How is the NSA Putting Your Privacy at Risk?

Within the last couple of weeks, 29 year old Edward Snowden has become famous.  He’s not an actor, or singer, or author; his “fame” came from telling the world that everyone’s privacy is at risk because the NSA (National Security Agency) has been spying on Americans for years.  It’s the job of the NSA to keep the United States safe from terrorism.  Everyone knew without it being spoken that spying was involved, but most people were surprised at the extent of this spying.  It’s expected that terrorist groups or people with ties to known terrorists were probably targets, but no one thought that the private e-mails and telephone conversations of Joe Public would be compromised.

Anyone can be a target of the NSA.  E-mails are flagged by certain keywords that are considered “terroristic” in nature, like “bomb”, “gun”, “shooting”, etc.  Unfortunately, some of these words are used in conversation that has nothing to do with terrorism, however, an e-mail to “Aunt Sally” that talks about someone “shooting a video” near your home could lead to suspicion.  Not only that, but Aunt Sally will probably be checked out as part of your “conspiracy”.

Is there really a threat to our security or are we all simply paranoid?  According to the NSA, there have been more than 50 terrorist threats that have been discovered and blocked (one of which was targeting the New York Stock Exchange) since the spying program was started after September 11, 2001.  Knowing that these threats have been discovered and blocked, do you now feel better that the government is taking away some of your privacy?  Will you re-think some of the wording that you use in your e-mails so they won’t be targeted?  Telling a friend you went to the movies and you thought the latest hit was really a “bomb” could be re-phrased, but should we really have to think so hard about our choice of words?   Then consider your phone conversations; do you ever vent about your frustration with some politicians?  One red flag and all of your phone records will be reviewed.

When it comes to the subject of Edward Snowden, the American public is split on opinion.  Some hail him as a hero for uncovering this NSA program, yet others feel that he is a traitor for making classified information public.  Americans have had the unspoken knowledge that government agencies have used spy tactics for a very long time, all in the name of security.  But now that all of this is out in the open, terrorists will know to be more careful in their correspondences, meetings and phone conversations.

A new development to this story is that the U.S. Government has charged Edward Snowden with espionage.  According to the NY Daily News (Feds file espionage charges against NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden) and Washington Post, federal agents in Hong Kong have been ordered to arrest Snowden.   He is believed to have fled to Hong Kong after leaving his job as a systems analyst with the NSA in Hawaii in May of this year.  When he left, he allegedly took many classified and top secret files with him.   It will be interesting to see how all this plays out.  After all, he’s being charged with spying in order to uncover spying.

All Americans now know that every day, their privacy is in danger thanks to Edward Snowden.  Previously, the article The Government Can Read Your Old E-mail…Without a Warrant showed us how “legally abandoned e-mail” can be obtained from e-mail providers by government agencies without having to get a search warrant, but now, it goes much further than that.  We are also aware that our phone records and Internet activity are being tracked, which means even more privacy loss.  So many people are worried that Microsoft and Facebook have come out with statements to all of their users saying how all this affects their personal information.

Vice President John Frank of Microsoft stated that they have received 7,000 requests from U.S. intelligence agencies and other law enforcement officials that affected 32,000 users.  These requests came in the last six months of 2012.

Facebook announced that in that same time period, they have received 10,000 requests that affected the information of 19,000 users.

In defense of his actions, Snowden told the British newspaper, The Guardian, “I can’t in good conscience allow the U.S. government to destroy privacy, Internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they’re secretly building.”

The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) is now suing the government and asking that a Manhattan Federal Court Judge to order the Obama administration and the NSA to end their spying on the American citizens and to trash any and all records that have been gathered so far.  Unless this is done, no one’s privacy will be safe.

Please download the free Privacy Guide located at the top of this page.  You will find many suggestions on how to keep your most important asset, your privacy, safe whether you are on-line or off.