ECHELON

Rumors have abounded for several years of a massive system designed to intercept virtually all email and fax traffic in the world and subject it to automated analysis, despite laws in many nations (including this one) barring such activity. The laws were circumvented by a mutual pact among five nations. It's illegal for the United States to spy on it's citizens. Likewise the same for Great Britain. But under the terms of the UKUSA agreement, Britain spies on Americans and America spies on British citizens and the two groups trade data. Technically, it may be legal, but the intent to evade the spirit of the laws protecting the citizens of those two nations is clear.

The system is called ECHELON, and had been rumored to be in development since 1947, the result of the UKUSA treaty signed by the governments of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

The System

NSA technology description
Details of US Patent 5,418,951
Echelon - How it works
Report to European Parliament - by Duncan Campbell
EuroParl Rpt on NSA, Trade, & Crypto Controls - Risks Digest coverage of Euro Parliament report
jya.com - Links from John Youngs' excellent site
Background on the NSA - From JYA
The National Security Agency Established
Somebody's Listening (With Bibliography and Links)
House Committee to Hold Hearing on Echelon
Uncle Sam and his 40,000 snoopers - article, more background
Appraisal of the Technologies of Political Control
OTA Reports on Electronic Surveillance
The National Security Agency and 4th Amendment Rights-1 - US Senate Hearings
The National Security Agency and 4th Amendment Rights-2 - US Senate Hearings
Minutes of the European Parliament - Sept 14th, 1998

Echelon Agencies

Related Organisations/Agencies/Units

Photographs of monitoring stations

Pine Gap
Federation of American Scientists - pictures
Pine Gap pictures
fire.net.nz/echelon.htm - An overview and picture of Menwith Hill

Related News Articles

European Study Paints a Chilling Portrait of Technologys Uses - Requires Registration
Lawmakers Raise Questions About International Spy Network - Requires Registration
Spies like US
Spy Station F83
Cracking the Menwith Codes
Push for Hearings on ECHELON
Spying on the Spies
Hackers Ascend Upper 'Echelon'
Suddenly There Came a Tapping
Company Spies
Spy Satellites Enter New Dimension
With Echelon Who Needs Friends /SB
European Union and FBI Launch Global Surveillance System
www.webreview.com/96/01/12/features/nsa
Inter@ctive Week: Surveilling Surveillance
How the United States Spies on us all - Requires Registration
America's Spy in the Sky - background info on Echelon
Big Brother is Online - A CyberSociology article
Party Line - Civil LIberties article on Echelon
Despatches, BBC News - "Big Brother is watching" (BBC News)
Space Intelligence Technologys Embattled Frontier
Natl & Intl Comms Interceptions Networks - From Computer Underground Digest
ECHELON/apec1 - Bugging of the APEC Conference (1)
ECHELON/apec2 - Bugging of the APEC Conference (2)
ECHELON/apec3 - Bugging of the APEC Conference (3)
ECHELON/Overview - overview Document
Putting NSA under scrutiny - Requires Registration
NSA Accused of Forbidden Phone Taps - Requires Registration
CBC Newsworld Documentary - US Communication Interception
BT Condemned for Listing Cables to US SIGINT Station
The Global Surveillance System
U.S. Spy Agency Helped U.S. Companies Win Business Overseas
Spy Station F83
England's ground station Overwiew map
EU May Investigate US Global Spy Network

Related Literature

General Echelon Resource Sites

Related Legal Information

50 USC Sec. 1801
United States v. United States District Court - 1972 US Supreme Court case