>The second is called OVERHEAD, which uses U.S. government satellites orbiting above targeted countries to locate and monitor wireless communications on the ground below — such as cellphone calls and even WiFi traffic.
Is this really the case/possible? I know low power transmissions can go a long way, but seems insane to me that you could pick up meaningful cell/wifi traffic.
I remember in the mid 90's I used to post all my Usenet messages with a signature containing all the wrong keywords (terrorism, nuclear, Bin Laden, etc) plus greetings to the NSA spies...
You just know that somewhere in a bunker outside of Ft. Meade some middle-aged guy was going through intercepts, shaking his head, and going "goddamn kids..."
I grew up near Menwith Hill in the 80s. They did tours of the facility - not inside the golf balls or the other secret bits, but they had a bowling alley, all kinds of fun things for bored servicemen.
Everyone living nearby knew what the base was and what it was for. When I asked my dad about it, he said "We use it to watch Mr. Gorbachev eating his cornflakes". Now 'we' use it to watch Mr. Al-Baghdadi eating his cornflakes instead.
Don't make the mistake of thinking the majority of the British public disapproves of NSA/GCHQ's capabilities and actions. They're more likely to be proud of them.
I live near Menwith Hill, and I disapprove very strongly of its presence, and am ashamed of my countries collaboration in these atrocities, which are constructed in such a way as to entirely evade the rule of law.
6 comments
[ 4.7 ms ] story [ 29.3 ms ] threadIs this really the case/possible? I know low power transmissions can go a long way, but seems insane to me that you could pick up meaningful cell/wifi traffic.
Everyone living nearby knew what the base was and what it was for. When I asked my dad about it, he said "We use it to watch Mr. Gorbachev eating his cornflakes". Now 'we' use it to watch Mr. Al-Baghdadi eating his cornflakes instead.
Don't make the mistake of thinking the majority of the British public disapproves of NSA/GCHQ's capabilities and actions. They're more likely to be proud of them.
This is a shameful addition to our history.