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SNOWDEN'S DISCLOSURE: WORLD UNDER THE AMERICAN AND BRITISH SURVEILLANCE
http://www.noravank.am/eng/
03.12.2013
Samvel Martirosyan
Expert, Center for Information Studies, "Noravank" Foundation
The disclosures by the former U.S. National Security Agency employee
Edward Snowden, concerning the actions carried out by the U.S. secret
services on the Web, changed the visions of the information security.
It becomes clear that all the concerns, which were spread by the
various conspiracy theories, are more real than one could imagine.
The disclosures by Snowden demonstrate that the U.S. and British
secret services actively use social networks, e-mail services for
surveillance all over the world. The partner of the NSA is the British
Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). It became clear that
all the possible means were used for carrying out surveillance -
interference into the work of the servers, data collection from cables,
virus software, etc.
The first disclosures made by Snowden proved that the U.S. secret
service can penetrate social networks and other platforms' servers
and receive closed information about users. This system is called
PRISM and allows receiving any kind of information about users -
correspondence, connections with other users, IP addresses, etc. It is
referred to the world's biggest social networks, and other platforms
of email correspondence and communication, such as Microsoft (e.g.,
Hotmail), Google (also GMail), Yahoo!, Facebook, YouTube, Skype, AOL,
Apple and Paltalk1. PRISMallows penetrating not only into people's
correspondence but also into telephone calls (VoIP), video calls
(Video conferencing), files sent to each other, which can be seen in
the NSA secret slide disclosed by Snowden (see, Picture 1).
Picture 1 NSA secret slide explaining PRISM system work disclosed
by Snowden
The NSA has been involving biggest internet corporations in PRISM
program since 2007, by receiving information from Microsoft. At the
end of 2012 Apple was also involved. It can be said that only Twitter
was not mentioned in the list of the biggest networks involved (see
Picture 2).
Picture 2 The NSA secret slide showing when different corporations
started to cooperate with the Agency
The corporations deny their complicity for the involvement in the
system. But it is clear that they provide some part of information,
under the court decision, to the secret services.
Besides collecting information from the servers, American and British
agencies also collected information directly from the cables. It is
possible because much of the world's communication flow through the
U.S. territory (see Picture 3).
Picture 3 The NSA secret slide, disclosed by Snowden, showing that
much of the world's communication flow through the U.S., which makes
it possible to carry out surveillance of the email correspondence
and phone calls.
There is also separate system - MUSCULAR, for processing huge amount
of data. It turned out that the secret services managed to penetrate
into the internal networks of Yahoo and Google and thanks to this
NSA and GCHQ collected more than180 million notes - correspondence,
photos, videos and other metadata.
Another NSA system called Boundless Informant, allows following on the
map data collection activities from different countries (see Picture
4). The picture provided by Snowden shows that in March 2013 about
3 billion pieces of information were collected only in the U.S. The
countries are presented according to the rate of the activity of
the NSA system: green shows low activity, red - visa verse. At this
picture Armenia is colored yellow, like the U.S., which shows medium
level activity by the NSA2.
Picture 4 The NSA secret slide, disclosed by Snowden, showing work
of Boundless Informant system
The U.S. and British agencies carried out targeted surveillance too.
According to Snowden telephones of leaders of 35 countries were
tapped. Though he does not reveal any names, but it is already known
that the Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel was among those leaders.
It is also known that the internal network of the biggest Belgian
telecom operator Belgacom was infected by special virus which
provided surveillance. It should be mentioned that Belgacom provides
communications services to all the high offices of the European Union3.
Snowden's disclosures are still continuing and it is already clear
that the American and British governments were supplied with the total
information which was possible to receive; we mean the surveillance
carried out all over the world, from which almost all the countries
suffered. The European Union plans to establish the intelligence
service of its own in order to oppose such developments4. Now it
is clear that all the reality exceeded all the possible fantasies
concerning this sphere. It is clear that communication cannot remain
the same anymore because confidentiality lost its traditional meaning,
and states and societies all over the world still have to aknowledge
the situation formed.
1 NSA slides explain the PRISM data-collection program,
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/prism-collection-documents/
2 Boundless Informant: the NSA's secret
tool to track global surveillance data
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/08/nsa-boundless-informant-global-datamining#
3 БельCEя требует от Лондона объясненEй по
поводу шпEонаOа протEв бельCEйской компанEE
связE,http://www.novostimira.com.ua/news_71553.html
4 oобственные нEндзя для
Европы? http://rus.ruvr.ru/2013_11_05/249063570/
"Globus" analytical journal, #11, 2013
Return ________________________________ Another materials of author
PENETRATION OF INTERNET INTO THE SOUTH CAUCASUS[04.10.2013]
DATA PROTECTION ISSUES IN ARMENIA[25.03.2013] AZERBAIJANI SOCIAL
MEDIA[21.01.2013] SOCIAL NETWORKS IN ARMENIA[24.12.2012] HACKER ATTACKS
AGAINST ARMENIAN SEGMENT OF THE WEB: RECENT DEVELOPMENTS[01.10.2012]
DEVELOPMENTS OF ARMENIA'S SEGMENTS OF THE INTERNET[30.07.2012] THE
IMAGE OF THE INTERNET USER IN ARMENIA[17.05.2012] ARMENIA IS BECOMING
VULNERABLE TO CYBER-ATTACKS[30.01.2012] THE AGE OF SOCIAL NETWORKS:
CHANGES IN THE INFORMATION FIELD[19.01.2012] MOBILE CIVIL JOURNALISM:
OPPORTUNITIES AND PROBLEMS[19.09.2011]
http://www.noravank.am/eng/
03.12.2013
Samvel Martirosyan
Expert, Center for Information Studies, "Noravank" Foundation
The disclosures by the former U.S. National Security Agency employee
Edward Snowden, concerning the actions carried out by the U.S. secret
services on the Web, changed the visions of the information security.
It becomes clear that all the concerns, which were spread by the
various conspiracy theories, are more real than one could imagine.
The disclosures by Snowden demonstrate that the U.S. and British
secret services actively use social networks, e-mail services for
surveillance all over the world. The partner of the NSA is the British
Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). It became clear that
all the possible means were used for carrying out surveillance -
interference into the work of the servers, data collection from cables,
virus software, etc.
The first disclosures made by Snowden proved that the U.S. secret
service can penetrate social networks and other platforms' servers
and receive closed information about users. This system is called
PRISM and allows receiving any kind of information about users -
correspondence, connections with other users, IP addresses, etc. It is
referred to the world's biggest social networks, and other platforms
of email correspondence and communication, such as Microsoft (e.g.,
Hotmail), Google (also GMail), Yahoo!, Facebook, YouTube, Skype, AOL,
Apple and Paltalk1. PRISMallows penetrating not only into people's
correspondence but also into telephone calls (VoIP), video calls
(Video conferencing), files sent to each other, which can be seen in
the NSA secret slide disclosed by Snowden (see, Picture 1).
Picture 1 NSA secret slide explaining PRISM system work disclosed
by Snowden
The NSA has been involving biggest internet corporations in PRISM
program since 2007, by receiving information from Microsoft. At the
end of 2012 Apple was also involved. It can be said that only Twitter
was not mentioned in the list of the biggest networks involved (see
Picture 2).
Picture 2 The NSA secret slide showing when different corporations
started to cooperate with the Agency
The corporations deny their complicity for the involvement in the
system. But it is clear that they provide some part of information,
under the court decision, to the secret services.
Besides collecting information from the servers, American and British
agencies also collected information directly from the cables. It is
possible because much of the world's communication flow through the
U.S. territory (see Picture 3).
Picture 3 The NSA secret slide, disclosed by Snowden, showing that
much of the world's communication flow through the U.S., which makes
it possible to carry out surveillance of the email correspondence
and phone calls.
There is also separate system - MUSCULAR, for processing huge amount
of data. It turned out that the secret services managed to penetrate
into the internal networks of Yahoo and Google and thanks to this
NSA and GCHQ collected more than180 million notes - correspondence,
photos, videos and other metadata.
Another NSA system called Boundless Informant, allows following on the
map data collection activities from different countries (see Picture
4). The picture provided by Snowden shows that in March 2013 about
3 billion pieces of information were collected only in the U.S. The
countries are presented according to the rate of the activity of
the NSA system: green shows low activity, red - visa verse. At this
picture Armenia is colored yellow, like the U.S., which shows medium
level activity by the NSA2.
Picture 4 The NSA secret slide, disclosed by Snowden, showing work
of Boundless Informant system
The U.S. and British agencies carried out targeted surveillance too.
According to Snowden telephones of leaders of 35 countries were
tapped. Though he does not reveal any names, but it is already known
that the Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel was among those leaders.
It is also known that the internal network of the biggest Belgian
telecom operator Belgacom was infected by special virus which
provided surveillance. It should be mentioned that Belgacom provides
communications services to all the high offices of the European Union3.
Snowden's disclosures are still continuing and it is already clear
that the American and British governments were supplied with the total
information which was possible to receive; we mean the surveillance
carried out all over the world, from which almost all the countries
suffered. The European Union plans to establish the intelligence
service of its own in order to oppose such developments4. Now it
is clear that all the reality exceeded all the possible fantasies
concerning this sphere. It is clear that communication cannot remain
the same anymore because confidentiality lost its traditional meaning,
and states and societies all over the world still have to aknowledge
the situation formed.
1 NSA slides explain the PRISM data-collection program,
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/prism-collection-documents/
2 Boundless Informant: the NSA's secret
tool to track global surveillance data
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/08/nsa-boundless-informant-global-datamining#
3 БельCEя требует от Лондона объясненEй по
поводу шпEонаOа протEв бельCEйской компанEE
связE,http://www.novostimira.com.ua/news_71553.html
4 oобственные нEндзя для
Европы? http://rus.ruvr.ru/2013_11_05/249063570/
"Globus" analytical journal, #11, 2013
Return ________________________________ Another materials of author
PENETRATION OF INTERNET INTO THE SOUTH CAUCASUS[04.10.2013]
DATA PROTECTION ISSUES IN ARMENIA[25.03.2013] AZERBAIJANI SOCIAL
MEDIA[21.01.2013] SOCIAL NETWORKS IN ARMENIA[24.12.2012] HACKER ATTACKS
AGAINST ARMENIAN SEGMENT OF THE WEB: RECENT DEVELOPMENTS[01.10.2012]
DEVELOPMENTS OF ARMENIA'S SEGMENTS OF THE INTERNET[30.07.2012] THE
IMAGE OF THE INTERNET USER IN ARMENIA[17.05.2012] ARMENIA IS BECOMING
VULNERABLE TO CYBER-ATTACKS[30.01.2012] THE AGE OF SOCIAL NETWORKS:
CHANGES IN THE INFORMATION FIELD[19.01.2012] MOBILE CIVIL JOURNALISM:
OPPORTUNITIES AND PROBLEMS[19.09.2011]