TORONTO, Canada – A United States Government employee by the name of Edward Snowden gained overnight fame after releasing scores of documents disclosing covert affairs undertaken by the National Security Agency (NSA) and the U.S. Government. Currently receiving asylum in Russia, his documents continue to reveal startling actions undertaken by the NSA. Recent revelations include Canadian admission to allow the NSA to spy in the country during the G8 and G20 summits that had taken place in Toronto in 2010. Perhaps most startling about this revelation is the admission of the Canadian Government to allow the U.S. to conduct this surveillance.
In an exclusive story leaked to CBC news, Prime Minister Stephen Harper is said to have allowed the spy agency to conduct “wide spread” surveillance in Canada during the summits. The notes, which were stamped “Top Secret” show the U.S. turned the Ottawa embassy into a security command post during the six-day period. Present at the summits were 25 foreign heads of government. The NSA, collaborating with The Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC) gathered foreign intelligence for their respective governments. This was accomplished by intercepting phone calls and hacking into worldwide computer systems.
These claims follow accusations of Canada and the U.S.’s involvement with Britain’s eavesdropping agency Government Communication Headquarters (GCHQ) during the 2009 G20 summit in London. “The Guardian” reports the GCHQ both hacked into the South African foreign ministry’s computer network and targeted the Turkish delegation. It went so far as to bug Internet cafés to get an edge during negotiations. The disclosed documents state that “Diplomatic targets from all nations have an MO (a habit) of using smartphones [and spies]exploited this use at the G20 meetings [in 2009.]”
The spying undertaken at Toronto is only the tip of the iceberg. The magnitude of economic and political espionage by the U.S. intelligence agency and its partners is unrivaled. The NSA is the largest intelligence agency in the U.S., its budget is over $40 billion and it employs about 40,000 people. CSEC, of smaller magnitude, has a budget of about $450 million, employing roughly 2,000 employees. The cooperation of the two governments was necessary to access the systems needed to undertake the espionage.
The alliance between Canadian and U.S. eavesdropping agencies is not exclusive. A multinational partnership called the “Five Eyes,” comprising of the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, the U.S. and Canada, have an agreement of collective sharing of information obtained via covert methods. This agreement, known as the UKUSA agreement, establishes jointly run operation centers where operative from multiple agencies of the Five Eyes work alongside one another.
In response, a movement known as the “Eyes Wide Open” project aims to expose the activities of the Five Eyes. It not only wants to promote individual human right violations, but challenge the legal framework that enables global surveillance practices.
The snooping in Toronto was allegedly done to protect leaders against terrorist threats posed by al-Qaeda. However, the document outlining the espionage stated that there was no credible information that any Islamic extremists were targeting the event. Ultimately, however, al-Qaeda turned out not to be their biggest threat.
Anti-G20 protests, which attracted over 10,000 individuals, led to one of the largest and most expensive security operations in Canadian history. The damage amounted to a cost of about CA $750,000, and was also the first time Toronto had to employ tear gas to fight demonstrators. Furthermore, over a 1,000 arrests were made, making it the largest mass arrest in Canadian history.
Statements released by Canadian and U.S. Governments implore the importance of privacy to its citizens and people around the world. In light of the Snowden crisis, President Obama has ordered a review of all NSA operations, and CSEC spokeswoman Lauri Sullivan stated “CSEC does not target Canadians anywhere or any person in Canada through its foreign intelligence activities.”
– Chloe Nevitt
Feature Writer
Sources: Biography, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Privacy International, The Star, The Globe and Mail, The Times of India
Photo: Reuters