How The FBI Actually Does Much Of The NSA's Spying, But Is Keeping That Quiet

from the like-they-don't-have-a-history-of-abuses? dept

Mon, Nov 25th 2013 2:56pm — Mike Masnick

For all the focus on the NSA of late, a few folks have been trying to remind everyone that the FBI is heavily involved in all of this and, in many ways, has an equally bad if not worse record in abusing the rights of Americans. Many of the programs discussed were to retrieve information by the FBI or the NSA, and it turns out that the FBI often does much of the dirty work for the NSA, including interfacing with various companies to get access to data. We'd mentioned recently how the FBI was pushing tech companies to install "port readers" at both telco and tech companies (though, many tech firms were resisting), and also that the FBI had been ramping up their use of malware.

Shane Harris, over at Foreign Policy has a nice profile on the FBI's Data Intercept Technology Unit, or DITU, who handles most of this work. It repeats the story of the port readers, but adds how the DITU is often the unit that works with tech companies and then passes info along to the NSA -- so some companies don't even realize they're dealing with the NSA, believing it's just via the FBI (not that this would make things any better). It also notes that the DITU tends to be made up of a lot of ex-telco guys who know very specifically how the telco networks work, something that at least some people at the telcos may be uncomfortable with the government knowing (though, again, the telcos seem much more willing to open up to the government than the tech companies).

It's an interesting profile all around, but at the end it gets even more interesting, as an ex-law enforcement source that Harris talks to highlights that without investigating what the DITU is up to, Congress' exploration of what's going on will be very incomplete.

The former law enforcement official said Holder and Mueller should have offered testimony and explained how the FBI works with the NSA. He was concerned by reports that the NSA had not been adhering to its own minimization procedures, which the Justice Department and the FBI review and vouch for when submitting requests to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

"Where they hadn't done what was represented to the court, that's unforgivable. That's where I got sick to my stomach," the former law enforcement official said. "The government's position is, we go to the court, apply the law -- it's all approved. That makes for a good story until you find out what was approved wasn't actually what was done."

That makes it sound like even more bad behavior is going to be revealed eventually...

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Filed Under: ditu, fbi, nsa, spying, surveillance

14 Comments

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Jay (profile), 25 Nov 2013 @ 3:07pm

Odd...
I thought people understood that the law enforcement officials have been at this game for centuries...

If the police doing executions and having them sanctioned later, the DoJ willing to hesitate to put Greenwald, a journalist, into jail, the CIA doing corporate espionage on friendly countries, the NSA willing to spy on anyone and everyone, the extrajudicial killings of drone strikes by the president, or the many other myriads of problems weren't an indicator that things are wrong...

I don't know how to show you that America has some deep structural problems it can't quite face.
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Anonymous Coward, 25 Nov 2013 @ 3:12pm

Want to know what they do? Cointelpro gangstalking targeted individuals

They do toture and murder with and at the behest of local police agencies
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Anonymous Coward, 25 Nov 2013 @ 4:05pm

We all know that congress has no interest whatsoever to dig into this issue because it will make them all look bad, this is not BP screwing up this are multiple law enforcement and security agencies fucking it up with he blessing of a blind congress that consider the public as the enemy.

Yes they do, how else you explain the amount of secret deals being done that are mostly just to keep the public out of any discussion that would affect them.
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RJ (profile), 26 Nov 2013 @ 12:41am

Predictable
We shouldn't be surprised -- didn't Congress pass a law that specifically exempted telcos from any prior illegal cooperation, while at or near the same time the intelligence agencies were given the ability to compel future telco cooperation under seal? If I were the head of a major telco and believed that my job was to maximize return to shareholders, why wouldn't I cooperate? Where is the downside?

I think it's a craven and -- in the best sense of the word -- unpatriotic position, but unfortunately the reality "on the ground" doesn't surprise me in the least.
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Marcel Popescu (profile), 26 Nov 2013 @ 12:51am

New TV Series
So when's the new "Criminal Minds... in the FBI" series coming up?
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HeadsUp, 26 Nov 2013 @ 2:38am

Re: New TV Series
Don't know about that, but the latest NCIS (Season 11, Episode 09 - "Gut Check"), predictably, is chock full of pro NSA propaganda. Don't watch unless you wanna puke.
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Anonymous Coward, 26 Nov 2013 @ 2:45am

Re: Predictable
It has already been determined by the courts that the "ex post facto" technique is an unconstitutional application of law. Congress has no legal authority to pass any such law, but congress has demonstrated a complete and utter disregard for the constitution, in addition to doing everything in it's power to keep invalid laws of this type from ever reaching the courts - not that it would matter, seeing as they also ensure corruption of judges in any court that's relevant.
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Kendler, 26 Nov 2013 @ 4:11am

NSA
NSA surveillance can be bypassed if you have the proper Internet knowledge. I have created an eBook which teaches the users how to protect themselves from the NSA surveillance. You can check the eBook page here http://www.gofundme.com/yeswescan
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Anon-Y-Mouse, 26 Nov 2013 @ 7:34am

eBook is vaporware
With the current design of the internet, and computers, privacy is a lost cause. Computers need to be changed. They need security designed in at the processor level. So does the base networking system on the internet. Even with highly secure computers, there will still be the human factor. The software we create to run on them needs to be fully audited for flaws. It also needs to be designed so that clueless users don't compromise the system.
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A word on sources and methods, 26 Nov 2013 @ 8:35am

The sources they use are liars and con men, along with the suspects themselves, and the method is torture and murder. It's not complicated.
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Emily Justice, 27 Nov 2013 @ 10:47pm

Inside The Inner Circle
@Anon-y-mouse: Strikes me that a lot of the basic user security issues were described perfectly in Bill Landreth's "Inside The Inner Circle". Simple stuff: proper passwords (which you don't put on post-its), not giving a PHB superadmin access just because he's a boss, compartmentalising info properly, that sort of thing. It's a great security primer�

�which was written in 1985. So while tech has moved on in the last 30 years, user training and admin practices are still stuck in the days of Whitesnake, Quattro and dayglo legwarmers.
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Capt Kirk, 28 Nov 2013 @ 8:36am

Point of facts
They have no lawful charter to even exist,,as pointed out ny the work of Private AG Paul Mitchell....Look him up!! Also,,,,Rod Class has proven WITH 4 COURT RULINGS! they are all NOT GOVT!! They are independent contractors!! The Daily Paul has on website!!No jurisdiction has EVER BEEN LAWFULLY GRANTED TO THEM OUTSIDE OF THE DISTRICT OF CRIMINALS!!TITLE 26!
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Capt Kirk, 28 Nov 2013 @ 8:55am

Theres more goodies
The reason why all this anarchy exists is that we have no Dejure legal system....Our Judges are NOT JUDGES!! They are ADMINISTRATORS OF CORP TRIBUNALS,,,as they are running a closed union shop,,a private club so to speak,,as the lawyers have no State issued law licenses,,its the private bar assn located in the State..So they are members of that private club with laws that are copywritten under THE CROWN BY THEM!!We also have no permission to use them in our defense,,,and when we hire an ESQUIRE FOREIGN AGENT,,,,we are deemed wards of the State and incompetent..Now,,,have a Nice Thanksgiving!!See Peoples Rights Group in Del,,,,or THE AMERICAN BULLETIN IN OREGON,,,for clarification
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Gus Mueller, 28 Nov 2013 @ 1:30pm

Re: Re: New TV Series
Yeah, but that girl was achingly doable.
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