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Snowden Document Shows Canada Set Up Spy Posts For NSA

Posted by Unknown on from the not-you-guys-too dept.

An anonymous reader writes with news that even Canada is getting its hands dirty in the international dragnet fiasco. From the article: "The leaked NSA document being reported exclusively by CBC News reveals Canada is involved with the huge American intelligence agency in clandestine surveillance activities in 'approximately 20 high-priority countries.' ... Wesley Wark, a Canadian security and intelligence expert at the University of Ottawa, says the document makes it clear Canada can take advantage of its relatively benign image internationally to covertly amass a vast amount of information abroad. 'I think we still trade on a degree of an international brand as an innocent partner in the international sphere,' Wark said. 'There's not that much known about Canadian intelligence.'"

8 of 177 comments (clear)

  1. Enough by Joce640k · · Score: 4, Interesting

    They can't be trusted. Obama's unspecified "checks and balances" aren't working. Time to start encrypting everything by default.

    --
    No sig today...
    1. Re:Enough by DarkOx · · Score: 5, Interesting

      No the problems start at the top, Senators, Presidents, powerful Congressmen, generals. The problem is the system has no way to deal with them because at those levels it basically depends on the punishing themselves and they have learned to circle the wagons when the people get riled up.

      The only option is to target their enablers, folks like clapper. If enough political pressure can be brought to bear and you give them the option to toss someone like Clapper under the bus along with a few low level admin types like snowdens coworkers who broke some rule somewhere some time they will.

      Do this often enough and they won't be able to find these facilitators who are willing to go a long with what they know to unethical, immoral, illegal or some combination there of because they will also know that when it comes to light and it will someday, it's going to be them that pays for it.

      --
      Repeal the 17th Amendment TODAY! Also Please Read http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html
    2. Re:Enough by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I disagree. I think if we executed a few Senators, Congressmen and lobbyists in the public square we would see a significant change in their behavior and the laws that are passed.

      The thought of being hanged, then drawn & quartered and then having your pieces parts burned at the stake will motivate enough lawmakers to change things.

    3. Re:Enough by smpoole7 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      > PS: If you're a terrorist reading this ...

      I'm NOT defending the NSA, but remember that this type of communication requires ... communication. In other words, you have to arrange in advance that the phrase "the chair is purple" means "proceed to site B." The US Government's plan has been to

      (a) freeze the assets of the terrorists so that they're constantly strapped for cash
      (b) via drone strikes and etc., make it clear that when they DO try to meet to arrange things, they'll possibly be blown up
      (c) look at every single communication between the groups when they DO try to arrange things.

      That's their plan, anyway. But anyone with any sense at all should have known that, once all of that surveillance was in place, it would be abused. As it has been.

      Counter argument: if the government had *allowed* details of the surveillance to leak, it might deter the terrorists. Kind of like during the Cold War, the US and Soviets *wanted* each side to at least have a rough idea of their capabilities, to further discourage anyone with an itchy finger on the Big Red Button.

      But the truth is, intelligence agencies want to know everything. Absolutely everything. It's just like a dog licking his privates: if he can, he will. Likewise, if they can monitor everything you do, they will. They can't resist it.

      --
      Cogito, igitur comedam pizza.
  2. Re:Old News by OptimalCynic · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Yeah, I don't see why there's so much shock. "US ally assists US spy agency in spying." Wow. My flabber is truly gasted.

  3. Re:Old News by EasyTarget · · Score: 4, Interesting

    .. common knowledge for quite a long time

    If I had asserted it in public prior to the Snowdon leaks, anonymous apologists would have popped up saying: 'Where is your proof'.
    Now we have that proof the same anonymous apologists are saying it was: 'Common knowledge'.
    Hummm.

    --
    "Oops, I always forget the purpose of competition is to divide people into winners and losers." - Hobbes
  4. Re:Old News by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    There's been proof before, just Snowden's expose AND the US Gov's reaction to it made it more obvious.
    http://www.heise.de/tp/artikel/2/2889/1.html
    http://cryptome.org/jya/echelon-dc.htm
    http://cryptome.org/echelon-baby.htm

  5. Re:Old News by Xest · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Not just US ally, Canada is one of the five-eyes group of nations (US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand). It's pretty well established that these nations security services all work together in unison on just about everything now.

    I'd wager given the status of five-eyes that New Zealand similarly uses it's benign image to spy where the US/UK can't get away with it on their behalf.