NSA chief ISP web, drops hints about e-mail monitoring

"I NSA could not be more proud of the men and women," Keith Alexander, head of the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber ​​Command, told Congress on Wednesday.
Head of the National Security Agency, emails and web site visits of Americans secretly logs the world's most powerful intelligence can be vacuumed up by the group on Wednesday that hinted.
During the hearing of the U.S. Senate NSA Director Keith Alexander, "e-mail contacts" Patriot Act surveillance powers under the Obama administration's secret interpretation is; were specifically about.

And highly visible "I do not want to make any mistakes," Alexander monitor such details being revealed adding that "some kind of protection our country to lose." The senators are scheduled to attend Thursday that a "secret session" to monitor e-mail and other metadata discussed, he said, would be appropriate.
From the NSA, the agency's AT & T, Verizon with close, long term relationships, and other telecommunications providers who follow a small circle of outsiders is an open secret - is that They are served up exabytes to find will come as little surprise daily e-mail and web browsing as well as logs. Wall Street Journal NSA "such as email or web site visits statistics regarding use of the Internet by Internet service providers access to data., The" former government officials Reference In last week's report

But NSA Director Alexander and Senator Mike Johanns, a Nebraska Republican Wednesday exchanges between Fort Meade, Mohammad-based agency addressing the issue in a public environment is possibly the closest.
"It [the NSA] is odd to focus entirely on logs and Internet telephony traffic to delete," Julian Sanchez, who focuses on electronic surveillance Cato Institute in Washington, DC, a research fellow. "He might as well as IP logs and e-mail header will assume you are vacuuming."
Wednesday the Senate of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in exchange for a top secret order from UK-based Guardian newspaper revealed last week was encouraged. The NSA has been Verizon customers from all domestic calls allows for daily records. Even after reports & T and Sprint are involved.
Department of Justice better "business records" section known as the Patriot Act, 50 USC 1861, was authorized by Section 215 claims received by the order. Section 215 of the Patriot Act, FBI agents from supporters to cover every American's call logs was never the intention of the "books, records, papers, documents, and other materials," including any "tangible thing" to obtain permits. (Section 215 orders supported by probable cause and signed by a judge as compared to traditional search warrants, more than a little difficult because legally Privacy - Privacy, and.)
In an unusual move, however, Section 215 of the Department of Justice has refused to disclose its secret interpretation - despite multiple complaints from senators - extend Patriot Act surveillance will reveal just how far.
"I'm sure you worry about how much authority is extended," Sen. Johanns during Wednesday's hearing, said the director of NSA. Section 215 covers only metadata Alexander replied: "If you want to receive the material, you'll have to get a court order."
Under the Justice Department's arguments, Web browsing and e-mail logs logs "to order a 215 like that seem to be potentially an issue, and will," Kurt Opsahl, senior staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said .
Any company to run an email server metadata will include the content of communications, but the incoming and outgoing messages, are likely to keep the logs. The Internet Service Providers Web sites, ACLU 2010 sheds some light on the subject of the tours user logs on to a document which, while less clear.
Document, an internal Justice Department chart marked "law enforcement use only," I have Verizon wireless internet protocol addresses for 90 days, is meant to be visited are "destination IP Information, "which suggests. Sprint has 60 days to connection logs. T-Mobile, AT & T, and Virgin Mobile does not maintain a connection logs.
Allen Butler, the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington, DC, lawyer appeal lawyer, he called for billions of records used by Section 215 of the Department of Justice believes is illegal. But, despite the department's records IP addresses should be treated as a phone number that can be discussed:
The "content" (specific pages may be considered material for detailed URIs) contains the IP address of the call records as records likely to be treated like one. The FBI theoretically order to justify the Verizon used the same argument can be extended compatibility.
NSA illegally last week to open the system was charged with Silicon Valley companies, especially the "national security letter" requests the consent of their legal standing to sue over the Section 215 Use of legally questionable that there is no evidence acquiesce. In addition, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Larry Page, the federal government more than a collection of statistics denied a clear direction has to offer.
James Bamford, in his 2008 book, "Shadow Factory," as President Bush's now reshaped warrantless wiretapping program described the participation of Internet Service Providers:
For several decades, and many other IT and telecommunications industry with NSA in a very secret, very cozy relationship has been ... [NSA Director Michael Hayden] for almost all the country's warrantless eavesdropping program, supported by telecommunications companies succeeded in secret. Within a year, engineers in Bridgeton, New York City, between the secret key AT & T switch, installed in rooms engaged in heavy lock, and San Francisco, the West Coast of the company's central office. The data - including both address information and material - NSA will flow through directly PacketScopes.
Other reports NSA intercept the communications of a person to determine, phone number, IP address, and e-mail addresses will be added to the metadata, the suggested uses. The work has been completed, and after being satisfied with the legal process, and technology providers and other internet taps in man for strict monitoring will be used for targeting.
Unknown about the NSA's surveillance activities speculation Heightening Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) on Wednesday after attending a confidential briefing had said.
"We have learned," Sanchez "is out today in the media significantly more than. Said,"