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.