NSA Surveillance

This is a collection of news articles and commentary on the NSA warrantless surveillance, the MAINWAY NSA call database, the PRISM surveillance program and revelations made public by Bradley Manning, Edward Snowden and other people who shared classified intelligence material.

Data Sources

Newspapers

• www.washingtonpost.com - The Washington Post (requires subscription)
• www.nytimes.com - The New York Times (requires paid subscription)

News aggregation

• www.realclearpolitics.com - Real Clear Politics

Announcement mailing lists and blogs

• pfir.org, People For Internet Responsibility list run by Lauren Weinstein. Here is Lauren's blog: lauren.vortex.com.
• Skating on Stilts - Stewart Baker's blog.

News

• Süddeutsche Zeitung: Studenten verhören NSA-Beamte, by Christian Helten (July 5, 2013)

A commentary to Students Question the NSA at Recruiting Session, by Madiha Tahir

• Washington Post: Sarah Harrison, the woman from WikiLeaks, by Anthony Faiola and Karla Adam (July 5, 2013)
• The Guardian: NSA leaks: UK blocks crucial espionage talks between US and Europe, by Ian Traynor (July 5, 2013)
• The Guardian: Edward Snowden offered asylum by Venezuelan president, by Reuters (July 7, 213)
• The Guardian: European states were told Snowden was on Morales plane, says Spain, by the Associated Press (July 5, 2013)
• The Guardian: US and Germany to hold talks over European NSA surveillance concerns, by Kate Connolly, Dan Roberts and Ian Traynor (July 4, 2013)
• The Guardian: European firms 'could quit US internet providers over NSA scandal', by Ian Traynor (July 4, 2013)
• The Guardian: France 'runs vast electronic spying operation using NSA-style methods', by Angelique Chrisafis (July 4, 2013)
• Le Monde: Révélations sur le Big Brother français, by Jacques Follorou et Franck Johannès (July 4, 2013)
• USA Today: Obama, Merkel agree to talks on U.S. spying, by David Jackson (July 4, 2013)
• Reuters: EU parliament urges blocking U.S. data access after spy leaks, by Claire Davenport (July 4, 2013)
• Washington Post: Seeking Snowden in Sheremetyevo, by Kathy Lally and Will Englund (July 4, 2013)
• Fox News: French official lashes out at US at July 4 party, in latest clash over Snowden leaks, by Fox News and the Associated Press (July 4, 2013)
• CNN: Morales challenges U.S. after Snowden rumor holds up plane in Europe, by Ed Payne and Catherine E. Shoichet (July 4, 2013)
• New York Times: Résumé Shows Snowden Honed Hacking Skills, by Christopher Drew and Scott Shane (July 4, 2013)
• New York Times: U.S. Postal Service Logging All Mail for Law Enforcement, by Ron Nixon (July 3, 2013)
• Real Clear Politics: Clapper Apologizes for "Erroneous" Answer on NSA Spying, by Kimberly Dozier, AP (July 3, 2013)
• The Guardian: Bolivian president leaves Austria as diplomatic row erupts over diversion, by Jonathan Watts, Dan Roberts and agencies (July 3, 2013)
• Huffington Post: German Magazine Der Spiegel Lands Latest Edward Snowden NSA Scoop, by Michael Calderone (July 1, 2013)
• Ars Technica: Snowden speaks: by revoking passport, US gov’t is “using citizenship as a weapon”, by Cyrus Farivar (July 1, 2013)
• Ars Technica: Ecuador president: Snowden can’t leave Moscow airport without Russia’s OK, by Cyrus Farivar (July 1, 2013)
• WikiLeaks: Statement from Edward Snowden in Moscow, by Edward Snowden (July 1, 2013)
• The Guardian: Obama tries to ease NSA tensions and insists: Europe spies on US too, by Dan Roberts (July 1, 2013)
• Süddeutsche Zeitung: "Deutschland sollte ihm Asyl gewähren", by Oliver Das Gupta (July 1, 2013)
• Liberation: Plusieurs partis politiques réclament l'asile pour Snowden, by K.H.-G. and AFP (July 1, 2013)
• Le Monde: Espionnage américain : le point sur les dernières révélations, by Lucie Soullier (July 1, 2013)
• Le Monde: La Commission européenne se dit "focalisée" sur l'affaire de l'espionnage américain, by Jean-Pierre Stroobants (July 1, 2013)
• Le Monde: Espionnage : Hollande demande des garanties à Washington avant de parler de libre échange, by Philippe Ricard (July 1, 2013)
• USA Today: Putin tells Snowden to stop leaking, refuses U.S. demands, by Kim Hjelmgaard and Aaron Tilton (July 1, 2013)
• Washington Post: Bush defends surveillance programs, says Snowden ‘damaged’ U.S., by Aaron Blake (July 1, 2013)
• New York Times: Snowden Applies for Asylum in Russia, by Andrew Roth (July 1, 2013)
• New York Times: Kerry Says Snowden Affair Will Not Upset China Relations, by Michael R. Gordon (July 1, 2013)
• New York Times: Job Title Key to Inner Access Held by Snowden, by Scott Shane and David E. Sanger (June 30, 2013)
• New York Times: Report of U.S. Spying Angers European Allies, by Stephen Castle (June 30, 2013)
• Washington Post: E.U. fury on allegations of U.S. spying, by Michael Birnbaum (June 30, 2013)
• Washington Post: Julian Assange: Edward Snowden is ‘marooned in Russia’, by David A. Fahrenthold (June 30, 2013)
• The Guardian: New NSA leaks show how US is bugging its European allies, by Ewen MacAskill and Julian Borger (June 30, 2013)
• Der Spiegel: Spying 'Out of Control': EU Official Questions Trade Negotiations, by Claus Hecking and Stefan Schultz (June 30, 2013)
• Der Spiegel: Attacks from America: NSA Spied on European Union Offices, by Laura Poitras, Marcel Rosenbach, Fidelius Schmid and Holger Stark (June 29, 2013)
• Washington Post: Secret-court judges upset at portrayal of ‘collaboration’ with government, by Carol D. Leonnig, Ellen Nakashima and Barton Gellman (June 29, 2013)
• Washington Post: NSA slides explain the PRISM data-collection program (published June 6, updated June 29 2013)
• New York Times: After Leaks, Obama Leads Damage Control Effort, by Peter Baker (June 28, 2013)
• Charlie Rose: Guardian editors discuss NSA surveillance with Charlie Rose, video (June 27, 2013)
• The Guardian: How the NSA is still harvesting your online data, by Glenn Greenwald and Spencer Ackerman (June 27, 2013)
• New York Times: New Leak Suggests Ashcroft Confrontation Was Over N.S.A. Program, by Charlie Savage and James Risen (June 27, 2013)
• Ars Technica: New leak shows NSA harvests To, From, and BCC lines of e-mail data, by Joe Mullin (June 27, 2013)
• The Guardian: NSA collected US email records in bulk for more than two years under Obama, by Glenn Greenwald and Spencer Ackerman (June 27, 2013)
• New York Times: F.T.C. Member Starts ‘Reclaim Your Name’ Campaign for Personal Data, by Natasha Singer (June 26, 2013)
• New York Times: Under Snowden Screen Name, 2009 Post Berated Leaks, by Scott Shane (June 26, 2013)
• Ars Technica: Students cite EU data protection laws, challenge firms over NSA data transfers, by Cyrus Farivar (June 26, 2013)
• Ars Technica: In 2009, Ed Snowden said leakers “should be shot.” Then he became one, by Joe Mullin (June 26, 2013)
• New York Times: Kerry Softens Tone with Russia in Snowden Dispute, by Michael R. Gordon (June 26, 2013)
• The Daily Beast: Greenwald: Snowden’s Files Are Out There if ‘Anything Happens’ to Him, by Eli Lake (Jun 25, 2013)
• New York Times: China Brushes Aside U.S. Warnings on Snowden, by Jane Perlez (June 25th, 2013)
• CNN: In high-stakes hide-and-seek, Snowden keeps much of the world guessing, by Jethro Mullen and Michael Pearson (June 25th, 2013)
• South China Morning Post: Snowden sought Booz Allen job to gather evidence on NSA surveillance, by Lana Lam (June 25, 2013)
• Wired: NSA Surveillance Leaks Prompt Legislation, by David Kravets (June 24, 2014)
• The New York Times blog: Excerpts From Snowden’s Letter Requesting Asylum in Ecuador, by Robert Mackey (June 24, 2013)
• The New York Times blog: Flight Departs for Cuba, but No Sign of Snowden, by Jennifer Preston (June 24, 2013)
• New York Times: Offering Snowden Aid, WikiLeaks Gets Back in the Game, by Scott Shane (June 23, 2013)
• New York Times: U.S. Rebukes China, Russia and Ecuador Over Snowden, by Peter Baker and Rick Gladstone (June 24, 2013)
• New York Times: Plane for Havana Leaves Moscow Without Snowden, by David M. Herszenhorn, Ellen Barry and Peter Baker (June 24, 2013)
• New York Times: Hasty Exit Started With Pizza Inside a Hong Kong Hideout, by Keyth Bradsher (June 24, 2013)
• ABC News: Kerry: Deeply Troubling If Snowden Allowed to Flee, by Deb Reichman, Associated Press (June 24, 2013)
• Ars Technica: Google handed over years of e-mails belonging to WikiLeaks chatroom admin, by Cyrus Farivar (June 22, 2013)
• Ars Technica: Google has 35 days to delete private Street View data, or else, by Joe Mullin (June 21, 2013)
• Wired: U.K. Spy Agency Secretly Taps Over 200 Fiber-Optic Cables, Shares Data With the NSA, by Kim Zetter (June 21, 2013)
• Ars Technica: New leaks: British intel’s direct-from-fiber taps “worse than the US”, by Cyrus Farivar (June 21, 2013)
• Wired: 5 Fun Facts From the Latest NSA Leak, by Kim Zetter (June 20, 2013)
• Ars Technica: Aaron’s Law, much-needed reforms to computer crimes law, introduced in Congress, by Cyrus Farivar (June 20, 2013)
• Ars Technica: Use of Tor and e-mail crypto could increase chances that NSA keeps your data, by Dan Goodin (June 20, 2013)
• Ars Technica: Lawmakers introduce new bill to compel gov’t to declassify secret court opinions, by Cyrus Farivar (June 20, 2013)
• Ars Technica: Concern about how Google Glass works goes international, by Casey Johnston (June 20, 2013)
• Ars Technica: Defense lawyer says gov’t hid NSA role in California terrorism case, by Cyrus Farivar (June 19, 2013)
• Ars Technica: FBI head says it’s using surveillance drones in US skies “very seldom”, by Cyrus Farivar (June 19, 2013)
• Ars Technica: Feds: We can’t give up cellular location data, because NSA doesn’t collect it, by Cyrus Farivar (June 19 2013)
• Ars Technica: Secret Sqrrl: NSA “spin-off” company releases data mining tool, by Sean Gallagher (June 19, 2013)
• Wired: Justice Department Fought to Conceal NSA’s Role in Terror Case From Defense Lawyers, by Kevin Poulsen (June 18, 2013)
• Ars Technica: NSA head defends spying, says it has disrupted more than 50 plots, by Cyrus Farivar (June 18, 2013)
• Ars Technica: Google wants secret court to grant publication of two data points, by Cyrus Farivar (June 18, 2013)
• Ars Technica: Snowden in online chat: NSA analysts can get “anything they want”, by Cyrus Farivar (June 17, 2013)
• Ars Technica: What the NSA doesn’t have: iMessages and FaceTime chats, by Joe Mullin (June 17, 2013)
• Ars Technica: Texas becomes first state to require warrant for e-mail snooping, by Cyrus Farivar (June 17, 2013)
• Ars Technica: PRISM helped stop terrorism in US and 20-plus countries, NSA document argues, by Nathan Mattise (June 16, 2013)
• Ars Technica: More Snowden leaks reveal UK surveillance on 2009 G20 summit attendees, by Nathan Mattise (June 16, 2013)
• Washington Post: Metadata reveals the secrets of social position, company hierarchy, terrorist cells, by Ellen Nakashima (June 15, 2013)
• Ars Technica: Details emerge about PRISM, big tech companies release data request reports, by Megan Geuss (June 15, 2013)
• Washington Post: U.S. surveillance architecture includes collection of revealing Internet, phone metadata, by Barton Gellman (June 15, 2013)
• Wired: Yahoo Supplied Data to PRISM Only After Losing Scrappy FISA Fight, by Kim Zetter (June 14, 2013)
• Wired: Our Top-Secret Message to NSA Whistleblower Edward Snowden, by Kevin Poulsen (June 14, 2013)
• Ars Technica: Encrypted e-mail: How much annoyance will you tolerate to keep the NSA away?, by Peter Bright and Dan Goodin (June 14, 2013)
• Ars Technica: NSA gets early access to zero-day data from Microsoft, others, by Sean Gallagher (June 14, 2013)
• The Guardian: Investigate Booz Allen Hamilton, not Edward Snowden, by Pratap Chatterjee (June 14, 2013)
• Wired: Connecting the Dots on PRISM, Phone Surveillance, and the NSA’s Massive Spy Center, by James Bamford (June 12, 2013)
• Wired: Neglected Privacy Board to Probe Spygate Scandal, by David Kravets (June 12, 2013)
• Wired: The Secret War, by James Bamford (June 12, 2013)
• Ars Technica: NSA leaker Ed Snowden’s life on Ars Technica, by Joe Mullin (June 12, 2013)
• Wired: Google’s Real Secret Spy Program? Secure FTP, by Kim Zetter (June 11, 2013)
• Wired: Defense Department Orders Employees, Contractors to Steer Clear of Surveillance Stories, by David Kravets (June 11, 2013)
• Wired: Lawmakers Seek Declassification of Secret Spy Court Rulings, by David Kravets (June 11, 2013)
• Ars Technica: Guardian reporter delayed e-mailing NSA source because crypto is a pain, by Dan Goodin (June 11, 2013)
• Ars Technica: Mozilla wants 500M users to tell gov’t: “stop watching us”, by Joe Mullin (June 11, 2013)
• Ars Technica: ACLU sues four top Obama administration officials over Verizon metadata sharing, by Cyrus Farivar (June 11, 2013)
• Ars Technica: NSA leaker’s girlfriend blogged about “feeling alone” when he left, by Joe Mullin (June 11, 2013)
• Ars Technica: What the NSA can do with “big data”, by Joe Mullin (June 10, 2013)
• Ars Technica: Poll: Most Americans not worried about gov’t phone tracking, by Joe Mullin (June 10, 2013)
• The New York Times blog: N.S.A. Whistle-Blower Revealed in Video, by Robert Mackey (June 10, 2013)
• Ars Technica: Whistleblower who exposed NSA mass-surveillance revealed by The Guardian, by Megan Geuss (June 9, 2013)
• Ars Technica: Obama defends digital spying: “I think we’ve struck the right balance”, by Cyrus Farivar (June 7, 2013)
• Ars Technica: Guardian publishes third secret NSA document, on cyberwar, by Joe Mullin (June 7, 2013)
• Washington Post: U.S., British intelligence mining data from nine U.S. Internet companies in broad secret program, by Barton Gellman and Laura Poitras (June 6, 2013)
• Ars Technica: White House: Spying on US citizens “critical” tool for fighting terror, by Jon Brodkin (June 6, 2013)
• Ars Technica: As Senators defend mass-surveillance, Patriot Act FOIA lawsuit still awaits, by Joe Mullin (June 6, 2013)
• Ars Technica: New leak shows feds can access user accounts for Google, Facebook and more, by Cyrus Farivar (June 6, 2013)
• Ars Technica: Top secret doc shows NSA demands Verizon hand over millions of phone records daily, by Megan Geuss (June 5, 2013)
• Ars Technica: Espionage malware infects raft of governments, industries around the world, by Dan Goodin (June 4, 2013)
• Wired: Shady Companies With Ties to Israel Wiretap the U.S. for the NSA, by James Bamford (Apr 3, 2012)
• Wired: The NSA Is Building the Country’s Biggest Spy Center (Watch What You Say), by James Bamford (March 15, 2012)
• The Tech Herald: Data intelligence firms proposed a systematic attack against WikiLeaks, by Steve Ragan (Feb 9, 2011)

Commentary

• The Guardian: Oliver Stone defends Edward Snowden over NSA revelations, by Xan Brooks (July 5, 2013)
• Washington Post: We can handle the truth on NSA spying, by Eugene Robinson (July 4, 2013)
• Washington Post: Suspicion of manhunt follows Snowden case, by Greg Miller (July 4, 2013)
• New York Times: Listening In on Europe, by the editorial board (July 2, 2013)
• Time: NSA Scandal: As Tech Giants Fight Back, Phone Firms Stay Mum, by Sam Gustin (July 3, 2013)
• Foreign Policy: Gentlemen, Calm Yourselves, by Denis MacShane (July 2, 2013)
• Washington Post: Snowden is undermining his cause in the United States, by Dana Milbank (July 2, 2013)
• Boston Globe: Ham-handed handling of snooping, by Scot Lehigh (July 3, 2013)
• Süddeutsche Zeitung: Flüchtling Snowden - Symbol des Widerstands, by Heribert Prantl (July 3, 2013)
• The Guardian: America's founders would be horrified at this United States of Surveillance, by Dan Gillmor (July 2, 2013)
• The Guardian: The cyber-intelligence complex and its useful idiots, by Barrett Brown (July 1, 2013)
• Washington Post: The danger of what Edward Snowden has not revealed, by Marc A. Thiessen (July 1, 2013)
• Washington Post: Plugging the leaks in the Edward Snowden case, by the Editorial Board (July 1, 2013)
• Washington Post: Misinformation on classified NSA programs includes statements by senior U.S. officials, by Greg Miller (June 30, 2013)
• Ars Technica: How a 30-year-old lawyer exposed NSA mass surveillance of Americans—in 1975, by Nate Anderson (June 30, 2013)

Project SHAMROCK allowed the NSA to intercept telegrams sent by US citizens.

• Der Spiegel: NSA-Spähprogramm in Deutschland: Dame, König, As, Spion, by Veit Medick (June 30, 2013)
• New York Times: Germans Loved Obama. Now We Don’t Trust Him, by Malte Spitz (June 29, 2013)
• The Rolling Stone: Hey, MSM: All Journalism is Advocacy Journalism, by Matt Taibbi (June 27, 2013)
• Washington Post: Fallout from Snowden’s sharing of NSA secrets, by David Ignatius (June 26, 2013)
• The Fiscal Times: What’s at Stake in the 21st Century Cold War, by David Francis (June 25, 2013)
• CNN: Why Ecuador might shelter Snowden, by Steve Striffler (June 25, 2013)

Steve Striffler holds the Doris Zemurray Stone Chair in Latin American Studies and is a professor of anthropology and geography at the University of New Orleans.

• The New York Times blog: Why Snowden Asked Visitors in Hong Kong to Refrigerate Their Phones, by Heather Murphy (June 25, 2013)
• The Washington Post: Through Snowden, Ecuador seeks fight with U.S., by Juan Forero (June 24, 2013)
• The Washington Post: U.S. worried about security of files Snowden is thought to have, by Ellen Nakashima and Greg Miller (June 24, 2013)
• The New York Times: The Other Snowden Drama: Impugning the Messenger, by David Carr (June 24, 2013)
• The Nation blog: Glenn Greenwald Is 'Aiding and Abetting' Democracy, by John Nichols (June 24, 2013)
• Skating on Stilts blog: What the Prism Stories Tell Us About the Press, by Stewart Baker (June 23, 2013)
• The Washington Post: On NSA disclosures, has Glenn Greenwald become something other than a reporter?, by Paul Farhi (June 23, 2013)
• Washington Post: NSA surveillance may be legal — but it’s unconstitutional, by Laura K. Donohue (June 23, 2013)

Laura K. Donohue is a professor at Georgetown University Law Center and director of Georgetown’s Center on National Security and the Law.

• New York Times: Privacy and the Threat to the Self, by Michael P. Lynch (June 22, 2013)

Michael P. Lynch is a professor of philosophy at the University of Connecticut and the author of "In Praise of Reason", ISBN 978-0262017220, and "Truth as One and Many," ISBN 978-0199596300. He is at work on a new book, "Prisoners of Babel: Knowledge in the Datasphere."

• Skating on Stilts blog: But Enough About You ..., by Stewart Baker (June 20, 2013)
• Washington Post: Congress should hang up the NSA phone tracking, by Eugene Robinson (June 20, 2013)
• Washington Post: The NSA state of secrecy must end, by Katrina vanden Heuvel (June 18, 2013)
• Washington Post: Congress has become a rubber stamp for the NSA, by Dana Milbank (June 18, 2013)
• The Guardian: Investigate Booz Allen Hamilton, not Edward Snowden, by Pratap Chatterjee (June 14, 2013)
• Washington Post: The left turns compliant on violating civil liberties, by Dana Milbank (June 14, 2013)
• mediamatters4america: FOX's Hannity: Then and Now on NSA programs (June 12, 2013)
• The Washington Post: Edward Snowden’s grandiosity, by Matt Miller (June 11, 2013)
• The Washington Post: Edward Snowden’s NSA leaks show we need a debate, by Eugene Robinson (June 10, 2013)
• The Washington Post: Edward Snowden’s NSA leaks are backlash of too much secrecy, by Dana Milbank (June 10, 2013)
• The New York Times blog: The Stickers on Edward Snowden’s Laptop, by John Schwartz (June 10, 2013)
• The New York Times blog: David Simon, Creator of ‘The Wire,’ Debates N.S.A. Surveillance With Readers of His Blog, by Robert Mackey (June 7, 2013)
• Via Meadia: Public Peace, Secret War: The Snooping Scandals and The President’s War Strategy, by Walter Russell Mead (June 6, 2013)
• The Atlantic: Government Surveillance Only Hurts When it Hits Home, by Wendy Kaminer (Mar 29, 2012)

Books

• Dirty Wars: The World Is A Battlefield, by Jeremy Scahill (2013), ISBN 978-1568586717
• Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army, by Jeremy Scahill, ISBN 978-1560259794
• Free for All: Defending Liberty in America Today, by Wendy Kaminer (2002), ISBN 978-0807044117

Articles

• Stone, Marjorie. On the Post Office Espionage Scandal, 1844. BRANCH: Britain, Representation and Nineteenth-Century History. Ed. Dino Franco Felluga. Extension of Romanticism and Victorianism on the Net.
• Lawson, Kate. Personal Privacy, Letter Mail, and the Post Office Espionage Scandal, 1844. BRANCH: Britain, Representation and Nineteenth-Century History. Ed. Dino Franco Felluga. Extension of Romanticism and Victorianism on the Net.