‘NSA and GCHQ are working on real-time ‘Google Earth’ for internet observation’

The American intelligence service NSA and the British service GCHQ have access to the networks of Deutsche Telekom and NetCologne, Der Spiegel claims after accessing classified documents. The services would set up a kind of Google Earth for internet observation.

The document that Der Spiegel has seen shows a map with the name ‘Treasure Map’. The map shows the names of Deutsche Telekom and NetCologne and their networks in red, with the legend referring to the existence of ‘access points’ for ‘technical observation’ within the networks.

The project for Treasure Map would aim to map the entire internet and make “any internet-connected device in real time, everywhere” visible. Der Spiegel speaks of a kind of Google Earth for the Internet, which the NSA and the GCHQ would use to plan Internet attacks and espionage. Not only routers could be visualized, but also computers, smartphones and tablets that are connected to the internet.

The German teleport providers Stellar, Cetel and IABG are also marked in red on the Treasure Map. These companies provide Internet access and other communications services via satellites for areas where there is no Internet. The map comes from the large amount of documents that whistleblower Snowden has revealed.