27 September 1998
Thanks to R

Date: Sun, 27 Sep 1998 20:38:33 EDT
To: jy@jya.com
Subject: izvestia

From 'Izvestia' ('News') newspaper, September 25.

SCANDALOUS "ECHELON"

By Elmar Gusseinov

The whole modern world satellite network is being listened by American
electronic investigation (systems belonged to intelligent service). There
are intercepted almost all private and State voice, fax and email
messages. Obtained information is used, first of all, in interests of
economic espionage.

This sensational claim is made by the specialists of the Committee for
the basic trends of scientific and technological development of Euro 
Parliament. If this information is confirmed in nearest future, it will 
be the cause of grand scandal between the governments of Old and New
world.

'Echelon' is the name of the system of electronic listening. Every month
it intercepts about 100 million of the messages transmitted via the
Intelsat satellites and other satellite networks. As the president of the
Committee Mr. Allen Pompidou assures, location stations, which are
listening the messages, are placed in American military bases in Germany,
New Zealand, Australia, GB and in the USA.

The largest location station is being in Menwitt Hill, GB. 1400 American
engineers, linguists, programmers are employed there. As European experts
think, creation of 'Echelon' is the initiative of NSA and this work is
being preformed since about 1980. Radio location systems 'F83' are used 
for such a listening.

The system 'Echelon' is based on filtering of information by the use of 
key words. The final analysis is performed in the head office of NSA in 
the USA. 80% of obtained information are used for industrial espionage.
Due to Mr. Pompidou statement, among the key words set, there are the 
names of 500 largest French commercial and military firms.

It seems, this information is being used by the UK services also.

Some members of the French parliaments have sent an official Request to 
own government in attempts to know the government's position on operation 
of  the 'Echelon' operation. French officials inform that the operation of
'Echelon' is a subject of concern to the French government.

Despite a series of human rights broken by operation of 'Echelon',
formally, there are no international laws forbidding non-authorized
penetration inside the satellite nets.