Whistleblower says AT & T helped NSA spy

By Scott Files

Published on April 14, 2006

The EFF alleges that AT&T has violated U.S. law and the privacy of its customers as part of the "massive and illegal program to wiretap and data-mine Americans' communications" without warrants. The lawsuit claims that the illegal activity started shortly after the 2001 terror attacks.

Their key witness and whistleblower, Mark Klein, says that the NSA built a secret room at the company's San Francisco central office in 2003, adjacent to a "switch room where the public's phone calls are routed."

One of several documents currently under judge ordered seal, Klein said, shows that a device was installed with the "ability to sift through large amounts of data looking for preprogrammed targets." He also claims that other such rooms were built in AT&T sites in San Jose, San Diego, Los Angeles and Seattle.

Other documents show that fiber optic cables tapped into WorldNet Internet subscribers, Klein said. The documents also instructed technicians how to connect the cables to the data collecting room.

The NSA has declined to address the lawsuit or the whistleblower's allegations.

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