NSA spy hub allegedly discovered in downtown Seattle

Of course, a secret 3-letter agency such as the NSA would not advertise the locations of their wiretap facilities. You wouldn't expect to see a giant neon sign flashing "NSA SPIES ON EVERYONE HERE" hanging in the window. So where does the NSA do it's controversial data collection? Journalist Ryan Gallagher has used documents and "other sources" to identify eight buildings across the United States that are ALLEGEDLY used by the NSA to intercept a variety of electronic communication data formats including billions (if not trillions) of emails and text messages as well as voice communication. One of these facilities has apparently been identified in Downtown Seattle:

There are a handful of National Security Agency spy hubs alleged to be scattered around the United States. And one is apparently located in downtown Seattle

According to Gallagher’s story on The Intercept, there are eight hidden NSA spy hubs in US Cities — buildings where the NSA monitors phone calls, emails, and other online communications within the United States. The buildings are generally tied to AT&T operations. One is located at 3rd Avenue and Seneca Street in downtown Seattle.

It’s a very nondescript building. If you were to imagine a generic structure that would be easily forgettable, this would be it. Its gray exterior offers a line of small windows, little defining character, and a single door with signs for AT&T and CenturyLink posted nearby. The building is owned by the Qwest Corporation, a subsidiary of CenturyLink and AT&T has operations in it, according to the report.

The Intercept notes this Seattle hub is a mere 25 miles away from an intercontinental undersea cable known as Pacific Crossing-1. That cable generally carries information between Japan and the US.

“In this case, we have identified eight buildings across the United States that are owned or operated in part by AT&T,” he said. “We have documents and sources and some other evidence that indicate these are parts of a large-scale National Security Agency surveillance program that has been operating for a number of years, sweeping up communications from the internet, and aims at foreign communications that pass through the United States. But some of those will include Americans’ communications also.”

Gallagher said the NSA spy system works by collecting information sent over the internet and storing it. When a specific concern arises with someone, they can search back through the information. It’s more about sifting through billions of emails and other communications. By tapping into AT&T’s system, the government can monitor the telecompany’s system, and any other company it communicates with.

“So a lot of what they do actually does implicate Americans,” Gallagher said. “If they are tapping international communication if you have family overseas, or something like that, it could be swept up in the dragnet of it. It’s almost impossible for them to limit it.”

The government tells us that these programs target foreign communications, but are we to believe that US citizens are immune to these types of surveillance sweeps? If you have nothing to hide, you don't have anything to worry about, right?

LINK TO STREET VIEW ON GOOGLE MAPS

KIRO NEWS SOURCE ARTICLE

THE INTERCEPT ARTICLE - THE WIRETAP ROOMS

a reply to: seattlerat

Safe to assume that if moving trucks show up at one of these buildings in the next 6 months it's related to this information being exposed....

This guy Ryan Gallagher also secured himself a spot a little bit higher on the NSA's Watch List

Seeing as how these buildings are hardened against nuclear attack and that AT&T has their main data Splitters over there I doubt they're going anywhere..
Just going to redouble security and probably shoot a few people for leaking. Nothing to see here move along now

a reply to: seattlerat

The Case of the Purloined Three Letter Agency...Gotta be the Space Needle! Amirite!?

Can someone in the know please answer a question for me? Please?

I remember reading somewhere, where the NSA was originally instituted and its original mission statement said in effect, it was brought into existence to protect the Government from overthrow, from within. ??

..........

a reply to: seattlerat

I don't think it really matters where the actual buildings are, the issue is we as people are being recorded every day.
I don't care to be honest, even in my activism days we had undercover cops infiltrating our ranks, again I didn't care if one heard what I stood for and it risked prosecution for me. I stand by my principles, and if it means I get locked up then so be it.

originally posted by: dashen
Seeing as how these buildings are hardened against nuclear attack and that AT&T has their main data Splitters over there I doubt they're going anywhere..
Just going to redouble security and probably shoot a few people for leaking. Nothing to see here move along now

I was about to say isn’t it pretty strongly established that the NSA has a room at about every major data routing center in the states.

I will say that when you get to the physics of data transfer and if you know the large scale of even legit data transfer over tcp/ip theres always points as implementing the original idea where every node went to every other node just will not work as imagine you house having physical links to every other house in the nation.

If I didn't think the spooks were watching I'd be wanting a chair at an old peoples home.

Don't know what its like in the US but theres always data hubs but here in the UK there are locked rooms where basically the men in black turn up and do stuff so I'd imagine the same.

a reply to: Maxatoria

Lol at the old people's home line
The UK has my picture, fingerprints, and DNA so I don't really care if they read intimate conversations with my mates or whatever. Get off on it mate I say lol
Anything important to talk about is always face to face with no smartphones on anyone.

I've done stuff in the UK nuclear war prep sort of crap and once you get chatting you realise its terrible how crap the infrastructure is, its funny that I never got OSA for my knowledge but a friend who worked at an MoD owned farm had to sign it but the fact he admitted it meant he broke it.

originally posted by: FamCore
a reply to: seattlerat

Safe to assume that if moving trucks show up at one of these buildings in the next 6 months it's related to this information being exposed....

This guy Ryan Gallagher also secured himself a spot a little bit higher on the NSA's Watch List

Most of this data is in James Bamford's books. Read them all. I suppose if you have to read one, that would be the "Shadow Factory." I liked "Body of Secrets" because it wasn't strictly modern NSA. "The Puzzle Palace" is a bit dated but it has some good stories.

This said, I'm glad The Intercept updated these snooping sites.

Note that encryption defeats much snooping. Unfortunately not meta data. For that you need tor.

That building actually looks like it's hiding something. In a weird way, it stands out by how minimalist it is, particularly relative to the windows.

a reply to: jordan77
Leave it to the rigid, humorless, power-hungry Deep State to have absolutely no artistic sensibility whatsoever.

its the RED NET SPY NETWORK that is the serious threat to us. Their Artificial Intelligence is far beyond anything we could ever imagine