1.

0 INTRODUCTION

The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United

States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National

Intelligence. The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collection, and processing of

information and data for foreign intelligence and counterintelligence purposes,

specializing in a discipline known as signals intelligence (SIGINT). The NSA is also tasked

with the protection of U.S. communications networks and information systems. The NSA

relies on a variety of measures to accomplish its mission, the majority of which are done

secretly. Unlike the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and the Central Intelligence Agency

(CIA), both of which specialize primarily in foreign human espionage, the NSA does not

publicly conduct human-source intelligence gathering. The NSA has also been alleged to

have been behind such attack software as Stuxnet, which severely damaged Iran's nuclear

program. The NSA, alongside the CIA, maintain a physical presence in many countries

across the globe; the CIA/NSA joint Special Collection Service (a highly classified

intelligence team) inserts eavesdropping devices in high value targets (such as

Presidential palaces or embassies) until a former contractor for the CIA exposed US spy

program to the whole world. Edward Snowden, a former contractor for the CIA, left the US

in late May after leaking to the media details of extensive internet and phone surveillance

by American intelligence. Mr. Snowden, who has been granted temporary protection in

Russia, faces espionage charges over his actions. As the scandal widens, BBC News looks

at the leaks that brought US spying activities to light.

1.1 NSA SPYING ISSUE

Early June 2013, the Guardian newspaper reported that the US National Security Agency

(NSA) was collecting the telephone records of tens of millions of Americans. The paper

published the secret court order directing telecommunications company Verizon to hand

over all its telephone data to the NSA on an "ongoing daily basis". That report was

followed by revelations in both the Washington Post and Guardian that the NSA tapped

directly into the servers of nine internet firms, including Facebook, Google, Microsoft and

Yahoo, to track online communication in a surveillance program known as Prism. Shortly

afterwards, the Guardian revealed that ex-CIA systems analyst Edward Snowden was

behind the leaks about the US and UK surveillance programs. He has been charged in the

US with theft of government property, unauthorized communication of national defense

information and willful communication of classified communications intelligence. In

January 2014, the Guardian newspaper and Channel 4 News reported that the US had

collected and stored almost 200 million text messages per day across the globe. A

National Security Agency (NSA) program is said to have extracted and stored data from

the SMS messages to gather location information, contacts and financial data. The

program, Dishfire, analyses SMS messages to extract information including contacts from

missed call alerts, location from roaming and travel alerts, financial information from

bank alerts and payments and names from electronic business cards, according to the

report. Not only in America but also Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Chile and even China had all

demanded answers from the US.

1.2 ACTIONS TO OVERCOME THIS ISSUE

TTIP is a trade and investment negotiation that is being conducted between the European

Commission and the United States. The purpose of the agreement is to create better

trade relations between the two region, enabling companies on both sides of the Atlantic

to thrive. The revelations about NSA activities have had a profound impact on the

negotiations. In March 2014 the European Parliament passed a resolution noting the

impact of mass surveillance. It stated, The revelations based on documents leaked by

former NSA contractor Edward Snowden put political leaders under the obligation to

address the challenges of overseeing and controlling intelligence agencies in surveillance

activities and assessing the impact of their activities on fundamental rights and the rule

of law in a democratic society.

Over the past eighteen months, countries around the world have increasingly adopted

data localization laws, restricting the storage, analysis, and transfer of digital information

to national borders. To some extent, the use of barriers to trade as a means of incubating

tech-based industries predated the Snowden incident. In the aftermath of the leaks, the

dialogue has gained momentum. The asserted purpose is to protect government data

and consumer privacy. China, Greece, Malaysia, Russia, South Korea, Venezuela, Vietnam,

Iran, and others have already implemented local data server requirements. Turkey has

introduced new privacy regulations preventing the transfer of personal data (particularly

locational data) overseas. Germany and France are considering a Schengen routing

system, retaining as much online data in the European Union as possible.

1.3 EFFECTS TO MALAYSIA AND THE WHOLE WORLD

The NSA programs, and public awareness of them, have had an immediate and

detrimental impact on the U.S. economy. They have cost U.S. companies billions of

dollars in lost sales, even as companies have seen their market shares decline. American

multinational corporations have had to develop new products and programs to offset the

revelations and to build consumer confidence. At the same time, foreign entities have

seen revenues increase. Beyond the immediate impact, the revelation of the programs,

and the extent to which the NSA has penetrated foreign data flows, has undermined U.S.

trade agreement negotiations. There is no doubt the integrity of our communications and

the privacy of our online activities have been the biggest casualty of the NSA's unfettered

surveillance of our digital lives.

Other than that, Tech companies stood to lose billions of dollars over the leaks, which

created global distrust in their services. In response, companies like Google and Facebook

have taken a series of steps to protect and encrypt user data, even at the risk of angering

government authorities. Because of the scandal, a diplomatic dispute erupted in the

region following a story released by Fairfax media, which reported a top-secret map

detailing 90 US surveillance facilities at diplomatic missions worldwide including in

Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand.

1.4 CONCLUSION

In conclusion, Snowden still remains a controversial figure; some people see him as a hero

while others view him as the enemy. That being said, the clear and convincing evidence

of public oppression and the ways in which the NSA and U.S. government overstepped

the bounds of their executive authority. The impacts of the scandal is not always bad news

but also good news regarding security upgrade throughout the entire world especially in

Asian countries. Being aware of what is going on around us is important especially in an

online communication. People from different countries might even steal or spying on us

and knowing it beforehand will give us the upper hand in countering it like having a very

secure defensive system. Thus, this issue is not only important to talk about, but also to

give out information about news around the globe especially a headline in a global scale.
REFERENCES

Laura K. Donohue. (2015). High Technology, Consumer Privacy, and U.S. National Security,

Georgetown University Law Center

Greenwald, Glenn et al. (2013)Edward Snowden: The Whistleblower Behind the NSA Surveillance

Revelations. The Guardian, Guardian News and Media

RETRIEVED ON 3 OCT 2017

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-08/australian-nsa-involvement-explained/5079786

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/04/27/new-study-snowdens-

disclosures-about-nsa-spying-had-a-scary-effect-on-free-speech/?utm_term=.e42b9ac1264d

https://www.wired.com/2014/01/how-the-us-almost-killed-the-internet/

https://www.valuewalk.com/2013/11/snowden-singapore-assisted-u-s-in-spying-on-malaysia/