Re: German spies violated law, must delete XKeyscore database—watchdog

[Katana]

Hi,

> OK, thanks :) I haven't taken the time to read Snowden docs very 
> carefully. So generally, I gather that NSA/CIA cooperates with 
> friendly foreign agencies to establish intercepts.

Oh yes. The NSA has the Foreign Affairs Directorate (FAD) for that
purpose or for the establishment and management of Foreign Partner
Access (FPA) interception points/programms (for example RAMPART or
WINDSTOP or SMARAGD), local Special US Liaison Activities (SUSLAs)
like the one in Bad Aibling and Special US Liaison Offices (SUSLOs) for
the communication.

> And then they trade technology, data and results.

I think more or less. Besides the UKUSA 5-Eyes ring it is the question
for foreign partner services in which ring they are and so how close the
relationship is: 5Eyes, 9Eyes, 14Eyes (SIGINT Seniors Europe/SSEUR),
SIGINT Seniors Pacific/SSPAC, 30Eyes or 41Eyes.

> In part to circumvent laws preventing agencies from spying on
> citizens. Is that more or less accurate?

I would say yes. Intelligence rings are intelligence exchange rings and
they are helping each other if laws preventing activities - one of the
last examples was
<https://theintercept.com/2016/08/14/nsa-gcsb-prism-surveillance-fullman-fiji/>
- or the operator clicks the right box in his GUI to pretend that his
action is compliant with the law ;)

-- 
Katana