Politics

Snowden: New Zealand Intelligence Facility Contributes To NSA Surveillance Programs

Says the U.K., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand intelligence agencies sometimes go further than the NSA

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United States whistleblower Edward Snowden has raised a link between New Zealand and US global surveillance, identifying the Waihopai spy base as a contributor to a key American intelligence collection programme.

Classified US National Security Agency maps leaked by Snowden and published by US journalist Glenn Greenwald in the Brazilian O Globo newspaper reveal the locations of dozens of US and allied signals intelligence collection sites that contribute to interception of telecommunications and internet traffic worldwide.

The New Zealand Government Security Communications Bureau facility at Waihopai near Blenheim contributes to the NSA's collection programme codenamed X-Keyscore.