Project Echelon and Cyber Rights   Term Paper ID:32203 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Examines the supporting and detracting views of the Echelon Project.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Examines the supporting and detracting views of the Echelon Project. Examines the project itself on only a cursory level, while discussing privacy and cyber rights in more detail. Paper Introduction: Project Echelon and Cyber Rights Introduction After the terror attacks of September advocates of freespeech and privacy loudly criticized the implementation of the Patriot Act This act greatly increased law enforcement\'s ability to gather evidence-critics say spy on American citizens But a large number of privacyadvocates maintain that the American government has long had the ability-and the propensity-to gather electronic data on its citizens and that thisability predates the Patriot Act as well as the September attacks Thisresearch examines the views of Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Such broad-based snooping is not likelyto catch terrorists, according to these critics, but will have a chillingeffect on the very democracies that Echelon apparently is designed toprotect (Nesselson 27). This act greatly increased law enforcement's ability to gather evidence-critics say "spy"-on American citizens. This was never actually proved, since theprogram itself has only been admitted to by Australia and New Zealand, butit remains an interesting point. "Right to Privacy?" School Library Journal 49(Aug 2 3): 68-69. The issue has generated particular concern in the international arenawhere, critics maintain, it is one issue for a government to spy on its owncitizens, but quite another for a government to spy on the citizens ofother countries. However, Echelon had its genesis not as a weapon for fightingterrorism, but rather as an industrial espionage tool. In the post-9/11 world in which we now find ourselves, critics ofEchelon have expanded their concerns. Background In 1999, Australia became the first country to admit that it was aparticipant in Echelon. Prior to the September 11 attacks, it was assumedthat the emphasis was on corporate espionage, and numerous governments,including the German government, encouraged their citizens to takeprecautions-such as data encryption-in order to avoid being caught inEchelon's traffic ("Germany Endorses" 1). Whether it once served-and may still serve-industrial interests is less clear. Covert intelligence is, by its nature, notsubject to the same oversight as other aspects of government activities.That Echelon exists seems to be beyond doubt even without the confirmationof the American government. These supporters use the September 11 attacks, which were co-ordinated outside the United States to some degree, as reason to supportthe continued secret use of Echelon ("How the West" 1 ). At this time, the benefits of Echelon asa tool for industrial espionage have been greatly overshadowed by thebenefits that it offers as a tool for combating terrorism. Even less clear still is the questionof how this data is being collected and used-and by whom-in today's world.Critics and supporters of Echelon both have valid points; however, the verynature of Echelon means that little real public debate will ever take placeor be heeded on the issue. Consumer information, information aboutcompetitors and upcoming market opportunities could all be gleaned fromEchelon's supposed activities. Financial transactions,travel arrangements and related information that could be linked toterrorist activities can be identified and tracked, according toproponents. Benefits of Echelon Proponents of Echelon maintain that if the program exists-and itsexistence is still officially not confirmed by the American government-itoffers considerable benefit in intercepting electronic data that could helpprevent additional attacks on the United States. The United States has not admitted participationin the project, although it is rumored that the project is run by theNational Security Agency (NSA) along with Britain's GovernmentCommunications Headquarters. Any one of these could be advantageous toAmerican companies. These critics maintain that the United States wouldhardly allow a foreign government access to its own citizens' data, yet theAmerican government expects other governments to freely share informationand data about their citizens (Nesselson 27). But a large number of privacyadvocates maintain that the American government has long had the ability-and the propensity-to gather electronic data on its citizens, and that thisability predates the Patriot Act as well as the September 11 attacks. It was increasinglysuspected that the United States government was providing informationgleaned from Echelon to companies in order to provide them with a distinctadvantage in the marketplace. At the very least, maintain critics, individuals should beapprised that their presumably personal conversations and communicationsmight be monitored by an agency of the United States government (Tomeo 68). Project Echelon and Cyber Rights Introduction After the terror attacks of September 11, 2 1, advocates of freespeech and privacy loudly criticized the implementation of the Patriot Act. Pitfalls of Echelon Critics of Echelon have been vocal since its existence was confirmedin the late 199 s. Echelon seeks to monitor electronic and othertypes of data exchange in order to conduct espionage on individualsthroughout the world. Suchcommunication, particularly when monitored for commercial purposes, shouldbe private. In today's highly competitive global marketplace, thiscould offer significant benefit and, at a time when economies around theworld are struggling, could help keep the American economy functioning well(Tomeo 68). Lacking the details of what is actually monitored aspart of Echelon, critics tend to respond in the broadest possible manner.Phone calls, faxes and e-mails are all considered to be part of the Echelonarsenal, and critics maintain that this violates personal privacy. Collecting data for the purposes ofindustrial espionage, including taking avionics and electronics contractsfrom France, is difficult to justify, but under the threat of terrorism,even more privacy rights are being eroded. Works Cited"Germany Endorses Strong Crypto." Wired News. Nonetheless,there is considerable benefit to be gained by those companies that benefitfrom data gathered by the program. These supporters maintainthat Echelon is able to pull together information from many differentcountries across a broad variety of sources. Conclusion It is difficult to argue that better intelligence might have preventedthe attacks of September 11. Critics charge the Echelon nowmonitors any mention of "nuclear," or "terrorism" or related words in e-mails and other forms of communication, and that the mere mention of theEchelon project itself may be enough to have one's name and electronicinformation put on a "list somewhere" so that one's electronic movementsare monitored by the government. Retrieved from the Internet 15 August 2 4: http://www.wired.com/news/politics/ ,1283,2 23, .html."How the West Spies on Asian Telecoms." Telecom Asia 15(Jun 2 4): 1 .Nesselson, Lisa. "Echelon: The Secret Power." Variety 39 (Apr 21, 2 3): 27.Tomeo, Melba. Thisresearch examines the views of critics and proponents of the EchelonProject and its ramifications for privacy and cyber rights in today'shighly electronic and global market. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.

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