*SHH! UNCLE SAM IS LISTENING.

18 replies

Someone

Sep 3, 2010 11:35

SHH! UNCLE SAM IS LISTENING. From: http://en.wikipedia.org & http://www.fas.org Project ECHELON began with a secret post-World-War-II pact between the United States, Australia, Britain, Canada and New Zealand, countries housing Echelon's half dozen listening posts. Echelon's network of computers automatically search through millions of intercepted messages for pre-programmed keywords or fax, telex and e-mail addresses. Every word of every message in the frequencies and channels selected at a station is automatically searched. The processors in the network are known as the ECHELON Dictionaries. ECHELON connects all these computers and allows the individual stations to function as distributed elements an integrated system.

Someone

Sep 3, 2010 11:36

The project has "ear-in-the-sky" satellites capable of monitoring sounds from thousands of miles away. They allow Echelon to intercept virtually any internationally-transmitted phone call, fax, e-mail or data transfer for the ostensible purpose of tracking international terrorist groups or drug cartels. But unlike many spying relics of the Cold War, Echelon is aimed at surveillance of civilian communications, such as business and personal e-mails. Some critics claim the system is being used not only to search for terrorist plots, drug dealers' plans, and political and diplomatic intelligence but also for large-scale commercial theft, international economic espionage and invasion of privacy. It has also been described as the only software system which controls the download and dissemination of the intercept of commercial satellite trunk communications. Echelon intercepts up to 2 million transmissions per hour according to one estimate.

Someone

Sep 3, 2010 11:37

ECHELON's intercept stations: In 2001 the European Parliamentary report lists several ground stations as possibly belonging to or participating in the ECHELON network. These include: - Hong Kong (now closed) - Australian Defence Satellite Communications Station (Geraldton, Western Australia) - Menwith Hill (Yorkshire, UK) - Misawa Air Base (Japan) - GCHQ Bude, formerly known as GCHQ CSO Morwenstow, (Cornwall, UK) - Pine Gap (Northern Territory, Australia - close to Alice Springs) - Sugar Grove (West Virginia, US) - Yakima Training Center (Washington, US) - GCSB Waihopai (New Zealand)