IP: European Union may investigate U.S. global spy computer network

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

> Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1998 04:53:10 +0100 (NFT)
> To: galler () umich edu
> Reply-To: provos () citi umich edu
> Subject: IP: European Union may investigate U.S. global spy computer network
> Status:
>
> I do not know if you have seen this already, but a previous statement
> from the EU was, that an investigation was outside their jurisdiction,
> so this is nice.
>
> ------- start of forwarded message (RFC 934 encapsulation) -------
> From: Stefan Kelm <kelm () pca dfn de>
> To: krypto () rhein-main de
> Subject: (Fwd) European Union may investigate U.S. global spy computer network
> Date: Mon, 9 Nov 1998 10:39:00 +0100 (MET)
>
> [http://www.fcw.com/pubs/fcw/1998/1102/web-nsa-11-05-98.html]
>
> [...]
>
> NOVEMBER 5, 1998 . . . 17:00 EST
>
>
> European Union may investigate U.S. global spy computer network
>
> BY DANIEL VERTON (dan_verton () fcw com)
>
> The European Union is considering launching a full-scale investigation into
> whether the National Security Agency is abusing its massive and highly
> advanced surveillance network to spy on government and private groups
> around the world.
>
> NSA's Cold War-vintage global spying system, code-named Echelon,
> consists of a worldwide network of clandestine listening posts capable of
> intercepting electronic communications such as e-mail, telephone
> conversations, faxes, satellite transmissions, microwave links and
> fiber-optic communications traffic, according to a report commissioned by
> the Scientific and Technological Options Committee of the European
> Parliament, which is the legislative body of the European Union. A summary
> of the report, which briefly discussed Echelon, was published last month.
>
> "All e-mail, telephone and fax communications are routinely intercepted by
> the [NSA], transferring all target information from the European mainland
> via the strategic hub of London, then by satellite to Fort Meade in Maryland
> via the crucial hub at Menwith Hill in the...[United Kingdom]," according
> the report, "An Appraisal of the Technologies of Political Control."
>
> Menwith Hill's Silkworth computer uses voice recognition, optical character
> recognition and data information engines to process the collected electronic
> signals and then forwards the processed messages to NSA, said Patrick S.
> Poole, deputy director of the Center for Technology Policy at the Free
> Congress Research and Education Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based
> think tank specializing in privacy issues. "These programs and computers
> transcend state-of-the-art, [and] in many cases they are well into the
> future," Poole said.
>
> Originally, the United States and the United Kingdom agreed to use the
> network to spy on the Soviet Union and communist states during the Cold
> War. But Echelon's mission in later years shifted to tracking terrorists and
> criminals and other nonmilitary organizations. Eavesdropping on
> nonmilitary groups has European lawmakers and privacy advocates
> worldwide concerned that NSA may be abusing its powers.
>
> Simon Davies, director of Privacy International, a London-based civil
> liberties watchdog organization, said the original report was only the
> first of
> several stages in the investigation, and the European Parliament is planning
> to fund an independent study of Echelon in the coming months. "There's
> enough interest [throughout the EU] to warrant a full-scale specific
> investigation [of Echelon]," Davies said.
>
> Despite what Davies described as "an extraordinary amount of effort being
> made to silence inquiring minds," the European Parliament and various
> privacy advocates also plan to form a "conference of whistle-blowers" by
> March 1999 in an effort to "force these agencies to the table and to account
> for themselves," Davies said.
>
> Eduard McVeigh, a spokesman for the European Parliament in London, said
> the committee has not yet decided what action to take in light of the report.
> "I get the impression they are not likely to do anything with it until
> after the
> European elections next June," McVeigh said. Still, several members of
> Parliament felt it was an urgent matter that requires further investigation,
> McVeigh said.
>
> The privacy debate surrounding Echelon also has raised concerns in the
> United States, Poole said. "Apart from directing their ears toward terrorists
> and rogue states, Echelon is also being used for purposes well outside its
> original mission," he said. For example, Poole said, in the 1980s Echelon was
> used to intercept electronic communications of Sen. Strom Thurmond
> (R-S.C.), civilian political groups in Europe, Amnesty International and
> Christian ministries.
>
>
>
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> Copyright 1998 FCW Government Technology Group
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Bernard A. Galler
E-mail:  galler () umich edu
Fax: 734-668-9998