NSA Surveillance Covers 75 Percent of U.S. Internet Traffic

The National Security Agency’s surveillance network has the ability right now to keep tabs on 75 percent of all U.S. Internet traffic, The Wall Street Journal reports. The NSA is supposed to be using that ability to search out intelligence on the ‘bad guys’ by grabbing the communications of foreigners and Americans. The WSJ interviewed current and former intelligence and government officials and people from companies that help build or operate the systems, or provide data. After those interviews, they say that the written content of emails sent between citizens within the U.S. and domestic phone calls made with Internet technology were captured. The system works by using algorithms that act as filters to flag the crucial stuff for a human to then look at closer. An NSA spokeswoman told the Journal that its actions were both legal and respectful of Americans’ privacy.

NSA incurred millions of dollars in Prism compliance costs, top-secret document reveals

Top-secret NSA documents provided to the Guardian by whistleblower Edward Snowden reveal the National Security Agency incurred millions of dollars in fees to major Internet companies including Facebook , Google, Microsoft and Yahoo involved in the Prism surveillance program.

Flame virus created by U.S. and Israel sources say, Iran is target

The Washington Post reports that Flame, an extremely sophisticated virus which was first discovered in Iranian oil refineries, is the brainchild of U.S. and Israeli efforts to slow Iran's nuclear program. This information comes from several Western officials who purportedly have knowledge of the project, but wish to remain anonymous.

Despite the report's veiled sources, Flame's U.S. origins aren't necessarily a surprise. Earlier this month, the New York Times shed light uponOperation: Olympic Games, a U.S. project which utilized other sophisticated viruses known as Duquand Stuxnet. These virus targeted Iranian SCADA systems, allowing their creators to access, gather intelligence and even control certain aspects of Iran's nuclear and oil refining facilities. 

Security researchers recently discovered Stuxnet code within Flame -- an unofficial confirmation that the creators of Stuxnet (i.e. U.S. government) were also behind the virus. After this discovery was made, the virus began to self-destruct, hastily removing itself from infected computers as though it were taking cues from a spy novel.

Flame wowed security researchers with its incredible sophistication. The 20MB virus carried a payload which could be transmitted through spoofing Windows Updates, allowing it to infect even non-compromised computers on the same network. The creators used what is believed to be an unknown MD5 collision attack to forge Microsoft's digital signature on a fraudulent certificate, an achievement which was described by security researchers as the holy grail of malware writers.

Flame also has modules which could utilize microphones and web cameras, log keystrokes, collect screen shots and allow it to propagate via removable media (i.e. USB thumb drives), allowing it to be introduced into sensitive networks isolated from the public. It would even use Bluetooth to send commands to other computers, providing a bevy of vectors for infecting, monitoring and controlling nearby workstations.

NSA won't reveal how many Americans have been spied on

Last month a pair of US Senators inquired as to how many people within the country had been spied upon by the National Security Agency in the wake of updates to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) in 2008. Getting a straightforward answer proved impossible as Senators Ron Wyden and Mark Udall were told that such information wouldviolate the privacy of US persons.

The question was reportedly passed around through the intelligence bureaucracy before landing on the desk of I. Charges McCullough, III, Inspector General of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the nominal head of the 16 U.S. spy agencies.

Danger Room acquired a letter dated June 15 from McCullough to both senators where he thanked them for the inquiry and goes on to explain that the request was passed along to NSA Inspector General George Ellard as he would be able to answer the question in a more timely manner.

Ellard concluded that obtaining such an estimate was beyond the capacity of his office and to bring in additional resources needed to get a solid answer would “impede the NSA’s mission.” NSA leadership agreed that collecting such data would itself violate the privacy of US persons.

“All that Senator Udall and I are asking for is a ballpark estimate of how many Americans have been monitored under this law, and it is disappointing that the Inspectors General cannot provide it,” Wyden told Danger Room. “If no one will even estimate how many Americans have had their communications collected under this law then it is all the more important that Congress act to close the ‘back door searches’ loophole, to keep the government from searching for Americans’ phone calls and emails without a warrant.”

Wired points out that the FISA Amendment Act allows the NSA to no longer require probable cause to intercept phone calls, text messages or emails so long as one person in the string of communication is “reasonably” believed to be outside of the US.

“If the FISA Amendments Act is not susceptible to oversight in this way, it should be repealed, not renewed,” said Steve Aftergood, a secrecy expert at the Federation of American Scientists.

NSA wants to build $896.5 million supercomputing center

The National Security Agency (NSA) is designing a new $895.6 million supercomputing complex called the High Performance Computing Center, to be complete by December 2015. It will be constructed at its Fort Meade, Maryland, headquarters over the next several years according to National Security Agency Military Construction, Defense-Wide FY 2012 Budget Estimates (19-page PDF via InformationWeek).

The Department of Defense budget document indicates that the project will be designed with energy efficiency, security, and "state-of-the-art" computing horsepower in mind, including the goal of attaining an LEED Silver certification by conserving water, energy, and materials. The specifications for the new supercomputing complex seem to suggest that the NSA is building a massive data center, with typical needs such as raised flooring, chilled water systems, fire suppression, alarms, as well as power requirements of 60 megawatts.

The NSA is requesting $84.7 million for the new High Performance Computing Center in fiscal 2012, including $35 million for planning and design. That will be followed up with a planned $399.9 million in fiscal 2013, and $431 million to complete the center in fiscal 2014. Unsurprisingly, the supercomputing complex will have expensive protection, including an estimated $15.1 million in building security and $21.7 million on perimeter control. The security features will include a vehicle cargo inspection facility, a visitor control center, card access control, video surveillance, intrusion detection systems, chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear detection systems, perimeter fencing, and so on.

In addition to the supercomputing center and a few non-tech related construction projects, the budget document also shows a $246.4 million request for 2012 to be used for NSA's new cybersecurity data center under construction at Camp Williams, Utah as well as a $68.6 million request for a new generator at NSA's communications intercept site at RAF Menwith Hill in England