NSAs invasion of privacy free essay sample

Whether it is calling someone on your phone or online shopping on the computer, people are more connected than ever to the internet. However, a person might be oblivious to the fact that they are being watched using these technologies. The NSA (National Security Agency) is an intelligence organization for the U. S. to protect information systems and foreign intelligence information. Recently the NSA has been accused of invading personal privacy through web encryption, tracking, and using personal information for their own uses and without permission. The surveillance of the NSA produces unlawful invasion of privacy causing an unsecure nation. The NSA surveillance executed an unlawful invasion of privacy through tracking. They were caught tracking people’s cellphones, but the information gathered was supposedly never used. They have no right to track people’s cellphones because it is considered an invasion of privacy. According to Wyden the NSA is quite secretive about the collection of tracked cell data. â€Å"†¦the intelligence leadership has decided to leave most of the real story secret-even when the truth would not compromise national security† (qtd. in â€Å"NSA Chief says†). The NSA is keeping information from people which create a less secure nation. This clarifies that the NSA is hiding more than just the information on the tracked cellphones. McDonald described the NSA’s surveillance as, â€Å"It’s like peekaboo, right? You have an entire world watching you and you just don’t know it† (qtd. in Chuang). She describes what it is like to be under NSA surveillance and not know anything about it. McDonald clarifies that by having the NSA track a person they are invading their privacy. This demonstrates that the NSA can track a person at any given time to see what they’re doing and the person could be clueless about it. The author states that, â€Å"The Times reported that the NSA was exploiting huge collections of personal data to create sophisticated graphs of some Americans’ social connections. The newspaper said the private data included Facebook posts and banking, flight, GPS location and voting records. † (â€Å"NSA Chief says†). This implies that the NSA unlawfully tracked people using private data for exploiting. The NSA exploited many sources in order to attain information for their own use. They gave out information unlawfully that people could have been able to track the person. Nevertheless, tracking is acceptable if they track someone who is threatening the nation, however all information gathered must be reported. In summation, the NSA should be accused of unlawfully tracking because it is not only an invasion of privacy, but it also makes the nation unsecure by keeping information, tracking and exploiting. The NSA executed an unlawful invasion of privacy by utilizing personal information. In an article named â€Å"What the NSA might have wanted to learn from tracking your phone,† it states that the NSA did a series of experiments in 2010 and 2011, which gathered location and social network data. This proves that while they were â€Å"experimenting† they still gathered data unlawfully. The experimenting of the NSA determines that citizens do not know what their information is being used for and are making people feel less secure. It is wrong for the NSA to distribute personal information. â€Å"On a mission to detect untrustworthy employees, nearly 30 government agencies collected and shared personal information of thousands of Americans, many of whom had no ties to the federal government† (qtd. in Kastrenakes). Americans were tracked even when they had done no harm to the federal government. This justifies that they are invading the privacy of those who have done no harm by distributing their personal information without them knowing. Their personal information was shared to the unknown who could have invaded the person’s security. NSA has been able to gather private information such as a person’s address, phone number, family members, and even their social security number. Tracking online can have a positive outcome. Many companies have gathered personal information online to target ads with the user’s preferences, but tracking can allow companies to find out your credit card number, where you live and your interests. Hence, the NSA should be incriminated for utilizing personal information that can endanger a person’s security by using information from social networks, experimenting and distributing information. The NSA performed an unlawful invasion of privacy by using web encryption. Technologist, Christopher Soghoian, states that the NSA used supercomputers to gain access to encryption that provides online privacy and security. â€Å"The encryption technologies that the NSA has exploited to enable its secret dragnet surveillance are the same technologies that protect our most sensitive information, including medical records, financial transactions and commercial secrets† (qtd. in Winter). Christopher’s explanation of the encryption technologies describes how anyone could be affected by this surveillance. This is considered unlawful because the NSA hacked technologies that protect our private information. This affects the security of the nation knowing that it is possible for someone to gain access to information that people have once though were private to them. This is not the first time that the NSA has tried to gain access to private information. In fact, â€Å"For the past decade, NSA has led an aggressive multipronged effort to break widely used internet encryption technologies† (Winter). The NSA has put an enormous amount of effort into hacking web encryption. The NSA has desired to have access to an individual’s personal information. This clarifies that the NSA had always had the intention to hack web encryption and have been planning this for a while. This questions if they are purposely hacking in order to have control of the internet. Encryption not only affects Americans, but it also affects the nation as a whole. â€Å"Experts and critics say that while ‘back doors’ may help intelligence gathering, they weaken the Web’s overall security and trust, and could be used against Americans† (Winter). The author refutes the idea that web encryption can help intelligence gathering. By creating â€Å"back doors† the NSA is making the nation unsecure by creating an easier access for foreign countries to gain information. Forming â€Å"back doors† loosens the nation’s web security because it allows foreign countries to easily hack the nation’s internet and acquire information that could be used against the U. S. The plus side to using web encryption is that it helps intelligence gathering and helps detect threats toward the nation and foreign espionage. Even though it may create â€Å"back doors† to the internet which spies could have access to, they can easily fix that since they are in charge of protecting U. S. information and tracking the foreign intelligence information. In summation, the NSA should be accused of web encryption because not only does it invade an American’s privacy, but it also makes the internet unsecure by exposing Americans to criminal hacking, unlawful surveillance, and communications against the United States. The examination of the NSA produced an unlawful invasion of personal privacy creating an unsecure nation. This issue is significant because the nation should be aware of how corrupted the government is that they unlawfully track citizen’s personal information which creates a less secure nation and a less reliable government. The NSA should be accused of invading personal privacy through web encryption, tracking, and using personal information for their own uses and without permission. The unlawful surveillance should be stopped in order to protect the citizen’s security. â€Å"We are outraged at the lengths to which the government seems to have gone to intercept data from our private fiber networks, and it underscores the need for urgent reform.