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National Security Agency building at Fort Meade, Md. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, file)

Congress is still waiting for an intelligence community estimate of the number of American communications swept up in widespread surveillance programs authorized by law due to expire this year.

Lawmakers blasted the intelligence community Wednesday after a classified briefing from members of the National Security Agency, FBI, Office of the Director of National Intelligence and others. Representatives again failed to respond to a year-old request for an estimate of the number of American communications caught up in electronic surveillance programs.

Representatives have asked repeatedly for the information ahead of Congress reauthorization of FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) Amendments Act Section 702. The law legalizes broad electronic surveillance programs like Prism, revealed by NSA leaker Edward Snowden in 2013. Section 702 expires Dec. 31.

Michigan Democrat Rep. John Conyers said the intelligence community has not so much as responded to another December request for the estimate. He added lawmakers will not simply take the governments word on the size of the so-called incidental collection.

Section 702 authorizes NSAs upstream surveillance programs when the signals intelligence agency taps the physical infrastructure of the internet, such as undersea fiber cables, to surveil the content of foreign communications including emails, instant messages, etc. as they exit and enter the U.S.

It also allows the agency to submit selectors to U.S.-based communications providers, like e-mail addresses, who then provide the agency with any communications relevant to those selectors.

The programs essentially allow NSA to incidentally sweep up unrelated data belonging to Americans in communication with foreigners. Privacy advocates likeElizabeth Goitein, co-director of the Liberty and National Security Program at NYU Laws Brennan Center for Justice, say such incidental collection likely amounts to millions or tens of millions of warrantless interceptions.

I dont mean to imply that this trust was misplaced, Goitein told the House Judiciary Committee during the unclassified half of Wednesdays briefing. In fact, weve seen essentially no evidence of intentional misuse. But what we have seen is mission creep, so that a law designed to protect against foreign threats to the United States has become a major source of warrantless access to Americans data and a tool for ordinary, domestic law enforcement.

NSA can share raw data it collects absent a warrant with CIA and FBI. All three can hold onto data for five years, but encrypted communications, those reasonably believed to contain secret meaning, and any U.S. person information that has foreign intelligence value or is evidence of a crime, can be kept indefinitely. None estimate how many Americans are swept up annually in what privacy advocates have dubbed back door searches.

Goitein said that data can be used to prosecute Americans for crimes unrelated to the original search. Legal requirements for secrecy and national security allow prosecutors in some instances not to reveal how such information was gathered, making it difficult to surmise if its happened already.

She and others at Wednesdays hearing including California Democrat Rep. Ted Lieu say thats a clear Fourth Amendment violation, and Congress should rewrite the law with reforms instead of a blanket reauthorization. Jeff Kosseff, a professor at the U.S. Naval Academy, argued national security gives the intelligence community exception to the Fourth Amendments warrant requirement.

An anonymous White House official told Reuters Wednesday the Trump administration supports renewal without reforms.

We support the clean reauthorization and the administration believes its necessary to protect the security of the nation, the official said.

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Congress Asks NSA for Estimate of American Surveillance Before Reauthorization - InsideSources

The Hindu

Jaishankar meets US NSA, Speaker The Hindu On his third trip to the United States since the election of Donald Trump, Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar met U.S. National Security Advisor Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, House Speaker Paul Ryan and Under Secretary of State Thomas Shannon on Wednesday. Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar meets US NSA, discuss bilateral tiesEconomic Times S Jaishankar holds talks with US Speaker Paul Ryan and NSA McMaster; safety of Indians, counter terrorism ops ...India.com S. Jaishankar meets US NSA Lt. Gen. HR McMasterBusiness Standard Millennium Post all 33 news articles »

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Jaishankar meets US NSA, Speaker - The Hindu

ORLANDO, Fla., March 1, 2017 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Personal Mini Storage ("Personal Mini"), Central Florida's largest family owned storage operator is pleased to announce they have entered into definitive agreements with National Storage Affiliates Trust ("NSA"). Personal Mini, headed by Marc and Laurie Smith, has become NSA's eighth Participating Regional Operator ("PRO").

"We will continue to retain our management team and operate our management company as a family owned business while at the same time gaining all the benefits of being part of a large public company," said Marc Smith, President of Personal Mini, "Joining NSA as its newest PRO is the best way to accelerate our growth through NSA's attractive capital structure, and at the same time strengthen our operational tools by integrating them into NSA's 'best practices' platform. We expect to see significant growth, both personally and professionally, for our entire team as a result of our affiliation with NSA."

Marc Smith has more than 20 years of first-hand experience in owning and operating self-storage facilities. He is currently completing his term as Chairman of the national Self Storage Association ("SSA"). A licensed real estate broker, building contractor and Orlando philanthropist, Marc previously served as past president and national board member of the Southeast Region of the SSA. Marc specializes in all aspects of the self storage business, including acquisitions, site selection, start-ups, construction management, design, systems analysis and more. The Personal Mini brand continues to grow with the addition of 4 self storage properties on March 1, 2017, bringing the total number under management to forty (40) across mid-Florida.

Arlen D. Nordhagen, NSA's Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We are extremely pleased to introduce Personal Mini, a long-time industry leader, as our eighth PRO. Our new partnership with Personal Mini will significantly strengthen NSA's presence in the Florida market. We look forward to working with the entire Personal Mini team and welcome them to NSA."

About National Storage Affiliates Trust

National Storage Affiliates Trust is a Maryland real estate investment trust focused on the ownership, operation and acquisition of self-storage properties located within the top 100 metropolitan statistical areas throughout the United States. NSA currently holds ownership in and operates 453 self storage properties located in 23 states with approximately 28 million rentable square feet, and is one of the largest operators of self storage properties among public and private companies in the U.S. For more information, please visit the Company's website at http://www.nationalstorageaffiliates.com. NSA is included in the MSCI US REIT Index (RMS/RMZ) and the Russell 2000 Index of Companies.

About Personal Mini Storage

Personal Mini Storage is operated by Laurie & Marc Smith and is Central Florida's largest family owned storage operator. As of March 1, 2017, Personal Mini manages 40 properties with approximately 2.7 million rentable square feet in mid-Florida. To find out more about Personal Mini Storage or to find the storage location nearest to you, visitwww.personalministorage.com.

Media Contact: Cheryl Lewis, Personal Mini Storage, 407-297-3683, cl@personalministorage.com

News distributed by PR Newswire iReach: https://ireach.prnewswire.com

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Personal Mini Storage has become NSA's eighth Participating Regional Operator - Yahoo Finance

Michael Samukai, the son of Defense Minister Brownie Samukai, who is being tried for allegedly shooting Zardee Andrews in the back of his neck, told Criminal Court A yesterday that the gun used during the incident was issued to him by the National Security Agency (NSA).

The agency is expected to appear before the court on Thursday, March 2.

Defendant Samukai, who is on the witness stand, was said to have shot Andrews on September 13, 2016, during a fist fight about the victims extra marital relations with his wife. The incident occurred at the Tropicana Beach on the Robertfiled Highway.

Although, defendant Samukai testified that it was the NSA that issued him the gun, police investigation established that he acquired the weapon illegally. He, however, said the permit for the weapon is still in the possession of the NSA.

Samukai claimed that he is an employee of the NSA with a rank of deputy chief of security assigned at the National Port Authority (NPA). Despite the shooting incident, he still maintains his post.

His explanation came immediately after the prosecution asked him to produce every legitimate document in his possession that authorizes him to carry the arm.

It was due to that information that his lawyer asked the court for the agency to appear before it and to prove whether or not the defendants was authorized by the NSA to carry a firearm.

Further to his testimony, defendant Samukai alleged that he was issued the gun, after he had complained to his bosses that he had been attacked on many occasions, by unidentified persons while performing his duty at the port.

After I was physically attacked on many occasions as deputy chief of security at the port, it was when I thought that I needed protection and it was how the NSA gave me the weapon for protection, the defendant alleged.

He added that the NSA did not give him the permit for the weapon.

Explaining about the shooting incident, Samukai denied any knowledge as to who actually carried out the act.

The gun was in my jacket and while we were fighting, he spotted it and we together took it out of my clothes (jacket) and it went off, so, I do not know how he was shot, Samukai alleged.

He claimed that after the incident he immediately reported the weapon to the headquarters of the LNP, where the Police Inspector General, Gregory Coleman, advised him to leave it there because nothing was going to happen to me.

He is charged with multiple crimes, including aggravated assault, criminal attempt to commit murder and illegal possession of firearm.

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Michael Samukai Implicates NSA in 'Gun Ownership' - Liberian Daily Observer

Say you're a senior national security adviser on a campaign and part of your job is to speak to foreign ambassadors. You know the United States government often has such foreign officials under electronic surveillance, but you also know that, as an American citizen, you're still protected by the Fourth Amendment. Unfortunately for you, the FBI can collect your communications emails, texts, chats, or calls with those foreign officials and look at them without a warrant.

How is that possible? Nearly 10 years ago, Congress gave the NSA broad authority to intercept Internet communications, as long as it was for foreign intelligence purposes. That authority, known as Section 702, has played a valuable role in disrupting terrorist plots and gathering foreign intelligence, but it has always had two serious flaws.

First, its drafters did not carefully consider what protections should exist for U.S. persons whose communications would be reviewed by law enforcement. Second, the drafters did not foresee what having a statute that allowed for broad collection against foreigners would mean for U.S. companies operating overseas. But now, Congress has an opportunity to fix these two flaws before this statute expires at the end of the year.

According to government officials, Section 702 has played a crucial role in disrupting terrorist plots. A group commissioned by President Barack Obama to review the statute concluded that information obtained through it had "contributed in some degree" to the success of 53 terrorism investigations. In particular, intelligence agencies have highlighted that Section 702 helped disrupt a plot to bomb the New York subway system and a terrorism financing scheme operating out of Missouri. Successes like these have led intelligence officials to describe it as their "most significant tool" for the "detection, identification, and disruption of terrorist threats."

But while Section 702 is a powerful tool in the fight against terror, it raises serious concerns in the law enforcement context.

Section 702 allows the NSA to collect the communications of foreign persons from U.S. tech companies like Microsoft and Google and from U.S. telecom firms' networks. This collection, though targeted at potentially dangerous foreigners, inevitably sweeps up the communications of innocent Americans and non-Americans. These communications can be accessed by the FBI when investigating not only national security matters, but any crime. Because Section 702 information is not obtained pursuant to a warrant, this allows the FBI to evade the requirements of the Fourth Amendment and unconstitutionally invade the privacy of Americans.

American tech companies are also affected by Section 702. After particulars of 702 surveillance were leaked to the press, foreign governments, anxious about being surveilled by the NSA, denied contracts to U.S. tech firms like Microsoft and Verizon. More destructive was a 2015 ruling by the European Court of Justice which cited concerns about Section 702 when striking down a framework known as the Safe Harbor, which protected American tech companies from certain European data regulations.

Without Safe Harbor, U.S. companies could have been required to locate Europeans' data on servers in the European Union, with this seriously increasing companies' costs and proving especially prohibitive for start-ups. Although EU and U.S. authorities quickly implemented a replacement for Safe Harbor known as Privacy Shield, that agreement is already being challenged in EU courts. If it is struck down, the commerce-killing requirements that were predicted in the aftermath of Safe Harbor could become a reality, bringing transatlantic data flows and trade to a screeching halt.

Congress should reauthorize Section 702, but it should also amend it to protect Americans' rights and empower U.S. companies to push back against government surveillance that hurts their bottom lines. As lawmakers do this, they can ensure that Americans are safe, their rights are respected, and our companies continue to compete in the global marketplace.

Also from the Washington Examiner

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi will bring two guests to President Trump's speech.

02/28/17 8:38 PM

Mieke Eoyang (@MiekeEoyang) is the vice president for the National Security Program at Third Way and previously served as a subcommittee staff director on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Gary Ashcroft (@ashcroftgm) is a national security fellow at Third Way.

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Congress can reform the NSA to protect our rights without putting us in danger - Washington Examiner