A PRISM of a Different Kind

The Washington Post has an in-depth view of one of the tools - perhaps the most important one - that NSA uses for spying on our electronic communications.  The tool, known as PRISM, relies on being able to access the servers and networks of some of America's leading companies: Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, PalTalk, AOL, Skype, YouTube, Apple.  The NSA is able to extract audio and video chats, photographs, e-mails, documents, and connection logs that enable analysts to track foreign targets.  This tools is also used by GCHQ, Britain’s equivalent of the NSA.

This tool was authorized by Congress via the the Protect America Act in 2007 and the Foreign Surveillance Intelligence Court Amendments Act of 2008, which immunized private companies that cooperated voluntarily with U.S. intelligence collection.  FISA is a court that meets in secret, allows only the government to appear before it, and publishes almost none of its opinions.

You really should like at this show from the Post.  Some of the slides appear below.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

========================================================================
========================================================================


=======================================================================