In this episode we examine the NSA and their surveillance spy programs used to monitor behavior that they deny they do.
We look at PRISM, Echelon, Centra and other programs used by NSA and CIA to collect data and monitor citizens, even the innocent.
Certain people have been targeted under social media (for less than what we expose), even Christians for citing scriptures. Pastors are monitored for gathering during restrictions under the excuse of health regulations. We feel there will be a clamping down on Christians soon, if this pattern continues.
Listen to “PRISM Program and NSA Surveillance” on Spreaker.
Most people will not be concerned if government is spying on them because they think they are innocent having nothing to hide. While that may be true, they don’t realize the breach of security and privacy that has been intruded upon them.
Years ago when we told people about this, they thought we were conspiracy theorists and rejected the idea of citizens targeted for their spying. Today, especially after the Snowden reveal of what the NSA are capable of, have since accepted such notion, only now deny that there is anything suspicious about it.
But we have opened the door with our progression into technology and our very permission of intrusion just using their products. The third party social platforms, app programs, and media that collect your information, they have a large pool of all of our information that with working with government agencies COULD potentially find reasons or ways to tap into them if they desire to do so.
Many companies for social interaction on the Internet have utilized programs from government Intel agencies to use for data collection. Of course their excuse is for purpose of marketing, but it is two-way, if companies can gather the info, the governmental Intel agencies can tap it.
The NSA
The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence. The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collection, and processing of information and data for foreign and domestic intelligence and counterintelligence purposes, specializing in a discipline known as signals intelligence (SIGINT). The NSA is also tasked with the protection of U.S. communications networks and information systems. The NSA relies on a variety of measures to accomplish its mission, the majority of which are clandestine. [Executive Order 13470 – 2008 Amendments to Executive Order 12333, United States Intelligence Activities, July 30, 2008]
The NSA officially formed under President Harry S. Truman in 1952. Although it claims to operate in benefit to United States security, The NSA currently conducts worldwide mass data collection and has been known to physically bug electronic systems.
The agency works alongside the CIA to supposedly maintain security, however it monitors many countries around the globe giving it access to collected information with a sophisticated Intelligence team Special Collection Service that inserts eavesdropping devices in high value targets.
It claims not to be involved with “human-source intelligence gathering.” However, the CIA has been known to be involved in that, which compromises the integrity of the NSA working with them.
In 2013, the NSA had many of its secret surveillance programs revealed to the public by Edward Snowden, a former NSA contractor. According to the leaked documents, the NSA intercepts and stores the communications of over a billion people worldwide, including United States citizens. The documents also revealed the NSA tracks hundreds of millions of people’s movements using cellphones’ metadata. Internationally, research has pointed to the NSA’s ability to surveil the domestic Internet traffic of foreign countries through “boomerang routing”. [Obar, Jonathan A.; Clement, Andrew (July 1, 2013) [June 5–7, 2012]. Ross, P.; Shtern, J. (eds.). Internet Surveillance and Boomerang Routing: A Call for Canadian Network Sovereignty. TEM 2013: Proceedings of the Technology & Emerging Media Track – Annual Conference of the Canadian Communication Association. Victoria, British Columbia. ]
According to a 2010 article in The Washington Post, every day, collection systems at the National Security Agency intercept and store 1.7 billion e-mails, phone calls and other types of communications. The NSA sorts a fraction of those into 70 separate databases. [Dana Priest, William Arkin (July 19, 2010). “A hidden world, growing beyond control]”. The Washington Post.]
Surveillance Programs
“Echelon” is a surveillance program as an extension of the agreement on global signals intelligence SIGINT. During the early 1970s, the first of more than eight large satellite communications dishes were installed at Menwith Hill.
Echelon could “eavesdrop on every single phone call, fax or e-mail, anywhere on the planet” with Britain and the United States as the chief protagonists. They confirmed that Menwith Hill was “linked directly to the headquarters of the US National Security Agency (NSA) at Fort Meade in Maryland”.
According to the law:
NSA’s United States Signals Intelligence Directive 18 (USSID 18) strictly prohibited the interception or collection of information about “… U.S. persons, entities, corporations or organizations….” without explicit written legal permission from the United States Attorney General when the subject is located abroad, or the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court when within U.S. borders. Alleged Echelon-related activities, including its use for motives other than national security, including political and industrial espionage, received criticism from countries outside the UKUSA alliance.
The NSA was also involved in planning to blackmail people with “SEXINT“, intelligence gained about a potential target’s sexual activity and preferences. Those targeted had not committed any apparent crime nor were they charged with one.
In order to support its facial recognition program, the NSA is intercepting “millions of images per day”.
Wikileaks revealed the activities that NSA spied on. Including suspicion of U.S. Citizens, despite the law and denial of its capability.
Edward Snowden revealed in June 2013 that between February 8 and March 8, 2013, the NSA collected about 124.8 billion telephone data items and 97.1 billion computer data items throughout the world, as was displayed in charts from an internal NSA tool code-named Boundless Informant. Initially, it was reported that some of these data reflected eavesdropping on citizens in countries like Germany, Spain and France, but later on, it became clear that those data were collected by European agencies during military missions abroad and were subsequently shared with NSA.
George W. Bush, president during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, gave way to the NSA under the approved Patriot Act shortly after the attacks to take anti-terrorist security measures. This granted enhanced domestic security against terrorism, surveillance procedures, and improved intelligence. Bush signed authorization for mass surveillance of Internet records, in addition to the surveillance of phone records. This allowed the president to be able to override laws such as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which protected civilians from mass surveillance.
“The PRISM Program” is a clandestine surveillance program launched in 2007 developed by DARPA code-named US-984XN. It became publicly revealed when classified documents about the program were leaked to journalists of The Washington Post and The Guardian by Edward Snowden. The NSA wanted granted permission to track anyone it wanted. No court required to gain access to information desired by the NSA.
Documents identified several technology companies as participants in the PRISM program, including Microsoft, Yahoo!, Google, Facebook, Paltalk, YouTube, AOL, Skype, and Apple under which the NSA collects user data from. Data gathered include email, videos, photos, social media, voice calls, VoIP chats such as Skype, and file transfers.
When the NSA gathers information through the FBI, it reviews the communications, and if it warrants further investigations, the NSA will issue a “Report.” According to the leaked document, the NSA generates more than 2000 PRISM program-based reports monthly.
While they deny that domestic citizens in the U.S. Are being monitored, we do know that individuals are targeted due to the same organizations of social media used to collect data on the Internet in foreign affairs.
The Centra Program is a monitoring program that has been noted as being used in platforms such as Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg was brought before a Senate Committee over his company’s ability to access information about profiles across social media networks and for using Centra.
Sen. Josh Hawley Centra revealed Centra is a tool that Facebook uses to track its users not just on Facebook, but across the entire internet. Centra tracks different profiles that a user visits, their message recipients, their linked accounts, the pages they visit around the Web that have Facebook buttons. Centra also uses behavioral data to monitor users’ accounts, even if those accounts are registered under a different name.
Hawley said the program allowed Facebook to retain certain sensitive personal information, including which accounts users had visited and the photos they had uploaded.
One recent example shows that Facebook “marks” photos its users upload in order to continue tracking them outside the platform.
However, Hawley suggested the program may go even further than reports have revealed, and suggested the program may be used to take enforcement measures. He followed up with another question for Zuckerberg, asking, “How many accounts in the United States have been subject to review and shut down through Centra?” In which Zuckerberg denied having any knowledge of.
Any way to avoid the monitoring tactics? NO! As long as we are using communications of any sort we are susceptible to it. Technology requires its usage, so no way around it if we are to function in society.
Other countries as China use social media for a “rating system” that allows a person eligible for granted access to services. It may likely be proposed in other nations if the momentum continues.