Echelon: Considerations with International Communications Monitoring :: Technology

Echelon Considerations with planetary Communications Monitoring Introduction Since the invention of radio, news-gathering organizations have been developing and victimization eavesdropping techniques to intercept and check up on radio set communications. Initially, these capabilities were solely used to denounce on hostile nations, and particularly for military purposes. Human operators had to manually review apiece transmission, and cryptanalysts pored over military ciphers in an attempt to decode outstanding messages. As wireless communication has become an integral part of commercial message and person existence, and potential threats to security are increasingly found in peacetime and on home ground, the scope of this intelligence gathering has likewise broadened. unmatchable of the most(prenominal) controversial eavesdropping musical arrangements in existence is a classified propose cognise as Echelon. Its use of computer hardware and software to get through commu nications from all over the world brings up many honest issues connect to the impact of computers on privacy. Overview of Echelon Most of the evidence for Echelon is circumstantial, though a fewer facts have been established. The participating organizations (notably the US Central Intelligence part and content credential spot) have neither confirmed nor denied its existence. In military position of a discussion of the ethical issues, a brief summary of the menstruum acquaintance follows.How it WorksEchelon is the product of Cold War efforts to monitor wireless communications in the USSR. It traces its roots back to the clandestine UKUSA alliance, a communications intelligence agreement that dates back from around 1947. Member nations embroil the US, big(p) Britain, Canada, Australia, and saucily Zealand. It is now known that the system has been in existence for at to the lowest degree 20 years.1 In the past, high frequency radio auditory sense posts were excessively used to listen to radio communications. Currently, the system is composed of a series of eavesdropping planets, ground listening stations, and supercomputers that intercept and sift through telecommunications satellite broadcasts. These broadcasts include faxes, anticipate calls, and web traffic- especially those dispatched over long distances.2 The name Echelon has neer actually been mentioned by officials, but is believed to represent the computer system that manages the entropy gathered by the network.3 The computers are used to store and take apart textbook data for key words, and to review telephone conversations for unique voiceprints or the phone numbers of persons under surveillance.4 This makes it possible to filter an enormous kernel of traffic, since humanity analysts review only relevant messages. The US National Security Agency (NSA) is widely considered to be both the originator and head of the project, and in all likelihood owns and operates the major(ip) co mputer facilities for Echelon.Echelon Considerations with International Communications Monitoring TechnologyEchelon Considerations with International Communications Monitoring Introduction Since the invention of radio, intelligence-gathering organizations have been developing and using eavesdropping techniques to intercept and review wireless communications. Initially, these capabilities were solely used to spy on hostile nations, and particularly for military purposes. Human operators had to manually review each transmission, and cryptanalysts pored over military ciphers in an attempt to decode important messages. As wireless communication has become an integral part of commercial and individual existence, and potential threats to security are increasingly found in peacetime and on home ground, the scope of this intelligence gathering has likewise broadened. One of the most controversial eavesdropping systems in existence is a classified project known as Echelon. Its use of comp uter hardware and software to filter communications from all over the world brings up many ethical issues related to the impact of computers on privacy. Overview of Echelon Most of the evidence for Echelon is circumstantial, though a few facts have been established. The participating organizations (notably the US Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency) have neither confirmed nor denied its existence. In lieu of a discussion of the ethical issues, a brief summary of the current knowledge follows.How it WorksEchelon is the product of Cold War efforts to monitor wireless communications in the USSR. It traces its roots back to the clandestine UKUSA alliance, a communications intelligence agreement that dates back from around 1947. Member nations include the US, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. It is now known that the system has been in existence for at least 20 years.1 In the past, high frequency radio listening posts were also used to listen to radi o communications. Currently, the system is composed of a series of eavesdropping satellites, ground listening stations, and supercomputers that intercept and sift through telecommunications satellite broadcasts. These broadcasts include faxes, phone calls, and web traffic- especially those dispatched over long distances.2 The term Echelon has never actually been mentioned by officials, but is believed to represent the computer system that manages the data gathered by the network.3 The computers are used to store and analyze text data for key words, and to review telephone conversations for unique voiceprints or the phone numbers of persons under surveillance.4 This makes it possible to filter an enormous amount of traffic, since human analysts review only relevant messages. The US National Security Agency (NSA) is widely considered to be both the originator and head of the project, and likely owns and operates the major computer facilities for Echelon.