Yuri Vasilyevich told the story without stopping, by heart. It was clear that it was not the first time. Rutra did not dare to interrupt, but there were many questions, and he raised his hand as if signaling that he wanted to ask a question. The chief was silent.
I don't understand. You said it was opposed by the Echelon system," Ruthra said without a questioning tone, simply indicating his area of interest.
The lecturer thought for a moment, then answered:
In the system of functioning of special services there is the first level, it is common knowledge, and the second level is us. The first level as it worked, so it still works, in the same spirit, for the development and control of the data received. For competition, so to speak, it is very important. The second level is unknown to the first. Unknown in the sense that they must not know that there is a secret cooperation agreement. Therefore, the second tier consists of employees of the first tier, but hides their association into a separate group. By habit they are called "Echelon 1" and "Echelon 2". Do you know how the NSA works to conceal its activities inside the country?
You mean the NSA is not officially authorized to engage in eavesdropping on US communications systems and does so through cooperation with foreign allies conducting radio intercepts on US soil?
Yes, that's right.
I'm directly familiar with it.
Here, draw conclusions. That's what we're supposed to agree on. And remember, Echelon 2 never fails. In case of detection, you're just a traitor, a spy. Echelon 1 will deal with you, as they should. It's a solid defense, with consequences. If you betray your own, disclose data about its existence, you will be identified, captured, arrested by Echelon 1 under the command of Echelon 2. Understood?
I'm starting to realize
All righty then. Take a look at the paperwork. If there's anything you don't understand, just ask. First of all, study this data, which you will work with directly.
He handed over a folder with a red line crossed out.
That's all for starters. I'll be in my office, the rest of the local details will be provided by the staff directly reporting to you.
Saying the last, the chief raised his index finger upward while making a meaningful expression and left for his room.
Rutra looked around his new workplace, the operations and workroom, met his staff, returned to his office, and went over the contents of the folder. The folder contained one main document and many comments on it. Rutra began to study it. The document contained the following information: "List of computer surveillance and electronic intelligence programs by country. The list contains a list of computer surveillance and electronic intelligence programs implemented or currently being implemented by governments around the world, as well as international projects in this area.
Ruthra knew everything well, but still looked over the important ones:
International
"Echelon" is a global electronic intelligence system operating under the radio and intelligence security agreement of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, also known as UKUSA.
SOUD is a classified information interception system created by the USSR and Warsaw Pact countries to conduct global electronic reconnaissance. It is still in operation today.
National
UK
IMP is an initiative to enhance the UK government's ability to legally intercept communications and store the resulting data in a single database.
Tempora is a covert computer surveillance program launched in the fall of 2011, used by the UK Government Communications Centre in conjunction with the US National Security Agency.
The Impact Nominal Index is a computer system designed for police and other security agencies in the UK that allows them to make quick inquiries about persons of interest.
Russian Federation
SORM a system of technical means to ensure the functions of operational-search activities. A set of technical means and measures designed to carry out operational-search activities in telephone, mobile and wireless communication and radio networks.
A distinction should be made:
SORM-1 is a system of wiretapping organized in 1996;
SORM-2 is a system for logging Internet accesses developed by a working group of representatives of the Russian State Communications Committee, the Russian Federal Security Service, the Central Research Institute of Communications and Glavvyaznadzor;
SORM-3 is a system for collecting information from all types of communications and its long-term storage.
U.S.
The U.S. Intelligence Community is a system of 16 intelligence agencies whose activities include computerized surveillance and electronic intelligence.
STRATCOM A special cybersecurity task force in U.S. Strategic Command; integrates nuclear, space, and missile defense.
MAINWAY is an NSA database containing metadata on hundreds of billions of phone calls made through the four largest phone companies in the United States: AT&T, SBC, BellSouth, and Verizon.
Stellar Wind is an electronic communications tracking program, including monitoring email messages, phone calls, financial transactions and internet activity.
Tailored Access Operations (TAO) is a division of the NSA created in 1997 that engages in active and passive surveillance of computers, including hacking and backdoor installation. It is capable of collecting approximately 2 petabytes of network transmitted data per hour.
Boundless Informant is an NSA system for analyzing global electronic communications. It has a huge database, including 14 billion reports on Iran, 6.3 billion on India, and 2.8 billion on the United States.
PRISM is an in-depth Internet traffic surveillance program formally classified as top secret; adopted by the NSA in 2007 as a replacement for the Terrorist Surveillance Program.
DCSNet is an FBI surveillance system that can wiretap any telecommunications device located in the United States.
Main Core is a database that stores personal and financial information on millions of U.S. citizens who may pose a threat to national security. The data is sourced from the NSA, FBI, CIA, and other government sources.
Magic Lantern is a keylogger program sent by the FBI as an email attachment. When activated, it acts as a Trojan horse and allows the FBI to track the activities of an Internet user.
Narus Insight is a cluster-class supercomputer espionage system designed to sniff and analyze network traffic data on the Internet. It uses the Carnivore system as auxiliary data delivery nodes. The operator of the system in the United States is the FBI; users are all U.S. federal agencies.
Carnivore is an automated espionage system for listening to information from websites, analyzing databases on websites, and opening and analyzing emails; an analogue of the Russian SORM-2. An element of the Narus Insight total surveillance supercomputer cluster.
Terrorist Finance Tracking Program a joint program of the CIA and the U.S. Treasury Department to gain access to the SWIFT transaction database. According to the U.S. government, efforts to counter terrorist activities were compromised after information about the existence of the program was leaked to the media.
X-Keyscore, a secret computer tracking program, is run jointly by the U.S. National Security Agency, the Australian Radio Defense Agency, and the New Zealand Government Communications Security Service. The FBI has created and is actively populating the world's largest database of biometric information on U.S. citizens, including retina, fingerprints, facial structure, scars, voice, language, facial expressions and gestures.
Israel
"Medusa-1" is a program that uses microwave radiation from cell phones to target the subcortical layer of the human brain in order to induce reactions in the brains of those being irradiated that the irradiators want.
"Medusa-2" is a program using DISP Biometric Sensing technology, which uses point detectors of infrared radiation to determine a person's location and posture. With DISP Spectroscopy, the military and gendarmes are able to analyze chemicals in any body tissue, including blood, from a distance.
"Medusa 3" is a spy analysis program.
The users of these programs are:
Unit 8200 Responsible for collecting and deciphering electronic intelligence;
Unit 9900 Responsible for collecting and deciphering photographic data from aerial and space-based media;
504th Division Responsible for gathering information through agent networks and informants;
Department of Information Security;
military censorship;
Operational Management Division ;
Special Operations Connection ;
Sayeret Matkal special unit ; Psychological Operations Center;
Military Intelligence Directorate .
A special place is occupied by Unit 8200, an electronic intelligence unit, part of the Military Intelligence Directorate "AMAN", which collects and decodes electronic information. It is one of the largest such units in the world. In military documents it is listed as Central Collection Unit of the Intelligence Corps. In terms of functions performed, it is comparable to the U.S. National Security Agency.
The Israeli intelligence agency Mossad uses (semi-legally, through fake civilian firms) spying devices that record, through legal and illegal video cameras installed in public places, what is happening in major cities around the world. This is done by Verint, a classified branch of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad.
This and other Israeli firms have been contracted to tap the phones of citizens of the United States, Canada, European Union countries and Russia, install and maintain, under the guise of office computer programs, spyware components installed in ministries and departments, government agencies, schools, universities, hospitals, etc. All information received is analyzed by the Meduza-3 program.
Rutra looked through the data on other states without emphasizing it. He knew everything about his line of work and more.
It was enough for a start. In the evening, Ruthre was brought his new "official" documents, his security clearance cards and passes, from which he learned that he was now a researcher at a secret institute. Then he was led outside by a security officer through a chain of corridors, elevators, and labyrinths, through the "official" entrance, which was the entrance hall of the closed research institute.
Chapter 3. I can see you, but you can't see me
The next day, Rutra was personally greeted by Vasilyevich. He had a joyful face. Literally from the doorstep he began to teach Rutra.
What's the first rule?
Up to 80% of information can be obtained from open sources, the main thing is to be able to understand it correctly," Rutra answered boldly.
The second one?
If you want to hide something, put it in the most visible place.
Third? The examiner kept up.
Don't get caught," Ruthra summarized, studying Vasilievich's reaction with a slanted gaze.
You make me suspicious, though I think we understand each other. We'll work together," the colonel summarized and continued: For example, such a situation: let's say we send our satellite to the satellite providing communication of the international information service. What do we want to know? Missile launch codes? Troop movements? The background radiation of the strategic command center? No! We want to know how they keep this whole system running. That's what we did during the Cold War when we had the doctrine of total annihilation. And when we realized we couldn't do that without damaging ourselves, we came up with the doctrine of weakening and subjugation. You know what I mean?
I'm starting to realize
Something like that. So now the main efforts of intelligence are aimed at finding out who, when, where and how much currency has been made. If we are a rich state, it means that we live well and can influence the world around us. We are a force to be reckoned with, we can develop new weapons. And if we are poor, no one needs our goods, we can temporarily resist with weapons, use internal propaganda, but we will still slip into poverty, dictatorship and, as a consequence, into the social abyss. However, as they say, the truth is somewhere near. The fact is that all important scientific information from all advanced institutes of the world, patent offices, research centers, certification and logging centers flows to the center. Therefore, "big brother" always knows in advance what, who can do, can influence it. And yet it is no less important to know the banal statistics. For example, if somewhere in a third-world country there is exploration for minerals, which, due to its technological backwardness, this country can neither extract nor use, then we are interested in this, as it is not only us. The world has long been divided, everything is interconnected. Or some state will dramatically increase its consumption of rare earth metals. We calculate what it is for and what it does, in what product it is possible to use it. Therefore, all the goals have already been defined, niches are occupied. If there is a change in some market, what does it mean? That someone needs something more. Some state suddenly orders some kind of equipment for mines, for example. For what purpose? To mine something. What can it extract? All this is analyzed, the relationship is studied. What can be produced from this raw material? How much machinery is purchased? When? Service life? Capacity? This makes up the chain.
Ruthra glanced obliquely at Vasilievich. They were almost at the entrance to the central hall of Zero. Vasilievich continued nonchalantly:
That's roughly what you were doing, except you were analyzing when, for example, the lights went on in the encryptor's office and when they went off, how to make a multi-stage chain to figure out the encryptor, to get into his social circle, to somehow launch an artificial mouse close to his post, which, after sneaking closer, would scan the contents of his machine by communicating with his smartphone through his computer mouse. That's assuming you still have to get in there, or it can be done from a satellite. From that, you concluded what and how he encrypts, when and what telegram he's working on, what's in it, who it's from, who it's addressed to. And another custodian analyzed another office of the same kind, where it came from, from which dignitary. Your next colleague analyzed who came to this person, his circle of communication, where the command came from, how it was processed, where it went, what happened afterwards. From all of this, a picture was formed of what command was communicated, what was the meaning of it, what consequences it led to and why. And if it was possible to intercept the encryption, we knew that its content was this consequence. It's roughly the same here, but it has to do with the end result of it all, with power and money. With a lot of power and a lot of money. The president of an oil-bearing country sneezed the price of fuel went up somewhere. The president of a multinational company took a test we should know the result Soon civilian technology will surpass military technology. We should follow the development of laboratories by calculating the contracts for the receipt of goods and raw materials. Why? Because no one has ever abolished lying. So we can't be deceived. Control, control and control. Stocks, bonds You'll do that too. Analyze the same thing, but from the other side. It's an important indicator of the consequences of a planned or planned event. I'm interested in everything: statistical summaries, statistical data. A lot of data will flow to you.