Snowden is in Russia. Wouldn’t it be ironic if he got access to the surveillance data from Sochi?
Here is a post on the spying at the Sochi Olympics.
But as is often the case, the bigger threat to visitors may be the one they can’t see. As athletes, journalists, and spectators arrive in Sochi, their every electonic move is being watched. All information transmitted in the country via phone and Internet, including text messages and e-mails, is flowing through the Russian System for Operational-Investigative Activities, according to the U.S. State Department’s Overseas Security Advisory Council. The council is warning American travelers that the system, known as SORM, has had an upgrade in Sochi just in time for the games, allowing the Federal Security Service (formerly known as the KGB) enhanced access to communications.
“The system in Sochi is capable of capturing telephone (including mobile phone) communications; intercepting Internet (including wireless/WiFi) traffic; and collecting and storing all user information and data (including actual recordings and locations),” the U.S. council, which operates as a joint venture with the private sector, wrote in an assessment for its members ahead of the Olympics. “Deep packet inspection will allow Russian authorities to track users by filtering data for the use of particular words or phrases mentioned in emails, web chats, and on social media.” Of course, the terrorist threat at the Olympics is a real one, and the Russian system is authorized under local law, the report says.
There are two data centers in Sochi.
Rostelecom Commission Sochi 2014 Secondary Data Center
23 March 2012 / Partners NewsA Secondary Data Center (SDC) has been provided by Rostelecom for the Sochi 2014 Games. Its purpose is to guarantee the absolute reliability of the main information systems used by the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee offices in Moscow and Sochi.
The SDC is one of the key elements of the Unified Information & Telecommunications Infrastructure for the Games and provides the complete backup of email systems, MSDynamix ERP systems, MSOCS systems (Office Communications Server), and DocsVision documentation systems, as well as Organizing Committee catalog services. The equipment included in the SDC is located on platforms at the Rostelecom data processing center in Moscow.
Seems like Snowden would have a lot to keep him busy if he got access.