Is spy intelligence the same as government surveillance?

Spying on foreign governments is what the NSA is supposed to do. Much more problematic, and dangerous, is that the NSA is spying on entire populations. It's a mistake to have the same laws and organizations involved with both activities, and it's time we separated the two. read more

In the US intelligence community, there is no definition of "spy intelligence", it is not a thing. We have "Techniques", such things as: HUMINT: Intelligence gained from Human Sources. MASINT: Intelligence gained from Measurements and Signals. read more

Under the NSA’s Upstream program, the government scans data flowing over the Internet for messages that contain information “about” foreign intelligence targets. The NSA says selectors for this “about” surveillance have to be more specific than merely the names of targets. read more

These partnerships make no sense when the primary goal of intelligence is government vs. government espionage, but are obvious and appropriate when the primary goal is global surveillance of the population. read more