NSA whistleblower reveals Aussie involvement in US 'snoop-op'

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has reportedly revealed Australian intelligence's involvement with the alleged US 'snoop-op'.

According to the Age, Snowden has identified four Australian facilities which work in co-ordination with the US' surveillance programme and have been furnishing citizen data and contributing to the programme.

Snowden has revealed the locations of dozens of US and allied signals intelligence collection sites that contribute to interception of telecommunications and internet traffic worldwide.

The report said that the US Australian Joint Defence Facility at Pine Gap and three Australian Signals Directorate facilities namely the Shoal Bay Receiving Station, the Australian Defence Satellite Communications Facility and the naval communications station HMAS Harman outside Canberra are among contributors to the NSA's collection program codenamed X-Keyscore.

The New Zealand Government Security Communications Bureau facility is also one of the locations disclosed by Snowden.

US intelligence expert William Arkin described X-Keyscore as a 'national Intelligence collection mission system'.

According to the report, Snowden revealed that the US and allied signals intelligence collection facilities are distributed worldwide, located at US and allied military and other facilities as well as US embassies and consulates.

Snowden said that other partners in NSA programme, including western governments, which operate broad secret intelligence partnerships, some of which are now complaining about its programs.

He further said that the 'Five Eyes' intelligence alliance of the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand sometimes goes even further than the NSA authorities, the report added.