Tuesday, February 24, 2015

FRA broadens its reconnaissance – Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet

FRA broadens its reconnaissance – Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet

On the cover of FRA’s annual report, released Wednesday, shows a Russian fighter aircraft of type Sukhoi-27, just ten meters from a Swedish signals intelligence planes. The image, which was published last fall in SvD, is fitting, according to FRA’s spokesperson Fredrik Wallin.

– What characterized 2014 was primarily the increased military activity in the Baltic Sea area. There is a significant development and one of our main tasks is to provide support to the Armed Forces, he said.

During the year much focus has been on follow ships and aircraft at Sweden’s borders with technical signals. In addition, the FRA has followed ever more massive exercises in the area.

– The practicing of the peace is often what you intend to do in the war, says Fredrik Wallin.



Fredrik Wallin, FRA.

The man practicing in peace is often what it intends to do in the war.

Fredrik Wallin.

The report strikes FRA stated that it is increasingly necessary “abrupt changes” to the authority and resources into play when the challenges are increasing.

– This past year we have been working hard, there has been a lot of overtime, says Fredrik Wallin.

Forced you say no to tasks more often today?

– Yes, you could say that, overall increases challenges and desires are more than there are resources. We do not say directly, no, but there will be a dialogue in which we prioritize.

If 2014 was marked by military activities, the terrorist attacks in Paris and Copenhagen earlier this year changed the public discourse.

– We do not spend on activities after a single event. We are trying to stay one step ahead. We have an intelligence needs all the time in the field, says Fredrik Wallin.

SAPO has since two years given its mission to FRA – and has emphasized the importance of this. Fredrik Wallin says that FRA’s reconnaissance in the area have become much sharper.

– Terrorist organizations abroad remains a key area. There are crisis and conflict areas where there is a need for Sapo to know what happens. It is a large and important area.

Spas Command focus can apply to financial, logistical structures or planned attacks. A policy decision can be so broad that it could apply to a terrorist group that IS, according to Fredrik Wallin, but he will not say which countries or organizations FRA Scouts on.

– However, we have, for example, Libya, Somalia and Syria; where there are social structures, where there is conflict and there additionally persons traveling from Sweden and battles.

But as soon as the preliminary investigation started by SAPO, based on signals intelligence, must FRA stop contribute.

– I know that SAPO can experience it as difficult, but we must act on the law and legal certainty has not wanted to mix intelligence and criminal investigation, says Fredrik Wallin.

He adds that in an emergency situation, for example with an imminent attack, there is an opportunity for the Director General to act.

In addition to the terror and the defense pointed high-tech cyber attacks as a growing “worrisome threat” in the annual report.

During the year FRA’s advanced firewall TDV been tried in several Swedish authorities. In real time analyzes traffic based on signatures on dangerous code that FRA come across through signals intelligence.

– We have discovered several serious attacks against authorities in which the attacker was foreign intelligence organizations. Now that we have discovered the attack, we have been able to scout through the signals of the virus and see if it is used in several contexts and unravel their infrastructure, says Fredrik Wallin.

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