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NSA Targeted 106,000 Foreigners In Spy Program Up For Renewal (bloomberg.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the tools-of-the-job dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: The U.S. National Security Agency conducted targeted surveillance over the past year against 106,000 foreigners suspected of being involved in terrorism and other crimes, using powers granted in a controversial section of law that's set to expire at the end of this year. The number of foreigners targeted under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act rose from 94,000 in fiscal year 2015, according to U.S. intelligence officials, who asked not to be identified discussing the information. The program lets agencies collect the content of emails and other communications from suspected foreign criminals operating outside the U.S., but it has become a flash point with some lawmakers for potential infringement of Americans' constitutional rights. Congress has to decide by year-end whether to renew the NSA's power under Section 702, a program that came to light when former government contractor Edward Snowden revealed classified government documents in 2013. While the intelligence officials cautioned that changes would limit its effectiveness, lawmakers including Senate Intelligence Committee member Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, have indicated they'll seek adjustments to ensure against abuses.

10 of 41 comments (clear)

  1. That's their job. by Train0987 · · Score: 2

    Intelligence agencies exist to spy on foreigners. Why is this news?

    1. Re:That's their job. by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Intelligence agencies exist to spy on foreigners. Why is this news?

      1. It is not clear that only foreigners are targeted.
      2. It is not clear if this program is cost effective.

      The NSA is having difficulty coming up with any "success stories" that can be linked to this program. You might think that is because it is classified, so they don't want to disclose their successes, but that is not true. They can disclose information in closed door meetings of the oversight committee without compromising anything, but are still unable to do so. Secrecy can be used to protect national security, but it is used far more often to protect incompetence.

  2. Re:But privacy! by fleabay · · Score: 2

    You'd rather be an Anonymous Coward than a known fool. amiright?

    --
    PlanetVulkan.com
  3. huh? by supernova87a · · Score: 4, Insightful

    What happened to Slashdot all day today??!!

    1. Re:huh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Cloudflare challenge was accepted... ?

    2. Re:huh? by phantomfive · · Score: 2

      Maybe they should have asked Ham Radio Operators to fly to......wherever Slashdot is located.

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    3. Re:huh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Things I noticed:

      * Gave expired SSL cert.
      * When that wasn't borked, it gave bogus CSS.
      * When both of those things weren't borked (rare), it was in read-only mode.

      Did /. get hacked, or was this a botched migration?

    4. Re:huh? by rsmith-mac · · Score: 2

      No idea, but the ops team is apparently going to post a write-up later this week.

      It sounds like the problem was internal, as Slashdot was up in read-only mode all day, and SlashdotMedia has explicitly stated it wasn't a cyberattack.

    5. Re:huh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      The last guy that knew how to run a webserver left.

    6. Re:huh? by AmiMoJo · · Score: 3, Funny

      I dunno man... After the first few hours I went catatonic and passed out, then it was back and I could breathe again

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC