The Latest in IT Security

Five major intelligence agencies including the NSA and GCHQ have been collaborating to create a map of the entire internet, and as part of that program the agencies have been breaking into service providers networks to monitor them, according to dual reports in The Intercept and Der Spiegel. The mapping program was previously detailed in The New York Times, so in their reports, the two publications hone in on providers that have apparently been penetrated as part of this program in Germany, including the large operator Deutsche Telekom (notably, though, Deutsche Telekom says that it has detected no evidence of surveillance). In a short documentary, filmmakers Katy Scoggin and Laura Poitras capture a meeting between an Intercept journalist and staff of Stellar, a satellite communications firm, as the firm is presented with evidence that its been the subject of GCHQ surveillance. The surveillance comes as part of the internet mapping program, known as Treasure Map, but Stellars engineers point out with great concern that the governments access could allow them to do quite a bit more — including shut off internet access to various customers its client serves in Africa.