GCHQ collected material from webcams - part of which was sexual - over 1,8 million Yahoo user accounts worldwide.
The British Service GCHQ, with the help of the NSA, has been intercepted by web cameras by millions of Internet users, according to a Guardian report.
Η βρετανική εφημερίδα επικαλείται έγγραφα τα οποία διέρρευσαν στο πλαίσιο της υπόθεσης Σνόουντεν και καλύπτουν το χρονικό διάστημα 2008-2010. Σύμφωνα με αυτά, η GCHQ διατηρούσε ένα program, υπό το όνομα Optic Nerve, στο πλαίσιο του οποίου συλλέγονταν μαζικά φωτογραφίες από συνομιλίες μέσω webcam στο Yahoo και αποστέλλονταν σε βάσεις δεδομένων της υπηρεσίας.
Over a six-month period in 2008, GCHQ collected material from the webcams – some of which was of sexual content – of more than 1,8 million Yahoo account users around the world. According to the Guardian, the program, instead of saving the conversations in their entirety, was "saving" one picture every five minutes.
As stated in the publication, the agency carried out this activity regardless of whether the unsuspecting users had been identified as "targets" of intelligence interest or not.
Yahoo reacted strongly to the revelation, denying any knowledge of the program and accusing intelligence agencies of a "new level infringementof the privacy of its users".
The offices of the British Service GCHQ.
It is noted that according to the documents, GCHQ made great efforts to keep secret the existence of a large volume of sexual material collected in the Optic Nerve, even by its own staff. With regard to the duration of the program, the publication states that 2008 was launched and appears to have been active as 2012. In a related announcement, the UK agency says it is its policy not to comment on information issues. However, it assures that all its activities are part of a strictly defined legal and political framework that ensures their legitimacy.
Source: naftemporiki.gr
