What is it about?
When it comes to the global operations of the shared surveillance network of the ‘5 Eyes’ nations (USA, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand), we now have a much clearer idea of the power of the USA’s National Security Agency, the UK Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) and their allies to eavesdrop. The sheer scale of the interception has staggered even informed observers. As the investigative journalist Duncan Campbell who first revealed the existence of the UK eavesdropping agency Government Communication Headquarters (GCHQ), has commented: “The most surprising material Snowden revealed, for me, is that the internet is monitored through international fibre optic cables and a large amount of data for days or even months is stored. Then to hunt at any target that appeals to interest. That changes our perception and understanding of surveillance. Systematically, they store information about all the phone calls and internet calls worldwide - called metadata. That is extremely important.”
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Why is it important?
While my interest focuses on the UK it is abundantly apparent that surveillance does not respect borders. According to Der Spiegel, the NSA hacked the computers of Al-Jazeera journalists in Qatar in the search for terrorism contacts. One such document, dated March 23, 2006, reveals that the NSA's Network Analysis Center managed to access and read communication by "interesting targets" that was specially protected by the news organization. If eavesdroppers are able to identify sources and locations of sources, this has serious ramifications. Journalists may well have contacts in terrorist groups as a legitimate part of their work. But what happens if their contacts are hacked, identified and eliminated? How should journalists react if they now know that a source may be tracked and killed in a drone attack because eavesdropping agencies have broken into our ‘secure’ communications?
Perspectives
We have to have eternal vigilance. You do not have to go back to the Cambridge Spies, Spycatcher, MI5 and the Miner’s strike, or MI6 and rendition to find examples. Look at the undercover police officers who worked in campaigning groups, engaging in relationships, fathering children and acting as agent provocateurs as part of the surveillance state? Where was the oversight? I would like to trust government and intelligence agencies in all matters, but based on experience, I do not. Those who work in secret always try to extend their mission. Journalists are the only ones with a record of consistently exposing mission creep and wrongdoing.
Dr Paul Lashmar
City University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: No More Sources?, Journalism Practice, May 2016, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.1080/17512786.2016.1179587.
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