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The National Security Agency (NSA) has since 2004 sent spies into private companies in a bid to compromise networks from within, according to documents leaked by Edward Snowden.

Agents sent in by the NSA targeted global communications firms under a highly classified 'core secrets' program dubbed Sentry Eagle previously known only to a handful of officials.

The documents published by Snowden mouthpiece The Intercept indicate operatives in the core secrets program worked in concert with companies to weaken encryption and spent hundreds of millions of dollars to break security mechanisms.

Draft documents published online detailing Sentry Eagle explain that the program used the "full capabilities" of signals intelligence (SIGINT), computer exploitation, defence and network warfare to ensure the protection of US cyberspace.

The document listed facts ranging from unclassified to top secret necessitating "extraordinary protection", and demonstrated the chasm between unclassified information the NSA saw fit for public consumption and that appearing at times too sensitive for the eyes of allies.

Programs in the latter camp include an effort dubbed Raven which, according to unclassified information, reveal that the NSA "exploits foreign ciphers", and also worked with US commercial companies to weaken encryption systems.

Publication of the "facts relating to NSA personnel (under cover), operational meetings, specific operations, specific technologies, specific locations and covert communications related to SIGINT" were all banned under these efforts.

A sentry program called Owl proved the NSA worked with US and foreign commercial companies and "partners" to make their products exploitable for SIGINT; Hawk detailed network exploitation; Raven on cracking encryption; Condor on network attacks; Falcon on defense, and Osprey on intelligence agency cooperation.

The documents revealed field agents working under the Osprey program for target exploitation (TAREX) alongside the CIA, FBI and the Pentagon. These personnel dabbled in clandestine 'off net' operations, intercepting and compromising a targets' assets through the supply chain.

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NSA Sentry Eagle placed spies in private companies

Summary: The latest Snowden leaks suggest the NSA has access to well-placed staff whose mission is to infiltrate companies to gather secret and sensitive corporate data.

New documents leaked by Edward Snowden suggest the National Security Agency (NSA) has agents working under deep cover in US and foreign companies.

First published by The Intercept on Friday, the highly-classified document points to the NSA having a small group of well-placed and heavily-vetted insiders, whose mission is to infiltrate commercial companies and work from within.

"How do you know the NSA is not sending people into your data centers?" the publication cited the American Civil Liberties Union'sChris Soghoian as saying.

The collection of six programs, under the umbrella "Sentry Eagle" program, is said to be the "core" part of the NSA's secret mission to "protect America's cyberspace."

In doing that, previous leaks have shown the US intelligence agency will work to weaken encryption standards, intercept technology for bugging once its out for delivery to customers, and conduct network exploitation and espionage.

The NSA has infiltrated a number of companies critical to its mission of targeted exploitation (TATEX). These agents, whose names are not disclosed, are said to be working in companies based in adversarial nations like China, but also allied and friendly countries, notably South Korea and Germany.

Some of the documents also suggest that some agents may be working for US-based firms, or companies that are owned by US corporations.

The 2004-dated document says the contents "constitute a combination of the greatest number of highly sensitive facts related to NSA/CSS's overall cryptologic," referring also to theCentral Security Service, the NSA's sister agency.

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NSA 'Core Secrets' leak points to spies working within companies

Edward Snowden has some advice for maintaining online privacy in an age of widespread NSA surveillance. Snowden called Google and Facebook dangerous while praising Apples encryption efforts.

"We're talking about encryption. We're talking about dropping programs that are hostile to privacy, Snowden said inan interview published Saturday by theNew Yorker.For example, Dropbox? Get rid of Dropbox; it doesn't support encryption, it doesn't protect your private files. And use competitors like SpiderOak that do the same exact service, but they protect the content of what you're sharing."

Snowden, the former NSA analyst who revealed the extent of U.S. government surveillance in 2013, did so from a hotel in Hong Kong before leaving for Russia. Having ditched his Hawaii apartment and $122,000 annual salary earlier that summer, he said in the interview he intended only a brief stay in Russia before leaving for Latin America, only to face visa issues that prevented him from leaving. Snowden is now actively sought by the U.S. to face espionage charges.

Dropbox defended itself in a June blog post after Snowden bashed the services security. All of the files its users send and receive are encrypted while traveling between you and our servers and when they are at rest on Dropboxs servers. SpiderOak encrypts data locally on a users computer as well, as opposed to only when it is in transit or in the cloud.

Snowden said Facebook and Google have improved their methods of protecting user privacy but were still dangerous services that should largely be avoided. Ironically, the interview was conducted remotely over Google Hangouts and streamed live on the tech giants YouTube.

Consumers should also be wary of standard text-messaging services from wireless providers, Snowden said. Silent Circle for iPhone and Android and RedPhone, which is currently Android-only, were better replacements because they encrypt texts -- but require that both users install the app to communicate.

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NSA Leaker Edward Snowden Offers Online Privacy Tips

COEUR d'ALENE - Oral arguments before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals are scheduled for Dec. 8 in a North Idaho nurse's legal challenge to the federal government's bulk collection of Americans' phone records.

Coeur d'Alene attorney Peter Smith will be arguing in Seattle in front of the three-judge panel, representing his wife, Anna Smith, a neonatal nurse and Verizon Wireless customer. Verizon was one of the companies ordered to disclose records to the National Security Agency.

The Smiths filed the lawsuit against President Barack Obama and several U.S. intelligence agencies after the government confirmed revelations that the NSA was collecting the data under the Patriot Act.

Peter Smith said Friday the collection and storage of the phone records violates the Fourth Amendment.

"The question comes down to: Should the government be able to get this information and keep it?" he said. "Or should it be left with the private companies?"

Once the government has all the data, that gives it power, he said. It comes down to the possession of the records, he said.

"We don't trust the government," he said.

U.S. District Court Judge Lynn Winmill dismissed Anna Smith's case. Winmill determined the legal precedent from the 1979 U.S. Supreme Court case Smith v. Maryland - about targeted phone surveillance - tied his hands.

"He followed the law as he understood it," Peter Smith said.

The Smiths appealed to the Ninth Circuit.

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Oral arguments set for NSA case

Census Harassment: "They won #39;t take no for an answer"; "the NSA listens to everybody"
This is audio of a real phone call that transpired on October 6, 2014. The Census representative issued veiled threats and promised ongoing harassment if I would not respond to a questionnaire...

By: Census Harassment

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Census Harassment: "They won't take no for an answer"; "the NSA listens to everybody" - Video