[LINK] itNews: NSA interceptions of Mega Traffic?

[Roger Clarke]

[The issue here is whether the NSA, possibly through the Five Eyes 
arrangement with NZ, has used its national security powers to conduct 
interception in relation to allgations of copyright infringement.

[If so, then pseudo-counter-terrorism laws are being used to pursue 
copyright infringers - a civil wrong that was criminalised at the 
behest of US corporations ...]

Dotcom lawyer brands US interception of Mega data 'illegal'
Juha Saarinen
Dec 24, 2013 7:58 AM (1 hour ago)
http://www.itnews.com.au/News/368367,dotcom-lawyer-brands-us-interception-of-mega-data-illegal.aspx

Suspects malware and packet sniffing.

A large trove of electronic communications cited as evidence in the 
US Department of Justice's copyright infringement case against Kim 
Dotcom and his company Megaupload were "illegally" obtained, the 
lawyer representing the file sharing service claims.

Over the weekend, the US DoJ released a 191 page document [PDF] 
laying out its evidence in the case against Dotcom and his associates.

It cited a large body of captured email messages and Skype 
conversations between the Megaupload associates, in which they 
discuss copyright infringement issues and other business relating to 
the file storage site.

The messages were captured since 2007 and up to the 2012 special 
forces style raid with helicopters and armed police on Dotcom's Mega 
mansion in Auckland, the court documents show.

How the messages were obtained is not detailed, however.

Megaupload lawyer Ira Rothken told iTnews the interception of Skype 
conversations and email messages between Megaupload associates was 
unlawful.

"There are a number of ways the messages could've been obtained, 
through malware or packet sniffing, but we believe they were 
illegally obtained," Rothken said.

Affidavits released earlier this year show New Zealand police were 
using the NSA PRISM mass surveillance system to intercept Dotcom and 
associates' communications.

Prior to Microsoft's 2011 acquisition of Skype, messages between 
users of the service were thought to be very difficult to intercept. 
Skype used a decentralised architecture where strongly encrypted 
messages were passed directly between users without going through a 
central server.

After 2011, Microsoft collaborated with the US National Security 
Agency to provide the latter with access to Skype users' 
communications, documents leaked by Edward Snowden show.

New Zealand courts have already ruled that the raid on Dotcom's 
mansion and the preceding spying on his communications was unlawful.

The Megaupload founder has taken legal action against the New Zealand 
police and the country's main signals intelligence spy agency, the 
Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB), over the spying and 
is seeking compensation.

-- 
Roger Clarke                                 http://www.rogerclarke.com/
			            
Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd      78 Sidaway St, Chapman ACT 2611 AUSTRALIA
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Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Law            University of N.S.W.
Visiting Professor in Computer Science    Australian National University