Category Archives: NSA

A senior National Security Agency official appeared to confirm that North Korean computer hackers were behind a multi-million dollar heist targeting Bangladeshs central bank last year.

Computer hackers attempted to steal $951 million, but only got away with $81 million, some of which was later recovered. After the theft, security firms quickly pointed the finger at North Korea. Other experts disputed that finding. But on Tuesday, NSA Deputy Director Rick Ledgett appeared to say North Korea was the culprit during a cryptic exchange at a Washington forum.

Speaking at an Aspen Institute roundtable, Ledgett pointed out that private sector researchers had linked the digital break-in in Bangladesh to the 2014 hack on Sony Pictures, which the U.S. government attributed to Pyongyang.

If that linkage from the Sony actors to the Bangladeshi bank actors is accurate that means that a nation state is robbing banks, Ledgett said. Thats a big deal.

The moderator of the event, former Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Carlin, quickly followed up: Do you believe that there are nation states now robbing banks?

Ledgett offered a simple answer: I do.

While the NSA, Americas premier spy agency, has far greater insight into North Korean cyber operations than private security firms, Ledgetts remarks studiously avoided any reference to what evidence the agency has collected on the Bangladeshi heist. They stopped short of an official U.S. government statement that North Korea was behind the attack.

But Ledgett, a 30-year veteran of the agency due to retire later this year, would be unlikely to lend his credibility to reports that do not match his agencys findings. I think the public case was well-made, Ledgett told Foreign Policy. The NSA declined to comment beyond Ledgetts public remarks.

The alleged attempt by North Korean hackers to break into a bank and attempt to steal just short of $1 billion alarmed many in the cybersecurity world and marked a significant escalation of its behavior in cyberspace. Computer security experts described the heist as technically sophisticated and one that cemented Pyongyang as one of the worlds most capable and daring actors in cyberspace.

Ledgetts comments come as the hermit kingdom is increasingly starved for cash. The United Nations has stepped up sanctions against Pyongyang and is examining North Korean front companies in China that allow it to secure much-needed foreign currency.

Meanwhile, the international community is ratcheting up pressure on North Korea after a series of missile and nuclear tests. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson recently said that the United States may be willing to take preemptive military action against North Koreas nuclear program. China, meanwhile, has suspended coal imports from North Korea, in a measure of dissatisfaction toward its recalcitrant neighbor.

By attacking a bank and making off with large sums of money, North Korea can evade sanctions and obtain foreign currency, but so far, that effort has not delivered serious dividends for Pyongyang.

STR/AFP/Getty Images

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NSA Official Suggests North Korea Was Culprit in Bangladesh Bank Heist - Foreign Policy (blog)

UPDATE: Bombshell Obama Illegally Spied on Sheriff Arpaios Prosecution

WASHINGTON, D.C. Infowars.com have obtained credible information from law enforcement sources regarding individual records of U.S. citizens under National Security Agency (NSA) electronic surveillance in the years 2004 through 2010 a database that suggests both Donald J. Trump and Alex Jones were under illegal, unauthorized government monitoring during those years.

LIVE COVERAGE OF NSA SPYING ON TRUMP

Michael Zullo, formerly the commander and chief investigator of the Cold Case Posse (CCP), a special investigative group created in 2006 in the office of Joseph M. Arpaio, formerly the sheriff in Maricopa County, an Arizona State Certified Law Enforcement Agency, headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, provided sections of the database to Infowars.com.

The electronic surveillance database, provided to Zullo by a whistleblower in 2013, was apparently created by the NSA as part of the NSAs illegal and unconstitutional Project Dragnet electronic surveillance of U.S. citizens, first revealed by news reports published in 2005, as further documented by the revelations of whistleblower Edward Snowden in 2013.

Sheriff Arpaio and Chief Investigator Zullo have identified dozens of entries at various addresses, including both Trump Tower in New York City and Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, under which Donald Trump was apparently under NSA electronic surveillance from 2004, during President George W. Bushs term of office, through 2009, the first year of President Obamas presidency.

Electronic surveillance of Donald Trump was listed in the database for the following companies, locations, and dates:

Trump International 1 Central Park, NYC, NY 2008

Trump World Tower 845 United Nations Plaza, NYC, NY No Date

Trump Tower SAL 108 Central Park, NYC, NY 2007

Trump Palace Co 200 E. 69th Street A, NYC, NY 2008

Trump Entertainment 725 Fifth Ave. FL, NYC, NY 2007

Trump Organization 725 Fifth Ave. BSM, NYC, NY 2009

Trump Palace 725 Fifth Ave., NYC, NY 2004

Mar-a-Lago Club 1100 S. Ocean BL, Palm Beach, FL 2006

Trump International 401 N. Wabash Ave., Chicago, IL 2008

Douglass Limousine 239 Nassau St., Princeton, NJ 2008

Trump International 3505 Summit BLV, West Palm Beach, FL 2004

Flights INC P.O. Box 196, Hamilton MA 2004

Trump International 1 Central Park, NYC, NY 2008

Trump Hotels Huron Ave., Atlantic City, NJ No Date

Trump National 339 Pine Rd, Briarcliff, NY No Date

Trump Plaza & C 2500 Pacific Ave, Atlantic City, NJ 2008

Trump Palace Co. 200 E. 69th St., NYC, NY 2008

Seven Springs 66 Oregon Rd, Mount Kisco, NY 2006-2008

While attempts have been made to deny such domestic surveillance, reports from the New York Times in 2014 showed the Central Intelligence Agency had done just that by spying on a senate panel investigating the agencys use of enhanced interrogation.

In a 2016 article from The Guardian entitled, A constitutional crisis: the CIA turns on the Senate, it is likewise noted just how drastic and widespread the CIAs domestic surveillance operation was.

As revealed from the Dragnet database, not only was Trump himself surveilled but so were numerous employees of his located at Trump Tower.

Former CIA officer Larry Johnson recently joined the Alex Jones show to discuss how intelligence sources have stated that such surveillance of Trump during the presidential election in fact took place.

Here is a partial list of the Trump employees that show up in the Project Dragnet database:

Patricia Hernandez, a Manager for the Trump Organization, was under NSA electronic surveillance at Trump Parc, Central Park South, in New York City, at phone 212-586-xxxx, date: 9/16/2008.

Mike van der Goes, a Golf Pro at Oceans Trails Golf Course in Palos Verdes, who was promoted to be general manager when Trump bought the course from the bank in 2005 and renamed it Trump National. Mike van der Goes was under surveillance at Trump National, 1 Ocean TRL, Rancho Palos Verdes, California, at phone: 310-265-xxxx, no date.

Carolyn Kepcher, a frequent guest on NBCs television program The Apprentice, who was under NSA electronic surveillance when she was General Manager at the Trump National Golf Course in Briarcliff, New York, in Westchester County north of New York City, at 339 Pine Rd., in Briarcliff, New York, at phone 914-944-xxxx, date: 9/7/206.

Joe Traci, a Real Estate Property Manager at Trump New World Property Management, at 438 W. 69th Street, New York City, phone 212-769-xxxx, date: 11/12/2008; and at 5 12th Street, New York City, phone: 212-586-xxxx, no date.

Roger Socio, a Senior Project Manager, Trump Organization, Trump Tower, 725 Fifth Avenue, New York City, phone: 212-715-xxxx, 2/23/2009.

Bill Fichter, Residents Manager, Trump Organization, Trump Palace, 200 E. 69th Street, New York City, phone: 212-879-xxxx, date: 2/24/2009.

Florin Bogosel, Trump Park Avenue, 502 Park Avenue, New York City, phone: 212-223-xxxx, no date.

Grace Dunne, Trump Park Residence, 3770 Barger Street, Shrub Oak, New York, phone: 914-245-xxxx, date 1/26/2006.

Greg Bradley, Vice President, Trump Pavilion for Nursing and Rehabilitation, 9028 Van Wyck, East Richmond Hill, New York, phone: 718-291-xxxx, no date.

All these employees appear to have been under NSA phone surveillance, plus various of them under financial surveillance as well.

The Project Dragnet database suggests Trump was under surveillance not only for phone conversations, but also for financial information, including most likely bank account transactions, credit card transactions, and tax filings.

Both federal and state law enforcement have had access to the Project Dragnet database,allowing widespread use for methods such as parallel construction. The practice, outlined in the 2013 Reuters article, U.S. directs agents to cover up program used to investigate Americans, reveals the breadth of informationthat trickles down to law enforcement from high-level intelligence agencies.

Also listed as under NSA surveillance in the period 2004-2010 was Trumps former wife, Ivanka Trump at House of Ivanka, 10 East 64th Street, New York City.

The Project Dragnet database also indicates that the NSA was conducting electronic surveillance on an extensive list of Trump employees in the years 2004-2010 the only years for which Sheriff Arpaio had data.

Alex Jones is listed as being under electronic surveillance for phone records, as well as under surveillance for financial records, in 2006. The address listed for Alex Jones in the NSA Project Dragnet database was correct for his residence at that time. So too, Alex Jones confirmed the phone number listed was also correct.

Sheriff Arpaio and Chief Investigator Zullo have validated through law enforcement channels the validity of the name, address, and telephone numbers for the dates that appear in the Project Dragnet database.

Sheriff Arpaio and Chief Investigator Zullo are prepared to share relevant information with appropriate federal law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, as well as the Department of Justice, Homeland Security Department, the White House, and members of Congress the Project Dragnet Database in whole, or in part, as it pertains to NSA electronic surveillance of Donald J. Trump and his various employee.

Sheriff Arpaio and Chief Investigator Zullo also show up in the database, listed as being under both phone and financial surveillance.

Zullo explained that he and Arpaio came in contact with the information from Operation Dragnet during an unrelated investigation that began in October 2013 and ended January 2015.

A whistleblower by the name of Dennis Montgomery brought forward information that Montgomery alleges was collected while he was employed as a subcontractor for the NSA, working on various surveillance projects.

Court documents do verify Montgomery was contracted by the NSA, in part to develop computer breaching software that has been utilized in government mass surveillance operations targeting American citizens without legal justification.

While Montgomerys credibility has been called into question, Zullo maintains that the amount of information provided by Montgomery related to Operation Dragnet was extraordinarily voluminous and that Montgomery had shared information with investigators in 2013 that is only now being revealed by media outlets.

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NSA Documents Prove Surveillance of Donald Trump & His Family ...

Talk-radio host Michael Savage is among the public figures who were under surveillance by the National Security Agency as part of its Project Dragnet, according to a database revealed by an agency whistleblower.

Jerome Corsi, an investigative reporter for Infowars.com, told Savage on The Savage Nation radio show Monday that one of Savages email addresses was discovered in the database.

Infowars.com said the database has evidence of spying on U.S. citizens from 2004 to 2010, but Corsi told Savage there is no indication the surveillance has stopped.

Michael Savage

It shows Donald J. Trump and Infowars founder Alex Jones also were under illegal, unauthorized government monitoring during those years.

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Infowars.com obtained sections of the database from Michael Zullo, formerly the chief investigator of the Cold Case Posse, a special investigative unit in the office of Joseph Arpaio, the former sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona.

Project Dragnet was first revealed by news reports in 2005 and further documented by the revelations of whistleblower Edward Snowden in 2013.

Corsi told Savage he discovered the database included some 50 entries for Donald Trump and his businesses and family members.

They were all over Donald Trump starting in 2004, when the database starts, he said.

Corsi said, regarding Savage, that he found two solid hits in the database in 2004 and 2005, which was during the time of the George W. Bush administration.

Anybody who was prominent at that point, the NSA was going after to collect data. And it was not necessarily at the direction of George W. Bush. They were doing it on their own initiative, Corsitold Savage.

Last Tuesday, as WND reported, the day of the launch of his new book, Trumps War: His Battle for America, Savage was violently attacked at a San Francisco-area restaurant by a man who appeared to have been politically motivated.

In his interview with Corsi Monday, Savage noted that, legally, Americans cannot be spied upon without a judges order from a FISA court.

Thats the way its supposed to be, Corsi affirmed. But these millions of entries, its impossible for me to believe they went to get FISA rulings on any of these.

See the Savage book collection in the WND Superstore

Corsi said Arpaio and Zullo have identified dozens of entries in the database at various Trump addresses, including Trump Tower in New York City and Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida.

Most of the political figures, Corsi said, had no idea they were under surveillance.

He said that while he has information that the operation began, he has found no indication that it has stopped.

Savage said he must assume that his emails were being monitored.

Corsi added: And they go after your bank accounts, your credit cards your tax returns.

They assembled a comprehensive file on you, and Im confident that file remains intact, Corsi said.

Why would the government do this? Savage asked.

Well, just to have it available. Just in case they decided that they were going to, in any way, go after you or blackmail you, or just create a profile.

Corsi said a full congressional investigation is necessary, calling it an enormous, flagrant violation of your rights and everyone in that database, which are millions of Americans.

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Michael Savage was target of NSA spying - WND.com - WND.com

March 20, 2017, 8:21 a.m.

The director of the National Security Agency said the Obama administration did not ask British intelligence to spy on Donald Trump during the 2016 campaign, as White House Press SecretarySean Spicer alleged last week.

Adm. Mike Rogers said such a request to eavesdrop on a U.S. citizen would be "expressly against the construct" of intelligence agreements with the British and other close allies.

"I have seen nothing on the NSA side that we ever engaged in such activity" or was asked to conduct surveillance of Trump by Obama, Rogers said.

Rogers testified during the first congressional hearing into Russia's role during the 2016 presidential campaignand into President Trump's claims, first made on Twitter, that Obama had wiretapped him at Trump Tower.

Last Thursday, Spicer repeated a claim by a Fox News commentator that British intelligence had spied on Trump before his inauguration to keep "American fingerprints" off the surveillance.

The British signals agency, known as GCHQ, issued a rare and angry denial. A spokesman for Prime Minister Theresa May also denied the charge, and the British Embassy in Washington complained to the White House.

Trump last week declined to withdraw the allegation during a newsconference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and referred reporters to Fox News for comment. Fox News later said it had no evidence "full stop" to support the commentator's claim.

Rogers declined to discuss press reports that U.S. surveillance picked up several telephone conversations between retired Lt. Gen Mike Flynn, who was ousted as national security adviser last month, and Sergey Kislyak, Russia's ambassador to the United States, after last year's election.

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NSA director says US government did not ask British intelligence to spy on Trump - Los Angeles Times

() WASHINGTON, D.C. Infowars.com have obtained credible information from law enforcement sources regarding individual records of U.S. citizens under National Security Agency (NSA) electronic surveillance in the years 2004 through 2010 a database that suggests both Donald J. Trump and Alex Jones were under illegal, unauthorized government monitoring during those years.

Michael Zullo, formerly the commander and chief investigator of the Cold Case Posse (CCP), a special investigative group created in 2006 in the office of Joseph M. Arpaio, formerly the sheriff in Maricopa County, an Arizona State Certified Law Enforcement Agency, headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, provided sections of the database to Infowars.com.

The electronic surveillance database, provided to Zullo by a whistleblower in 2013, was apparently created by the NSA as part of the NSAs illegal and unconstitutional Project Dragnet electronic surveillance of U.S. citizens, first revealed by news reports published in 2005, as further documented by the revelations of whistleblower Edward Snowden in 2013.

More here:
NSA documents: Trump under surveillance for years - WND.com

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WASHINGTON House Intelligence Committee Republicans told the intelligence community Monday that they may not want to reauthorize an intelligence gathering tool that may have snagged and IDed former Trump national security advisor Michael Flynn during surveillance of Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

I have every expectation that those we are going to get all the evidence that we need. Now if it wasnt then, yeah wed have a problem, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes told The Daily Caller when asked if members may not reauthorize the surveillance initiative if the intel community does not cooperate and provide names of any individual involved with the leak of Flynns name.

Florida Republican Rep. Tom Rooney, who chairs a subcommittee that oversees the National Security Agency, disclosed at the House Intelligence Committee hearing Monday he was concerned he will have a difficult time convincing his fellow Republican members that they should vote for reauthorizing an expiring section of the Patriot Act at the end of the year.

Under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the government can collect intelligence by targeting foreigners suspected to be outside U.S. borders. However, incidental conversations these individuals have with Americans can happen and that is what members believe happened to Flynn.

But as an American citizen, his name must be masked. Instead, Flynns name was revealed and released to the press.

If it hurts, this leak, which through the 702 tool which we all agree is vital, you and I at least agree to that, do you think that leak threatens our national security? If its a crime and if its unveiling a masked personand this tool is so important and when we have to reauthorize it in a few months if this is used against us to reauthorize this tool and we cant get it done, Rooney said in an exchange with NSA director Admiral Mike Rogers.

He continued, Whoever did this leak or these nine people who did this leak [if they] create such a stir, whether it be in our legislative process or whatever, and they dont feel confident that a U.S. person under the 702 program can be masked successfully and not be leaked to the press, doesnt that leak hurt our national security?

Rogers answered in the affirmative.

Fellow intelligence committee member South Carolina Republican Rep. Trey Gowdy stated that getting their members to support reauthorization may only happen if the intelligence community tell them who leaked Flynns name.

What we are reauthorizing this fall has nothing to do with what we are discussing, Gowdy said, but added that the public does not draw the distinction.

During the hearing, Rogers disclosed that only 20 people, including himself and FBI Director James Comey, could possibly have decided to have unmasked Flynns name. However, the other names were not revealed.

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Republicans Warn Reauthorization Of NSA Surveillance Tool Will Be Hard After Flynn Leaks - Daily Caller

In the sworn declarations, however, Murphy and Hayden argued no such thing occurred.

"Neither the PSP (President's Surveillance Program), nor any other NSA intelligence-gathering activity, at any time has involved indiscriminate 'blanket' surveillance in Salt Lake City or the vicinity of the 2002 Winter Olympic venues, whether during the 2002 Winter Olympic Games or otherwise," Murphy wrote.

He noted that NSA collection of communications did and does continue to exist but was "targeted at one-end foreign communications where a communicant was reasonably believed to be a member or agent of al-Qaeda or another international terrorist organization."

Murphy noted he wouldn't reveal more specific details about NSA surveillance techniques including the PSP program, which expired in 2007, because it remains classified in order "to protect sensitive intelligence sources and methods."

Even making a decision to deny the allegations of blanket surveillance was a decision "not taken lightly" within the NSA, Murphy said. Usually, he said, the NSA would neither "confirm nor deny" such allegations regarding intelligence gathering.

"Indeed, the very existence of the PSP was a closely guarded state secret for over four years, until a wave of unauthorized public disclosures about the (terrorist surveillance program) were reported by the media in December 2005," he wrote.

Murphy in his declaration also said it was untrue that the NSA had stored the contents of communications, or metadata, obtained as part of any blanket surveillance.

Hayden added that it was untrue that there was both blanket surveillance of email, text messages, and metadata of phone calls during the Olympics, and he denied that he was the one who "personally" caused the NSA to engage in such a practice.

"All of these allegations are false," Hayden said.

The plaintiffs are represented by former Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson. Anderson in 2015 told The Salt Lake Tribune that the Olympics surveillance "was the most immense, clearly illegal and unconstitutional, indiscriminate wholesale surveillance of the content of communications of people in this country by our government in our nation's history."

Anderson could not immediately be reached for comment Saturday.

The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources, was the first to report in 2013 that the NSA and FBI "monitored the content of all email and text communications in the Salt Lake City area," around the 2002 Games.

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Top NSA officials deny 'blanket' surveillance during Salt Lake City ... - Salt Lake Tribune

BBC News

Claims GCHQ wiretapped Trump 'nonsense' - NSA's Ledgett - BBC ... BBC News The claim that GCHQ carried out surveillance on Donald Trump during the election campaign is "arrant nonsense", Rick Ledgett, the number two at the US ... Claims GCHQ wiretapped Donald Trump 'arrant nonsense', NSA ...The Independent all 2 news articles »

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Claims GCHQ wiretapped Trump 'nonsense' - NSA's Ledgett - BBC ... - BBC News

A contentious piece of U.S. law giving the National Security Agency broad authority to spy on people overseas expires at the end of the year. Expect heated debate about the scope of U.S. surveillance law leading up to Dec. 31.

One major issue to watch involves the way the surveillance treats communications from U.S. residents. Critics say U.S. emails, texts, and chat logs -- potentially millions of them -- are caught up in surveillance authorized bySection 702of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

U.S. residents who communicate with foreign targets of the NSA surveillance have their data swept up in what the NSA calls "incidental" collection. The FBI can then search those communications, but it's unclear how often that happens.

A primer on Section 702:

Section 702 of FISA is the authorization the NSA needs to run programs like Prism and Upstream, revealed in 2013 by former agency contractor Edward Snowden. The U.S. intelligence community has called Section 702 surveillance its "most important tool" in its fight against terrorism, noted Representative Bob Goodlatte, a Virginia Republican, during a March 1 congressional hearing.

Section 702 surveillance is "critical" in the U.S. governments fight against terrorism, added April Doss, a lawyer at the NSA for 13 years.

At the agency, "I had the opportunity to witness firsthand the critical importance of robust intelligence information in supporting U.S. troops and in detecting terrorist plans and intentions that threatened the safety of the U.S. and its allies," she said in testimony March 1.

In the Prism program, the NSA and FBI allegedly gained access to the servers of Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Yahoo, and other internet companies as a way to collect audio, video, emails, and other content.

Upstream collectionallegedly involved the NSA intercepting telephone and internet traffic by tapping internet cables and switches.

Under 702, FISA allows the U.S. attorney general and the director of national intelligence to authorize "the targeting of persons reasonably believed to be located outside the United States to acquire foreign intelligence information." The U.S.Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court reviews the targeting and minimization procedures adopted by the government and determines whether they comport with the statutory restrictions and the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) says it conducts its surveillance with the "knowledge of the service provider," although several internet companies have denied cooperating with the NSA.

Doss and other defenders of Section 702 surveillance say that it's targeted, not so-called "bulk" surveillance. But the descriptions of both Prism and Upstream from the Snowden leaks and subsequent government descriptions suggest the surveillance is widespread. The intelligence community has long arguedthe legal definition of "bulk" surveillance is very specific.

The NSA also collected U.S. telephone records for several years under a separate program. The NSA and the FBI pointed to a different provision of FISA, Section 501, as authorization for the controversial metadata collection program. Congress curtailed the phone metadata collection program in the USA Freedom Act, passed in mid-2015.

Congress is certain to extend the surveillance authority in some form, even though many tech companies and privacy groups are pushing lawmakers to rein in the NSAs surveillance programs, both in the U.S. and abroad.

Most lawmakers see value in extending Section 702, although many Democrats and some Republicans have talked about ending or limiting the ability of the FBI and other intelligence agencies to search for U.S. communications swept up in the surveillance.

Given that Section 702 is one of the main authorizations for the NSA to conduct foreign surveillance, not even the most ardent privacy advocates believe Congress will let the provision expire.

Section 702 prohibits the NSA from targeting people inside the U.S., but the agency, in "incidental" collection, gathers information from U.S. residents who are communicating with the agencys overseas targets.

The law then allows the FBI and other intelligence agencies to search those U.S. communications for evidence of crimes, including crimes not connected to terrorism. Many digital rights groups, along with some lawmakers, want to end this so-called backdoor search of Section 702 records.

This collection of U.S. communications without a warrant is, "in a word, wrong," Representative John Conyers Jr., a Michigan Democrat, said during the March 1 hearing.

Details about the incidental collection are fuzzy. Going back to 2011, lawmakers have repeatedly asked for numbers of U.S. residents affected but have received no details from the ODNI.

In addition to the incidental collection of U.S. residents' communications, privacy advocates complain about an expansive surveillance of foreigners allowed under Section 702.

The provision allows the NSA to collect foreign intelligence information from "anyone" outside the U.S. not just suspected agents of foreign powers, said Greg Nojeim, senior counsel at the Center for Democracy and Technology. "Intelligence information" is also defined broadly, he said.

"Once you remove that, it's open season on many foreigners who pose no threat to U.S. national security," he added.

House members, in their March 1 hearing, talked little about the impact on people outside the U.S. At this point, it seems unlikely that U.S. lawmakers will limit the provisions foreign data collection.

Privacy advocates have an ace up their sleeves, however. Several privacy groups have encouraged the European Union to get involved in the debate and threaten to revoke Privacy Shield, the cross-Atlantic agreement that allows U.S. companies to handle EU residents'data, unless significant changes are made to 702.

The European Commission "has made it clear that it takes seriously its obligations to review the Privacy Shield Agreement," said Nathan White, senior legislative manager at Access Now, a digital rights group.

EU nations understand surveillance is can be necessary, but "surveillance must respect human rights," White added. "Surveillance doesnt trump human rights responsibilities."

The U.S. intelligence communitys surveillance programs have stirred up new controversies in recent weeks. In early March, President Donald Trump, in a series of tweets, accused former President Barack Obama of wiretapping Trump Tower in New York City during the last presidential campaign.

While Trump has provided no evidence of the bombshell charge, it appears that the NSA intercepted some of his campaign staffers' communications when they talked to foreign surveillance targets. That type of surveillance would likely be authorized by Section 702.

A few days later, WikiLeaks published more than 8,700 documents that it says came from the CIA. The documents describe the spy agency's efforts to compromise iPhone, Android devices, smart TVs, automobile software, and major operating systems.

The CIA, however, runs separate surveillance programs from the NSA. CIA surveillance is supposed to be focused on specific foreign targets, as opposed to the widespread surveillance that the NSA does under the authority of Section 702. The CIA says it is "legally prohibited from conducting electronic surveillance targeting individuals here at home, including our fellow Americans."

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The NSA's foreign surveillance: 5 things to know - PCWorld

National Security Adviser Ajit Doval will leave for a four-day tour to Washington this week to discuss the stability of the Afghanistan-Pakistan region in the backdrop of a Taliban resurgence and rise of the Islamic State in Nangarhar province as well as to share notes on developments in China and West Asia.

Doval will be away from Tuesday to Sunday, with Thursday and Friday scheduled for official engagements. South Block officials said Doval will meet his US counterpart HR McMaster for the first time as well as defence secretary James Mattis, with a possibility of President Donald Trump dropping by during official meetings at the White House. The NSAs visit and meeting with his US counterpart were fixed when foreign secretary S Jaishankar visited Washington earlier this month.

After Doval, minister for defence and finance Arun Jaitley is expected to attend the IMF-World Bank spring meetings in Washington from April 21 to 23. US secretary of state Rex Tilerson will be in India for a bilateral strategic and commercial dialogue along with other ministers from the Trump administration.

Dates are being discussed for Prime Minister Narendra Modis meeting with President Trump in Washington. Modi will meet Trump at a G20 meeting in Hamburg on July 7-8, after which he will embark on his maiden two-day visit to Israel.

South Block sources said Doval will call for the US to enhance its military presence in Afghanistan, with China, Russia, Pakistan and Iran foreseeing a larger role for the Taliban to take on the rise of the Islamic State. Last month, Afghanistan and India were at odds with the China-led group as both felt the Taliban was detrimental to the stability of the regime in Kabul.

New Delhi feels the Islamic State of Wilayat Khorasan is being propped up by Pakistan and Irans agencies to accord credibility to the Taliban. Other West Asian nations are worried about Irans role in the region and in Afghanistan, a fact conveyed to Doval by his counterparts during a visit to Kuwait last week.

With both Mattis and McMaster having battlefield experience in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, Doval will discuss the recent spate of terrorist attacks in the region, with Pakistans Punjab emerging as the new theatre of terror. India is worried about Islamabad, with terror groups such as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan taking on the Pakistani Army and hitting at soft targets in Punjab and Sindh.

The role of China in pushing for an economic corridor to the Gwadar port as well as its ever-expanding interests in South Asia, particularly Sri Lanka and Maldives, will also be in sharp focus during the meetings.

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NSA Ajit Doval to go on four-day US tour to discuss on terrorism - Hindustan Times