- NSA tap Google, Yahoo
The executive chairman of Google has blamed National security agency and The White House in spying on Internet giants Google and Yahoo’ users. “It’s really outrageous that the National Security Agency was looking between the Google data centers, if that’s true,” Eric Schmidt claimed in his interview to the Wall Street Journal.
Both companies’ data links being tapped by spy agency and its British equal GCHQ body in cloud environment.
In his appeal to the Washington Post at an event in Hong Kong, Eric Schmidt finds government acts as those which are not compatible to Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, using the executive authorities as illegal way for the spy agencies access these supposedly protected data links.
The strong criticism of Silicon Valley to government and accusations of privacy violations recently brought by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, who published rest of the documents on these materials at Washington Post.
Meanwhile, NSA Director Keith Alexander complained: “I can tell you factually we do not have access to Google servers, Yahoo servers”. Not any statement issued by the NSA, since it was reported contained substantive denials. And “There “was” no scandal about the lawfulness of NSA’s activities under current law,” though going around FISA is simply inaccurate…
Never the less, the biggest Internet companies Google and Yahoo reacted angrily on Snowden’ report. “We do not provide any government, including the US government, with access to our systems”. It was said by its representatives. Otherwise, The National Security Agency has tapped the data links between Internet tech companies that allowed spy agency to collect data on millions of users in real time round the world. Former body defended its actions as antiterrorist measures of capturing data in a public space after obtaining court orders in accordance to its MUSCULAR program not as the NSA’s victory over Google security systems…
However, the way technologists at NSA developed the system that enables the initial processing of information gathered from Google and Yahoo database, is nothing else than government gangsterism. Storing data from 300 millions of users targeting an amount of 300 is nonsense. The information included not only metadata but also content, that underscores the need for urgent reform.
In accordance to its exceptional origin, it makes sense to determine NSA as data obtaining initiator. The question is whether it had help from inside of Google. The chief legal officer David Drummond denied on this statement, arguing that no access to its data being given to government or any relevant body.
Other details published in the latest report shows that interception took place on “British territory”. It means that the secret services taped thousands of miles of fiber-optic cable only used by those companies. This is about tapping wires not accessing servers. It makes sense to worry about privacy among users. The precedent on breaking data links between Google and Yahoo and millions of internet users allowed the spy agency to intercept the communication and to take “a retrospective look at target activity,” according to an NSA document obtained by the Post.
The evident incident provoked acute discussions on this occasion, infuriated big companies to bring hard critics to the NSA, The White House and members of Congress and the agency’s MUSCULAR program.
Meanwhile, Schmidt has reminded to a public that the company had faced numerous accusations of privacy violations, continuing testing boundaries, not crossing it.
Responding this criticism agency’s spokesman has asset:
“NSA conducts all of its activities in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, and policies – and assertions to the contrary do a grave disservice to the nation, its allies and partners, and the men and women who make up the National Security Agency.”
And referred that press had misstated facts and mischaracterized NSA activities.
