Canadians, Beware of data spying

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A former top U.S. surveillance official is heading north, to warn Canadians that they, too, could become susceptible to massive data-spying programs launched by their own government.
Speaking from his home near Fort Meade, Md., – in a phone interview that he said would certainly be transcribed by the U.S. authorities – the crypto-mathematician recalled how he spent decades working for the NSA before his relationship with U.S. security agencies soured.
Yet, while Mr. Binney compliments the surveillance acumen of Communications Security Establishment Canada, he also urged the Canadian public to scrutinize CSEC – especially given its long-standing close ties to the NSA.
CSEC and NSA have been allies since forming as “foreign intelligence” agencies during the Cold War.
“CSEC does not direct its activities at Canadians and is prohibited by law from doing so,” its chief, John Forster, said in a rare public statement.
Such programs are kept murky. This summer U.S. contractor Edward Snowden leaked a trove of documents showing how the NSA has been conducting dragnet surveillance on American telecommunications traffic, even as top officials publicly disavowed doing any domestic spying.
Mr. Binney said Canadians should pay attention to the close partnership.
At the time, he said he was incensed to hear that NSA had started intercepting American-to-American telecommunications.