spying on G-20 delegates?
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Britain tried to spy on G-20 delegates in 2009, the Guardian reports
The report was published a day before the G-8 summit in Northern
Ireland
It's the latest revelation based on documents from NSA leaker
Edward Snowden
Senator questions whether NSA surveillance is "an American
approach"
(CNN) -- Britain's electronic intelligence agency monitored delegates'
phones and tried to capture their passwords during an economic
summit held there in 2009, the Guardian newspaper reported Sunday.
The targets included British allies such as Turkey and South Africa, the
newspaper reported. The Guardian cited documents provided by
Edward Snowden, the American computer analyst now spilling secrets
of the U.S. intelligence community.
The latest report was published on the eve of another economic
summit hosted by the British government -- the Group of Eight
economic summit in Northern Ireland. According to the newspaper,
the documents show that the British signals intelligence agency GCHQ
used "ground-breaking intelligence capabilities" to intercept calls made
by members of the larger G-20 conference delegations at meetings in
London.
Notable leakers and whistleblowers
NSA whistleblower: Hero or traitor?
Rep.: NSA isn't listening to your calls
Hong Kong rallies to support NSA leaker
Analysts received round-the-clock summaries of calls that were being
made, and GCHQ set up Internet cafes for delegates in hopes of
intercepting e-mails and capturing keystrokes, the Guardian reported.
One briefing slide explained that would give intelligence agencies the
ability to read delegates' e-mails "before/as they do," providing
"sustained intelligence options against them even after conference has
finished."
Bigger threat: Snowden or NSA?
GCHQ is Britain's equivalent of the National Security Agency, the
highly secretive U.S. communications intelligence service. The
Guardian reported that the NSA had attempted to eavesdrop on then-
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev during the conference as his
phone calls passed through satellite links to Moscow and briefed its
British counterparts on the effects.
Snowden, 29, worked for the NSA through a private contractor firm
until May, when he decamped to Hong Kong. He went public a week
ago as the source of articles by the Guardian and The Washington Post,
saying the NSA's efforts posed "an existential threat to democracy."
Shawn Turner, a spokesman for the Office of the Director of National
Intelligence, said Sunday he was aware of the Guardian's latest report
but declined to comment on it.
"What we should be focused on is how irresponsible and egregious
these recent leaks are," he told CNN. "It's impossible to know exactly
how much damage is being done by these disclosures, but they will
have an effect on our counterterrorism efforts."
Snowden's revelations about the NSA's collection of millions of records
from U.S. telecommunications and technology firms have led to a
furious debate within the United States about the scale and scope of
surveillance programs that date to the days after the 2001 al Qaeda
attacks on New York and Washington. Defenders say the programs --
approved by Congress after a warrantless surveillance effort under the
Bush administration was revealed in 2005 -- have protected American
lives by helping agents break up terrorism plots.
Cheney defends NSA, calls Obama's credibility 'nonexistent'
Sharing secrets: U.S. intelligence leaks
Guardian columnist defends role
Declassified: Behind security clearance
Facebook admits role in NSA surveillance
Retired Gen. Michael Hayden, a former NSA director, told CNN's
Fareed Zakaria GPS that what the agency collects are "essentially
billing records" that detail the time, duration and number of a phone
call. The records are added to a database that agents can query in
cases involving a terror investigation overseas, and agents can't
eavesdrop on Americans' calls without an order from a secret court
that handles intelligence matters, he said.
If a phone number related to that investigation has links to a domestic
phone number, "We've got to go back to the court," he said.
But critics such as Sen. Mark Udall, a member of the Senate
Intelligence Committee, had raised questions about the scale of the
program even before Snowden's leak. Udall told NBC's "Meet the
Press" on Sunday that he doesn't believe the program is making
Americans any safer, "and I think it's ultimately, perhaps, a violation
of the Fourth Amendment."
"I think we owe it to the American people to have a fulsome debate in
the open about the extent of these programs," said Udall, D-Colorado.
"You have a law that's been interpreted secretly by a secret court that
then issues secret orders to generate a secret program. I just don't
think this is an American approach to a world in which we have great
threats."
But President Barack Obama does not feel that he has violated the
privacy of any American, his chief of staff, Denis McDonough, told
CBS' "Face the Nation." McDonough said the president will discuss the
need to "find the right balance, especially in this new situation where
we find ourselves with all of us reliant on Internet, on e-mail, on
texting."
Shortly after the stories broke, Obama publicly defended the NSA
programs as "modest encroachments on privacy" that help prevent
terrorism.



source:::http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/16/world/europe/nsa-leaks/index.html

USA: Saints. In the spotlight on stage, devils backstage.