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BRITAIN’S COMMUNICATION SPY agency GCHQ and the US National Security Agency (NSA) intercepted and stored images from webcams used by millions of Yahoo users, the Guardian newspaper reported.
GCHQ files leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden reportedly revealed how the Optic Nerve programme collected still images of webcam chats regardless of whether individual users were suspects or not.
In one six-month period in 2008, the British spy agency collected webcam imagery from more than 1.8 million Yahoo user accounts around the world, the Guardian said.
Yahoo, which was apparently chosen because its webcam system was known to be used by GCHQ targets, expressed outrage at the reported surveillance.
“We were not aware of nor would we condone this reported activity,” a spokeswoman for the US technology firm told AFP in an email statement.
“This report, if true, represents a whole new level of violation of our users’ privacy that is completely unacceptable.
“We are committed to preserving our users’ trust and security and continue our efforts to expand encryption across all of our services.”
Leaked GCHQ documents from 2008 to 2010 explicitly refer to the surveillance programme, although the Guardian said later information suggests it was still active in 2012.
The data was used for experiments in automated facial recognition, as well as to monitor existing GCHQ targets and discover new ones, the British paper said.
The programme reportedly saved one image every five minutes from a webcam user’s feed, partly to comply with human rights legislation and partly to cut down the sheer amount of data being collected.
GCHQ analysts were able to search the metadata, such as location and length of webcam chat, and they could view the actual images where the username was similar to a surveillance target.
The data collected, which was available to NSA analysts through routine information sharing, contained a significant amount of sexual content, the newspaper added.
It cited one document as saying: “It would appear that a surprising number of people use webcam conversations to show intimate parts of their body to the other person.”
In a statement to the Guardian, GCHQ said all of its work was “carried out in accordance with a strict legal and policy framework which ensures that our activities are authorised, necessary and proportionate”.
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Biggest porn collection in the world.
We should get a statue of snowden on the White House front lawn so that the president is reminded what a tool he is every time he looks out the window
Obama only became President in Jan. 2009. Send him down to Bush in Texas.
No Kevin is right !
Leave it there as a warning to future leaders that the people are well aware that technology is being used to spy on us
If you aren’t outraged by this Orwellian police state that is sweeping across the world check your pulse
but all the paranoid people were right??
People use Yahoo, Shocker!
From the GCHQ report quoted in the Guardian article:
“A survey was conducted, taking a single image from each of 323 user ids. 23 (7.1%) of those images contained undesirable nudity.”
Sadly, statistics on the incidence of desirable nudity are not provided.
I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of the info they have collected could be used to coerce, extort or black-mail any potential future threats to the status quo.
Phonecalls, SMS, E-mails, social networking messages, webcame images…
Bang on.
@fergus that’s exactly what this info is for. The NSA must have some serious info on the people it sees as a threat. Who knows maybe blackmail is currently being used on some of our politicians as the decisions they make are not in peoples best interest.
Old news this really, reported on Alex Jones last year, don’t like the nutjob but he breaks all this well before mainstream media gets it’s grubby little hands on it and waters it down, only yahoo me arse!! And someone mentioned Viber in the comments, made in Israel so Mossad likely all over it, nothing is ever free for nothing.
I can never get my head around the Pierce Morgan fiasco Golden
Has AJ a serious impulse control problem ? Granted he breaks it and ” breaks it down ” but he is more harm than good. There is a vid out there that shows a demo in Austin Tx and here comes Jones and basically hijacks it to the eventual shouts of provocature
Never liked the mofo after that but he does put a lot of info out there ,chap just needs his head checked
I know the piers Morgan interview was the first time I came across him meself, I thought this is way OTT the guy is batshit crazy, then I stumbled on him again interviewing one of my favourite musicians months after and he was like a completely different person, the chap has issues alright I don’t like him one bit tbh I think he’s sneaky and rude among other things, but behind the face of it the people there really do a great job, real journalists it’s just a shame their work gets written off because of his deranged outbursts.
He has interviewed a few well known names in music and they know the score You go back over their albums and lyrics and you understand that it’s not new to them
Was probably 05/06 and in fairness AJ waked me up to the fact that it’s not as it seems but it’s all about the money for him and yes the journalists writing for PP or infowars do so with that stigma them journalists are the backbone and I’m sure see him as a paycheck that they can stomach for now
Yeah the music industry been fuhked up good and proper, nowhere is it more evident than the hijacking of hip hop, and I’m pretty sure AJ is a paid shill, he bangs on and on about rights and oppression and tyranny etc but I’ve not once heard him mention the Palestinian struggle, maybe he has I don’t listen to his show enough, he does great guests on though..http://youtu.be/1UzJiOUrxFI
Remember that from Prof Griff real eye opener I hope people click on your link it’s worth the time
He will not touch the Palestinian issue
He had David Rothschild on years ago now ask yourself this why would He go on the show FFS that was a ” wait a F****N second” moment for me jones is a shill a warmongering disinfo agent you Gota hear him saying the Russians are attacking the USA during y2k it’s on the net
He is there to confuse people
Again check out Goldens link above its worth your time
confirmed. link is good.
it’s over an hour long, but not by much so qualifies as “about an hour”.
also, America-centric, but sure what isn’t these days.
AMIRITE????
Wasn’t aware of either, he is definitely a scare monger alright, comes out with some shite at times. Interesting character that David Rothschild, but it goes against everything Mr. Jones haarps on about having him on, amazes me even more now how he hasn’t been got already, I’ll still check the show out anyways, like ye said it can be worth the time.
The population of America is about 300 million give or take
They aren’t dumbed down as popular culture makes us believe they have been duped like the rest of us and they are pissed off about it
I think it’s time we all got that way and started standing up for each other and what’s right .. Enough is enough
Some scared people say why don’t you say something about it .. I think We did bout time you listened .
“Even the biggest man was a baby at one stage” Robert Nesta Marley
Most people seem to have the attitude that if a talking head on an official news station, such as CNN (Cartoon News Network), says something, then surely it must be the truth. A CIA whistleblower has already admitted that the news has been scripted for decades in order to influence public opinion. Instead of getting your news from the main stream media, go to alternative news websites such as In5D or MintPress or Benn Swann to get the news that the mainstream media fails to report.
Einstein said ”Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results”. This is reminiscent of every election as they always boil down to the lesser of two evils… and you always end up with evil. If your gut tells you there’s something wrong, then chances are, there is something wrong with what you read, see or hear. Sadly, most people will fight for the same system that has kept us all as economic slaves than to envision a world without money, government or religion. Goodnight Glen nice to know there is other people out there who know what the fuhk is going on in the world. :)
Jesus I better put some clothes on
Why is this surprising. Everything is monitored…only surprise would be that it is only yahoo. How do you know that your smart phone isn’t taking a picture of you right now eh ? Screw them.If they want to get you they can just make it up anyway and plant stuff to incriminate you.
Is there a prize for most unnecessarily defensive reply too??
I agree with you both though, terrorists generally don’t use email, let alone video conference about their various evil deeds or whatever.
If they were capable of doing this 6 years ago, imagine what’s capable now. iPhones, Viber, Skype and everything else; they’re collecting not only the biggest porn collection, but the biggest blackmail weapon ever.
I wouldn’t fancy being an emerging politician with good intentions these days (if they exist). The last few years of your online life is stored somewhere, by someone who doesn’t really care about you.
And yes, that includes pics of your weiner.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/11/anthony-weiner-second-chance_n_3055461.html
this was meant to be a reply to Damocles…….damn fat fingers.
I’d have thought gmail would be a better, hangouts, communities, they even have voip now.
Oh and I asked a simple question, “Why Yahoo?” It’s a not very good free email provider. Why would terrorists choose it? It’s a simple question. It grinds my gears when random berks just ignore the question and spout off drivel. I’m lovely and I don’t deserve it.
OK?
You are lovely, and I’m sorry.
But DRIVEL?? Which bit?
To answer the question (which to be honest I thought was facetious, if not sarcastic), I’d have thought any “decent” terrorist worth his salt, in 2006, would have been aware all email, especially free email from the US, was monitored. If not all, certainly the accounts in areas the US would consider threatening, or whatever they use these days. I don’t think that’s giving them too much credit.
Is there a Terrorist community on G+? They should be under surveillance, definitely. But they should still have to get a warrant……
And RANDOM BERK?!?!? Unfathomable.
And no, there’s no Terrorist community on G+. I’ll be in trouble for checking though.
Snowden did to them what they did to us… They didn’t seem too bothered when it was just them!
Well if Batman can get away with it….
I’m betting they can access iphone cameras as well. Hmmm can’t wait for googleglasses…not
Ahh the good aul “I wasn’t watching porn …..I was only eavesdropping!” Defence.
Why is Yahoo the free mail account of choice for terror suspects?
Terorists, they are so 2005
And illiterate non sequitur of the week goes to …
Mr Steve Bang!
And if you’d like to come and collect your prize Steve.
Excellent quip, he must be illiterate because of that one character he missed in one word.
And we sit back and take this crap from bully nations
This would be alright if this information was being solely handled by robots. Humans on the other hand……..we never learn from history, we’ll eventually destroy ourselves without the help of aliens and tsunamis!
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