NSA leaks prompted Canadian review: declassified memo

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This article was published 18/01/2014 (4598 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — The massive intelligence leak by former U.S. spy contractor Edward Snowden prompted Canada’s secret eavesdropping agency to review its policies on sharing information with the Americans and other key partners, a newly declassified memo reveals.

The three-page note from Communications Security Establishment Canada chief John Forster says the unprecedented breach also sparked a CSEC examination of its practices for protecting the privacy of Canadians.

The undated memo to national security adviser Stephen Rigby — obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act — was prepared some time in mid-2013, after Snowden’s leaks began making global headlines.

The memo, originally classified top secret, says CSEC set about assessing the potential damage to Canadian signals intelligence collection capabilities, as well as asking its partners for confirmation on what data Snowden took from the U.S. National Security Agency.

The highly sensitive material showed the NSA had quietly obtained access to a broad spectrum of emails, chat logs and other information from major Internet companies, as well as data about a huge volume of telephone calls.

CSEC, the NSA’s Canadian counterpart, monitors foreign computer, satellite, radio and telephone traffic for information of intelligence interest.

With a staff of more than 2,000 — including skilled mathematicians, linguists and computer specialists — CSEC is a key player in the so-called Five Eyes community comprising Canada, the United States, Britain, Australia and New Zealand.

“In collaboration with domestic and international partners, CSEC is undertaking an organization-wide operation to assess the impacts of these unlawful disclosures of classified information,” says the memo, portions of which remain secret. “Due to the unauthorized disclosures CSEC has developed an ongoing damage assessment, initiated external and internal communications strategies and introduced preventative measures to mitigate the potential of future damage.”

A section on Forster’s initial assessment of the damage is blacked out.

In addition to liaising with its Five Eyes partners, the spy agency briefed a committee of deputy ministers on the fallout and arranged a series of bilateral meetings with the Privy Council Office (where Rigby works), Foreign Affairs, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the RCMP.

The Ottawa-based CSEC held two briefings for staff members, along with specialized sessions, and took steps to “remind them of security protocols and provide guidance and support where appropriate,” the memo says.

“CSEC is also reviewing internal policies related to information sharing with the Five Eyes as well as the protection of the privacy of Canadians to ensure that they are appropriate and clear.”

— The Canadian Press