Titanpointe: An NSA Spying Station In the Middle of New York City

New developments have emerged from the millions of documents leaked by infamous NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden. A 550-foot tall New York City skyscraper towering over Thomas Street serves as an AT&T center for long distance phone lines, but it also doubles as the headquarters for a massive NSA listening operation.

Nicknamed the “Long Lines Building,” it looms menacingly over the middle of the city, and possesses not a single window. It stands as a massive shadow at night and has long baffled residents of the city. The building was constructed in 1969 and was built to endure an atomic bomb. It also is apparently supplied with enough food to feed 1,500 people for two weeks. The true purpose of the building, however, was to tap into communications all over the world, and it remains a crucial component in multiple NSA surveillance programs.

Documents released by Snowden don’t specifically state that the NSA works with AT&T. Instead, the company was given the code name Lithium. The documents lay out instructions for NSA agents visiting the building and inform them that representatives for Lithium supervise visits to the site.

The structure itself is referred to as Titanpointe by the NSA and is used to collect information including emails, phone calls, and other forms of communications from overseas targets all over the world. These targets include the UN, World Bank, and the governments of a number of countries with both friendly and hostile relations with the United States.

Opposition to the spying center has already surfaced. “Such spying activities are totally unacceptable breaches of trust in international cooperation,”  claimed Mogens Lykketoft, who formerly served as president of the UN’s general assembly.

The NSA has chosen not to comment on the story.

Works Cited

Gallagher, Ryan, and Henrik Moltke. “The NSA’s Spy Hub in New York, Hidden in Plain Sight.” The Intercept. N.p., 16 Nov. 2016. Web. 08 Dec. 2016.

Dwyer, Jim. “National Security Agency Said to Use Manhattan Tower as Listening Post.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 17 Nov. 2016. Web. 08 Dec. 2016.