presence
08-07-2013, 06:04 PM
Blast from the past...
February 24, 2000
Europe Accuses U.S. Of Economic Spying / Cold War surveillance network
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Europe-Accuses-U-S-Of-Economic-Spying-Cold-War-2801384.php
Suzanne Daley, New York Times
February 24, 2000
Paris - Fears that the United States, Britain and other English-speaking countries are using a Cold War eavesdropping network to gain a commercial edge roused passions across Europe yesterday, even after
the notion had been flatly denied in Washington and London.
The subject kept the European Parliament entranced for hours in Brussels, Belgium, and drew banner headlines across Europe. One political cartoon showed Britain in bed with the United States, despite Britain's membership in the European Union. "How the United States Spies on You," was the headline in the French newspaper Le Monde.
The hubbub grew from a report prepared for the European Parliament that found that communications intercepted by a network called Echelon had twice helped U.S. companies gain an advantage over Europeans.
Whatever the merits of the latest allegations, suggestions of commercial spying have surfaced regularly in recent years. They have infuriated many Europeans, who seem to have little trouble believing that military espionage systems developed during the Cold War would be used now to help businesses in English-speaking nations.
Echelon is a network of surveillance stations stitched together in the 1970s by the U.S. National Security Agency -- with Australia, Britain, Canada and New Zealand -- to intercept select satellite communications, according to recently declassified information in Washington.
The United States and Britain quickly rejected the idea that they would be using secret information to bolster their own economies.
" 'No' is the short answer,"
Prime Minister Tony Blair said in London. "These things are governed by extremely strict rules, and those rules will always be applied."
"U.S. intelligence agencies are not tasked to engage in industrial espionage
or obtain trade secrets for the benefit of any U.S. company or companies,"
said State Department spokesman James Rubin in Washington.
"Although we cannot comment on the substance of the report, we can say that
the NSA
is not authorized
to provide intelligence information to private firms,"
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-14/u-s-agencies-said-to-swap-data-with-thousands-of-firms.html
U.S. Agencies Said to Swap Data With Thousands of Firms
By Michael Riley -
Jun 15, 2013
Beyond Prism: Gov't, Companies Share Sensitive Info
Thousands of technology, finance and manufacturing companies are working closely with U.S. national security agencies, providing sensitive information
and in return receiving benefits
that include access to classified intelligence,
four people familiar with the process said.
In addition to private communications, information about equipment specifications and data needed for the Internet to work -- much of which isn’t subject to oversight because it doesn’t involve private communications -- is valuable to intelligence, U.S. law-enforcement officials and the military.
February 24, 2000
Europe Accuses U.S. Of Economic Spying / Cold War surveillance network
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Europe-Accuses-U-S-Of-Economic-Spying-Cold-War-2801384.php
Suzanne Daley, New York Times
February 24, 2000
Paris - Fears that the United States, Britain and other English-speaking countries are using a Cold War eavesdropping network to gain a commercial edge roused passions across Europe yesterday, even after
the notion had been flatly denied in Washington and London.
The subject kept the European Parliament entranced for hours in Brussels, Belgium, and drew banner headlines across Europe. One political cartoon showed Britain in bed with the United States, despite Britain's membership in the European Union. "How the United States Spies on You," was the headline in the French newspaper Le Monde.
The hubbub grew from a report prepared for the European Parliament that found that communications intercepted by a network called Echelon had twice helped U.S. companies gain an advantage over Europeans.
Whatever the merits of the latest allegations, suggestions of commercial spying have surfaced regularly in recent years. They have infuriated many Europeans, who seem to have little trouble believing that military espionage systems developed during the Cold War would be used now to help businesses in English-speaking nations.
Echelon is a network of surveillance stations stitched together in the 1970s by the U.S. National Security Agency -- with Australia, Britain, Canada and New Zealand -- to intercept select satellite communications, according to recently declassified information in Washington.
The United States and Britain quickly rejected the idea that they would be using secret information to bolster their own economies.
" 'No' is the short answer,"
Prime Minister Tony Blair said in London. "These things are governed by extremely strict rules, and those rules will always be applied."
"U.S. intelligence agencies are not tasked to engage in industrial espionage
or obtain trade secrets for the benefit of any U.S. company or companies,"
said State Department spokesman James Rubin in Washington.
"Although we cannot comment on the substance of the report, we can say that
the NSA
is not authorized
to provide intelligence information to private firms,"
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-14/u-s-agencies-said-to-swap-data-with-thousands-of-firms.html
U.S. Agencies Said to Swap Data With Thousands of Firms
By Michael Riley -
Jun 15, 2013
Beyond Prism: Gov't, Companies Share Sensitive Info
Thousands of technology, finance and manufacturing companies are working closely with U.S. national security agencies, providing sensitive information
and in return receiving benefits
that include access to classified intelligence,
four people familiar with the process said.
In addition to private communications, information about equipment specifications and data needed for the Internet to work -- much of which isn’t subject to oversight because it doesn’t involve private communications -- is valuable to intelligence, U.S. law-enforcement officials and the military.