NSA Spy Tools Were Set for NZ Installation
August 1st, 2014NSA wouldn’t need to tap the cables since the agency is already inside the boxes in the U.S., New Zealand and Aussie landing sites. What do you think Snowden was supposed to be doing at his NSA job in Hawaii? Working on his tan? Look at where the Southern Cross cables go.
So let’s cut the BS about how they supposedly need access to the Southern Cross network. That is a limited hangout if I’ve ever seen one.
My guess is that this is about traffic inside NZ—traffic which wouldn’t be transiting the Southern Cross network.
While we’re on the topic of submarine cables serving NZ, what about the new Hawaiki cable that’s about to be built?
See: US Military Interest in NZ Cable:
The United States Defence Department could help pay for a new cable linking New Zealand, Australia, the United States and several Pacific Islands, an Auckland source says.
He said the department had an interest in spending about US$100 million (NZ$120m) to directly or indirectly acquire a pair of optical fibres between the US, Australia and American Samoa to link its defence bases.
The interest has not been confirmed by the US Government or the Hawaiki company, which have been approached for comment.
The US said in 2011 that it would build a permanent base for thousands of US Marines in Darwin.
The Australian Government said in June that the number of Marines at the base would rise from between 200 and 250 to 1150 next year. By 2016, it would support a 2500-strong Marine Air Ground Task Force.
*sigh*
Via: New Zealand Herald:
The most instrusive and powerful tools in the United States’ electronic spying armoury were being lined up for installation in New Zealand last year, according to a document obtained by the Herald.
An engineer visited a GCSB base near Blenheim in February 2013 to talk about setting up a “Special Source Operations” site.
The SSO is the division of the United States’ National Security Agency which carries out cable tapping and has vast resources to trawl and capture massive amounts of internet content and electronic communication, including the PRISM system.
Disclosures of its powers were the most controversial of those made by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden when he began revealing its capabilities last year. Use of the powerful tools has created diplomatic rifts and forced US president Barack Obama to talk of reigning in his electronic spies.
The GCSB has refused to say whether it went ahead with plans to install the SSO site.
Related / Real Reason Why Pacific Fibre Failed: Trans-Pacific Cable Plans Mired in Geopolitics and Kiwi Pacific Fibre cable project sunk by US fears about Chinese investment, espionage; ‘It was made clear US authorities would not allow Chinese investment,’ Pacific Fibre’s Drury says
Research Credit: CP (She was first)
