AT&T's Role in Spying

SAN FRANCISCO (May 23) - An online news outlet published papers Monday that it said document AT&T's alleged role in a government effort to spy on Internet traffic.

The internal company documents and other materials were assembled by Mark Klein, a former AT&T technician. Klein also gave internal AT&T documents earlier this year to privacy advocate Electronic Frontier Foundation, which sued the telecommunications giant challenging the Bush administration's secretive domestic surveillance program.

It wasn't clear whether the documents published Monday by Wired News were the same as those at the heart of the lawsuit against AT&T. Wired News acknowledged it could not be sure, because the federal judge presiding over the case has sealed the records.

But Wired News said the AT&T documents "appear to be excerpted from material that was later filed in the lawsuit under seal."

The papers are a blend of corporate blueprints and Klein's own interpretation of them. They seem to provide a detailed account of how AT&T used "splitters" to tap into gigantic fiber-optic lines that carry Internet traffic.

Klein writes that AT&T installed the splitters, which diverted light signals carrying data, into a "secret room" where the information could be analyzed.

Among the equipment Klein said was installed there was a Narus STA 6400. Narus manufactures data-mining devices that let companies and other entities sift through the information in Internet traffic and identify nuggets of interest in e-mail, users' Web-surfing and even Internet phone calls.


AT&T has asked the Electronic Frontier Foundation to return the documents to the company.

"We believe the public's right to know the full facts in this case outweighs AT&T's claims to secrecy," Wired News said in a statement posted on its Web site accompanying the story.

Jesus Christ, so much for constitutional rights, right?

Anyway if you have AT&T fucking switch man!

Not only for your privacy and rights, but to make a statement that consumers will not put up with these gross violations of out rights and accept mistreatments by corporations.

That's even if this story is true, it could just be made up by Klein to make money, ect.

But judging by AT&T's reaction, they appeared as if they were hiding something, that's for sure.

Hey, even look at there logo.

Looks like the death star, no? Coincidence? I think not ; )