National Security Agency Spying Research Paper

The NSA program on surveillance began in 2001. This is when Congress authorized government officials to listen in on the phone calls and emails of those individuals suspected of engaging in terrorist activities (via the USA Patriot Act). It is designed to ensure that the intelligence community and law enforcement have the tools they need to track / monitor those suspected

However, their efforts stepped up significantly after the terror attacks that occurred on 9/11. After 9/11, the government was on high alert for anybody that could be a potential terrorist. The NSA quickly began spying on foreigners suspected of being involved in terrorist activities or associating with potential terrorists. (Wikipedia - Mass Surveillance in the United States) Soon after this, they started intercepting phone conversations and even internet traffic through a program known as PRISM. This program was kept secret for quite a while until NSA contractor Edward Snowden leaked thousands of documents to reporters. (PBS - How Edward Snowden Leaked Thousands of NSA Documents)

Privacy is what allows people to feel secure in their surroundings. With privacy, one is allowed to withhold or distribute the information they want by choice, but the ability to have that choice is being violated in today’s society. Benjamin Franklin once said, “He who sacrifices freedom or liberty will eventually have neither.” And that’s the unfortunate truth that is and has occurred in recent years. Privacy, especially in such a fast paced moving world, is extremely vital yet is extremely violated, as recently discovered the NSA has been spying on U.S. citizens for quite a while now; based on the Fourth Amendment, the risk of leaked and distorted individual information, as well as vulnerability to lack of anonymity.

Knowledge is power. It is as simple as that. Espionage is the secret gathering of information, often referred to as "intelligence". Intelligence refers to the processed information needed to make any decision. This could be used for business, military, economic, or political decisions. More often than not, this term refers to domestic or foreign policy of a country. Espionage is illegal in all countries, yet all countries have some form of espionage organization. The first espionage act was recorded 2500 years ago. The first book on espionage, The Art of War was written by a Chinese emperor/general Sun Tzu in about 500 BC. There is another type of espionage, counter-espionage. This is the

On June 6, 2013, The Guardian published a story about the National Security Agency's (NSA) secret Internet surveillance program, PRISM (Greenwald and MacAskill 2013). The story was based on documents leaked by one of the most successful whistle-blowers in American history, former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. The documents that Snowden has released up to this time have shown the NSA to be heavily engaged in the collection of personal Internet activity, bulk collection of telephone "metadata," and other forms of surveillance that have brought U.S. intelligence practices into question.

Thomas Jefferson said, “My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.” The National Security Agency (NSA), established by the National Security Act of 1947, exists to safeguard American citizens against terror threats and foreign intelligence.(National Archives) Since the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, the NSA, through the guise of the Patriot Act, has been investigating American citizens who are not suspect of law breaking. President George W. Bush enacted the Patriot Act (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 [Britannica]) in October 2001, but current President Barack Obama furthered its parameters via Executive Orders such as EO’s 13526 and 13549 (Federal Register). The Agency’s private investigations have caused public suspicion. This concern was validated by the revelation of the government’s collection of metadata (phone history), storage of text messages, possession of spy programs, and proof of the wire tapping of two-country related phone calls after Edward Snowden, a former NSA contractor, leaked private information to the public in May/June of 2013. (Britannica)

Traditionally, much of the intelligence gathering activities were based on military activities since the main threat to security was in the form of military invasions. Intelligence agencies developed new ways of gathering intelligence such as wiretapping, thermal imaging and search without warrants in order to take care of the new threats to national security. This signified a change from the traditional nature of intelligence to focus on foreign threats to terrorism to the modernized approach that considers domestic collaborators of terrorism. Scrutiny of domestic elements terrorism also introduced new roles of various government agencies that had to introduce counter-terrorism in their operational strategies. For instance, various intelligence agencies linked with the immigration department in order protect against entry of terrorists among other

Ever since the American public was made aware of the United States government’s surveillance policies, it has been a hotly debated issue across the nation. In 2013, it was revealed that the NSA had, for some time, been collecting data on American citizens, in terms of everything from their Internet history to their phone records. When the story broke, it was a huge talking point, not only across the country, but also throughout the world. The man who introduced Americans to this idea was Edward Snowden.

The Uniting and Strengthening America Act by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act: this is the acronym of the generally known USA Patriot Act. The Patriot act was presented on October 26, 2001 by George W. Bush after the terrorist attack of September 11. This act was implemented with the intended end goal that by giving power to the Justice Department regarding domestic and international surveillance of electronic communications, it would help prevent incidents like September 11 from occurring again (WhatisUSApatriotAct). The Patriot Act was intended to help government agencies fight against terrorism by catching it before it happens.

The National Security Agency (NSA) is an United States intelligence organization that is responsible for global monitoring and collecting foreign data intelligence. Within the NSA, existed what was called the “PRISM”. PRISM was created to collect private electronic data belonging to users of major internet services like Gmail, Facebook, Yahoo, and so on(Stroud). A successful example of the NSA’s efforts with government surveillance was present in the case of Najibullah Zazi. Zazi’s plan to bomb Times Square and New York’s subway systems, was arguably the most serious threat on American soil since the September 11th, 2001 attacks. The NSA had helped to disrupt Najibullah Zazi’s plot to bomb New York’s Times Square and subways in 2009. Thanks to PRISM, law enforcement were monitoring an e-mail address known to belong to an existing member of Al Qaeda. Zazi e-mailed that email address and unintentionally revealed himself and his plans to the authorities. He was arrested and faced a life sentence in prison. Without this type of surveillance, Zazi could have successfully murdered thousands of American citizens(Sullivan). The NSA proved to the United States that without monitoring, America would have encountered another national catastrophe. Subsequently, government surveillance was immeasurably acknowledged among U.S

What is it about American people knowing that their phones are tapped; their homes are under monitors or even that there are hundreds of satellites watching our every move outside of homes? It’s the invasion of privacy that people cannot get past, the fact they themselves have the potential of being spied on by their own government is a facet Americans have had a hard time swallowing. Edward Snowden informed us all of the sneaky surveillance our government uses to watch us, invade our privacy and in some cases use against us. It has been made into a controversy and in some cases a relief of knowing the unknown.

Counterintelligence: exposing, preventing, and investigating intelligence activities on U.S. soil; foreign espionage strikes at the heart of national security, impacting political, military, and economic strengths.

The German intelligence agencies roots go back to the days of the Abwehr when Germany had the most sophisticated intelligence and counter-intelligence agency in the world prior to the start of WWI. Today German intelligence agencies are split into four different agencies with some overlapping responsibilities and missions. The largest of these is the Federal Intelligence Service (Bundesnachrichtendienst). The BDN acts as an early warning to alert German officials of potential threats from abroad. Since it is Germany’s only overseas intelligence agency it collects on military and civilian interest. It often shares information and works closely with the KSA, Strategic Reconnaissance Command, on those missions. Its primary missions are to collect and analyze data on terrorists, WMD’s, drug and weapon trafficking, illegal migration and information warfare. The BDN has a $615 million Euro budget and has 6500 employees. The agency is one of the best and most effective intelligence agencies in the world.

The United States has the most capable intelligence apparatus of any country in the world. The information produced by various agencies gives the United States a substantial advantage when it comes to understanding world events, predicting and preparing for unsettled times, fielding military forces, and making a host of other political and economic decisions. From an ethical perspective, it means that the United States Intelligences information can create the risk of security for the United

“You can't have 100% security and then also have 100% privacy and zero inconvenience. Society had to make choices” said President Obama. It has become a given in society that it is on the government’s agenda to procure its nation’s safety in exchange of the privacy or freedom of the people. Edward Snowden, a paladin of social justice, has now come to light with outstanding facts as for what specifically it is that the National Security Agency (NSA) is able and willing to do for the country’s sake. Snowden, a 29-year-old NSA ex-employee, worked from Hawaii on his computer support for the recollection of data in bulk from the whole nation . Under the name of Verax, which means truth teller in Latin, he