Supernet "Echelon" - global information monitoring. The Internet must be free from the American-English “Echelon” More about Echelon

24.10.2023

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE OF THE RF

FEDERAL STATE BUDGET

EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION

HIGHER PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION

Course work

topic: Fundamentals of building a global control system “Echelon”

Orel, 2013

Introduction

Theoretical foundations for constructing the global control system "Echelon"

Operating principle of the global control system "Echelon"

The present of the global control system "Echelon"

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction

“Echelon” is the generally accepted name for the global electronic intelligence and control system, which is a multinational network of electronic listening stations that can intercept radio messages, telexes, e-mail, faxes, satellite telephone conversations, data transmitted via the Internet and via satellites. "Echelon" has the ability to intercept and analyze telephone conversations, faxes, emails and other information flows around the world by connecting to communication channels, such as satellite communications, the public telephone network, and microwave connections. Every person in the world using telephone, fax or email could theoretically be controlled by Echelon.

The system software (code name P415) SILKWORTH and SIRE was developed from 1974 to 1984 in the USA and Great Britain by Lockheed Martin.

The relevance of the topic of the course work lies in the fact that public interest in electronic intelligence systems has recently increased. Some critics accuse the system of being used not only for searching and identifying terrorist bases, drug trafficking routes and political and diplomatic intelligence, but also for large-scale commercial thefts, international commercial espionage and invasion of privacy. The media often talk about “commercial surveillance” of users of American hi-tech giants such as Google, Facebook and Apple. These companies argue that data about users is not subject to disclosure to third parties, and that monitoring people's movements, their search queries and surfing the Internet better helps to take into account their interests. Such polar opinions about the Echelon system are primarily related to the fundamentals of its construction.

The purpose of the course work: to study the basics of building the global control system “Echelon”.

Research objectives:

Reveal the essence of the concept of “global control system”.

Describe the structure and principle of operation of the Echelon global control system.

Consider the current state of the Echelon control system.

The object of the study is the global control system “Echelon”.

The subject of the study is the structure of the global control system “Echelon”.

The main sources of obtaining information are: scientific literature, periodicals, publications of Internet resources.

1. Theoretical foundations for building the global control system “Echelon”

The Echelon global electronic intelligence system operates within the framework of the UK-US (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Great Britain, United States of America) electronic and intelligence security agreement.

The process of struggle for information (information conflict), in which the parties implement a wide variety of measures to “destruct”, “distort”, “hide” and “extract” in the conflict interaction of systems carried out through the transmission and reception of radiation in the spectrum of electromagnetic waves. In this regard, the basis of information support is radio-electronic information retrieval systems. Their main task is to ensure active intervention in the actions of the opposing side by obtaining information about the presence and condition of certain of its elements (means, systems, complexes). The class of information retrieval systems includes mainly active sensing radar systems, as well as electronic (electronic and radio) reconnaissance systems, which are sometimes also called passive radar systems.

Electronic intelligence (ER) is the discipline of collecting intelligence information based on the reception and analysis of electromagnetic radiation (EMR). Electronic intelligence uses both intercepted signals from communication channels between people and technical means, and signals from a working radar network, electronic security stations and similar devices. Electronic reconnaissance is carried out in the wavelength range from a few micrometers to tens of thousands of kilometers. According to its characteristics, electronic reconnaissance refers to technical types of reconnaissance.

The following types of electronic intelligence are distinguished:

radio reconnaissance - interception of communication channels between people;

electronic reconnaissance - interception of communication channels between radio-electronic means, as well as signals from radars and other devices;

reconnaissance of physical fields - receiving and measuring the physical fields of various objects, for example, the parameters of a nuclear explosion, the acoustic fields of submarines, and so on.

Electronic reconnaissance is also classified according to the types of technical means used:

radar reconnaissance;

reconnaissance of alien measuring instruments;

telemetry reconnaissance;

reconnaissance of infrared devices;

reconnaissance of laser devices.

According to their purpose, radio-electronic systems are divided into the following main classes:

information transmission systems;

information retrieval systems;

information destruction systems;

radio control systems.

In terms of its type, the global control system "Echelon" refers to radio reconnaissance, in terms of the type of technical means used - to radar reconnaissance, and in terms of its purpose - to an information retrieval system.

Modern electronic systems have a number of common properties and qualities of large and complex systems. The main ones are the following:

clearly expressed focus of the radio-electronic system, that is, the presence of a set of goals (targets) that determine the desired results that should be obtained in the process of its operation;

a large number and variety of objects of artificial and natural origin with which the radio-electronic system interacts and, consequently, a variety of target tasks it solves (multifunctionality);

large scale of the coverage area and contour of connections with external objects located on the earth’s, water’s surface, in air and outer space;

branching structure and spatial distribution of PC elements (multi-position system), leading to the complexity of the processes of information conversion and control of the radio-electronic system, the need to create and use multi-level computing structures and information exchange networks;

the evolutionary nature of the processes of creation and modernization, the multi-stage life cycle, carried out with continuous correction of the adopted technical and technological solutions based on the latest achievements of science and technology, which in general allows us to speak of radio-electronic systems as developing systems.

The theoretical basis of the radio-electronic system is a dynamic multi-level state model. To analyze observations, methods of simulation of radio-electronic systems in conflict conditions and modeling of the radio-electronic situation are used.

Processing of received information goes through several stages: primary (Figure 1), secondary (Figure 2) and tertiary processing.

Each stage is carried out using specially developed algorithms.

Figure 1 - Functional decomposition of primary processing

The procedure for processing the set of primary observations obtained in each of the main cycles is called the secondary processing procedure.

Figure 2 - Functional decomposition of secondary processing

Approaches to calculating the probabilistic characteristics of the parameters of an object’s states from a set of primary observations, that is, in fact, during secondary processing, provide the basis for the synthesis of an appropriate algorithm if a criterion is specified that determines the structure of the decision rule operating with posterior characteristics.

The higher level of subsequent (tertiary) processing receives a stream of data obtained during secondary processing, carried out in several analysis cycles.

A feature of the tertiary processing stage is the integration of data obtained when identifying heterogeneous sources of radio emission forming an object, or when identifying heterogeneous operating modes if the object is a multifunctional radio-electronic complex. This means that during tertiary processing, in parallel or sequentially over time, the parameters of states must be determined, which in most cases manifest themselves in the creation of radio emissions and radio signals that are contrasting in their parameters. This determines the need to organize the process of primary and secondary processing in various areas of possible values of primary and secondary observations, as well as tertiary processing in accordance with possible values corresponding to various basic states. The data obtained in this case regarding the realized basic states are integrated, that is, their belonging to one object is determined, and then they are used to identify this object as a whole.

Thus, the general observation model is a multi-level system of models that describe the processes of receiving and passing information during the implementation of one or another processing in a radio-electronic system.

Operating principle of the global control system "Echelon"

The structure of Echelon has changed several times since its creation. According to expert D. Campbell, the Echelon system consists of three components: the first controls Intelsat satellites, the second controls Vortex satellites, and the third is engaged in ground interception.

The principle of operation of the Echelon system remains unchanged throughout the entire period of its operation. Data is obtained using ground interception stations and spy satellites, of which there are more than 150 today. The intercepted data enters an extensive computer network, in which the information is analyzed. According to intelligence reports from some countries, Cray computers are used for analysis.

An extensive computer network consists of a huge number of computers scattered across different areas. Presumably this network is called Dictionary. Each such computer contains a database of “keywords”. Due to the huge number of keywords, the database is divided into categories, that is, separately for the analysis of intercepted information about an alleged impending murder, separately for the analysis of possible terrorist attacks, and so on. Key words include certain surnames (as a rule, these are the surnames of very important people), telephone numbers, and names of important strategic objects. All keywords are stored in the database and have translations from several dozen languages of the world. Priority is given to English, Russian and languages of Muslim countries. Intelligence agencies using the Echelon system can theoretically track every English-language email anywhere in the world. Thus, a huge amount of information is processed, which makes it necessary to refine the algorithms of the intelligence service’s search engines. Work to improve algorithms is necessary to quickly filter out and search for the most important information, for example, to prevent terrorism and natural disasters.

The most important component of Echelon is the NSA computer network, code-named Platform, which interconnects 52 separate networks of supercomputers located in different parts of the world. The Platform command center is located at Fort Meade, Maryland, USA - the headquarters of the NSA. The computer networks of local Echelon stations search millions of intercepted messages for those that contain code words. Thanks to highly organized system support, data management is fully automated, and the coordination of stations into a single network is such that the central authorities of the system have almost instantaneous access to all relevant information from around the world.

As soon as the supercomputers of a separate network detect a keyword - name, title, telephone number, telex, fax, e-mail address, voice "print", which is individual for each person, like fingerprints, then this message is marked in a special way - with a code of four code numbers - and is sent to the database. Before sending, the computer automatically records the details of the message - time, location of interception, recipient, sender, type of communication.

The Echelon system is serviced by several tens of thousands of employees - analysts. Due to the huge flow of information, computer analysis is performed. After the software analyzes and filters out irrelevant data, all relevant information is distributed among specialists in specific areas. These employees make the final decision on the use of the obtained data.

The entire globe is divided by the system into sections, each of which is controlled by a specific center. It is known that all of Western Europe, North Africa and our country up to the Ural Range are controlled by the British Government Communications Center. The American continent and the eastern part of Russia are under the control of the US NSA. The intelligence services of Australia and New Zealand control the Pacific and South Asian regions.

Presumably, Echelon can intercept almost 99% of transmitted information around the world. Echelon's capacity allows it to check up to three billion electronic messages per day.

The advent of geostationary communications satellites in the 1960s provided new opportunities for intercepting international communications. Later, the technology of using satellites for directional transmission of voice and other information was almost completely replaced by fiber optic information transmission technologies. Today, 99% of the world's long-distance telephone calls and Internet traffic are carried over fiber optics.

One method of intercepting information could be to install equipment in close proximity to the routers of large fiber optic backbones, since most Internet traffic passes through them, and their number is relatively small. There is information about a similar interception point in the USA called “Room 614A”. Initially, most Internet traffic passed through networks in the US and UK, but the current situation looks different, for example, back in 2000, 95% of German domestic traffic was routed through the DE-CIX Internet exchange point in Frankfurt. The Frankfurt communications hub (the largest in Europe) also serves traffic from the West to Russia.

The Echelon system software is constantly being improved. Programs have been developed that allow one to quickly identify any voice in a stream of sounds using a voice sample stored in the computer’s memory. That is, if Echelon once registered the voice of a person, then it can then track his conversation from any telephone in the world.

3. The present of the global control system "Echelon"

Echelon electronic surveillance bases are scattered across both hemispheres. In the early 2000s, France first began to create its own electronic tracking system, independent of the United States and England. France has developed and operates the Helios optical-electronic reconnaissance space system with the participation of Spain and Italy (in the interests of the European Union, such information is supplied to the space reconnaissance center in Torrejon), as well as its Frenchelon electronic reconnaissance system.

France also insisted on the formation of a new joint planning and control body within the Military Headquarters, which caused protest from NATO, and especially the United States. They argued that such a center would become an unnecessary duplicating body of the alliance's already successfully functioning International Military Headquarters. But EU officials insisted that the two unions have different missions and therefore must have different governing and planning bodies. The new center began its work in the summer of 2007. However, in the same year, the pro-American French President N. Sarkozy began to sabotage the work of the new collective security body of Europe. He was also supported by other pro-American leaders of two key continental European countries - S. Berlusconi and A. Merkel.

Russia also seeks to participate in the new collective security body of continental Europe. And the first issue of such a structure should be the cessation of the development of American missile defense (BMD) in Europe. The American missile defense system fits perfectly into the Echelon system, and the infrastructure of this missile defense system can be used for electronic surveillance of the Internet and other telecommunications in Russia.

Currently, according to some sources, the Echelon system controls the negotiations of almost all Europeans. A huge number of spy satellites Intelsat and Vortex (a more advanced version of Intelsat) move in earth's orbit. Intelsat satellites carry approximately 90% of all telephone calls from around the world, international fax communications and Internet data exchange.

The functionality of the Echelon system can indeed be greatly exaggerated, since during the entire existence of the system there have been many terrorist attacks, and the most sensational of them - September 11, 2001 - was not prevented. This is far from the only example. Experts involved in the study of Echelon give different answers to this question, and many agree that the tasks of Echelon are not at all what is known to the public. Most likely, this is industrial and political espionage.

Since most of the information is closed, it is difficult to predict the future of the system. Echelon has a strong opponent - Europe. It was not possible to agree on the use of the Echelon system at the legislative level. Possible ways to solve this problem are to create its own tracking system in Europe or use cryptography: senior officials (government, FSB, and so on) negotiate via secure communication channels, all negotiations are encrypted with strong algorithms. In 2006, the European Parliament approved the creation of a European satellite tracking system. All EU countries will take part in its creation.

Conclusion

In order to ensure defense capability, a worthy analogue of “Echelon” was developed back in the USSR - SOUD (System for Unified Accounting of Enemy Data). This was done around the same time when Echelon began to actively develop. The agreement on its creation was signed in 1977 between the Warsaw Pact countries. The system was built on the eve of the Olympic Games, and its main goal was to prevent terrorist attacks against athletes and all kinds of famous guests. Unlike Echelon, SOUD was well classified. The principle of operation of the SOUD is the same as that of the Echelon. The stations intercept information and it is analyzed by supercomputers. To process information using “keywords”, computers manufactured in Bulgaria from IBM were used. These computers contained a large database with information about the main people of that time: military personnel, leading businessmen, foreign politicians and all those who could be of interest to the USSR. The intercepted information was analyzed in two computer centers. The first was in Moscow, and the second in the GDR. The system worked until 1989, but as a result of the unification of Germany and the GDR, the computer center became the property of German intelligence, and on its basis Germany began to develop its own similar system. Because of this loss, the SOUD lost half of its capabilities.

But the story of the SOUD did not end there. In the early 90s, everything that remained of the SOUD was subject to global updating, or rather transformation. From its remains a new Russian intelligence system emerged. Several new stations were built, and those that remained from the former SOUD were updated.

The Americans tried to gain control over us, and we over them. One of the SOUD interception stations is located in Cuba. This is an ideal place to intercept information from America. An agreement between Russia and Cuba, concluded in the 90s, guaranteed the possibility of using the station until 2000. There are no exact data, but most likely this agreement was extended.

As a result of this course work, the set goal was achieved - the basics of building the global control system "Echelon" were studied, the principles of operation of the "Echelon" system

In the process of working on this topic, the essence of the concept of a radio-electronic control system, the theoretical foundations of the functioning of radio-electronic systems for receiving and processing information were revealed, the structure and principle of operation of the Echelon global control system were described, the problems associated with its use were considered, the current state of the global control system " Echelon" and its analogues.

electronic intelligence control echelon

Bibliography

1.Action against total surveillance PRISM on the Internet [Electronic resource]. - M.: Formis, 2011. - Access mode: #"justify">. Berman, A.V. Global electronic interception: New Zealand remains part of the comprehensive Echelon intelligence system [Text]. / A.V. Berman // Radioelectronics. - 2008. - No. 3. - P. 10

.Vartanesyan, V.A. Electronic intelligence [Text]. / V. A. Vartanesyan. - M.: Voenizdat, 1975. - 255 p. from ill. - ISBN 5-17-012343-6

.Demin, V.P. Electronic reconnaissance and radio camouflage [Text]. / V. P. Demin. - M.: MAI, 1997. - 101 p. - ISBN -3-6784-3211-6

.Lagutin, V.S. Leakage and protection of information in telephone channels [Text] / V. S. Lagutin, A. V. Petrakov. - M.: Energoatomizdat, 1996. - 89 p. - ISBN 4-7331-0695-3

.Malevanny, V.S. Global electronic interception [Text] / V. S. Malevanny // Nezavisimaya Gazeta. - 2000. - August 11.

.Melnikov, Yu.P. Aerial radio reconnaissance [Text] / Yu. P. Melnikov. - M.: Radio engineering, 2005. - 88 p. - ISBN 7-6321-5522-4

.Menshakov, Yu.K. Protection of objects and information from technical intelligence means [Text] / Yu. K. Menshikov. - M.: RGGU, 2002. - 124 p. - ISBN 5-7281-0487-8

.Radznevsky, V.G., Sirota, A.A. Theoretical foundations of electronic intelligence [Text]. / V.G. Radzievsky. - M.: “Radio Engineering”, 2004. - 432 p. - ISBN 5-93108-067-8

Almost seventy years have passed since the last salvos of the Second World War died down, and military dramas continue to excite the hearts of people. “Echelon” is a film that viewers of all generations will watch online with interest. The plot of the film is based on the novel of the same name by writer Oleg Smirnov. The war is coming to an end. No one doubts the victory of the Soviet troops. And mentally the soldiers are already returning to their home, to peaceful life. The main character of the film, Lieutenant Glushkov, reached Berlin, maintaining his humanity, kindness and sense of humor. Spring is doing its job, the blood is boiling, romantic moods are making themselves felt. And no, falling in love with a Soviet nurse. But Cupid doesn’t ask and shoots wherever he pleases - Glushkov fell in love with a German woman, Erna. His friends are sympathetic to his feelings, but the command cannot approve of such an immoral relationship. For command, the girl is the daughter of the enemy side. And ahead is the celebration of Victory and the subsequent journey to the Far East. The war with Japan has yet to end...

7.20

A wonderful, subtle and multifaceted series about the war. It is distinguished by good historical accuracy and excellent acting. It’s very bad that now the viewer is more often given “dark” films about May 1945, for example, “” (2008) or “” (2011).
Spring, sunny May 1945, the war is over. The soldiers fall into euphoria. Mentally, they are already returning home, they are rejoicing with joy and the desire to love and live on. Lieutenant Glushkov starts an affair with a German girl, Erna... not yet knowing that they will be sent to fight Japan among the best units of the Soviet army. Soon the train will rush them to the other side of the world, again to war.

Echelon. Episode 1

Echelon. Episode 2

Echelon. Episode 3

Echelon. Episode 4

Echelon. Episode 5

Echelon. Episode 6

Echelon. Episode 7

Echelon. Episode 8

Year: 2005
A country: Russia
Director: Nijole Adomenaite, Dmitry Dolinin
Film Genres: military
Starring: Stepan Abramov Artem Anchukov Liza Arzamasova Philip Azarov Sergei Burunov Mikhail Dorofeev Alexander Dubovitsky Alexander Fisenko Radik Galiullin Maria Golitsyna

Fun facts about the series:

The military drama is based on the novel of the same name by Oleg Smirnov.
In total, by the beginning of the war with Japan, two front-line departments were transferred to the Far East - two front-line headquarters (the reserve front-line department of the former Karelian Front from the reserve of the Supreme High Command Headquarters and the front-line department of the 2nd Ukrainian Front), four army departments (army headquarters) - the 5th , 39th and 53rd combined arms armies and 6th tank army, 15 directorates (headquarters) of rifle, mechanized, artillery and tank corps, as well as 36 rifle, artillery and anti-aircraft artillery divisions, 53 brigades of the main branches of the military and two fortified areas.
The transfer of troops was carried out over a distance of 9-12 thousand kilometers. In total, by the beginning of August, a powerful group of Soviet troops numbering 1,669,500 people was concentrated in the Far East and on the territory of Mongolia. It took enormous effort to place this huge mass of troops on the ground.

The Echelon network, designed to collect information, was declassified in 1998. The direction of Echelon's work is to intercept absolutely all information that is transmitted via all types of electronic communications, including satellite communications, wireless radio communications and submarine cable lines. Public organizations, government bodies of all world powers without exception, bankers, entrepreneurs and ordinary citizens are subject to wiretapping.

Scattered across remote corners of our planet, Echelon stations scan the digital space every day and collect a huge amount of information. Everything is under control - e-mail, telephone conversations, mobile communications, faxes. Since the Internet is an information space, it can also be controlled by Echelon. Any information transmitted over terrestrial, underwater, underground, fiber-optic telecommunication networks is intercepted, decrypted and analyzed. Without exception, ordinary citizens who use email, fax and telephone every day are subject to the control of the ubiquitous spy network.

In the first half of the last century, there was an unspoken agreement on the exchange of intelligence between the intelligence services of Great Britain and the United States. These informal contacts led to the conclusion of a formal intelligence alliance in the summer of 1943, better known as the BRUSA Agreement. At the end of the 40s, in preparation for the Cold War with the USSR, the BRUSA Agreement was replaced by a more modern and more appropriate “UKUSA Agreement”. This treaty was ratified by British and US intelligence services in 1948, and soon it was joined by other members of the North Atlantic bloc - Spain, Italy, Denmark, Norway and other countries. The "UKUSA Agreement" is still in effect today and includes the following intelligence units - the US National Security Agency (NSA), the UK Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), the Canadian Communications Security Establishment (CSE), the Australian Defense Communications Directorate (DSD), New Zealand Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB).

In the early 70s of the last century, the US National Security Agency presented to the participants in the agreement a draft global espionage network called Project P-415, which was eventually implemented under the name “Echelon”. At the same time, information was leaked to the press that, under conditions of the strictest secrecy, the NSA was testing a new information scanning system called Storm ("Tetrest"), which uses stray electromagnetic radiation and interference that arise during the operation of computer equipment and radio electronics.

"Echelon" in the truest sense of the word, the network is complex and multi-level. Its components are scattered all over the world - HF signal interceptors “Pusher” and “Classical Bullseye”, satellite communications interceptors “Moonpenny”, “Steeplebush” and “Runway”, speaker identity and voice message recognizers “Voicecast”.
The basis of the network is ground bases that are equipped with highly sensitive antennas, satellite dishes and radio telescopes. Near the fiber optic cable gateways there are special scanning complexes designed to capture and process signals. Such bases are located not only in countries participating in the UKUSA agreement, but also in Italy, Japan, Denmark, China, Turkey, the Middle East, Puerto Rico and African countries. According to unconfirmed reports, bases are also located on Diego Garcia Atoll and Assenson Island in the North Atlantic.

The main link in obtaining intelligence data is the international network of communications satellites lntelsat, which are located in geostationary orbits. lntelsat satellites are used by many telephone companies around the world to make calls and as a relay for faxes and email. Five main tracking stations are responsible for intercepting information transmitted via satellites.

The British tracking station is located on the grounds of the Royal Air Force military base in the town of Morwenstow, north of the Cornish coast. This station is designed to pick up signals from satellites that hover over Europe, the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic. The National Security Agency station in Sugar Grove, West Virginia, controls the entire Atlantic. Another National Security Agency station, located at the Yakima Army Proving Ground in Washington State, is designed to monitor the traffic of Telsat satellites over the Pacific Ocean. Pacific lntelsat communications, which are not available to Yakima stations, are controlled by stations located in Western Australia in the town of Geraldton and in New Zealand on the island of Waihopai.

Echelon includes a number of stations designed to read regional satellites that do not belong to the Intelsat network, including Russian satellites. For example, these are the Menwiff Hill base in northern England, which spies on Russia and Europe, the Shoel Bay base in the Australian province of Darwin, spying on Indonesia, the Ottawa station, which controls Latin America, and the Misawa base in northern Japan.

The code name for the station at Menwiff Hill is "Field Station F-83". It occupies almost 20 square kilometers and has 25 satellite terminals, which are filled to the brim with cutting-edge electronics. The base was founded in 1950 on the North Yorkshire Moors near Harrogate. Field Station F-83 is the largest spy station in the world. It was originally intended to intercept commercial international communications on the International Leased Carrier data network, which is used by organizations and banks to make payments.

In the seventies of the last century, the base was repurposed. As part of the Steeplebush I and Steeplebush II agreement, the F-83 Field Station was used to collect information from satellites in Earth orbit. From space, the station looks like a golf course, with giant balls scattered across it - Kevlar caps. This complex Kevlar construction protects the ultra-sensitive antenna receivers from environmental influences.

Station F-83 employs 1,400 physicists, engineers, computer scientists, mathematicians, linguists and 370 full-time Department of Defense employees. The station's staff is comparable to the entire MI-5 - the state security service of the British Empire. The Yorkshire F-83 station is the largest listening ear in the world, and also serves as a communication portal between groups of Vortex spy satellites. Every minute, three Vortex reconnaissance satellites located above the equator provide real-time intelligence information to the F-83. The modern constellation of Magnum & Orion satellites is controlled from the F-83 command post

However, it is not correct to think that the Echelon reconnaissance network is intended solely for satellite interception. The F-83 Field Station is also the most powerful means of classical radio espionage. The station is engaged in intercepting VHF signals and messages transmitted by microwave communication lines.
A key object in radio espionage is a network of terrestrial microwave communication lines through which control commands of government and military services are transmitted. All continents are connected by such networks. Heavy cables lie at the bottom of the oceans. On the seabed, cable lines are protected from interception, but once they leave the water, they become vulnerable. Also, microwave data networks consist of circuits that are within the visibility range of the transmitting antennas. Such networks cover entire countries and continents. Retrieving information from them is extremely easy.

The main element of Echelon's control is the National Security Agency's computer network, codenamed "Platform", which consists of 52 supercomputers located in different parts of the world. The Platform's main command center is located at Fort Meade, Maryland - the headquarters of the NSA.
By scanning the information space, Echelon networks look for those that contain certain code words in billions of intercepted messages. Data management is completely left to automation, this is achieved thanks to a highly organized software system. The coordination of the unified network is such that the system command post has instant access to information coming from all corners of the world. As soon as the supercomputer detects a keyword on the network - and it can be a company name, name, phone number, e-mail address or a person’s voice, this message is marked with a code and sent to the database for further processing and archiving. The computer records the details of the message.

Until the mid-90s, Echelon computers could not automatically recognize and digitize speech, so telephone conversations were recorded by the duration of their conversation. However, by the beginning of the current millennium this problem had been solved, and a new division of Transcription and Message Analysis appeared in the town of Menwif Hill. The division has two divisions that deal with Russia and the countries of the former USSR, and a second division that deals with the rest of the world.

Having such information, one can ask a reasonable question: why can terrorists, drug traffickers and criminal communities operate with such control and transparency? There are assumptions that the main activity of Echelon is monitoring respectable citizens. But this seemingly incredible conclusion is prompted by the fact that during the investigation of the European Parliament Commission on Civil Liberties it was found that among the targets of Echelon were human rights organizations, Amnesty International, the Christian Mutual Aid organization and others charity organisations.

The fears are further confirmed by the keywords used by Echelon networks, which were first published by independent American journalist Joseph Farah. In addition to the traditional keywords for such organizations - “detonator”, “murder” and “napalm”, harmless keywords and phrases such as “security of Internet connections”, “privacy”, “encryption”, “communication”, “Janet” were used ", "Java", "corporate security", "Soros", "PGP", and many others not related to counter-terrorism activities. In addition, such “keywords” as “football”, “government”, “inflation”, “discontent” are used. What does the intelligence network of special services have to do with discussions of football matches in telephone conversations and the next increase in prices in stores? There is an opinion that the Echelon system is one of the tools of information warfare, a prototype of a future global surveillance network.

Under the hood: the Echelon spy system

SINCE THE 90S, ENTIRE EUROPE HAS BEEN IN A COLD SWEAT FROM THE “TERRIBLE” SYSTEM OF GLOBAL INTERCEPTION OF INFORMATION “ECHELON”. THERE ARE A LOT OF RUMORS AND GOSSIP ABOUT THE SYSTEM, AND OFTEN JUST FANTASTIC STORIES. BUT WHAT IS SHE REALLY?

The birth of the system occurred in the initial period of the Cold War, namely 1945. It was then that US President Harry Truman set the main task of intercepting all radio signals coming from the “dangerous” Soviet Union at that time.

It was beyond the power of one country to organize such a serious project: after all, a lot of money and all kinds of support were needed. The USA began to cooperate with the UK, then Canada, New Zealand and Australia joined the project. The union was due to the favorable geographical position of the participating countries.

Three years later, in 1948, the United States and Great Britain signed the UKUSA agreement, which established that the primary rights to use the new system belonged to the United States and Great Britain. Other countries that also took part in the project received the status of “minor users”. The text of this agreement is still classified information and it is unlikely that it will ever be made available to the public. Despite this, many “seasoned” journalists provide the public with excerpts from this agreement, but there is no official confirmation of their reliability.

The agreement was signed and interception work began. The creators began to have grandiose plans to cover the entire globe with “control” points. And a few years later, on the basis of this project, a system with the proud name “Echelon” was born.

Since its inception, Echelon has had a limited range of targets. The main ones are surveillance of the military and socialist countries. The targets of wiretapping were to be the military, various government agencies, the most influential non-governmental organizations, and so on. At that time, they didn’t think much about tracking mere mortals. But this is according to the official version, but in reality everything could have been different.
As time passed, the system's tasks expanded. By the beginning of the 90s, the system was being seriously updated: stations designed to intercept information in the countries participating in the project were being improved, the construction of new “points” began in many parts of the globe, and spy satellites were launched. Since 1995, the Echelon system has taken control of European negotiations. It was from this year that mass espionage began.
Echelon stations

Echelon stations are characterized by mobility. An agreement is concluded between the owners of the system and the states in which the station is planned to be built, on the basis of which the station is installed for a certain time. The emergence of such databases is due to increased interest in information from certain countries. A good example of such a station is Bamaga, which was opened in 1988. At that time, Papua and New Guinea was monitored from this base.

For the construction of new stations, the geographical location is determined so that the control areas completely overlap. If one of the stations stops working, the neighboring ones must take over its functions.
Secrecy of "Echelon"

Initially, Echelon was classified. This is understandable: only a certain circle of people should know about a project of this kind, but this did not last long. Some of the information was made available to the general public thanks to former intelligence agents in Canada and Australia. For example, Bill Blick told the whole world that the Australian intelligence service Defense Signals Directorate (DSD) is analyzing and intercepting radio signals for the Echelon project. In addition, Bill said that all data received is transferred to the USA and the UK. After a short period of time, the former American intelligence veteran could not resist and also gave a short interview to journalists, in which he spoke about the ground interception station located near Munich. As he said in his interview: “We could hear what they were talking about in Ukraine in a low voice.” US authorities refused to comment on these events.

A few years later, one of the CIA representatives, James Woolsey, gave an interview for an American magazine in which he confirmed data regarding the existence of Echelon. In addition, Woolsey noted that the United States uses Echelon for economic intelligence.
Operating principle

The structure of Echelon has changed several times since its creation. Expert Duncan Campbell, speaking in the European Parliament, said that the Echelon system most likely consists of three components: the first controls Intelsat satellites, the second controls Vortex satellites, and the third is engaged in ground interception.

The Echelon system intercepts data using ground interception stations and spy satellites, of which there are more than 150 today. The intercepted data enters an extensive computer network, in which the information is analyzed. According to intelligence reports from some countries, Cray computers are used for analysis.

"Echelon" recognizes information by keywords. Keywords are certain surnames (as a rule, these are the surnames of very important people), telephone numbers, names of important strategic objects, and so on. All keywords are stored in the database and have translations from several dozen languages of the world. Priority is given to English, Russian and languages of Muslim countries.

The Echelon system is maintained by several tens of thousands of employees who constantly have to analyze the mass of incoming data. In order not to get lost in a large flow of information, the first step is to analyze the computer. After the software analyzes and discards uninteresting data, everything “useful” is distributed to employees. Of course, even after computer screening, the information obtained contains a lot of garbage. Why? During conversations, many use profanity, discuss presidents, jokingly threatening to blow up the White House or rip the president's guts out. The program naturally classifies such conversations as “dangerous,” and only then employees decide how to react to it.

The entire globe is divided by the system into sections, each of which is controlled by a specific center. It is known that all of Western Europe, North Africa and our country up to the Ural Range are controlled by the British Government Communications Center. The American continent and the eastern part of Russia are under the control of the US NSA. The Pacific and South Asian regions are under the supervision of the intelligence services of Australia and New Zealand.

Presumably, Echelon can intercept almost 99% of transmitted information around the world. As for intercepted data from the Internet, it is rumored that Echelon is capable of checking 3 billion electronic messages per day.
"Echelon" today

Today, the Echelon system controls the negotiations of almost all Europeans (again, according to available data, how things really are is unknown). A huge number of Intelsat and Vortex spy satellites (a more advanced version of Intelsat) “flutter” in space. Intelsat satellites carry approximately 90% of all telephone calls from around the world, international fax communications and Internet data exchange. That is, any information can be available to intelligence services.

The United States is still trying to convince that the stories about Echelon are highly embellished, but, nevertheless, they are in no hurry to disclose documents concerning the system. On the other hand, the functionality of the system can indeed be greatly exaggerated. After all, if you remember, during the entire existence of the system there have been quite a few terrorist attacks, and the most sensational of them - September 11, 2001 - was not prevented. This is far from the only example. Experts involved in the study of Echelon give different answers to this question, and many agree that the tasks of Echelon are not at all what is known to the public. Most likely, this is industrial and political espionage.
The "Echelon" problem

The Echelon system is needed by the countries that participate in the project, and the rest, for obvious reasons, are not happy with its existence. The European Union is doing its best to counter US espionage. For example, after lengthy negotiations, Europe achieved the closure of a station near Munich, which was an important link. And this is far from the only case of a clash between Europe and the United States on this basis. In 1997, the European Commission's Human Rights Committee published a report outlining the rights violated when using the Echelon system. And in 1999, the first public action took place against the use of Echelon. On October 21, everyone sent emails with various kinds of “keywords” all day long. It is clear what this action was supposed to lead to - unnecessary work for employees servicing Echelon and overloading the system. Unfortunately, it was not possible to find out about the results of the action. There was no comment from the US. The European Parliament has tried more than once to resolve the matter through the courts, but there was no tangible effect.

In 1999, several American human rights organizations (Electronic Privacy Information Center and the American Civil Liberties Union) opened a joint project “What is Echelon”, the purpose of which is to study the monitoring activities of Echelon. That same year, EPIC filed a lawsuit against the US National Security Agency (NSA), which demanded the release of documents related to the operation of the system. However, as in other cases, the NSA ignored the request.
The future of Echelon

Since most of the information is closed, it is difficult to predict the future of the system. Echelon has a strong opponent - Europe. So far it is clear that it has not been possible to reach an agreement at the legislative level. This means you need to create your own tracking system or use cryptography. Higher officials (government, FSB, and so on) negotiate via secure communication channels. All negotiations are encrypted with a strong algorithm (it is known that they were developed by the KGB).

As for the counterbalance, the European Parliament in 2006 approved the creation of a European satellite tracking system. All EU countries will take part in its creation. Perhaps this decision will turn out to be correct.
Analogues of "Echelon"

We should not make the mistaken conclusion that we are under constant control of America and our country has nothing to respond to. This is wrong. Back in the USSR, a worthy analogue of “Echelon” was invented. Moreover, this was done around the same time when Echelon began to gain momentum. The name of this system is SOUD (System for Unified Accounting of Enemy Data).

According to official data, the agreement between the Warsaw Pact countries was signed in 1977. The system was built on the eve of the Olympic Games, and its main goal was to prevent terrorist attacks against athletes and all kinds of famous guests. Naturally, it would be stupid to create an expensive system for the sake of one Olympics, so the system was developed for the future.

Unlike Echelon, SOUD was well classified. Perhaps it would have remained a state secret if not for Colonel Oleg Gordievsky. He was recruited by the British, and the whole world learned about the existence of SOUD.
Operating principle of the SOUD

The principle of operation of the SOUD is the same as that of the Echelon. The stations intercept information and it is analyzed by supercomputers. To process information using “keywords”, computers manufactured in Bulgaria from IBM were used. These computers contained a large database with information about the main people of that time: military personnel, leading businessmen, foreign politicians and all those who could be of interest to the USSR.

The intercepted information was analyzed in two computer centers. The first was in Moscow, and the second in the GDR. The system worked until 1989, but as a result of the unification of Germany and the GDR, the computer center became the property of German intelligence, and on its basis Germany began to develop its own similar system. Because of this loss, the SOUD lost half of its capabilities.

www.agentura.ru - information on secret projects, government agencies, etc.

www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB23/index2.html - declassified documents of the Echelon system

nvo.ng.ru/spforces/2000-08-11/7_perehvat.html - article “Global electronic interception”

www.theregister.co.uk/2001/05/31/what_are_those_words/ - a tentative list of words to which the system reacts

www.echelonwatch.org - Echelonwatch project

www.ipim.ru/discussion/207.html?print - article about “Echelon”

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