British intelligence agency GCHQ has helped counterpart
entities in France, Germany, Spain, and Sweden develop methods of mass
surveillance of internet and phone traffic in the last five years, a new report
reveals.
Documents supplied by
former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden to the Guardian show the UK Government Communications
Headquarters’ (GCHQ) enormous influence throughout Europe. The documents detail
how the agency developed and promoted spying processes, built relationships with
telecommunication companies, and evaded national laws that constrain the
surveillance powers of intelligence agencies.
In the wake of
outrage expressed over the past week across Europe regarding newly exposed NSA
surveillance of European countries – including intercepted communications and
the monitoring of phones belonging to officials such as German Chancellor Angela
Merkel - documents released Friday by the Guardian show major
European countries’ culpability in mass surveillance efforts shepherded by the
GCHQ.
The GCHQ is part of the ‘Five Eyes’ intelligence-sharing partnership between
Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States.
US intelligence
officials said the monitoring that received so much
indignation from powers like Germany and France was carried out by those
countries’ own intelligence agencies and later shared with the US.
In June, the Guardian
revealed the GCHQ’s Tempora program, in which the agency tapped into
transatlantic fiber-optic cables to execute bulk surveillance. Germany’s justice
minister, Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, said at the time that the program
sounded “like a Hollywood nightmare” and warned that free
societies and actions hidden under “a veil of secrecy” are not compatible.
A nation-by-nation scorecard
In a 2008 survey of European
partners, the GCHQ marveled at Germany’s capabilities to produce Tempora-like
surveillance. The British service said the Federal Intelligence Service (BND)
had "huge technological potential and good access to the heart
of the internet – they are already seeing some bearers running at 40Gbps and
100Gbps.” The term ‘bearers’ refers to the fiber-optic
cables. Gigabits per second (Gbps) measures the speed at which data runs through
them.
The documents also show the
British were advising German counterparts on how to change or evade laws that
restricted advanced surveillance efforts. "We have been
assisting the BND (along with SIS [Secret Intelligence Service] and Security
Service) in making the case for reform or reinterpretation of the very
restrictive interception legislation in Germany," the survey says.
The report also lauds the GCHQ’s French partner, the General
Directorate for External Security (DGSE), especially for its cozy relationship
with an unnamed telecommunications company.
"DGSE are a
highly motivated, technically competent partner, who have shown great
willingness to engage on IP [internet protocol] issues, and to work with GCHQ on
a ‘cooperate and share’ basis."
The GCHQ expressed desire to benefit from the DGSE’s
relationship with the company.
"We have made
contact with the DGSE's main industry partner, who has some innovative
approaches to some internet challenges, raising the potential for GCHQ to make
use of this company in the protocol development arena."
The GCHQ’s work with its French counterpart led to improved
capabilities to carry out bulk surveillance, despite growing commercial emphasis
on encryption.
"Very friendly
crypt meeting with DGSE in July," British officials said. French
intelligence officials were "clearly very keen to provide
presentations on their work which included cipher detection in high-speed
bearers. [GCHQ's] challenge is to ensure that we have enough UK capability to
support a longer term crypt relationship."
New opportunities in future partnerships
GCHQ ties to Spain’s intelligence service, the National Intelligence Centre
(CNI), were bolstered by Spain’s connections to an unnamed British telecom
company, giving them “fresh opportunities and uncovering some
surprising results.
"GCHQ has not yet
engaged with CNI formally on IP exploitation, but the CNI have been making great
strides through their relationship with a UK commercial partner. GCHQ and the
commercial partner have been able to coordinate their approach. The commercial
partner has provided the CNI some equipment whilst keeping us informed, enabling
us to invite the CNI across for IP-focused discussions this autumn," the
survey said. It reported that the GCHQ "have found a very
capable counterpart in CNI, particularly in the field of Covert Internet
Ops.”
When Sweden passed a 2008 law
allowing its National Defence Radio Establishment (FRA) to execute Tempora-like
surveillance via fiber-optic cables, the GCHQ said in the report that "FRA have obtained a…probe to use as a test-bed and we expect them
to make rapid progress in IP exploitation following the law change.” The
GCHQ went on to express delight in future partnerships with FRA after the law
passed.
The survey found strong ties between the GCHQ and Dutch
external and internal intelligence services MIVD and AIVD, respectively.
"Both agencies
are small, by UK standards, but are technically competent and highly
motivated," British officials said.
The GCHQ also helped AIVD in handling legal constraints to
spying.
"The Dutch have
some legislative issues that they need to work through before their legal
environment would allow them to operate in the way that GCHQ does. We are
providing legal advice on how we have tackled some of these issues to Dutch
lawyers."
Contrary to the other
nations’ positive marks, the GCHQ country-by-country scorecard shows Italy’s intelligence agencies to be riddled with internal
strife.
"GCHQ has had
some CT [counter-terrorism] and internet-focused discussions with both the
foreign intelligence agency (AISE) and the security service (AISI), but has
found the Italian intelligence community to be fractured and unable/unwilling to
cooperate with one another," the report said.
A follow-up six months later noted the GCHQ still saw legal
constraints in Italy as hampering AISI’s ability to cooperate.
This latest disclosure calls into question how involved the
countries were in the overall surveillance of global citizens and world leaders
led by the NSA and GCHQ.
