Is the NSA spying on U.S. Internet traffic?

[Jon8503]

Salon exclusive: Two former AT&T employees say the telecom giant has maintained a secret, highly secure room in St. Louis since 2002. Intelligence experts say it bears the earmarks of a National Security Agency operation.
By Kim Zetter


June 21, 2006 | In a pivotal network operations center in metropolitan St. Louis, AT&T has maintained a secret, highly secured room since 2002 where government work is being conducted, according to two former AT&T workers once employed at the center.

In interviews with Salon, the former AT&T workers said that only government officials or AT&T employees with top-secret security clearance are admitted to the room, located inside AT&T's facility in Bridgeton. The room's tight security includes a biometric "mantrap" or highly sophisticated double door, secured with retinal and fingerprint scanners. The former workers say company supervisors told them that employees working inside the room were "monitoring network traffic" and that the room was being used by "a government agency."

The details provided by the two former workers about the Bridgeton room bear the distinctive earmarks of an operation run by the National Security Agency, according to two intelligence experts with extensive knowledge of the NSA and its operations. In addition to the room's high-tech security, those intelligence experts told Salon, the exhaustive vetting process AT&T workers were put through before being granted top-secret security clearance points to the NSA, an agency known as much for its intense secrecy as its technological sophistication.

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/06/21/att_nsa/?source=whitelist

[NewJeffCT]

1. I have no doubts they are monitoring the internets

I hope nobody else is surprised by this development. I'm betting that most here on DU (and on places like Kos, etc) are on some sort of NSA list somewhere.

[lindisfarne]

2. I agree. n/t

[leveymg]

3. This appears to be the same sort of spying run by NSA at ATT's SF office

See, http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2006_04.php

EFF deserves our support.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

4. Today, I have been denied access to my yahoo email account

It says its temporary, but frankly the first thought through my head was "Why in the world does the NSA want to see that I read the NY Times and my horoscope every morning?" with my answer being, "They don't care-they are like a giant suction machine, gathering, gathering, gathering, with no reason behind it."

[Minnesota Libra]

6. Oh that's where I disagree - there IS A REASON behind all the.............

....spying. The WH Idiot and especially his VP Handler know full well America might just get completely fed up with all this abuse of our Constitutional rights and we might just rebel. With all this spying they will know who to go for first and who to arrest and throw in jail right away.

So there is a reason for all this and it has absolutely nothing to do with foreign terrorists.

[Minnesota Libra]

5. Duh, of course the NSA is spying on the Internet and specifically.........

....spying at DU. Why do you think the registered user numbers have been ballooning recently??

[unhappycamper]

7. In a word, yes.

[NMMNG]

8. Of course

Particularly on any left-wing site.

[WoodrowFan]

9. I'd like to clear something up

NSA: just so you're clear, when I searched for "japanese schoolgirls" it was due to my professional interest in East Asian education, and not anything improper.... ok?? thank you.




Seriously, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised. I'd expect they'd target known websites where various Al-Quida supporters hang out, but given the inability of some in government to tell the difference between al-quida and Quaker peace groups a wider net wouldn't shock me either....

[obreaslan]

10. As long as they are watching, they should see this....

It makes me laugh everytime....

[treestar]

13. Didya like that, Agent Mike?

[The2ndWheel]

11. So when do we dismantle the giant secret agency?

Never? Alright, just wanted to know.

[matcom]

12. HI AGENT MIKE!

and FUCK YOU!

:hi: