AT&T insider Mark Klein, who exposed the massive surveillance program run by the National Security Agency (NSA), passes away at 79 years old.

AT&T Insider Mark Klein, who exposed the NSA's large-scale data interception, passes away at 79 years old.

In the mid-2000s, Mark Klein, a former internet technician for AT&T in San Francisco, made a startling discovery that would shake the foundations of privacy and surveillance in the United States.

Klein, who passed away on March 8, 2023, at the age of 79, wrote an account of his experience called "Wiring Up the Big Brother Machine . . . And Fighting It." His story began when he read about mass surveillance by the National Security Agency (NSA) in a New York Times article in late 2005.

Intrigued, Klein delved deeper and discovered a secret room, 641A, at AT&T, where he found evidence of the NSA's surveillance activities. He approached the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) in 2006 to help expose this spying. The EFF used Klein's evidence to bring two lawsuits: Hepting v. AT&T and Jewel v. NSA.

President Bush acknowledged the spying program in May 2006, invoking the terror attacks of 9/11 to justify it. The NSA was authorized to intercept international communications of people with known links to Al Qaeda and related terrorist organizations, according to Bush's press release, now housed at the National Archives.

However, the NSA did not utilize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) courts to conduct its wiretapping during this period. Instead, the splitter system for monitoring internet traffic was established in cities including San Francisco, Seattle, San Jose, Los Angeles, and San Diego. Klein explained how NSA used a splitter for internet traffic flowing through San Francisco, rerouting everything to the secret room at AT&T.

AT&T threatened to sue Klein, but did not follow through. Meanwhile, the potential for another whistleblower like Klein to come forward in the future is a concern, as it seems unlikely that their revelations would receive significant attention.

The issue of U.S. government surveillance of the internet remains relevant today. In fact, President Donald Trump's administration lacks guardrails to protect against potential abuses of internet surveillance. Many Americans assume their online activity is being constantly monitored, not just by the government, but also by Big Tech oligarchs, such as Mark Zuckerberg, who is perceived as having access to personal secrets.

Congress and the Courts have refused to take the steps necessary to end mass spying, even after Edward Snowden provided more evidence in 2013. The legacy of whistleblowers like Mark Klein serves as a reminder of the importance of transparency and accountability in the digital age.