!

Glenn Greenwald: U.S. Corporate Media is "Neutered, Impotent and Obsolete"

Democracy Now!

In the final part of our extended interview, Glenn Greenwald reflects on the Pulitzer Prize, adversarial journalism and the corporate media’s response to his reporting on Edward Snowden’s leaked National Security Agency documents. "We knew that once we started publishing not one or two stories, but dozens of stories … that not just the government, but even fellow journalists were going to start to look at what we were doing with increasing levels of hostility and to start to say, 'This doesn't actually seem like journalism anymore,’ because it’s not the kind of journalism that they do," Greenwald says. "It doesn’t abide by these unspoken rules that are designed to protect the government."

"Right Out of a Spy Movie": Glenn Greenwald on First Secret Meeting with NSA Leaker Edward Snowden

In part two of our extended interview, journalist Glenn Greenwald tells the inside story of meeting National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden. Greenwald and filmmaker Laura Poitras were the journalists who first met Snowden in Hong Kong last June, going on to publish a series of disclosures that exposed massive NSA surveillance to the world. Greenwald has just come out with a new book on the Snowden leaks and their fallout, "No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State." Recalling his first encounter with Snowden, Greenwald says: "The big question was: How are we going to know that it’s you? We know nothing about you. We don’t know how old you are, what you look like or what your race is or even your gender. And he said, ’You’ll know me because I’ll be holding in my left hand a Rubik’s cube.’ And so, he walked in, was holding a Rubik’s cube, came over to us, introduced himself, and that was how we met him."