Slashdot Mirror


Ex AT&T Tech Says NSA Monitors All Web Traffic

Sir Tandeth writes "A former technician at AT&T, who alleges that the telecom giant forwards virtually all of its internet traffic into a 'secret room' to facilitate government spying, says the whole operation reminds him of something out of Orwell's 1984. Appearing on MSNBC's Countdown program, whistleblower Mark Klein told Keith Olbermann that all Internet traffic passing over AT&T lines was copied into a locked room at the company's San Francisco office — to which only employees with National Security Agency clearance had access. 'Klein was on Capitol Hill Wednesday attempting to convince lawmakers not to give a blanket, retroactive immunity to telecom companies for their secret cooperation with the government. He said that as an AT&T technician overseeing Internet operations in San Francisco, he helped maintain optical splitters that diverted data en route to and from AT&T customers. '"

13 of 566 comments (clear)

  1. New meaning to the phrase... by NotQuiteReal · · Score: 4, Funny

    Come take a drink from the firehose!

    --
    This issue is a bit more complicated than you think.
  2. Whoa by yamamushi · · Score: 5, Funny

    Thats a LOT of porn!

    --
    - Aetheral Research -
    1. Re:Whoa by HerrEkberg · · Score: 3, Funny

      Why did you think the room is locked?

  3. Re:I've read about this before. by PhreakinPenguin · · Score: 4, Funny

    So if I post 4 images of the EXTERIOR of the main AT&T building, can I get modded informative too?

    --


    My sig of choice is Marlboro
  4. It's like some bad Soviet Russia joke... by Overzeetop · · Score: 5, Funny

    ..but with extra "bad" and no "joke".

    --
    Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
  5. Olbermann? by MarsDefenseMinister · · Score: 3, Funny

    Come on, that Countdown program is just about as biased left as you can get. I guess bias for the liberal side is called news, and bias for conservatives is an outrage, requiring an attack dog like Media Matters. It's a good thing that Fox News exists, or there would be no conservative voices in the media at all.

    --
    No weapon in the arsenals of the world is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men.-Ronald Reagan
  6. Re:"All" internet traffic? by truthsearch · · Score: 5, Funny

    If only there were some device which could look at each packet that's passed through it and determine where to send it... To route the packets, if you will...

  7. Re:I've read about this before. by Luke+Dawson · · Score: 5, Funny

    As bills get passed to erode the freedom of American's, I'm watching the US slowly descend into totalitarianism.
    Actually, it's a really clever way of defeating terrorism, one that the terrorists will never catch on to! You see, since they hate us for our freedom, if we eliminate all of these pesky freedoms, the terrorists will have nothing to hate us for anymore! See, it makes perfect sense :)
  8. Re:I've read about this before. by j_166 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Leprechauns?

  9. Re:Shameful by Stanislav_J · · Score: 3, Funny

    The NSA does not care about monitoring geeks in their Mom's basement.

    Except maybe on breaks, when they need a good laugh...
    --
    "Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket." -- Eric Hoffer
  10. Culture warior... by WallaceAndGromit · · Score: 4, Funny

    There are religious maniacs out there that hate our culture...

    What, like this one?

    --
    Name: Mr. Anon E Mouse; SSN: 555-55-5555
  11. Re:I've read about this before. by porkchop_d_clown · · Score: 5, Funny

    Oh yeah? Go take pictures of important buildings in the middle of the day across town and see if you don't get questioned by the police after a few hours? If it takes you a couple of hours to take pictures of the outside of the building, I would expect the police to pick you up. And give you a breathalizer, a drug test and to check if you were an escapee from the Home For The Easily Bewildered.
  12. Re:I've read about this before. by eli+pabst · · Score: 3, Funny

    Bin Laden has actually flat out said on at least 2 tapes that the US could avoid being attacked again if we converted to Islam. You can think whatever you like, but that is straight from the horses mouth.