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