This talk will discuss all about the Five Eyes, the espionage alliance between Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. It is one of the largest intelligence operations in the world, which monitors billions of communications around the globe in the name of security. Yet the Five Eyes propose to weaken security, privacy and eroded the possibility of secure systems.
This talk will go into details about the Five Eyes (FVEY), covering its origins in the aftermath of World War II, its expansion in the cold war, ECHELON, and further expansion in the the era of counter-terrorism, through today, where the Five Eyes have set their sights on enabling mass surveillance and stopping strong encryption. The discussion will include: - The history and background of the Five Eyes Origins Cold War (ECHELON) Terrorism - How the FVEY spying and intelligence sharing works - Malware - Backdoors - Routers - Internet exchanges - Domestic sharing: when one member spies on another’s citizens, and shares the information back to get around prohibitions on domestic surveillance. - More Eyes, More Problems. Proposals to expand the number of eyes, including many within the EU - Whistleblowers: What the documents shared by Edward Snowden revealed about the Five Eyes - The Five Eyes latest fight: Against strong encryption. FVEY member claim to aim to "thwart the encryption of terrorist messaging,” and the UK and Australia have taken steps through legislation to weaken security. - Why this matters - the legal and policy framework for communications surveillance and the application of human rights principles for surveillance.
Speakers: Kurt Opsahl