One of the US agents' tools is the use of backup files established by smartphones. The access to such material varies, but much of it passes through an NSA department responsible for customized surveillance operations against high-interest targets. To protect the person's privacy, SPIEGEL has chosen not to reveal his name or any other details.
A photo taken in January 2012 is especially risqué: It shows a former senior government official of a foreign country who, according to the NSA, is relaxing on his couch in front of a TV set and taking pictures of himself - with his iPhone.
A series of images depicts young men and women in crisis zones, including an armed man in the mountains of Afghanistan, an Afghan with friends and a suspect in Thailand.Īll the images were apparently taken with smartphones. They include an image of the son of a former defense secretary with his arm around a young woman, a photo he took with his iPhone.
The results the intelligence agency documents on the basis of several examples are impressive. In fact, given the targets it defines, the NSA can select a broad spectrum of user data from Apple's most lucrative product, at least if one is to believe the agency's account. And commenting on photos of enthusiastic Apple customers and iPhone users, the NSA writes: "… and the zombies would be paying customers?" "Who knew in 1984 that this would be Big Brother …" the authors ask, in reference to a photo of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. In three consecutive transparencies, the authors of the presentation draw a comparison with "1984," George Orwell's classic novel about a surveillance state, revealing the agency's current view of smartphones and their users. A detailed NSA presentation titled, "Does your target have a smartphone?" shows how extensive the surveillance methods against users of Apple's popular iPhone already are. According to one NSA presentation, smartphone users demonstrate "nomophobia," or "no mobile phobia." The only thing many users worry about is losing reception. In exploiting the smartphone, the intelligence agency takes advantage of the carefree approach many users take to the device. Google issued a statement claiming: "We have no knowledge of working groups like these and do not provide any government with access to our systems." The NSA did not respond to questions from SPIEGEL by the time the magazine went to print. "Our public statements and principles have long underscored that there is no 'back door' pipeline to our platform," the company said in a statement. When contacted, BlackBerry officials said that it is not the company's job to comment on alleged surveillance by governments.
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