NSA chief says electronic spying is necessary for US security

THE director of the NSA has defended the bulk gathering of metadata on phone calls, saying, 'There is no other way that we know of to connect the dots'.

The mass collection of telephone data is necessary to monitor communications between terrorist suspects, the head of a US spy agency says.

General Keith Alexander, director of the National Security Agency (NSA), defended the bulk gathering of metadata on phone calls, saying, "There is no other way that we know of to connect the dots.''

The NSA collects information about which phone numbers are involved and the duration of calls, but not any information from actual conversations.

He told senators at a hearing that ending the mass collection program "is absolutely not an option''.

Members of the US Congress have called for greater restraints on US spying programs after media reports in recent months revealed mass surveillance of telephone and internet records, and spying on international leaders' mobile communications.

Former government contractor Edward Snowden began providing information about the extent of US spying efforts to the media earlier this year, prompting outrage from US allies and civil libertarians.

US President Barack Obama has said the US is to unveil "self restraints'' on surveillance in the coming weeks after an internal review.

Pleading with the Senate Judiciary Committee to continue the NSA's bulk-collection programs, Gen. Alexander warned that global threats are growing - specifically in Iraq and Syria - that pose what he called "an unacceptable risk'' to America.

The committee's chairman, Senator Patrick Leahy, a Democrat, said it was troubling that the government was sweeping up millions, if not billions, of Americans' records.

He has proposed legislation to prohibit the NSA from the bulk collection of US phone records, and said that he was concerned that Americans' internet records also were vacuumed up before the program ended in 2011.

That program now focuses only on people who live outside the United States - which could include Americans living abroad.

Alexander acknowledged the privacy concerns that have dogged the NSA since leakier Edward Snowden revealed the programs in June. And he said the NSA was open to talking to technology companies for a better solution without compromising security.

"It's like holding onto a hornet's nest,'' Alexander said. ``We're getting stung.''

But, "If we let this down I think we will have let the nation down,'' he said.

Leahy's proposal has broad bipartisan support, but lawmakers who oversee US intelligence agencies have proposed more modest reforms that call for greater oversight of the NSA and the creation of penalties for people who access classified information without authorisation.

Their plan has the support of most congressional leaders and Obama administration officials who are resisting deep cuts to intelligence authorities.

The vast differences between the two proposals have so far stymied Congress from passing an NSA overhaul this year, despite dwindling public trust in US intelligence systems that have underscored the demand for change.

Additionally, Silicon Valley is escalating pressure on the White House to curb the surveillance programs.

A coalition of eight major internet companies lashed out on a website and in an open letter printed on Monday in major newspapers as part of an effort by the companies to limit potential damage from the NSA revelations that threaten the technology industry's financial livelihood.

The coalition included Twitter., LinkedIn, AOL, Google, Apple, Yahoo, Facebook and Microsoft. Together, the group is immersed in the lives of just about everyone who uses the internet or a computing device.

Alexander took pains to underscore that the NSA is not listening in on Americans' phone calls or reading their internet messages without court approval. Currently, the NSA is monitoring about 200 phone numbers for FBI scrutiny, compared with about 300 for all of 2012, Alexander said.

The American people have been told that all of their phone records are relevant to counterterror investigations,'' Leahy said. ``Now they are told that all internet metadata is also relevant, and apparently fair game for the NSA to collect. This legal interpretation is extraordinary.''

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