USS Carter Will Be Able to Eavesdrop

[Syrinx]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The USS Jimmy Carter, set to join the nation's
submarine fleet on Saturday, will have some special capabilities,
intelligence experts say: It will be able to tap undersea cables and
eavesdrop on the communications passing through them.

The Navy does not acknowledge that the $3.2 billion submarine, the
third and last of the Seawolf class of attack subs, has this
capability.

``There are limits to what I can say on the sub's capabilities, but
let's just say the Jimmy Carter is uniquely capable to perform
missions vitally important to the war on terror,'' said Rep. Rob
Simmons, R-Conn., a former CIA officer whose district includes Groton,
where the sub was built.

But intelligence community watchdogs have little doubt: The previous
submarine that performed the mission, the USS Parche, was retired last
fall. That would only happen if a new one was on the way.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Submarine-Stealing-Secrets.html

[Warren Stupidity]

1. this has been an open 'secret' for years

They of course aren't going to stop the cable intercepts but everyone has known for quite a while that they are not secure. I'm sure that everyone who cares and has the capabilities has taken appropriate counter measures, and I'm equally sure that we have some counter-counter measure in place.