Foreign Intelligence Service

During the Cold War era, the intelligence communities of nations throughout the world were competing to gain the upper hand on what their adversaries were up to. Information about military operations, ability to complete nuclear weaponry and overall knowledge of national strategy were among the top of the list of importance. The use of human intelligence (HUMINT), imagery intelligence (IMINT), open source intelligence (OSINT) and other collection methods were used to monitor one another. A major player in the Cold War, among others, was the former Soviet Union, which is what the world knows today as Russia. Like many nations, the Russian Intelligence Community is made up of multiple agencies which operate in different capacities. Though…

information assurance, which prevents foreign agents from obtaining classified information, and 2) signals intelligence, which collects and analyzes foreign intelligence” (3). The earliest surveillance measure enacted in the United States came in the form of the Communications Act of 1934, which centralized “the regulatory process of telecommunications and provide[d] affordable access to communication services” (2). This seemingly innocuous act would be the starting point for government…

The Electronic Communications Privacy Act, which updated the Federal Wiretap Act of 1968, expanded it to include provisions for interception of computer and other electronic communications. (DHS/Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties and DHS/Privacy Office) 3. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, enacted in 1978, a very effective method for monitoring the activities of foreign powers and agents of said powers while they operate within the United States. It was augmented even more…

according to Pakistani intelligence sources. (Nelson & Khan, 2009) The time line for these events goes as follows; at 08:50 there were initial reports of an incident from two different train stations. Initial thoughts were a collision had occurred, but incidents were believed to be separate incidents. At 08:56, an explosion had occurred within another tube station; witness believed the explosion happened outside the train. At 09:17, an explosion occurred at another tube station. At 09:28, an…

saying just in case something could be detrimental to the country but, this comes with limitations. It should not be able to tap into your home anytime they want to the point that “at any rate they could plug in your wire whenever they wanted” (Orwell 3). It upsetting to think that “There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment” (3). Wiretapping is a big issue today because of the increased rate of terrorism in this country since 9/11 happened. In…

At this point in my life the career path which interests me the most is the Foreign Service. This is has been a career interest of mine throughout high school and continues to be today. Saying that getting a job in the State Department is hard is a bit of an understatement. After spending months researching others’ endeavors trying to get employed the Department of State, I’ve learned it is one long battle. You are essentially competing with yourself every time. Surprisingly with all the…

Initially, the first bill to pass was the Patriot Act, and just like in any major governmental crisis, it greatly expanded governmental authority. The Government petitioned the FISA court, which is a secret court that came out the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, to have a warrant to search for tangible things related to terrorism or foreign spies. This particular wording was used as a loophole to confiscate the data of almost every American. In order to search for spies or terrorists, the…

The United States is spying on citizens suspected of terrorism. This is done mainly with bulk data collection and filtering by the NSA. Spying and warrants are attended to legally through Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, and specially made courts. The courts provide judicial review. The goal of the spying is to find citizens influenced by foreign radicals into a potentially violent level of fringe ideology before they act. The NSA’s surveillance was largely uncovered by Edward Snowden’s…

The fourth amendment asserts: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” Dating back to the early 1600’s, the fourth amendment was added to the US Constitution due to incidents of British soldiers invading…

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) is essentially the start of mass surveillance in the…