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Transcript of echelon
E Y E S P Y I S S U E 3 6 , 2 0 0 5 E Y E S P Y I S S U E 3 6 , 2 0 0 566 67
All telephone calls, faxes and e-mailmessages are vulnerable to ECHELON
�
National Security
Agency spy satellites
intercept transmission
Information is automatically
forwarded to a series of
ground stations
Data is entered into
NSA and GCHQ ‘super
computers’
���
Data can then be ‘run through’
ECHELON’s ‘dictionary’ where words
and codes can be revealed�
Results are examined by
intelligence staff
�
Conclusions, assessments and observations forwarded to senior defence
officials for action. Critical intelligence and advisory material then passed
to leaders of respective governments with access to Echelon
�ECHELON: A relativelysimple system whichrequires severalcomplex technologiesThe three primary methods of
interception are:
Physical Taps
Downlink Interception
(Internet)
Microwave Interception
PHYSICAL TAPS
Used by spies in bygone days,
a physical tap means connec-
tion to a wire, fibreoptic cable
or telephone switch.�The
device can be covertly at-
tached to a line, or the
intercept can be made via a
phone company (exchange).
Clearly the choice of intelli-
gence officials is to enter the
phone system via companies
such as British Telecom. In the
case of the world’s biggest
communications’ base, the
NSA’s Menwith Hill, this is
achieved via the nearby BT
mast Hunters Point or Hunter’s
Stone as it is known to locals.
This is the “low-tech”
method.� It can be either a
covert tap or a tap enabled by
the phone company.�The
switching equipment allows
Menwith Hill access to three
high-volume fibreoptic lines
capable of carrying an aston-
ishing 100,000 conversations
simultaneously. Interestingly,
all calls to France made from
the UK are via Hunters Point!
Until the emergence of
microwave technology, most
interception was achieved
through physical taps.
DOWNLINK INTERCEPTION
A call to your partner in the
next room is as likely to go via
satellite as by a ground-based
cable. Telephone switching
equipment, in most cases, will
endeavour to use an open
route between the source and
destination.�Calls can be sent
via satellite, cable or micro-
wave, though in general terms
if you are calling a number
several hundred miles away, it
will in most cases go via
satellite. Once the signal hits
the satellite, it is then relayed
back to Earth. ECHELON can
also receive the call, as this
huge and powerful network
has ‘eyes on’ most, if not all
communications’ satellites
orbiting the planet.
GROUND MICROWAVE
INTERCEPTION
A great many regional commu-
nications are sent via ground-
based microwave towers.
Journey through the country
and you are certain to see
these masts laden with
antennas.�Microwave towers
are linked to each other via
these antennas. The distance
can vary between each tower
and is dependent on the land,
though in hilly regions, they
can usually be found at the
highest peak. Although the
signal is directional, that does
not mean that 100% of the
signal is caught by the receiv-
ing antenna.�The signal usually
continues its journey into
space and is therefore vulner-
able to interception by
ECHELON satellites.
The satellites used in the
ECHELON operation can
monitor several hundred
microwave towers, thus the
implications are obvious.
MI5 ANDTHE
OPTIONOF
E•C•H•E•L•O•NE•C•H•E•L•O•NThe USAF launch Atlas IIAS rocket.
The payload it carried into space is a satellite designed, built andoperated by the NRO (National Reconnaissance Office)
Microwave repeater tower