Is NSA Spying on Us? NSA Surveillance Program Uncovered

The internet is now a go-to for almost everybody across the globe. Several businesses are now being undertaken online; in fact, the numbers are rising with no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Unfortunately, a certain report reveals that there’s a reason to worry about your privacy online. The report by the intercept clearly highlights in detail everything that will make you doubt your privacy.
So, where’s the worry?
Now, the National Security Agency (NSA) has been collaborating with arguably the world’s largest telecommunications network; AT&T across over eight cities in the United States collecting internet traffic.
AT&T has at least a facility in each of the eight cities; Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York City, Washington D.C., and Seattle. Each facility contains networking equipment transporting large internet traffic across the US and the globe.
The buildings have been at the center stage of the NSA’s spying initiative, the PRISM Program, that over the years has been monitoring billions of phone calls, emails, as well as online chats that pass across the territory of the United States.
The Interesting Fact…
It’s not that AT&T is an ordinary telecommunication company, but one of the most powerful companies around.
Therefore, you can only imagine the amount of customer data that are processed continuously. It makes sense why NSA has been partners with AT&T. In fact, it’s a partnership that dates way back to a point that NSA terms AT&T as the most trusted partner as well as a party with “extreme willingness to help.”
They indeed must be helping availing customer data!
How Broadly Does the NSA Surveillance Program Cover?
When NSA refers to AT&T as a “special” and trusted partner, it’s not for nothing. The company is just more than a telecommunication company. It posters a massive scope, whereby it has maintained unique relationships with several other internet and phone providers.
Therefore, NSA does not only get the user information from AT&T alone but from the other communication companies. How can that not be a juicy partnership?
Some of the companies trapped in that mix include;
- Level 3
- Cogent Communications
- Sprint
The companies are not only limited to those in the USA as they include others from outside, such as;
- Italy’s Telecom Italia
- Sweden’s Telia
- Germany’s Deutsche Telekom
- India’s Tata Communications
Therefore, it means that all the information is available for NSA surveillance. Moreover, the US is strategically located geographically between the Middle East, Europe, and Asia; meaning all traffic is even more susceptible.
For instance, a plethora of fiber optic cables passing below the oceans connect directly to the US, meaning the NSA gets the information on a silver plate monitoring the ISP data across the globe.
If you thought that’s not the best scenario you might want to hear about; how about this – the NSA terms it as a geographic fortune; just like a “home-field advantage.”
The FAIRVIEW Program
The NSA surveillance program; FAIRVIEW had been in place for several decades and it involves getting into the international telecommunication routers, cables, and switches.
Ideally, the program gets the information from across the globe via mass surveillance ways and analyzes it via the keyword selection system.
What about SAGURO?
SAGURO is another NSA surveillance program, whereby AT&T developed a strategy to help NSA electronically eavesdrop on the internet data across the eight centers.
Is NSA Spying on Us?
After all the unearthing of the NSA and AT&T business, the big question remains; is the NSA spying on us?
There’s no denying that the NSA surveillance is a concern for everyone using the internet. However, from the NSA’s perspective, it’s easy to believe that the pros and cons of the surveillance don’t balance as the cons take more weight.
Unfortunately, for the average internet user, it’s a different perspective. In fact, internet surveillance is even gaining momentum without signs of stopping.
For instance, almost if not all ISPs, as well as governments, are constantly on the lookout spying on internet users. Perhaps, there are several reasons that most governments spy on users, but the fact is that it’s done now more often than not.
On the other hand, ISPs seem to have their hands tied to ensure that your privacy on the internet is secured.
Therefore, it means that all the responsibility falls on you to ensure that you’re secure. It means that when sending emails, browsing, streaming content, or using social media, your privacy is on your hands.
Does it mean that you’re alone in the fight?
Apparently, it solely depends on you now, and you must give yourself the privacy you deserve.
But how will you do it?
How to Keep Data Secure and Private
There’s only one best and sure way to ensure that you take your privacy back from big brothers like NSA and the government.
Your guess is as good as mine – a VPN service!
To ensure that your privacy on the internet is protected, you must use a trusted VPN service, such as ExpressVPN or NordVPN.
Whenever you connect to the internet using Express VPN, all your data is securely encrypted via military-grade security. It will then be tunneled securely to a chosen server that you choose.
With a VPN, your internet traffic does not go through your ISP; instead, it goes through the Express VPN encrypted servers. That way, your data remains private and prying eyes are unable to spy on you.
The benefit of using a trusted VPN is that some of them are located outside the likes of the NSA as well as other surveillance agencies. A good VPN is one that has a no-logs policy, and hence there’s every reason to ensure that you choose only the best VPN available in the market.
Conclusion
One thing is for sure, the NSA could be having its wide eyes on your internet traffic. Perhaps, you’re not hiding anything, but you definitely don’t want that to happen, right?
You don’t have to be in the US for the NSA to spy on you. Anywhere across the globe, you’re on its radar. Fortunately, you can take matters into your own hands and cover all your tracks only. All you need is the best VPN service, and keep your data secure and private.