Response from the Communications Security Establishment to CBC’s questions

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
CSE is clearly mandated to collect foreign signals intelligence to protect Canada and
Canadians from a variety of threats to our national security, including terrorism. CSE’s foreign
signals intelligence has played a vital role in uncovering foreign-based extremists’ efforts to
attract, radicalize, and train individuals to carry out attacks in Canada and abroad.
In order to fulfill this key foreign intelligence role for the country, CSE is legally authorized to
collect and analyze metadata, including from parts of the Internet routinely used by terrorists.
Some of CSE`s metadata analysis activities are designed to identify foreign terrorists who use
the internet to conduct activities that threaten the security of Canada and Canadian citizens. In
collecting and analyzing metadata, CSE does not direct its activities at Canadians or anyone in
Canada, and, in accordance with our legislation, has a range of measures in place to protect
the privacy of Canadians incidentally encountered in the course of these foreign intelligence
operations.
In addition to these privacy protection measures, CSE respects all Canadian laws, and follows
strict policies and procedures in the handling of information collected. The independent CSE
Commissioner and his staff constantly and thoroughly scrutinize CSE’s activities. The CSE
Commissioner has never found CSE to have acted unlawfully, and has noted CSE’s respect
for the privacy of Canadians.
CSE cannot comment further on operations, methods or capabilities, as that would constitute a
breach of the Security of Information Act. Furthermore, we regret that the publication of
techniques and methods, based on stolen documents, renders those techniques and methods
less effective when addressing threats to Canada and Canadians.

Questions sent to CSE:
1.

When was project LEVITATION started?

2.

Is it still being used?

3.

How much useful intelligence has it found?

4.

Examples?

5.

Under what authority does it function?

6. How is LEVITATION not directed at, in part, Canadians given that Canadians use
Free File Upload sites just like anyone else?

 7. How do explain the collection of file upload events tracked to Canadian IP
addresses (see Page 12, titled “Resulting Event”) when legislation strictly prohibits
CSE from directing its Mandate A activities at Canadians?
8. How do you explain to citizens of allied nations that you are surveilling their
activities ( IP addresses tracked to the UK, US, Germany, Brazil, Spain)?
9. How are Canadian ‘events’ and data protected in the collection, analysis, and
potential sharing of intelligence with allies?
10. Numerous experts we’ve consulted describe this as ‘mass surveillance’ by CSE.
How do you respond to that?
11. Can you please clarify what happens to the collected or analysed data that isn’t of
interest? Are you deleting this data or storing it? If storing it, for how long?
12. Is it possible under Mandate C for police forces and other agencies to query the
data filtered through and collected by Levitation?
13. Does CSE pass along information to the police about links connected to crimes
unrelated to terrorism?