NationStates Jolt Archive

Then what happened to the First and Second ones? :confused:

Prototypes?

Then what happened to the First and Second ones? :confused:
They are replaced with the 3rd?

Echelon is the name of the NSA electronic communications interception program. It is believed by many that echelon has the capacity to monitor every phone call, internet message and fax in the world, although in actual fact the capacity is slightly more limited, not being able to monitor local phone calls on landlines that only go through a single local exchange. Echelon's primary intercept capability comes from intercepting communications as they are set to and from satellites and undersea cables. Echelon has been arround since at lest the 1960's, and there used to be (still is) a big secret NSA base in Alice Springs. The problem with Echelon has always been not intercepting communications, but figuring out which ones are worth reading. I have no idea what 3rd Echelon refers to, I imagine it is most likely to be a bot or bots designed to sift through data collected through Echelon, something the NSA has always been interested in. Since Echelon is a program and a specific piece of hardware, it is not obseleted,

and there used to be (still is) a big secret NSA base in Alice Springs.

If we know where the base is, is it still really a secret?

If we know where the base is, is it still really a secret?
Well it's always been kinda funny. Everyone's always known its there. Everyone's always kinda known what they do there. Think of it as Area 51 in Australia.

There was also a way to fuck with Echelon. I forgot which site it was. There it was explained how you can screw Echelon so badly that it won't do anymore what it's supposed to do. Kinda like a DOS attack I think.

Well it's always been kinda funny. Everyone's always known its there. Everyone's always kinda known what they do there. Think of it as Area 51 in Australia.

But do they show up in jeeps with automatic rifles and tell you to leave Alice Springs??

There was a concern at one point for it being used to gain trade secrets for American corporations.

But do they show up in jeeps with automatic rifles and tell you to leave Alice Springs??I assume so, but I've never been there. And if I have been there I would say, I didn't know because I've never been there. But they used to, it is my understanding but not my knowledge that security was lowered in the 1990's, although how much it was lowered I could not guess at. In the 1970's I understand that even mentioning it was likely to have people knocking on your door to ask some questions.

There was a concern at one point for it being used to gain trade secrets for American corporations.
Just concern?