BBC news - Snowden leaks: GCHQ 'spied upon Facebook along with YouTube'28 January 2014Last up in ord...

1. GCHQ 'spied on Facebook and YouTube'
BBC news - Snowden leaks: GCHQ 'spied upon Facebook along with YouTube'
28 January 2014
Last up in order to date with 08:46 ET
Share this pageDeliciousDiggFacebookredditStumbleUponTwitterEmailPrint
Snowden leaks: GCHQ 'spied on Facebook as well as YouTube'By Leo KelionTechnology reporter
The latest Snowden
leaks suggest cyber-spies monitor trending videos in YouTubeContinue studying the key story
Related StoriesNSA-GCHQ cyberspy leaks: A New glossaryGoogle 'shocked' from Snowden
revelations WatchGCHQ chief Lobban to square downYouTube video views, Facebook "likes" and
also Blogger visits are generally among activities GCHQ features monitored within real-time,
according towards the newest Snowden leaks.
Details regarding an alleged GCHQ programme codenamed Squeaky Dolphin have been revealed by
NBC News.
It studies the UK cyber-spy agency confirmed off its abilities for the US National security Agency
throughout 2012.
Facebook has since started encrypting its data, nevertheless Google's YouTube and also Blogger
services remain unencrypted.
Continue studying the primary story
Analysis
Gordon CoreraSecurity correspondent, BBC News
From the particular really start, the Snowden revelations possess thrown a new spotlight on the tech
sector too because the intelligence agencies.
In a amount of cases, it absolutely was clear these folks were complying with laws - for instance
providing metadata - however having to do so secretly. In Which is 1 thing they've got now won the
best to become able to disclose at least a little more.
In other cases, it appears in which several companies might are already doing a lot more than these
people strictly were needed to resulting in awkward questions.

2. And inside other cases, the actual intelligence agencies appear to have been hacking to the
companies - for instance their internal information hyperlinks - without knowledge as well as
permission.
The a lot more publicity that provides all attracted the harder the companies possess distanced
themselves coming from government along with expressions regarding anger and requires more
transparency.
In the situation in the newest Angry Birds along with Squeaky Dolphin revelations, it appears in
which NSA/GCHQ are generally successfully piggybacking off customer information that will
companies designing software - whether or even not Rovio or even Google - collect themselves along
with without the companies knowing.
This will anger your companies, not necessarily least as it may throw the spotlight in just how much
personal data they collect coming from ordinary people who could not have got access to known
about this inside the past.
Both firms possess said they didn't give GCHQ permission to find into your data.
The alleged operation's leaked logo - showing any dolphin holding the canister branded GTE appears for you to make reference to Global Telecoms Exploitation, a new GCHQ division believed to
become capable of collecting data coming from fibre-optic cables.
According for an earlier leak, published from the Guardian, GCHQ continues in order to be tapping
fibre-optic cables to develop a "buffer" of data it could sort through since no much less than 2011, as
component of a scheme called Tempora.
The paper said that by 2012 your agency had tapped greater than 200 cables - such as transatlantic
communication back links - along with was in a situation to method phone as well as internet data
extracted from as a lot as 46 of which in a time.
GCHQ declined to remark around the specifics with the latest report.
However, your prime minister features previously said that: "I'm happy that will the job these
agencies do just isn't simply important yet can be correctly overseen."
Real-time activity
The NBC record is actually based on an exhibition entitled Psychology: a New Kind involving Sigdev
[signals development]. This ended up being part of the trove of documents former NSA contractor
Edward Snowden passed to journalist Glenn Greenwald, which contributed in order to NBC's report.
The papers refer towards the use involving Splunk Dashboard to supply real-time analysis associated
with how folks use YouTube, Facebook as well as Blogger.
Splunk can be commercially accessible software designed to let organisations "listen" for you to
their really own data.
Examples that GCHQ is considered to have demonstrated off include:

3. The Squeaky Dolphin logo appears to show the mammal
holding the can associated with WD40 lubricant which has been rebranded GTEa table showing how
lots of people based inside the city of Lagos looked with a particular task vacancies weblog more
than a new 24-hour perioda graph showing the amount of London-based internet surfers "liked"
hyperlinks about former Defence Secretary Liam Fox in Facebook over a new week-long perioda pie
chart highlighting twenty trending YouTube video tags each day just before planned antigovernment protests throughout Bahrain
Although the particular examples provided do not identify certain users, NBC indicates this would
happen in order to be possible to accomplish if GCHQ had use of such data.
"We possess extended been concerned about the possibility involving this kind of snooping, that is
why we've continued for you to extend encryption across a lot more and more Google solutions along
with links," a new spokesman regarding Google advised the actual BBC.
"We do not necessarily supply any kind of government, such as the UK government, using usage of
our systems. These kind of allegations underscore the actual urgent requirement for reform
regarding government surveillance practices."
GCHQ says what has
surveillance activities are generally carried outside in accordance with UK laws
A spokesman pertaining to Facebook added: "Network security is definitely an crucial a component

4. of just how we protect user information, that is why we finished shifting our website traffic to HTTPS
[encryption]by default final year, implemented Perfect Forward Secrecy, along with always
strengthen just about all aspects in our network."
Twitter furthermore targeted
US as well as UK officials possess stressed in which while they could scoop up a new lot of data,
their particular actual use associated with it is targeted.
Please turn on JavaScript. Media needs JavaScript to play.
David Drummond, Google Chief Legal Officer upon Edward Snowden's revelations that the NSA
hacked Google data: "I has been shocked, surprised and outraged"
"All regarding GCHQ's tasks are carried outside in accordance having a strict legal and also policy
framework which ensures that our activities tend to be authorised, essential along with
proportionate, and also that there is rigorous oversight, which includes from your secretary
involving state, the particular Interception as well as Intelligence services Commissioners and in
addition the Parliamentary Intelligence as well as Safety Committee," a new spokeswoman through
GCHQ said.
"All our operational processes rigorously support this position."
Other details included in the latest leaks include:
GCHQ agents referred to a research that will indicated Firefox customers were individuals most
prone in order to neuroticism, although World wide web Explorer customers were these most most
likely to become conscientious nevertheless least open to new experiencesAn earlier GCHQ
operation dubbed Blackhole involved exploiting what utilized to become unencrypted information
through Twitter to be able to recognize users along with target all associated with these people with
propaganda