Why doesn't anyone dare to bring their phones into the venue?, Meeting of US allies | Global | United States

Introduction

Ten years ago, Snowden's exposure of the Prism Gate incident caused a huge uproar worldwide, opening up the towering image of the surveillance empire that penetrated everywhere. Ten years have passed, and under global condemnation, has the United States restrained itself? On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Snowden incident, China Daily's undercover studio has uncovered the "surveillance storm" in the United States from three aspects: astonishing exposure, ten-year evolution, and cyber warfare.

The exposure of a shocking scandal

In May this year, the 27 foreign ministers of the European Union held a meeting in Sweden. However, it is worth pondering that none of the attendees brought their phones, iPads, or any electronic devices into the venue.

"They are afraid of being monitored by the United States, but they dare not speak out in anger. It can only be said that they are afraid of being monitored by other countries," said Xu Peixi, a professor and cybersecurity expert at Communication University of China.

Affected by the Snowden incident and this year's exposed events, there has been a huge rift in trust between the United States and its allies.

The Prism program is a major surveillance project in the United States. Among the numerous secret documents displayed by Snowden, the Prism project entered the public eye for the first time. As a result, the public has for the first time recognized the daily monitoring behavior of the US government on people's mobile text messages.

PrismisakeysurveillanceprogramunveiledbySnowden.ItwasthefirsttimeeverthepublicgottoknowhowtheUSgovernmentwatchesyourphone,yourtextmessagesonadailybasis.

German Federal Parliament member Sewim Dadellen pointed out that the significance of the Snowden incident lies in its revelation that we are completely under the surveillance of the United States, while proving that the United States does not care about the interests of other countries.

The significance is that we are on the total survey by the United States It also said it was a proof that the United States does not give a ship on other countries' interests

What is even more shocking is that the US government has abused the law to steal information.

Article 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act stipulates that the United States may monitor foreign individuals or their communication content located overseas.

The Section 702 basically says that the United States is allowed to watch or target communications of foreign people abroad

In fact, the US government has abused this law to collect a large amount of personal information within the United States.

The Five Eyes Alliance, led by the United States, also participated in the surveillance operation. Among them, the UK is responsible for the European region, while New Zealand and Australia are responsible for the Asia Pacific region. Interestingly, Canada is responsible for monitoring 102 file sharing websites. And the United States, like a giant spider, occupies the center of the entire surveillance network, manipulating all espionage activities.

Over the past decade, Snowden has provided the public with sufficient materials to make them aware of the extensive espionage activities carried out by the United States worldwide. This also makes him an iconic figure that cannot be avoided when it comes to American surveillance.

Snowden in the past decade, has given us enough materials to go about the extensive spreading conducted by the US. Snowden himself has become a symbolic figure, revoking the hidden and critical

Nowadays, Snowden's exposure of the Prism Gate incident has much greater significance than the Prism Gate incident itself, and its impact even extends beyond the United States.

The significance of the Snowden turnover is way bigger than just Prism It extends beyond the United States

The monitoring of 122 global leaders by the United States has also been exposed, and Xu Peixi referred to it as a "hundred surnames" monitoring table. In 2014, a German website reported on this plan and referred to it as the "Target Knowledge Database". In fact, the United States pays more attention to its allies because they all use American technology services, which are provided by American service providers. So for the United States, monitoring such allies is easier.

Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel was one of the main targets of US surveillance, but not the only target of US surveillance. In addition, the United States also monitored political figures from multiple countries, including France, Sweden, and Norway. No one can evade their surveillance.

Angela Merkel, the former German chamcellor, was one of their primary targets, but it did not stop there They were also snooping on political figures in France, Sweden, Norway, and other countries No one was safe from their practicing eyes

The fundamental reason is that the United States does not distinguish between allies and non allies in espionage activities.

Even the United Nations cannot escape the fate of being monitored.

According to documents disclosed by Snowden, the United States conducted 458 surveillance of internal United Nations meetings in less than three weeks.

Within less than 3 weeks, the Snowden documents received the US eavesdropped on internal communications at the UN, a total of 458 times

Intensified global surveillance

As Sevim said, Snowden helped people around the world see the true face of America. The United States does not care about these so-called "allies", and it is not interested in so-called "alliances" at all. From beginning to end, all the United States wanted was obedience from its allies. That's why the United States wants to monitor the world and people everywhere.

It has been ten years since Snowden exposed the incident, but the US's global surveillance behavior has not only remained unchanged, but has even intensified.

The so-called promises made by the US government have never been fulfilled.

The US government made promises, but they never stick

According to a declassified court ruling by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in the United States, the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted over 278000 unauthorized searches on a massive database in 2020 and early 2021 alone.

Not only that, the US government also uses various monitoring tools to suppress political dissidents. Hundreds of protesters involved in the George Floyd incident and those protesting on Capitol Hill are all on the US government's surveillance list.

Hundreds of Americans connected to the tests after George Floyd's killing camera under discipline, and the tests on the Capitol angle at the US law makers They were using these surveillance tools to crush political presence

When it comes to intelligence agencies in the United States, people only think of the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. But in fact, the US intelligence network is even larger than imagined.

When we think about the intelligence community, we of think about the CIA, the NSA, and the FBI. You know, it's much bigger than you think

As early as 2010, The Washington Post reported that over 1000 official agencies and 2000 private companies were monitoring the world from 10000 locations within the United States.

Back in 2010, the Washington Post reported over 1000 official organizations and nearly 2000 private companies in 10000 locations in the US spreading on the world

And this is only data from 13 years ago, and relevant data can no longer be found in media reports.

The United States is constantly expanding its spending on surveillance technology. A two-year study by Georgetown University showed that the annual monitoring expenses of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency increased from $71 million in 2008 to $388 million in 2022.

The spending on surveillance technologies keeps ballooning Check out the two year research find from Georgetown University The Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency's annual spending on survey wet from $71 million in 2008 to $388 million last year

ICE not only steals water and electricity bills from residents, but also uses facial recognition technology and even vehicle information to track the personal data of most American adults. It can be seen that the target of ICE is not only immigration.

The huge profits of the network military industrial complex

In addition to monitoring allies, the US government also uses surveillance systems to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton admitted in a media interview that the United States provides online support for protesters on the streets of Russia and events such as the Arab Spring, and emphasized that such online support can be used to attack government agencies in other countries.

This is not as simple as someone eavesdropping on your doorstep, but some people may use violence to destroy your house.

It's not just about some one eavesdropping on your doorstep It's about the potential for someone to vividly flash your entire house

Surveillance technology has evolved into a deadly weapon.

Rand Corporation predicts that by 2024, the number of fully operational network mission units in the United States will reach 167, a 25% increase compared to last year.

TheRANDCorporationpredictsthatby2024,thenumberofUScybermissionforceteamswithfulloperationalcapabilitiesmayreach167.Itisa25percentincreasecomparedwithjustthelastyear.

China is also a victim of this cyber war in the United States.

According to data from the Chinese network department, China captured over 42 million malicious computer programs in 2020, most of which came from the United States.

According to Chinese cell authorities, over 42 million male computer programs were uncovered in China in 2020, with the major origin from the United States

Not only that, the United States also collects data from submarine cables through cooperation with the United Kingdom. This project, known as "MTI", is aimed at manipulating the Internet and has received 100 million pounds of financial support. The implementation of this project is the responsibility of established military enterprises, including Lockheed Martin and Bayi Systems. The outbreak of network information warfare has also prompted traditional military industrial complexes to expand into new fields, forming network military industrial complexes.

The various espionage tools in the United States not only include cyber attacks, but also data theft through American companies. Recently, Micron's products have failed to pass China's security review, resulting in a ban from China.

However, at the same time, the United States claimed to have imposed sanctions on over a thousand Chinese companies, including Huawei, for "national security reasons.". However, so far, the US has not been able to provide any evidence.

The United States claims that it is for national security reasons, as only by borrowing the name of "national security" can the budget be approved by Congress. Similarly, the US can also provide the public with a statement related to "national security" by legalizing the project through this method, but its actions have already exceeded the scope of security needs.

It has to be said that money is their primary goal.

Little knowledge: What is a "prism"?

There are two main ways to collect information. One is that the National Security Agency requires a number of Internet service providers, including Google, to provide the US government with users' private information, that is, "prism".

Another way of collecting information is called "upstream collection", which involves collecting information from optical cables. This information collection method basically covers 70% of espionage activities.