The NSA: Who, What & some ‘WHY’ questions you should be asking!
Formed on November 4, 1952 the NSA was former President Harry Truman’s answer to the information issues faced by the Defense Department during the Cold War.
MISSION:
The Information Assurance mission confronts the formidable challenge of preventing foreign adversaries from gaining access to sensitive or classified national security information. The Signals Intelligence mission collects, processes, and disseminates intelligence information from foreign signals for intelligence and counterintelligence purposes and to support military operations. This Agency also enables Network Warfare operations to defeat terrorists and their organizations at home and abroad , consistent with U.S. laws and the protection of privacy and civil liberties.
WHO:
Since it’s inception in 1952, the NSA has grown enormously. From 7,600 employees to now more than 30,000 employees working at their headquarters in Fort Meade, MD., in four national Cryptologic Centers and at sites throughout the world.
WHAT (is the NSA doing exactly?):
The NSA is collecting metadata, not listening to your voice calls or reading your text messages. Given the gross amount of phone calls and texts made everyday, attempting to do so would be like one person trying to hear the conversations of everyone in Madison Square Garden at the same time. Not possible – but do not take security in this.
What is ‘metadata’ exactly and how is it collected?
“Metadata essentially is data about data.”, says Robert Knudsen, an analyst for Global Digital Forensics. The NSA uses a clandestine system called PRISM to ‘data mine.” It is a computer system used by the United States government in the collection of foreign intelligence information from internet service companies, as authorized by Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) (50 U.S.C. § 1881a).
Ex: If you take a photo on your cell phone, it’s made up of data called “pixels” — the metadata would be the time, place and date that photo was taken.
WHY (a few questions we should be asking all parties involved):
Why is my service provider keeping record of my metadata in the first place?
>>> Remember: the NSA is tracking the metadata that is and always was being tracked by your service providers from day one.
Why is the NSA keeping record of all call detail records or metadata “between the United States and abroad” — including local telephone calls?
>>> Remember: the NSA mission statement (above) states that they are in the business of: “preventing foreign adversaries from gaining access to sensitive or classified national security information“
Why is there very little regulation on “terms of service agreements” we all have to agree to in order use our devices?
WHY IS MY PRIVACY BEING INVADED BY THOSE SWORN TO PROTECT IT?
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