A top secret document retrieved by U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden and obtained by CBC News shows that Canada's electronic spy agency used information from the free internet service at a major Canadian airport to track the wireless devices of thousands of ordinary airline passengers for days after they left the terminal.
After reviewing the document, one of Canada's foremost authorities on cyber-security says the clandestine operation by the Communications Security Establishment Canada ( CSEC) was almost certainly illegal.
Ronald Deibert told CBC News: "I can't see any circumstance in which this would not be unlawful, under current Canadian law, under our Charter, under CSEC's mandates."
The spy agency is supposed to be collecting primarily foreign intelligence by intercepting overseas phone and internet traffic, and is prohibited by law from targeting Canadians or anyone in Canada without a judicial warrant.
As CSEC chief John Forster recently stated: "I can tell you that we do not target Canadians at home or abroad in our foreign intelligence activities, nor do we target anyone in Canada.
"In fact, it's prohibited by law. Protecting the privacy of Canadians is our most important principle."
But security experts who have been apprised of the document point out the airline passengers in a Canadian airport were clearly in Canada.
More...
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/csec-us ... -1.2517881
OK, so now we know for sure what we've long suspected. What now? Good job Snowden but what good does it do for us to know? It's not like there is anybody out there that can put a stop to it.
CSEC used airport Wifi to track Canadian travelers
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CSEC used airport Wifi to track Canadian travelers
“For evil to flourish, it only requires good men to do nothing.” Simon Wiesenthal
I heard a commentator on the local Canadian station say, "They will flaunt the illegality of this action until they are led away in handcuffs, the legislate a way for it to be legal."
"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them." - Thomas Jefferson