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Treasure Map: NSA, GCHQ Work On Real-Time "Google Earth" Internet Observation
wabrandsma) writes with the latest accusations about NSA spying activity in Germany.
According to top-secret documents from the NSA and the British agency GCHQ, the intelligence agencies are seeking to map the entire Internet.
Furthermore, every single end device that is connected to the Internet somewhere in the world — every smartphone, tablet and computer — is to be made visible. Such a map doesn't just reveal one treasure. There are millions of them. The breathtaking mission is described in a Treasure Map presentation from the documents of the former intelligence service employee Edward Snowden which SPIEGEL has seen. It instructs analysts to "map the entire Internet — Any device, anywhere, all the time." Treasure Map allows for the creation of an "interactive map of the global Internet" in "near real-time," the document notes. Employees of the so-called "FiveEyes" intelligence agencies from Great Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, which cooperate closely with the American agency NSA, can install and use the program on their own computers. One can imagine it as a kind of Google Earth for global data traffic, a bird's eye view of the planet's digital arteries.
Furthermore, every single end device that is connected to the Internet somewhere in the world — every smartphone, tablet and computer — is to be made visible. Such a map doesn't just reveal one treasure. There are millions of them. The breathtaking mission is described in a Treasure Map presentation from the documents of the former intelligence service employee Edward Snowden which SPIEGEL has seen. It instructs analysts to "map the entire Internet — Any device, anywhere, all the time." Treasure Map allows for the creation of an "interactive map of the global Internet" in "near real-time," the document notes. Employees of the so-called "FiveEyes" intelligence agencies from Great Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, which cooperate closely with the American agency NSA, can install and use the program on their own computers. One can imagine it as a kind of Google Earth for global data traffic, a bird's eye view of the planet's digital arteries.
The last 4 or 5 major disclosures from Snowden documents have gone unreported in the mainstream US press. Sure, you can find them on some more off the path sites, but the mainstream press has moved on. It's not as important as (from current CNN site): "Is this a spaceship or super mall?", or "5 ways to think yourself well!"
As far as the vast, vast majority of the public is concerned, it's over. Forgotten. Our cultural attention span was exhausted, and nothing happened. The chance of serious change now - like disbanding the organization and arresting those responsible for widespread constitutional violations - is now zero.
And they know it.
While I am sure this is a project that will earn millions of dollars for some companies and promotions for individuals, I am not sure how successful you can be at mapping everything. I would imagine more than half of the Internet is hidden behind various NAT boxes. Even with the help of folks like Comcast, CenturyLink, Verizon, AT&T, and the rest of our friends who might help the NSA and GCHQ; we still have businesses, colleges and universities, and most households with most of their computers hidden behind NAT. Maybe when IPv6 becomes ubiquitous it might be possible. I agree with a earlier post too much data, no enough content.
What takes your freedom away is not surveillance, it's not even the police, it's the law. Surveillance and the police are just tools, they're not the source of the problem. If you want to fight for your freedom, fight the source of the problem.
The law and the tools enforcing the law are parts of the same whole. Neither can co-exist without the other. A law which is not enforced is just a meaningless scribble. A policeman without the authority granted by the law is just a hired gun. Conducting surveillance without legal authority is being a peeping tom.
Fighting the tools is just as important as fighting the source. The tools are what enables the unjust laws. The Prohibition was ultimately ineffective because the masses decided to ignore the law.