[107446] in Cypherpunks
Re: Echelon Targeting
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Jukka E Isosaari)
Thu Jan 14 10:52:29 1999
Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1999 18:28:50 +0200 (EET)
From: Jukka E Isosaari <jei@zor.hut.fi>
To: scoops <scoops@quiknet.com>
cc: cypherpunks@toad.com
In-Reply-To: <199901132315.PAA13601@toad.com>
Reply-To: Jukka E Isosaari <jei@zor.hut.fi>
On Wed, 13 Jan 1999, scoops wrote:
> Does anyone know how many (as a percentage) targets for investigation are
> selected using Echelon processed data, as opposed to that percentage of
> targets that are selected prior to Echelon data processing? Is the primary
> area of interest military, goverment, industry, civilians?
>
> My hunch/hope is that it is rare that someone becomes a target for
> investigation based on routine Echelon processing. I think it is much more
> likely that a target or target group is pre-selected and then Echelon goes
> to work.
>
> I suppose another way to ask the question is -- was Echelon designed to
> ferret out new targets as its primary mission or as a secondary tool for
> follow-on tracking and investigation after a target has been selected?
>
http://jya.com/stoa-atpc-so.htm
...
Each of the five centres supply "dictionaries" to the other four of
keywords, Phrases, people and places to "tag" and the tagged intercept is
forwarded straight to the requesting country. Whilst there is much
information gathered about potential terrorists, there is a lot of economic
intelligence, notably intensive monitoring of all the countries
participating in the GATT negotiations. But Hager found that by far the
main priorities of this system continued to be military and political
intelligence applicable to their wider interests.
Hager quotes from a"highly placed intelligence operatives" who spoke to the
Observer in London. "We feel we can no longer remain silent regarding that
which we regard to be gross malpractice and negligence within the
establishment in which we operate." They gave as examples. GCHQ
interception of three charities, including Amnesty International and
Christian Aid. "At any time GCHQ is able to home in on their communications
for a routine target request," the GCHQ source said. In the case of phone
taps the procedure is known as Mantis. With telexes its called Mayfly. By
keying in a code relating to third world aid, the source was able to
demonstrate telex "fixes" on the three organisations. With no system of
accountability, it is difficult to discover what criteria determine who is
not a target.
Indeed since the Interim Report was published, journalists have alleged
that ECHELON has benefited US companies involved in arms deals,
strengthened Washington's position in crucial World Trade organisation
talks with Europe during a 1995 dispute with Japan over car part exports.
According to the Financial Mail On Sunday, "key words identified by US
experts include the names of inter-governmental trade organisations and
business consortia bidding against US companies. The word 'block' is on the
list to identify communications about offshore oil in area where the seabed
has yet to be divided up into exploration blocks ..." It has also been
suggested that in 1990 the US broke into secret negotiations and persuaded
Indonesia that US giant AT & T be included in a multi-billion dollar
telecoms deal that at one point was going entirely to Japan's NEC.(33)
...
