While the Unitest States of America is struggling to contain one of the most explosive national security leaks in US history as world-wide public criticism of the sweeping surveillance state revealed by whistle blower 29-year-old Edward Snowden former technical assistant of the CIA and currently an employer of the defence contractor Booz Allen Hamilton, apart from the entire nations of the globe, India is among top-most countries in the globe, whose data have been compromised by the US National Security Agency (NSA) through various Internet networks like Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, Paltalk, AOL, Skype, Youtube and Apple. Not only that data of personal\individual throughout the globe connected with internet network are being snooped by America !
The historic leak of the US's NSA surveillances of most secrets, first to the journalists, from the Guardian and Washington Post ..The National Security Agency of America has been monitoring telephone calls and e-mails and even social media stuff of the sort., violating civil liberties throughout the globe..Snowden like Daniel Ellsberg, who had revealed the Pentagon papers to the Post and the New York Times more than four decades ago, has stirred the world by the current revelation of the facts by NSA of America. It may be recalled that Pentagon Papers proved that a succession of US presidents had lied about their intention regarding Vietnam- Lyndon Johnson above all.As the Times put it in a 1966 story, the Pentagon Papers "demonstrated, among other things, that the Johnson administration had systematically lied, not only to the public but also the Congress, about a subject of transcendent national interest and significance." A big debate has been sparked over surveillance and privacy among the people of the globe nations.
Snowden, an intelligence analyst and computer geek, who leaked some of the NSA's most precious secrets to journalists, is now on the lam, having checked out of the Hong Kong hotel where he holed up for several weeks as he orchestrated a worldwide media splash that shows no sign of ending. Snowden himself admitted that he has betrayed, the consulting firm Boos Allen Hamilton and his promise not to divulge classified information. He paints what he did as an act of civil disobedience, but he has decided to seek political asylum abroad rather than surrender to authorities and accept the consequences. In published interviews, he comes across as grandiose to the point of self- parody, a legend in his own mind.
"Did you know that the NSA is compiling and storing a massive, comprehensive log of our democratic phone calls ? I did not nor did I know that agency can access huge volume of e-mails traffic and other electronic data overseas-not just communications originating in trouble spots such as Pakistan but also in countries such as Germany and Britain. I would have thought that anyone who accused the US government of omniscient, automatic, mas surveillance, as Snowden did in exchange with the post contributor Barton Gellman, was being paranoid. Now I am not sure."
But here is a big issue. The NSA, it now seems clear, is assembling as unimaginably vast trove of communication data and the bigger it gets, the more useful it is in enabling analysts to make predictions. It is one thing if the NSA looks for pattern in the data that suggest a nascent overseas terrorist group or an imminent attack. It is another thing altogether if the agency observes, say, ;patterns that suggest the Birth of the next tea party or Occupy Wall Street Movement.
Political opinion was split with some members of the Congress in America calling for immediate extradition of a man they consider a "defector" but other senior politicians from both parties questioning whether US surveillance practices had gone too far.. Daneiel Ellsberg, the former military analyst, who revealed secrets of the Vietnam war through Pentagon Papers in 1971, described Snowden's leak as even more important and perhaps the most significance leak in American History. British foreign secretary, William Hague, was forced to defend the UK's use of intelligence gathered by U S. Other European leaders also voiced concern.On the other hand, in Washington, Obama administration offered no indication on Monday about what it intended to do about Snowden, who was praised for privacy campaigners but condemned by US politicians keen on for him to be extradited from Hong Kong and put on trial.. The White House, however, made no comments beyond a short statement released by a spokesman for the U S director of national intelligence on Sunday last, Shawbn Turner said Snowden's case had been referred to the Justice Department and that U S intelligence was assessing the damage caused by the disclosures.
After disclosures of the NSA secrets, Snowden chose Hong Kong because "they have a spirited commitment to free speech and the right of political dissent." In an explosive interview with the Guardian, published on last Sunday, Snowden revealed himself as source for a series of articles in the Guardian last week, which included disclosures of a wide ranging secret court order that demanded Verizon pass to the NSA the details phone calls related to millions of customers and a huge NSA intelligence system called Prism, which collects data on intelligence targets from the systems of some of the biggest tech companies.Snowden said he had become disillusioned with the overarching nature of government surveillance in the US."The government has granted itself power it is not entitled to. There is no public oversight.. The result is people like myself have the lattilatitude to go further than they are allowed to." he said and added ,"my soul motive is to inform the public as to what is done in their names and which is done against them."
Moreover, Snowden drew support from civil liberty activists and organisations. Esberg wrote to the Guardian, " In my estimation, there has been in Americans history a more important leak than Edward Sonowden's release of NSA material-and that definitely includes the Pentagon Papers 40 years ago." Thomas Drake, a former NSA executive who famously leaked information about what he considered wasteful data-mining programmer at the agency, said Snowden: "he is extraordinary brave and courageous,"
Meanwhile China watchers also wonder if Beijing would wish to become publicly involved in such a huge-profile case-particularly given China's doctrine of non-inter fence in other countries' domestic affairs and that it comes days after a meeting between Presidents Xi Jinping and Barack Obama, as the countries seek to improve bilateral ties.!
Interestingly, the Internet network- Google, Apple, Facebook, Facebook, Paltalk, AOL, Skype, YouTube, Microsoft, who are trying to salvage their reputation, are facing a battle to maintain their trust after disclosures that the US government was given access to their customers' data on line via the Prism programme operated by the NSA.. The involved companies vigorously deny giving the Obama administration backdoor access to users' Internet information but the potential damage to their brand reputation has left the companies foundering for a way to respond. Victor Mayer-Schnbeger, professor of Internet governance and regulation at the Oxford Internet Institute, believes there could be serious consequences for the collective reputations of all Internet companies, who have meticulously built their trade and trust.
Thus what the NSA is doing in turning the US-and by extension, the rest of the world-into a Big Brother surveillance state. THE USA is spying the world ! Julian Assannge, Wiki-Leaks founder, hold up in Ecuadorain embassy in London since June 19 last year, told in London to TNN India has been targeted in a big way , as alleged by whistle blower Edward Snowden while exposing the US cyber snooping programme. In view of Indian government and its data are being compromised by the U S A 's NSA, the Indian government, which is in dilemma, is considering a new cyber security. A cyber security and protection umbrella coordinator will be named at the end of June for new security structures.
SOURCES:-THE GUARDIAN, THE WASHINGTON POST,THE NEW YORK TIMES and other Internet connected to the world !
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