

FBI gets access to Australian telco records - ra
http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/fbi-gets-access-to-telstra-records-20130712-2pvl6.html

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tokenadult
From the article:

"The contract was prompted by Telstra's undersea telecommunications joint
venture called Reach. When it sought a cable licence from the US Federal
Communications Commission, the DoJ and the FBI insisted on a binding security
agreement.

"The contract does not authorise Telstra or law enforcement agencies to
undertake surveillance. But under the deed, Telstra must preserve and 'have
the ability to provide' wire and electronic communications involving any
customers who make any form of communication with a point of contact in the
US, as well as 'transactional data' and 'call associated data' relating to
such communications."

. . . .

"The document was signed by Douglas Gration, a barrister who was then
Telstra's company secretary and official liaison for law enforcement and
national security agencies.

"He told the Herald he could not remember much about the agreement. 'Every
country has a regime for that lawful interception,' he said. 'And Australia
has got it as well.'"

This looks like a pattern of mutual agreements among governments that
cooperate in routing and connecting cables for international
telecommunications. The statement is NOT that every telephone call from
Australia to another country is listened to, but that a data archive is
maintained that might be accessible with court orders. Particularly
significant is the statement that other countries ask for the same arrangement
if a cable connects to or through that country.

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mschuster91
Just where does the reach of the FBI/NSA/other US agencies stop? Is nothing
safe from them anymore?

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dendory
When you're a global power and have no scruple, like the US, then there's
nothing any country can do. Either they do exactly what the US agencies tell
them, or they risk getting thrown out of trade agreements, financial treaties,
diplomatic consequences, and in the end, the US will just do whatever it wants
anyways, since they have military bases all around the world and enough power
to monitor and spy as much as they want, international laws be damned.

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ra
Even more than that, the US has most of the best military hardware on sale. If
you want to be able to buy the weaponry to compete in todays world, you pretty
much have to buy it from the US (or it's closest allies).

That's a very big stick right there.

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fnordfnordfnord
>If you want to be able to buy the weaponry to compete in todays world,

If you'd said this twenty five years ago, it would make sense. But today? Who
is the great menacing villain (other than the US)? What weapons do they have?
There is no enemy other than our own warmongers.

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xmodem
As much as I object to Prism, the headline is a bit sensationalist - it
implies (and as a customer of Telstra, this was my first reaction and
immediate concern) that Telstra is handing over data from Australian retail
customers. The article itself doesn't actually claim this. Albeit still
concerning.

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synchronise
Considering that they still honour a Howard-era government contract even
though they're now 89.1% privately owned, it's still quite unsettling news.

