In speech to telecom industry, NSA chief criticizes coverage of surveillance

The Washington Post reports: Gen. Keith Alexander, head of the National Security Agency and the military’s Cyber Command, on Wednesday asked the telecommunications industry to help set the record straight on what he believes is a media mischaracterization of government surveillance programs.

Alexander said that the programs, first revealed in reports from The Washington Post and The Guardian, have strict oversight and are vital to preventing future terrorist attacks. In a speech at the Telecommunciations Industry Association conference, Alexander said that the revelations about surveillance programs run by the NSA have badly hurt the foundation of trust that the agency needs to do its work, and provided valuable information about the country’s security programs to the country’s enemies.

Alexander said that he agreed with public statements from the director general of of Britain’s Security Service, Andrew Parker, who said that the leaks were a “gift” for terrorists, according to reporting from The Guardian.

“I think Andrew Parker’s message is right,” Alexander said, calling media leaks “irresponsible” and saying that the leaks will cause “irreversible damage to our nation.”

He added that the leaks, have “impacted that foundation of trust that industry has with NSA, and that the NSA has with the American people.” [Continue reading…]

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One thought on “In speech to telecom industry, NSA chief criticizes coverage of surveillance

  1. Norman

    Back doors, coverage of NSA wrong doing. Perhaps if he could explain how recording everyone in the world prevents terrorism, blah, blah, blah. They do it because they can, they also share the inside information with opponents of business, perhaps at a fee. The NSA hasn’t made the U.S. safe, but it has made the U.S. out to be the bully it is as well as dragging the stature down.

    We the people need a new internet, new encryption, let the NSA go back to playing their War games on their computers, for when the bills are totaled up, the $Billions could be better spent bettering humankind, instead of filling the pockets of the few, as is done today.

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