[sacw] Electronic Civil Disobedience

[Harsh Kapoor]

FYI
(Harsh Kapoor)
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Internet users try to clog spy network
Associated Press
October 22, 1999
WASHINGTON -- Defying an ultra-secret spy network believed to be
scanning overseas e-mails for subversive messages, Internet protesters
tried to overwhelm U.S. government eavesdroppers by flooding the system
with fabricated messages about terrorist plots and bombs.

But even supporters of Thursday's electronic civil disobedience campaign
acknowledged that the effort likely caused "a lot of laughter," not
consternation, at America's super-secret National Security Agency.

Organizers urged Internet users on dozens of Web sites and in discussion
groups to send millions of e-mails with subversive-sounding language.
"Give the (NSA) their keywords!" one person wrote.

The intent was clear: Flood the powerful NSA computers with enough
suspicious traffic to crash them and disrupt the mysterious high-tech
listening system, code-named "Echelon."

A 1997 report commissioned by the European Parliament described "routine
and indiscriminate" monitoring of faxes, e-mails and telephone messages
in Europe by the global spy network, which it said was coordinated by
the NSA with the help of other nations' security organizations. Another
study for the European Union this year brought out new details.

Rep. Bob Barr, R-Ga., has said he supports congressional hearings to
determine the scope of the spy network's capabilities and to prevent
abuses. The network is said to include a listening station in Sugar
Grove, W.Va., about 250 miles from Washington.

The NSA is prohibited from spying within the United States. But it's
unclear how those prohibitions are respected with e-mail, which can
travel outside U.S. borders on a zigzag path across the Internet even
when sent by one American to another.

The agency declined to comment Thursday on its network or the potential
impact of the day's e-mail campaign.

"The agency doesn't discuss alleged intelligence operations," NSA
spokeswoman Judith Emmel said. "It doesn't confirm or deny any
Echelon-type technology."

But even supporters of the jamming campaign were pessimistic that their
efforts would have much impact. They suggested the spy network was smart
enough to ignore e-mails typically sent with lists of random words,
especially since many of the messages were in plain English and not in
foreign languages or code.

"I think it will cause a lot of laughter up at NSA, to tell the truth,"
said Wayne Madsen of the Washington-based Electronic Privacy Information
Center, who tracks news about Echelon. "If they seriously think they're
going to bring the computers at the NSA to a grinding halt, they're
going to be seriously disappointed."

"It will not, in fact, have any effect on their operations," agreed
Duncan Campbell of Edinburgh, Scotland, who wrote the most recent report
about Echelon for the EU. "They're used to electronic warfare and
screening out noise put up by enemies. This is noise from dissenting
citizens."

Supporters said even if their e-mail campaign didn't cause the NSA's
computers to crash, it was important at raising awareness of the spy
network's rumored abilities.

On the Internet, where conspiracy theorists flourish, it was impossible
to know for sure precisely who thought up "Jam Echelon Day," as it was
called in one message from an Australia-based Web site. It was also
impossible to count how many e-mails protesters might actually have
sent, much less determine their effectiveness.

"I don't think we'll ever know," said Simon Davies, who heads
London-based Privacy International, a human rights organization. "I
would guess maybe it will be 10 years before we understand the
ramifications of any civil disobedience campaign."