GoKawiilAT&T's Room 641A exposed as NSA internet surveillance hub in San Francisco
A secret room inside AT&T's Folsom Street facility in San Francisco, known internally as the SG3 Secure Room, was found to contain a Narus STA 6400 device capable of intercepting and analyzing high-speed internet traffic. The setup used beam splitters attached to fiber optic backbone lines, giving it access to both domestic and international communications passing through the building. Former AT&T technician Mark Klein exposed the facility, prompting a 2006 lawsuit from the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
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The discovery became a landmark case in debates over government surveillance, showing how telecom infrastructure could be quietly tapped to monitor mass internet traffic without individualized warrants. It fueled public scrutiny of post-9/11 intelligence practices and shaped later disclosures about NSA data collection programs.
- Room 641A held equipment capable of intercepting massive volumes of internet traffic.
- Whistleblower Mark Klein's revelations led to an EFF lawsuit against AT&T.
- The case became a key example in public debates over telecom-enabled government surveillance.
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Published there as: “Room 641A”
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