<=-------------------------------------------------------------------------=> _/_/_/_/ _/ _/_/_/_/ _/_/_/_/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/_/_/_/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ ./ _/_/_/_/ ./ _/_/_/_/ ./ _/_/_/_/ ./ A u s t r a l i a s L e g i o n O f C y b e r p u n k z <=-------------------------------------------------------------------------=> WEB:/ http://members.xoom.com/aloc EMAIL:/ phrost_byte@hotmail.com <=-------------------------------------------------------------------------=> <=-------------------------------------------------------------------------=> E C H E L O N : A THREAT TO OUR LIBERTIES AND VIOLATION OF OUR RIGHTS. V1.0 ------------------------------------ W R I T T E N B Y << HOOL >> hool5400@yahoo.com <=-------------------------------------------------------------------------=> *Version 1.0 released October 1998 *Dedicated to those who resist conformity and fight for our rights. *Greets to :ALOC members, somatic, bob, gummi bear, lucus, luzza, slimie. *This file may be distributed in electronic form freely, though if it is included in any publications, ezines or the like, please send an informative email to the author, just so I know how far it has spread, and what people think. *WRITTEN IN SIZE 9 MONACO- ANYTHING ELSE MAY RESULT IN DISTORTION. //----------------------------------\\ ___OVERVIEW___ The purpose of this file is to alert users of the telecommunication infrastructure of Australia (land, sat, cell, etc.) whether it be Telstra, Optus or another carrier, that there is a strong possibility that this data is being routinely intercepted and analyzed for specific data. This file is aimed at Australians, but this surveillance network is by no way limited to Australia. This is a GLOBAL THREAT, so please, read the file, and even if you won't believe it exists until you have proof that you can put in your hands, think about it. The phrase "open you mind" seems appropriate at this time. The extent our lives can be monitored (both with distance and stealth) makes 1984 look like a fairytale. Big Brother is watching, and unlike 1984, most people donÍt even realize it. There are people watching, listening, and otherwise invading our privacy. We should NEVER forget this. There are many aspects of surveillance that would scare people to know. If the aforementioned notion of Echelon surprise you, have a look at some other aspects that will not be covered here: -FACT: A laser can be pointed onto your window from a distance, and can pick up the vibrations on your window. These vibrations will give away conversations and other audio that occurs in your room. -FACT: Telephones can be tapped from the exchange, no physical contact at your house/office is necessary. In Australia the police require a warrant to tap your phone, but cops get these with little grievances, so donÍt bet on them not being able to get one. -FACT: Using a technology called ñTEMPESTî, the display on your VDU (monitor) can be seen on another from a distance. This is due to the electro magnetic radiation transmitted from the electron-gun at the back of the VDU which is used to display your graphics. Stationing a van out on your street and pointing an antenna towards your house will allow your screen to be viewed. Shielding for this threat is expensive and if youÍre not in America difficult to obtain (export restrictions are the cause of this...like encryption). -FACT: Closed circuit cameras can be very small these days. Using optical fibre, these can be pointed through windows, door bases, ceilings, etc. -FACT: Satellites are in existence that magnify to an amazing degree. There is no doubt in my mind that the American government have such resolution from these that they can read a document that you have in your hands. This can be used for good, like the inspection of chemical weapons disarmament, though I suspect it is often used for less noble things. Yep, very scary...but perhaps Echelon takes the cake. ___INTRODUCTION TO ECHELON___ OK, the closest this system has ever been to becoming widely know can be attributed to a book. This book is called ñSecret Powerî (1996) and was written by Nicky Hagar and focused on the New Zealand part of the system (controlled by their GCSB). Since this book was written, the issue has popped up every now and again, but has still never reached this level of interest people should have about it. A noteworthy fact is that Hagar interviewed more than 50 people closely associated with the program, surely an undeniable number for a ïconspiracy storyÍ. If 98% of people where needed for Telstra before their ñcaller IDî system could be implemented (as it would an invasion of privacy if a user was unaware that their phone number was being transmitted), then surely a similar percentile of the population should be aware that their communications are being indiscriminately intercepted and analyzed for specific data. A discrepancy? Well, I guess the Caller ID system DOES officially exists... This worldwide system was initially setup by the NSA (National Security Agency) in America. The NSA (obscure names of departments seem to be a prerequisite for the systemÍs players) basically calls the shots for the entire network. This network systematically intercepts data and searches it for predefined keywords. The interception of data couldnÍt be difficult if the money was there (nothing is difficult with money), and the cooperation with the country was also there. It is a matter of intercepting the data before it has gone from Point A to Point B, and in Australia particularly, there is generally a long distance between the two. Signals are shot through repeater station, optical fibre, and a general mishmash of lines. All it takes is a line leading from somewhere on the network into a warehouse or office building to get access to the flowing data. A few of these such lines, strategically placed, would intercept a sizable portion of the Australian telecommunication network. If you think ñYou canÍt intercept telephone communications...it would require one bloody person for every call being made at any particular time!î, well, thatÍs unrealistic. Look at what we can do on a standalone PC today, voice recognition! The computers that governments and militaries have now could easily transcribe multiple conversations simultaneously. If we can do one voice at a time on a busted ass Pentium, just think ïsupercomputerÍ. E-mail, or other communication through the TCP/IP protocol suite could be intercepted (or more accurately duplicated at the transport layer), and probably is a godsend for these people as it would almost certainly require less processing power to analyze in comparison to voice. These stations will always have a massive amount of data to process, as there is always a continuing flow of data flying around the world. When this data enters the system, it is grepped for keywords from the dictionary, and if these keywords are found in the message, it is stamped (time, origination and destination) so as to be enable analyses by people throughout the world at a later stage. Each station in the world where this interception/analyses is conducted has its own dictionary where the keywords vary. Some keywords are on every dictionary system, though some are only on a single dictionary. It makes sense to me that the US government has restricted the export of anything other that 40 bit DES (something which should be considered suspect anyway as they no doubt have a backdoor put in) for the reasons of if they encounter an encrypted document, it can be decrypted with ease. Fuck DES, it will do no good against echelon. ___WHERE IS THIS CONDUCTED?___ -USA by NSA (NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY) -NEW ZEALAND by GCSB (GOVERNMENT COMMUNICATIONS SECURITY BUREAU) -UK by GCHQ (GOVERNMENT COMMUNICATIONS HEADQUARTERS) -CANADA by CSE (COMMUNICATIONS SECURITY ESTABLISHMENT) -AUSTRALIA by DSD (DEFENCE SIGNALS DIRECTORATE) Echelon is conducted on a global scale from countryÍs like Australia, New Zealand, Canada, USA, and the UK. The term UKUSA covers these countries of the network. The UKUSA agreement of 1948 (itÍs not an equal or democratic thing, the US is the ñsenior partnerî of the nations). I have seen conflicting information as to where this is exercised, and as far as my analysis can tell, there are some stations specifically targeting satellites, and others targeting things like land lines. All of the key Intelsat Satellites (carrying digital signals) are targeted through the network. In Australia, Pine Gap (near Alice Springs and run by the CIA), seems to be the likely candidate for land and other. The satellite dishes in Geralton, Wester Australia are reportedly available to intercept data of both Indian and Pacific ocean satellites. Shoal Bay near Darwin, Northern Territory, is also rumored to be used to target Indonesian Satellites. In New Zealand, the GCSB conducts at least some of itÍs data interception in Waihopai. The GCHQ has had the finger pointing at an inconspicuous building at 8 Palmer Street, and The Menwith Hill station in Northern England. Menwith Hill is the biggest in the entire echelon network with itÍs radomes capable of snatching significant quantities of communications in Europe. The station has almost 5 acres of buildings. BT has recently told of how they have connected 3 optical fibre cables to the station- capable of carrying in excess of 100,000 simultaneous telephone calls. Finally, Canada has Leitrim, just south of Ottawa snatching data from Latin American satellites. In all these case, if a keyword is found in the data, it is tagged and sent to the requesting country (according to the ñAN APPRAISAL OF TECHNOLOGIES OF POLITICAL CONTROLî document). The interstation communications are conducted through highly encrypted cables, but for sensitive data, the government wouldnÍt have it any other way. ___PUBLIC ATTENTION___ Recently, the issue has been raised in all seriousness, in a report called ñAN APPRAISAL OF TECHNOLOGIES OF POLITICAL CONTROLî (see URL at EOF) that was commissioned in 1997 by The Civil Liberties Committee of the European Parliament. Included in this report is a section that official confirms the existence of the system. Sadly, By the way, if you have the time you might want to try reading the entire document, itÍs the kind of thing that starts with a broad topic, then explains every little detail things to do with government control over people (i.e. an entire section on ñINTERROGATION, TORTURE TECHNIQUES & TECHNOLOGIESî. *Also recently, Wired News has had some articles such as ñEavesdropping on Europeî (30 September 1998), ñDid NSA scuttle Echelon Debate?î (5 October 1998) and ñSpying on Spiesî (27 October). *The New York Times has run a few related articles. Such as ñEuropean Study Paints a Chilling Portrait of Technology's Usesî, (Feb 24 1998) which can be found on their website. *The US Journal also drew attention to the issue in an article called ñECHELON: AMERICA'S SPY IN THE SKYî in their 15 June 1998 issue. *The Baltimore Sun ran an article on Sep 19 1998 issue, called ñNSA listening practices called European `threat'. European Parliament report accuses agency of widespread spying.î As you can see, there has been quite a few articles from people trying to draw attention to an issue we should be concerned about, though these seem to be largely ignored by the general public. ItÍs not a conspiracy theory people, go and think about this! ___SUMMARY___ Apologies for putting forward such a one sided argument above, I initially intended to be unbiased in the analysis, though found it difficult. There is no doubt in my mind that this system exists. And if you are to further investigate, IÍm sure you will feel the same way also. I am yet to see a decent argument as to why this COULD NOT happen, though have many documents describing the technical details and how IT DOES work. Would the Australian government give itÍs internal communications to the Americans? I think so. Australia has proved themselves committed to the keeping the relations with the USA good, even if the only positive thing to come out of it is an alliance with the ïbig guysÍ. This system may have been an important aspect of intelligence during the cold war, weeding out spies and the like, but now it is just a gross invasion of privacy and one that is undemocratic. I donÍt recall a majority of people approving of this, the majority of people donÍt even know the system exists. If they were to know, there is no chance that the majority of people would approve. A snowballÍs chance in hell, or so to speak. ItÍs not right to control people. ItÍs not right to think you know whatÍs best for people. ItÍs not right to sit back and be controlled. These things should not be tolerated but far too often are ignored so as to not make waves. 1984 may have past, but perhaps Orwell was right, Big Brother is watching all that we do and has been doing so before even 1984. The internet is where the information of the new age is distributed. Out here it is where every person can say what they feel, can argue, and can agree. So the internet, the voice of the people and the only TRUE democracy, may well be the ñlast, best hopeî for the truth to come out...letÍs hope so. ___RELATED WEBSITES___ NSA WEBSITE DSD WEBSITE GCHQ WEBSITE http://www.gchq.gov.uk/ CSE WEBSITE http://www.cse.dnd.ca/ NEW YORK TIMES US JOURNAL WEBSITE DAILY TELEGRAPH BBC NEWS STORY ñAN APPRAISAL OF TECHNOLOGIES OF POLITICAL CONTROLî WIRED NEWS ñCODENAME: ECHELONî COVERT ACTION QUARTERLY < http://caq.com/CAQ/CAQ59GlobalSnoop.html> Mario's Cyberspace Station: Information Warfare: ECHELON Have Phun! <=-------------------------------------------------------------------------=>