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I don't get it... why does Australia need to store a copy of US secret data? Isn't this why the Defence Industry invented the internet?

by Volpe 13y ago

DanBC 13y ago
NSA isn't allowed to spy on its own citizens. Australia is allowed to spy on US citizens. US and Australia pool their collected intelligence. The US gives a list of names to Australia and asks if Australia has any information on those names. This is pretty much how ECHELON worked, with UK, US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand all cooperating.
- freakyterrorist 13y ago
  Wow, I'd never thought of that way, We'll spy on your people if you spy ours...
- adventured 13y ago
  The NSA directly spies on Americans in every way they possibly can. They're not supposed to, is the actual situation.
- Intermernet 13y ago
  Speaking of ECHELON, I saw a recent map of US intelligence assets around the world (Can't find it now, but will keep trying) which had a few sites in Australia, but was glaringly missing Pine Gap. [1] Apparently the current foreign minister Bob Carr, when recently asked about this "...did not respond directly to a question about whether the Pine Gap facility is being used as part of the PRISM program."[2] Considering that one of the primary concerns of Pine Gap is monitoring "transmissions intended for communications satellites; and microwave emissions, such as long-distance telephone calls." I'd find it hard to believe it isn't a fairly major part of the PRISM system for the southern hemisphere. [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_Gap http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_Gap [2]: http://www.zdnet.com/au/australian-government-to-assess-prism-impact-7000016637/ http://www.zdnet.com/au/australian-government-to-assess-pris...
lessnonymous 13y ago
I guessed this exchange of data was happening earlier in the week: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5861516 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5861516 Though I said ASIO rather than DSD: > But what if the NSA gave the PRISM tech and data feed to ASIO so ASIO could spy on Americans and answer any question the NSA asks (and vice versa). > Now neither intelligence service has an 'illegal wiretap' on their own citizens. They just receive 'foreign intelligence' from each other.

I don't get it... why does Australia need to store a copy of US secret data? Isn't this why the Defence Industry invented the internet?

by Volpe 13y ago

I don't get it... why does Australia need to store a copy of US secret data? Isn't this why the Defence Industry invented the internet?

DanBC 13y ago

NSA isn't allowed to spy on its own citizens. Australia is allowed to spy on US citizens. US and Australia pool their collected intelligence. The US gives a list of names to Australia and asks if Australia has any information on those names. This is pretty much how ECHELON worked, with UK, US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand all cooperating.

freakyterrorist 13y ago
Wow, I'd never thought of that way, We'll spy on your people if you spy ours...
adventured 13y ago
The NSA directly spies on Americans in every way they possibly can. They're not supposed to, is the actual situation.
Intermernet 13y ago
Speaking of ECHELON, I saw a recent map of US intelligence assets around the world (Can't find it now, but will keep trying) which had a few sites in Australia, but was glaringly missing Pine Gap. [1] Apparently the current foreign minister Bob Carr, when recently asked about this "...did not respond directly to a question about whether the Pine Gap facility is being used as part of the PRISM program."[2] Considering that one of the primary concerns of Pine Gap is monitoring "transmissions intended for communications satellites; and microwave emissions, such as long-distance telephone calls." I'd find it hard to believe it isn't a fairly major part of the PRISM system for the southern hemisphere. [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_Gap http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_Gap [2]: http://www.zdnet.com/au/australian-government-to-assess-prism-impact-7000016637/ http://www.zdnet.com/au/australian-government-to-assess-pris...

lessnonymous 13y ago

I guessed this exchange of data was happening earlier in the week: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5861516 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5861516 Though I said ASIO rather than DSD: > But what if the NSA gave the PRISM tech and data feed to ASIO so ASIO could spy on Americans and answer any question the NSA asks (and vice versa). > Now neither intelligence service has an 'illegal wiretap' on their own citizens. They just receive 'foreign intelligence' from each other.