Comment by rl3 | Hacker News Reader

Comment by rl3 | Hacker News Reader

Direct audio link is here (MP3): http://www.boilingfrogspost.com/podpress_trac/web/20927/0/BF...

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At 0:48:26 Tice mentions the intercept order for then-Senatorial candidate Obama.

He also mentions that senior civilian, military and government leaders were explicitly targeted.

Some of the notable intercept targets included Colin Powell, Hillary Clinton, Samuel Alito, former FISA Court judges, U.S. Congressional intelligence committees, law firms, financial firms, State Department personnel, humanitarian NGOs.

Lawyers and civil rights groups were mentioned as well, I'm wondering if EFF was included in that.

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Tice previously played off his unclassified resume's listing of space-based systems expertise as a cover story for his activities at NSA. However, he has now revealed that he specialized in space-based capabilities at NSA all along. This is humorous when you consider the following:

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/01/nsa-whistlebl-2/

Do you have any connection to outer space stuff? I asked.

"I watch Buck Rogers."

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Also of note: NSA's Bluffdale, Utah data storage facility is apparently already online and operational.

So they are spying the very people that are supposed to watch over them and keep them in check? Well that must be very convenient.

It's one of the many reasons General Alexander is regarded among conspiracy theorists as 'supreme leader' of the USG -- he has the ability to blackmail everybody with 100% effectiveness.

He stands at a very interesting intersection between civilian leadership (head of the NSA) and military leadership (head of US CyberCommand).

Based on the incredible amount of ass-kissing during the congressional testimony a few days ago, I wouldn't be surprised if that were true.

There are a few who stand at odds with the party line, for example during the congressional hearings in the past couple of weeks Senator Tom Udall (D, New Mexico) notably has been very active in discussing NSA programs rather than attacking Snowden's credibility.

https://twitter.com/SenatorTomUdall

Lt. Gen Michael Hayden (Ret) was the DIRNSA at the time Russell Tice is alleging these wiretaps occurred.

This is indeed true, however there's nothing indicating that those programs have stopped.

Technically the NSA is a part of the DOD. They assist the ODNI which is civilian, although its leadership role is limited.

So they would have pulled a page out from FBI's playbook. It would not be surprising.

NSA's Bluffdale, Utah data storage facility is apparently already online and operational.

Does the interview mention how someone who left the NSA in 2005 would know this?

Yes, he said an insider sent him a coded handwritten message on a basis similar to a one-time pad.

He also said that he could not read most of said message due to misplacing the key-code.

EDIT: My original reply likely butchered terminology, sorry. The relevant audio can be heard verbatim at 1:03:11 in the interview recording.

If the OTP was used to encrypt the message, it's usefulness is already gone.

A source inside the NSA that re-uses a onetime pad would be pretty ironic.

This isn't hard to believe. The scheduled "go live" time for the Utah facility was September 2013.

Maybe Tice reads newspapers. Use of the datacenter would be nearly impossible to conceal. One can look at the power feeds with an IR camera and arrive at a reasonable estimate of power consumption. Also, water vapor from cooling equipment.

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