Hirom , 10 months ago

Appelbaum adds that “Targeting lawful interception (LI) equipment is a known goal of the NSA”.

He says that it is not unreasonable to assume that parts, if not the entire American lawful interception system, known as CALEA, have been compromised.

In his doctoral thesis he says that key European lawful interception systems “have been compromised by NSA and/or GCHQ”. Appelbaum said that the Snowden archive contained “many named target systems, companies, and other countries” that had been impacted.

That may be the most important relevation, more so than the Cavium thing.

It shows that mass interception/surveillance apparatus are a big risk, even if they are lawful and created with the best of intention. The moment mass interception is implemented, it becomes a target for abuse. And Appelbaum’s publication show these systems actually were targeted and abused in multiple countries, by both local and foreign spies.