OUGD503 - Responsive [SB1] - Monotype - ECHELON

Total Information Awareness

"Imagine a global spying network that can eavesdrop on every single phone call, fax or e-mail, anywhere on the planet. It sounds like science fiction, but it's true."

ECHELON is a codename given to a network of surveillance operations between the Five Eyes (USA, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia and Canada) that has been in operation formally since 1971. This network was originally founded to spy on the Soviet Union in the past, but has since been expanded to a global network which has become "a global system for the interception of private and commercial communications." Schmid, Gerhard (11 July 2001).

ECHELON is reported to have the ability to eavesdrop on faxes, calls, emails, texts and even bank accounts. Officially however, ECHELON doesn't exist. Sadly, this is only the tip of the iceberg for global spying operations, and these operations threaten to remove all online privacy altogether.

I think researching into projects such as ECHELON is extremely important for this brief as creating work for a cause that I don't fully understand the gravity of would contradict my passion for the cause itself. However, for this brief I feel I will try not to go as in-depth as possible because the aim of the brief is to inspire change, which I can achieve without overloading my audience with unnecessary information.