Until a few months ago, Echelon—an international government surveillance cooperative—was so secret no representative of any government would even acknowledge its existence. But in mid-July a French prosecutor began a preliminary investigation to determine whether the surveillance network is involved in economic espionage and the European Union has commissioned two studies on the network. Meanwhile in the United States, some members of Congress have begun to pressure the National Security Agency (NSA) to actively demonstrate that Echelon cannot be used to spy on ordinary citizens.
Echelon was created during the cold war to allow Britain and the United States to share intelligence data. It was designed as a series of linked ground stations with equipment aimed at satellites and capable of monitoring all of the planet’s voice, television, data, and fax communications. Over the years, the system grew to include Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
In January, a researcher for the National Security Archive—an independent, non-governmental research organization at George Washington University—found evidence that Echelon exists. Jeffrey Richelson discovered the evidence while browsing declassified NSA documents he obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. Richelson told Wired News that the documents “provide government confirmation of the Echelon program.”
In early July, the European Parliament voted to formally investigate the use of Echelon by the United States and its allies to conduct industrial espionage in Europe.
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