Global surveillance disclosures (1970–2013)
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Global surveillance refers to the practice of globalized
mass surveillance Mass surveillance is the intricate surveillance of an entire or a substantial fraction of a population in order to monitor that group of citizens. The surveillance is often carried out by local and federal governments or governmental organizati ...
on entire populations across national borders. Although its existence was first revealed in the 1970s and led legislators to attempt to curb domestic spying by the National Security Agency (NSA), it did not receive sustained public attention until the existence of
ECHELON ECHELON, originally a secret government code name, is a surveillance program (signals intelligence/SIGINT collection and analysis network) operated by the five signatory states to the UKUSA Security Agreement:Given the 5 dialects that use ...
was revealed in the 1980s and confirmed in the 1990s. In 2013 it gained substantial worldwide media attention due to the
global surveillance disclosure Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to: Entertainment * ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989 * ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015 * Bruno ...
by
Edward Snowden Edward Joseph Snowden (born June 21, 1983) is an American and naturalized Russian former computer intelligence consultant who leaked highly classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA) in 2013, when he was an employee and su ...
.


History


1970s

In 1972 NSA analyst
Perry Fellwock Perry Fellwock (born 1947) is a former National Security Agency (NSA) analyst and whistleblower who revealed the existence of the NSA and its worldwide covert surveillance network in an interview, using the pseudonym Winslow Peck, with ''Ramparts ...
(under the pseudonym "Winslow Peck") introduced the readers of '' Ramparts'' magazine to the NSA and the UKUSA Agreement. In 1976, a separate article in ''
Time Out Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to: Time * Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team * Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken * Timeout (computing), an enginee ...
'' magazine revealed the existence of the GCHQ.


1980s–1990s

In 1982 James Bamford's book about the NSA, ''
The Puzzle Palace ''The Puzzle Palace'' is a book written by James Bamford and published in 1982. It is the first major, popular work devoted entirely to the history and workings of the National Security Agency (NSA), a United States intelligence organization. The ...
'', was first published. Bamford's second book, '' Body of Secrets: Anatomy of the Ultra-Secret National Security Agency'', was published two decades later. In 1988 the
ECHELON ECHELON, originally a secret government code name, is a surveillance program (signals intelligence/SIGINT collection and analysis network) operated by the five signatory states to the UKUSA Security Agreement:Given the 5 dialects that use ...
network was revealed by Margaret Newsham, a Lockheed employee. Newsham told a member of the U.S. Congress that telephone calls of
Strom Thurmond James Strom Thurmond Sr. (December 5, 1902June 26, 2003) was an American politician who represented South Carolina in the United States Senate from 1954 to 2003. Prior to his 48 years as a senator, he served as the 103rd governor of South Caro ...
, a Republican U.S. senator, were being collected by the NSA. Congressional investigators determined that "targeting of U.S. political figures would not occur by accident. But was designed into the system from the start." By the late 1990s ECHELON was reportedly capable of monitoring up to 90% of all internet traffic. According to the BBC in May 2001, however, "The US Government still refused to admit that Echelon even exists."


2000s

In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, William Binney, along with colleagues J. Kirke Wiebe and Edward Loomis and in cooperation with House staffer
Diane Roark Diane Roark is an American whistleblower who served as a Republican staffer on the House Intelligence Committee from 1985 to 2002. She was, right after 9/11, "the House Intelligence Committee staffer in charge of oversight of the NSA". In late 2 ...
, asked the U.S. Defense Department to investigate the NSA for allegedly wasting "millions and millions of dollars" on
Trailblazer A trailblazer is a person who is paving the way in their particular field for future generations. Trailblazer may refer to: Sports * Derby Trailblazers, a British semi-professional basketball team * North Carolina Trailblazers, a US women's rec ...
, a system intended to analyze data carried on communications networks such as the Internet. Binney was also publicly critical of the NSA for spying on U.S. citizens after the
September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...
. Binney claimed that the NSA had failed to uncover the 9/11 plot despite its massive interception of data. In 2001, after the September 11 attacks, MI5 started collecting bulk telephone communications data in the United Kingdom (i.e. what telephone numbers called each other and when) and authorized the Home Secretary under the Telecommunications Act 1984 instead of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, which would have brought independent oversight and regulation. This was kept secret until announced by the then Home Secretary in 2015. On December 16, 2005, '' The New York Times'' published a report under the headline "
Bush Bush commonly refers to: * Shrub, a small or medium woody plant Bush, Bushes, or the bush may also refer to: People * Bush (surname), including any of several people with that name **Bush family, a prominent American family that includes: *** ...
Lets U.S. Spy on Callers Without Courts," which was co-written by
Eric Lichtblau Eric Lichtblau (born 1965) is an American journalist, reporting for ''The New York Times'' in the Washington bureau, as well as the ''Los Angeles Times'', ''Time'' magazine, ''The New Yorker'', and the CNN network's investigative news unit. He ha ...
and the
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
-winning journalist James Risen. According to ''The Times'', the article's date of publication was delayed for a year (past the next presidential election cycle) because of alleged national security concerns.
Russ Tice Russell D. Tice (born 1961) is a former intelligence analyst for the United States Air Force, Office of Naval Intelligence, Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), and National Security Agency (NSA). In December, 2005, Tice helped spark a national cont ...
was later revealed as a major source. In 2006, further details of the NSA's domestic surveillance of U.S. citizens was provided by '' USA Today''. The newspaper released a report on May 11, 2006 detailing the NSA's "massive database" of phone records collected from "tens of millions" of U.S. citizens. According to ''USA Today'', these phone records were provided by several telecom companies such as AT&T, Verizon, and BellSouth. AT&T technician Mark Klein was later revealed as major source, specifically of rooms at network control centers on the internet backbone intercepting and recording all traffic passing through. In 2008 the security analyst Babak Pasdar revealed the existence of the so-called "Quantico circuit" that he and his team had set up in 2003. The circuit provided the U.S. federal government with a
backdoor A back door is a door in the rear of a building. Back door may also refer to: Arts and media * Back Door (jazz trio), a British group * Porta dos Fundos (literally “Back Door” in Portuguese) Brazilian comedy YouTube channel. * Works so title ...
into the network of an unnamed wireless provider, which was later independently identified as Verizon. In 2007, former Qwest CEO Joseph Nacchio alleged in court and provided supporting documentation that in February 2001 (nearly 7 months prior to the September 11 attacks) that the NSA proposed in a meeting to conduct blanket phone spying. He considered the spying to be illegal and refused to cooperate, and claims that the company was punished by being denied lucrative contracts.


2010–2013

In 2011 details of the
mass surveillance industry The mass surveillance industry is a multibillion-dollar industry that has undergone phenomenal growth since 2001. According to data provided by ''The Wall Street Journal'', the retail market for surveillance tools has grown from "nearly zero" in 200 ...
were released by WikiLeaks. According to
Julian Assange Julian Paul Assange ( ; Hawkins; born 3 July 1971) is an Australian editor, publisher, and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. WikiLeaks came to international attention in 2010 when it published a series of leaks provided by U.S. Army inte ...
, "We are in a world now where not only is it theoretically possible to record nearly all telecommunications traffic out of a country, all telephone calls, but where there is an international industry selling the devices now to do it."


Disclosures since 2013


See also

* History of surveillance * NSA warrantless surveillance (2001–07) *
Global surveillance whistleblowers Global surveillance whistleblowers are whistleblowers who provided public knowledge of global surveillance. Perry Fellwock Perry Fellwock revealed the existence of then ultra secretive National Security Agency (NSA) and its global mass surveillan ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Global surveillance disclosures (1970-2013) Global surveillance News leaks Articles containing video clips Surveillance scandals