back to article New leak claim: NSA saw hole in Mexican prez's email box - and hacked it

America's relationship with its nearest southerly neighbor are frostier than before after it was claimed that in May 2010 the NSA conducted an operation dubbed Flatliquid that hacked the contents of the then-Mexican president's inbox. According to documents leaked to Der Spiegel, a division of the NSA dubbed Tailored Access …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "What I got from President Obama was a commitment to a full investigation... and if they turn out to be true to impose corresponding sanctions,"

    Good luck with that "promise" being kept. After the investigation, the documents will be sealed under national security and the "sanctions" will be for the NSA to be less transparent in their activities. Like I would trust sanctions from a secret court that allows spying on foreigners.

    "The U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review concluded on August 22, 2008, in the case In re Directives [redacted text] Pursuant to Section 105B of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that the "special-needs" doctrine applied by analogy to justify a foreign intelligence exception to the warrant requirement for surveillance undertaken for national security purposes and directed at a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power reasonably believed to be located outside the U.S."

    Mexico is located outside of the US and thus for national security the exception would be applied.

  2. Schultz
    Joke

    Legitimate target

    Some background information can be massively helpful to ensure cooperative behavior and is therefore a guarantor of peace and harmony (just ask Al Capone and his friends).

    Based on the documentation series "24", a significant number of government officials everywhere are collaborating with nefarious terrorists. Hence I'd say that some surveillance is perfectly adequate.

    What do you say, '24' is fiction? Well, now the terrorists had access to the series and know how to do those things ... and the Agency for Secret Surveillance of the USA (Ass of the USA) and it's partner ASS of the World will have to make sure it remains fiction.

  3. silent_count
    Happy

    Had it been the Mexicans who hacked the American president's email, there would now be a carrier group parked off the Malaysian coast, 'to teach those sneaky Moroccans a thing or two about messin' with the mighty US of A'.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Had it been the Mexicans who hacked the American president's email....

      That's just too funny!

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Disturbing

    But I hope the American people understand that they have to react and act. I can, of course, boycott anything American, but is there anything but corn and brands made in China left, however, the thing is you have to wake up, the happy times of being a cowboy or a farmer is over, and starting to drink tea is a stupid solution.

    1. Don Jefe

      Re: Disturbing

      As far as finished consumer goods go, if we don't get them from China, we get them from Mexico. They're our #1 accomplice partner in the 'Made is the US' scam program. It's a pretty stupid place to get caught pissing the bed.

      On a happier note, you can still be a successful farmer or cowboy here, and there are plenty of both. It's just that 97.9% of the news that comes out of this country is from in/near large population centers, which isn't where those people live, so people rarely hear about them :)

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    Well done, Mexico...

    ...for kicking up a fuss. That's a darn sight more than the poor excuses for elected representatives in the Five Eyes group are doing.

    The spooks must have so much dirt on the pollies in the so-called civilised west. It's the only thing that explains the current reactions.

  6. Gene Cash Silver badge

    "already investigating itself"

    "Yup, we did it. Case closed"

  7. Winkypop Silver badge
    Joke

    It's only fair

    The Mexicans have been tunneling into the USA for years now...

  8. Neoc

    Figures

    A UK kid hacks a US server looking for UFO evidence, he faces deportation and life imprisonment. The US hacking everyone else's server, it's just a daily occurrence.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Figures

      Kinda puts things in perspective doesn't it.

  9. Gray
    Devil

    Hacking email could be avoided

    by adding NSA/CIA/FBI/Alphabet Agency to "CC" menu while composing emails. Stubborn foreign officials stupidly resist basic truth: "All your privacy are belong to US"; should apologize for forcing hack to get stuff. Poor attitudes = downgrade foreign aid $$. Maybe?

  10. Ralph B

    Our Only Hope

    it is already investigating itself for allegedly hacking

    We can only hope that they are monitoring and archiving their own data traffic, as well everybody else's. That way there's a hope they may fall over in a recursive archiving of achival data scenario.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    disillusioned

    Call me cynical, but I just not sure what else Snowden could leak now that would make any more difference to public reaction or possible repercussions for those governments acting illegally. It just seems like they can do what the hell they want, even if we do all know about it, and nothing happens.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: disillusioned

      Maybe it's all just leading up to the part with the Lizard People. At this rate, I foresee a general reaction of "Yeah, sure, whatever..."

    2. Don Jefe

      Re: disillusioned

      Unfortunately, unless a major partner and/or ally actually does something in response, then none if this will matter. And our politicians know it. Everyone is too hooked on the massive amounts of money we throw at them to let a little thing like principal get in the way.

      While the US is dead wrong in all this, it takes willing partners to allow our government to act with impunity against them. It isn't military capabilities that give the US so much power, it is the unbelievable amount of greed in others. Until a significant foreign nation is willing to put aside that greed then nothing is going to change. I just don't see that happening anytime soon.

    3. teebie

      Re: disillusioned

      I don't think the aim is to pile on ever-worse violations, just to keep the story in the headlines in the hope that it doesn't get brushed under the carpet.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: disillusioned

        > I don't think the aim is to pile on ever-worse violations, just to keep the story in the headlines in the hope that it doesn't get brushed under the carpet.

        That's exactly what's going on.

        Expect stuff to keep trickling out for months or years to come. It keeps the issue in the public domain.

        Such things have brought down governments in the past.

        It's like swimming up river. Anyone can do it for a short while. In the end, the water wins.

    4. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      'What else Snowden could leak now that would make any more difference to public reaction'

      Thankfully, there will be a knock affect on billions lost from US tech to other geographical regions over Cloud computing concerns. So a net affect will be felt in USA Inc. corporate boardrooms. This at least is a difference, as the almighty buck is all USA-NSA Inc understands anyway.

  12. Chris G

    Inoculation

    Maybe Snowden still works for the NSA and these constant revelations are a form of inoculation so that by the time 'The Really Horrible Truth' comes out, we will be immune to it.

    II wonder though, what they are doing in Canada.

    1. Don Jefe
      Happy

      Re: Inoculation

      The Canadians keep themselves occupied with their weather machine. There's no reason to concern yourself with them.

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    No surprise

    That's what NSA and USA is doing with every country's president's or prime minister's email account.

    No need to be paranoid. We know they will do it if they can.

  14. Miek
    Big Brother

    If I had hacked the President of the United States of America's email "inbox" (along with all his other folders) I would be breaking the law and would probably be extradited and imprisoned. Yet if the spooks do it; it's all above board. Seems legit.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Quod licet Iovi, non licet bovi

      Nothing new under the sun. Always look on the bright side of life...

      1. teebie

        Re: Quod licet Iovi, non licet bovi

        Hell, you can get imprisoned for guessing the password reset questions of a candidate for vice president.

        1. Captain Save-a-ho
          Flame

          Re: Quod licet Iovi, non licet bovi

          Pfft...you can get imprisoned for looking or sounding Muslim. The reasoning doesn't mean anything in the grand scheme. The important thing is that those with power wield it for their own benefit at the expense of others. And how is this so much better than capitalism? Pink commie scum everywhere you look nowadays.

  15. paulc

    Hacked to protect their own scams...

    all done to protect their drug-dealing money machine... find out if the Mexicans were getting close to any of their agents...

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    1. US hacks Mexican communications

    2. US gets into World Cup

    3. Mexico's chances at going to the WC: slim

    Coincidence?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Mexico's chances at going to the WC: slim

      hmm, I thought Mx were in a playoff against NZ. As a Kiwi, I would normally be very glad to hear that Mx are likely to lose it (and so not get to the WC, with NZ through instead), but I'm a little suspicious of how you reached your conclusions.

      1. Daniel B.
        FAIL

        Re: Mexico's chances at going to the WC: slim

        As a Mexican, we all know there needs not to be an international conspiracy for Mx to lose its chances to make it to the World Cup. A certain media mogul (think the Mexican Rupert Murdoch) has its grubby hands all over the Mexican 'Selección' and has screwed over the team for profits. Said screw-ups now cost him the surefire entry into the WC, and a lot of us hope MX will lose the WC ticket as that would probably mean that said media mogul will get kicked out from the team's management.

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