FITUG e.V.
Förderverein Informationstechnik und Gesellschaft
FITUG e.V.Förderverein Informationstechnik und Gesellschaft |
|
------- Forwarded message follows ------- Date sent: Tue, 21 Dec 1999 09:57:20 -0500 To: politech@vorlon.mit.edu From: Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com> Subject: FC: Former spy divulges ECHELON details, from Danish news articles Send reply to: declan@well.com
*************
>Date: Tue, 21 Dec 1999 14:36:03 +0100 (CET) >From: Bo Elkjaer <boo@apollon.datashopper.dk> >To: cypherpunks@toad.com, jya@jya.com, jya@pipeline.com > >Hello >A couple of months ago I promised that I would have some articles >translated that I and my colleague Kenan Seeberg has written since >june about the Echelon network, the UKUSA pact and danish >participation herein as third party-member of the pact. We have >written approx. 50 articles (Something like that, anyway), and have >been very busy, so translation has been moving at a crawl. Anyway, >things should start to shape up, so the first articles should be >online within the next few weeks. We plan to put up the whole show on >our papers website soon. Pictures, interviews, documents etc. Most of >it will remain in danish though. > >Meanwhile, the danish parliament discussed Echelon SIGINT and >surveillance two weeks ago. They all agreed that danish citizens >communications are intercepted on a regular basis - but they also >agreed that they would _not_ start any examinations of the >interceptions. For fear of disturbing our allies, it seems. > >Copies of the debate are available online - in danish - at the >parliaments own website www.folketinget.dk. I will pick out links and >post them later. > >On a side note the parliament agreed that strong free crypto is the >only means of protection against these kinds of interception. There >will be a hearing in Copenhagen about how strong unregulated >encryption should be made available to the danish people. > >No need to be too optimistic though, as there are opposing trends >within government on the subject of unreguleated unbreakable >encryption. > >I will post all translated articles here, as I get them. They will be >long. Please bear with any inconveniences. > >Regards >Bo Elkjaer, Denmark > > >ECHELON WAS MY BABY >Ekstra Bladet meets former Echelon spy. In spite of illness and >angst, she now reveals how illegal political surveillance was carried >out. > >by Bo Elkjær and Kenan Seeberg. Photos: Martin Lepee > >LAS VEGAS (Ekstra Bladet): “Even though I felt bad about what we were >doing, I was very pleased with the professional part of my job. I >don’t mean to brag, but I was very good at what I did, and I actually >felt like Echelon was my baby.” Ekstra Bladet meets Margaret Newsham >in her home in a sleepy Las Vegas suburb. For obvious reasons we are >omitting the name of the town where Margaret Newsham is trying to >lead a normal life. She has never mentioned her past to her >neighbors. A past in which Margaret Newsham has been in close >contact with the very core of the most secretive world of all worlds. > Margaret Newsham helped build the electronic surveillance system >known as Echelon. Today she has broken off connection with the world >of espionage and lives in constant fear that ‘certain elements’ in >the NSA or CIA will try to silence her. As a result, she sleeps with >a loaded pistol under her mattress, and her best friend is Mr. >Gunther - a 120-pound German shepherd that was trained to be a guard >and attack dog by a good friend in the Nevada State Police. She sent >the dog to a ‘babysitter’ before we arrived, since “he doesn’t let >strangers come in to my house,” she says with a faint smile. Only >once before has Newsham told anybody about her work as an Echelon >spy: during closed, top-secret hearings held by the US Congress in >1988. Today, Margaret breaks eleven years of silence by telling the >press for the very first time about her work for the most extensive >espionage network in the world. Margaret Newsham decided to talk with >Ekstra Bladet even though her doctor advised her not to meet with us. >“Since I have high blood pressure, my doctor thinks it’s risky for me >to talk with you, but it’s a chance I’m willing to take.” > >DEATH SENTENCE > Newsham has gone through hell ever since she was fired from her job >at Lockheed Martin where she designed programs for Echelon’s global >surveillance network. When asked to work on a project in 1984, she >refused because she believed it could harm the US government. > Shortly after, Echelon’s wirepullers in the National Security Agency >(NSA) made sure that she was fired by Lockheed Martin. Immediately >afterward, she sued her former employer for wrongful dismissal and >contacted the internal security commission, DCAA, which arranged the >closed hearings. “Ever since, I have felt like I was under so much >pressure that it has had a fatal influence on my health,” says >Margaret Newsham, who up to now has survived a seizure which left her >totally paralyzed. All she had left was her sense of hearing when she >was admitted to the hospital. “I could hear the doctor pronouncing >my death sentence, while my husband and three children stood by my >side. The only thing that kept me going was the thought that if I >died, I would lose my case. That thought was what brought me back to >life.” After regaining her mobility, Newsham suffered a cardiac >arrest, and two years ago she underwent surgery for a malignant >tumor. Today, she dryly states that she is living on borrowed time, >which perhaps explains why she chooses to stand forward at this time. > >SPYING ON POLITICIANS > “To me, there are only two issues at stake here: right or wrong. And >the longer I worked on the clandestine surveillance projects, the >more I could see that they were not only illegal, but also >unconstitutional.” Margaret Newsham is not pleased with herself for >participating in spying on ordinary people, politicians, interest >groups and private companies, which is exactly what she did for 10 >years, from 1974 to 1984. Both the satellites and the computer >programs were developed at Lockheed’s headquarters in Sunnyvale >California, and in 1977, she was stationed at the largest listening >post in the world at Menwith Hill, England. “On the day at Menwith >Hill when I realized in earnest how utterly wrong it was, I was >sitting with one of the many “translators”. He was an expert in >languages like Russian, Chinese and Japanese. Suddenly he asked me if >I wanted to listen in on a conversation taking place in the US at an >office in the US Senate Building. Then I clearly heard a southern >American dialect I thought I had heard before.” “Who is that?” I >asked the translator who told me that it was Republican senator Strom >Thurmond. ‘Oh my gosh!’ I thought. We’re not only spying on other >countries, but also on our own citizens. That’s when I realized in >earnest that what we were doing had nothing to do with national >security interests of the US.” > >KNOWLEDGE IS POWER >In all its complicated simplicity, the American intelligence agency, >NSA, together with intelligence agencies in England, Canada, >Australia and New Zealand, has established a system of satellites and >computer systems that can monitor by and large all electronic >communication in the world: phone conversations, e-mails, telexes and >telefaxes. A number of other countries are affiliated as third or >fourth party participants, including Denmark. The fundamental >concept of the system is to get access to all important political >movements in hostile and allied countries alike and to keep an eye on >all important economic movements. Knowledge is power, and the NSA >knows it. Furthermore, NSA’s spies function as the only primary >authority to supervise who receives what information and what it is >used for. “Even then, Echelon was very big and sophisticated. As >early as 1979 we could track a specific person and zoom in on his >phone conversation while he was communicating. Since our satellites >could in 1984 film a postage stamp lying on the ground, it is almost >impossible to imagine how all-encompassing the system must be today.” > >ECHELON WAS NSA’S IDEA > Who came up with the name Echelon? > “The NSA. Lockheed Martin’s alphanumeric code was P415. > What did you actually do? > “Unfortunately, I can’t tell you all my duties. I am still bound by >professional secrecy, and I would hate to go to prison or get >involved in any trouble, if you know what I mean. In general, I can >tell you that I was responsible for compiling the various systems and >programs, configuring the whole thing and making it operational on >main frames [large computers, ed.].” Which part of the system is >named Echelon? “The computer network itself. The software programs >are known as SILKWORTH and SIRE, and one of the most important >surveillance satellites is named VORTEX. It intercepts things like >phone conversations.” > >APPROVED BY THE CIA > You worked as an agent for the NSA, but were employed by a private >company? “Yes, it is almost impossible to tell the difference >between NSA agents and civilians employed by Lockheed Martin, Ford >and IBM. The borderlines are very vague. I had one of the highest >security classifications which required the approval of the CIA, the >NSA, the Navy and the Air Force. The approval included both a lie >detector test, and an expanded personal history test in which my >family and acquaintances were discretely checked by the security >agency.” The sky darkens over the cascading neon lights of Las Vegas >when Margaret Newsham tells of countless infringements of security >regulations and about her colleague who suffered brain damage when >she partipated in the development of the Stealth bomber. Though >Margaret Newsham is totally exhausted, she also seems relieved. > “This is the first time I have ever told anyone some of the things I >told you today. But now I want to get Mr. Gunther soon so I feel safe >again. She measures her blood pressure and looks very alarmed. “I >had better go to the doctor tomorrow morning, so maybe we should meet >later on in the day.” When she returns with Mr. Gunther an hour >later, the dog inspects every room before Margaret goes in. The last >thing she does before falling asleep on her king size bed is to check >her pistol to make sure it is still loaded. > > >Facts: >Lockheed Martin is the largest supplier of munitions to the US >military services and to their intelligence agencies, the NSA and the >CIA. During the eighties, Lockheed Martin took over LORAL Space >Systems and Ford Aerospace which also deliver monitoring equipment to >the espionage agencies. Margaret Newsham worked for the NSA through >her employment at Ford and Lockheed from 1974 to 1984. In 1977 and >1978, Newsham was stationed at the largest listening post in the >world at Menwith Hill, England. She received on-the-job training at >NSA headquarters at Fort George Meade in Maryland, USA. Ekstra >Bladet has Margaret Newsham’s stationing orders from the US >Department of Defense. She possessed the high security classification >TOP SECRET CRYPTO. According to information found by Ekstra Bladet >in the Pentagon’s databases, the NSA had 38,613 employees in 1995. >This figure does not include the many employees at private companies >who work for the NSA. Ekstra Bladet has documented the existence of >Echelon in a long series of articles over the last months. Denmark >is affiliated with the Echelon network as a third party, and the most >important Danish listening post is located at Aflandshage on the >island of Amager. > >Copyright 1999 - Ekstra Bladet - Denmark > >
>>>Bevar naturen: Sylt et egern.<< >>>URL: http://www.datashopper.dk/~boo/index.html<< >>>PGP-encrypted mail welcomed and preferred.<<
>Date: Tue, 21 Dec 1999 14:39:10 +0100 (CET) >From: Bo Elkjaer <boo@apollon.datashopper.dk> >To: cypherpunks@toad.com, jya@jya.com, jya@pipeline.com >Subject: INTERVIEW Pt. II: I SOLD MY LIFE TO BIG BROTHER - > >Part II of interview w. Margaret Newsham > > >I SOLD MY LIFE TO BIG BROTHER >"Denmark's ministers can believe whatever they want to. I know >Echelon exists, because I helped make the system." For the second day >running, former Echelon spy Margaret Newsham tells about the 'Black >World' of espionage - and the fatal consequences it is had on her >life. Half of her espionage colleagues are dead today. "The >surveillance was incredibly target-oriented. We were capable of >singling out an individual or organization and monitoring all >electronic communication - real time - and all the time. The person >was monitored without ever having a chance to discover it, and most >of the information was sent with lightening speed to another station >using the enormous digital capacity at our command. Everything took >place without a search warrant." Was all the information forwarded to >NSA headquarters at Fort George Meade in Maryland? "Not all of it, >but quite a lot." Does the system use programs that are capable of >virtually scouring the airwaves based on certain categories and >trigger words? "That's one of the ways it functions, yes. It's like >an Internet search engine. By restricting your search to specific >numbers, persons or terms, you get results that are all related to >whatever you enter. > >BREACH OF SECURITY >Ekstra Bladet meets the former surveillance spy, Margaret Newsham, in >her home just outside Las Vegas. By talking to Ekstra Bladet, she >chooses to break her silence and tell us as much as she considers to >be reasonably safe. Because Newsham is still subject to the omertà of >the intelligence services. According to this stringent code of >silence, she is not allowed to reveal anything about her espionage >activities for the NSA. "But it is hard for me to live with the fact >that I sold my life and my freedom of speech to the largest >intelligence service of the US government." On the whole, it is >difficult for Margaret Newsham to lead a normal life, even though she >wants to do that most of all. In 1984, she was dismissed by Lockheed >Martin, which built espionage equipment for NSA. Ultimately, she >refused to work on a project which she felt was a security risk. She >was 'terminated' as they called it - and she sued them for wrongful >dismissal. > >BILLION DOLLAR SWINDLERS >"I experienced security breaches almost every day both at Lockheed's >headquarters in Sunnyvale, California and at Menwith Hill, England. >Sometimes it was utterly absurd. At a barbecue party held by >colleagues from the department responsible for developing the >'invisible' Stealth bomber, the barbecue kettle was made of the same >material that made the bomber invisible to hostile radar systems. >Another time, somebody had coffee mugs made and all of them were >covered with prints of highly classified Echelon stations. But they >were also involved in actual swindling. Lockheed Martin undercut >other companies to get NSA project contracts, after which they >illegally transferred money and manpower to meet the contract. Since >they could swindle others for hundreds of millions of dollars, they >were capable of anything. That made them very deceitful, and in my >eyes, they jeopardized the security of the United States Government." >Was the US Government informed about the clandestine projects? "No. >That's why we called them 'Black Programs". The government didn't >really know what was happening or what the many billions were >actually being used for. And I felt very loyal both to the government >and to the American Constitution, which was constantly being >infringed. The world of espionage was also called 'The Black World' >because most of the operations were carried out in secrecy, beyond >any control." Since her dismissal, Margaret Newsham has been under >heavy pressure, because her case against Lockheed Martin could mean >that an open court case would shed light on the NSA's 'black >projects'. Among other things, the case deals with swindling for more >than 10 billion DKK (ca. 1.4 billion USD), and for the time being, >her lawyer has provided her with legal assistance that is the >equivalent of 140 million DKK (ca. 20 million USD). > >PREMATURE DEATHS >The case has had a fatal effect on her health. Since '84 she has had >a seizure that left her totally paralyzed, survived a cardiac arrest, >and on top of everything else is suffering from cancer. Today, she >lives on borrowed time and suffers from high blood pressure. "It >didn't help any when my husband asked for a divorce after I had >survived my cardiac arrest. He is chief of security at Lockheed >Martin and has also been under a lot of pressure. He was grossly >harassed because of his affiliation with me," Newsham says. She lives >alone now and has struggled to maintain contact with her three >children and six grandchildren. Today, she lives in a quiet Las Vegas >suburb. Not even her neighbors know about her past. "NSA's activities >have not only affected me, but also my former espionage colleagues at >Lockheed. Nearly half of the people I worked with on clandestine >projects are either dead or mortally ill today. For example, my >former boss on the Echelon project, Robert Looper, died prematurely >of heart failure, and Kay Nickerson, who worked on developing the >Stealth bomber, died of brain damage." But how could half of your >former colleagues die prematurely? "I don't know how to explain it, >but at one point we discovered that Lockheed's headquarters in >Sunnyvale are built on top of a highly radioactive dumping ground." >What did they die of? "Heart failure, cancer, inexplicable seizures >and brain damage. Even I am going to die of cancer before my time. >But I have my lawyers, my doctor and my children and grandchildren to >support me. They are the people I am fond of." What gives you the >courage to continue? "The fact that the NSA, CIA and NRO (National >Reconnaissance Organization) are carrying on illegal espionage >against the rest of the world. They say they are doing it to catch >drug criminals, gunrunners and the like. But that doesn't give them >the right to do what they're doing. They are constantly breaking the >law." > >ECHELON IN DENMARK >In Denmark, leading politicians and ministers deny any knowledge of >Echelon beyond what they read in the newspapers. "Now they can read >about me then. I am living proof of Echelon's existence. I configured >and ran a lot of Echelon's programs." Margaret Newsham shows us the >order that stationed her at Menwith Hill, the specifications for some >Echelon programs and other internal documents. We found discarded >computer remnants at the Aflandshage Listening Post in Denmark >designated "VAX RED". Does that mean anything to you? "Yes, as a >matter of fact it means two things. You see, I worked on VAX >computers myself, and they were used on the Echelon project. "The >color RED probably refers to the classification level. Because the >security system is based on the fact that only very few people have >an overall picture of everything that goes on. Therefore, some >employees have red tags, some purple, some blue and so on. That means >that they are only allowed to work with certain parts of the >projects, i.e. the ones that are classified under the same color. As >a result, very few employees have a complete picture of what is >really going on. Since my tag had all the colors, I had a good >overview. I was also the one who made the back-up files." > >BIG BROTHER CONTROLS US >Can you understand how some people find it hard to believe that a >system like this really exists? "Yes, but it is real. We are spying >on our own citizens and the rest of the world - even our European >allies. If I say 'Amnesty' or 'Margaret Newsham', it is intercepted, >analyzed, coordinated, forwarded and registered - if it is of >interest to the intelligence agencies. I spoke with a radiologist >recently, who had done exactly the same thing I had, only ten years >later, in 1991, under 'Operation Desert Storm'. If only I could tell >you everything, then you would understand that Echelon is so big, >it's immensity almost defies comprehension." Margaret Newsham does >not regret that she has been a pariah in the US intelligence >community since her break with the NSA in 1984. A break that cost her >her husband, her job and her health. Is there anything you would you >have done differently? "Not for a second. It is important for the >truth to come out. I don't believe we should put up with being >controlled by 'Big Brother' in the future. But we put up with it >now." > >EXTRA FACTS >For ten years, Newsham worked for the US munitions and computer firms >Signal Science, Ford Aerospace and Lockheed Martin. They had >contracts for the development and upgrading of Echelon satellites and >computers which the companies designed for the intelligence agency >NSA. The NSA cooperates closely with the CIA and NRO (National >Reconnaissance Organization). For two years, Newsham shared the >responsibility for the day-to-day functioning of Echelon's computer >network at Menwith Hill, England. In classified documents, which are >in the possession of Ekstra Bladet, Menwith Hill is referred to as >'the largest station in the service'. Denmark participates on a >third-party basis in UKUSA, an electronic surveillance agreement. > >BY BO ELKJÆR AND KENAN SEEBERG > >COPYRIGHT 1999: EKSTRA BLADET - COPENHAGEN, DENMARK > >
>>>Bevar naturen: Sylt et egern.<< >>>URL: http://www.datashopper.dk/~boo/index.html<< >>>PGP-encrypted mail welcomed and preferred.<<
>
>Date: Tue, 21 Dec 1999 14:47:41 +0100 (CET) >From: Bo Elkjaer <boo@apollon.datashopper.dk> >To: cypherpunks@toad.com, jya@jya.com, jya@pipeline.com >Subject: MINISTER ADMITS: Denmark participates in global surveillance >-Sigint/Surveillance/Denmark
> >Printed sept. 27. 99: > >THE MINISTER FOR THE DEFENCE ADMITS. >"Denmark participates in a global surveillance system," admitted the >Minister for the Defense Hans Hækkerup under heavy pressure. As one >of the first governments in the clandestine Western intelligence >cooperation, Hækkerup acknowledged during a joint council in the >Danish Parliament's Europe Committee last Friday that the FE >(Intelligence Agency of the Danish Armed Forces) participates in the >interception of electronic communication. Does this occur in >cooperation with the NSA, which manages the so-called Echelon? "I >can't confirm that, but I can tell you that the FE has been >intercepting signals ever since the Second World War - and we're >still doing it." Can you confirm that this takes place at Aflandshage >on the island of Amager? "Yes, it does, and the facilities out there >have been continuously expanded over the years. We both collect and >process information from satellites. " Is this cooperation in >compliance with the law? "Yes, it is." The Minister for Defense was >summoned to a joint council by parliament member Keld Albrechtsen who >was quite astonished by the Minister's admissions. Up to now, the >ministries of Defense, Justice and Research have actually denied any >knowledge of the controversial global surveillance systems. The >Minister stated that such satellite systems exist and that Denmark is >included in them, but that this system is not called Echelon. He also >stated that we have the capacity to collect and exchange information >with the intelligence agencies of other countries. Do you have any >guarantee that Danish citizens are not being illegally monitored and >registered? "No, unfortunately." He evaded the question of whether >the law is obeyed in regards to the cooperation with the secret >services of other countries. So this system provides no guarantee for >the security of life and property for the ordinary citizen. He also >to refused to go into detail on the question of whether the >operations occur in cooperation with other countries. Another >parliament member of the Europe Committee, Knud Erik Hansen, asked at >the meeting if the facilities also spied on the commercial >satellites, i.e. the ones that transmit signals like telephone >conversations. He unfortunately evaded that question, too, but now >the Minister for Justice must be brought to order so he can assure us >that both private and commercial communication is not being monitored >illegally. BY BO ELKJÆR AND KENAN SEEBERG COPYRIGHT 1999: EKSTRA >BLADET - COPENHAGEN, DENMARK > >
>>>Bevar naturen: Sylt et egern.<< >>>URL: http://www.datashopper.dk/~boo/index.html<< >>>PGP-encrypted mail welcomed and preferred.<<
>
>Date: Tue, 21 Dec 1999 14:42:30 +0100 (CET) >From: Bo Elkjaer <boo@apollon.datashopper.dk> >To: cypherpunks@toad.com, jya@jya.com, jya@pipeline.com >Subject: THEY SPY ON ORDINARY PEOPLE - Sigint/Surveillance/Denmark > >Interview w. Duncan Campbell > >THEY SPY ON ORDINARY PEOPLE >"They spy on companies and interest groups," says Duncan Campbell, >who has looked at the listening post at Aflandshage near Copenhagen >in Denmark. "The facilities at Aflandshage are hardly distinguishable >from the Echelon installation in New Zealand." Physicist and >technology expert Duncan Campbell has no doubt. Denmark is involved >in illegal surveillance together with the other primary participants >in the so-called Echelon system, the US, England, Australia, Canada, >Hong Kong and New Zealand. "My best guess is that the facilities at >Aflandshage were additionally expanded shortly after the end of the >Cold War. In 1990 or perhaps a little later." What does that mean? >"Well it means that Aflandshage is in any case not part of NATO's >defense against Russia and the other East Bloc countries like it was >before. Everything indicates that the large parabolic antennas and >accompanying buildings are used in the same way as the facilities in >the other countries: to intercept communication from commercial >satellites that transmit the phone and fax conversations of ordinary >people. And to forward the intercepted information." > >BREACH OF DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES >In addition to his physics degree, Duncan Campbell is also a >journalist and has closely cooperated with a group of British women >who are protesting against the largest listening station in the >Echelon system. It is located in a beautiful area on Menwith Hill >near Birmingham, England. With the help of cunning tricks, the women >have sneaked into the base more than a hundred times and removed >thousands of classified documents from the secretive base. With the >help of these papers, and from information from anonymous agents, >Campbell has acquired a unique knowledge which last year resulted in >an extensive report on the global surveillance, ordered by the >European Parliament. "The problem is that most democratic countries >have laws that protect the sanctity of private life and do not allow >the lawful political activities of their citizens to be monitored and >registered. In order to monitor someone, you must have grounds for >suspicion and be authorized to do so by a judge. Echelon is a total >breach of these principles. A great number of categories are coded >into the system, and under each category there are even more code >words. Many of the words are used in normal daily conversation. Not >only the rights of ordinary people are infringed; Echelon also >monitors interest groups like Amnesty International, Greenpeace and >private companies. Several examples of industrial espionage exist in >which the US intelligence service has passed on information to US >companies that was intercepted from satellites. > >BREAKS THE LAW >How can you be so sure that this is possible? >I have seen the footage taken inside the systems while they were in >operation. Both from Menwith Hill, England and Waihopa, New Zealand. >TV-Free from New Zealand succeeded in filming in the Waihopa base, >and the operations room was almost completely devoid of staff. The >process is totally automated and operates at lightening speed. In >addition, I also made a documentary for which we set up a tiny >parabolic antenna beside the base on Menwith Hill. The information it >intercepted was unbelievable after we positioned it to listen in on >the same satellite at which the large parabolic antennas in the base >are aimed." Isn't it reasonable that the system has the capability to >monitor terrorists and the like? "Sure it is. But there is all the >difference in the world between conventional surveillance and >monitoring and this system in which the law is consistently and >constantly being broken by the very people who should be making sure >that others obey the law. They are purely and simply exchanging >information which is illegal for the local intelligence agencies in >the individual countries to collect." Is it still called Echelon? >"The code name Echelon is only part of the entire system, and >everything seems to indicate that they have switched codes. Last I >heard it was 'Magistrand'." > >BY BO ELKJÆR AND KENAN SEEBERG >COPYRIGHT 1999: EKSTRA BLADET - COPENHAGEN, DENMARK > >
>>>Bevar naturen: Sylt et egern.<< >>>URL: http://www.datashopper.dk/~boo/index.html<< >>>PGP-encrypted mail welcomed and preferred.<<
>
---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- POLITECH -- the moderated mailing list of politics and technology To subscribe: send a message to majordomo@vorlon.mit.edu with this text: subscribe politech More information is at http://www.well.com/~declan/politech/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- ------- End of forwarded message -------