Haaretz: "In U.S. snooping affair, Israeli firms at risk"
06/23/2013
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If you were to read the Israeli and American Jewish press, you would get the impression that Israelis and American Jews tend to be well above average in terms of being influential, powerful, and intimately involved in much that's in the news. 

Fortunately, we have the American mainstream media to completely ignore for us overly interesting angles, such as Israeli involvement in the current surveillance scandal. Kevin MacDonald points to this June 10, 2013 story from Haaretz:

In U.S. snooping affair, Israeli firms at risk 

Controversy over government surveillance that erupted last week over the NSA's PRISM surveillance program may lead to tougher standards for telecommunications gear like that developed, manufactured in Israel....

Behind the scenes are a host of Israeli companies that have almost certainly taken part in the program as suppliers of technology. They may yet find themselves in the maelstrom, warns Nimrod Kozlovski, head of Tel Aviv University’s program for cyber studies.... 

The concern is not just that the local government is spying on its citizens but that the manufacturers themselves have the ability to spy from afar. 

Telecommunications systems almost always feature components that can be operated remotely so that software can be updated and routine maintenance chores can be conducted. … But these same systems can be used to penetrate the user country’s communications network as well. With the United States at the center of the world’s Internet traffic that problem is magnified.

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