Technology

On Christmas Eve, NSA Quietly Releases 12 Years Worth of Internal Reports

Published

11 years ago

December 27, 2014

A sign stands outside the National Security Administration (NSA) campus on Thursday, June 6, 2013, in Fort Meade, Md. Another release of declassified government surveillance documents is underway as part of an ongoing civil liberties lawsuit. The Obama administration published more than 1,000 pages of once-secret court opinions and National Security Agency procedures on the website of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Nov. 18, 2103. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

A sign stands outside the National Security Administration (NSA) campus on Thursday, June 6, 2013, in Fort Meade, Md. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Nathan Mattise, ARS TECHNICA

(ArsTechnica.com)—This holiday season, the NSA participated in a longstanding media tradition—dumping a large bit of news during a busy period of time when many likely weren’t paying attention.

The US spy agency responded to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union by quietly releasing 12 years worth of internal reports on Christmas Eve. Several included reports were previously withheld illegally, and they became the subject of the FOIA lawsuit in 2009.

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