According to a report, the US military purchased a program for mass surveillance that can access a person’s email and internet surfing history. Recent reports claim that the US military has acquired a surveillance tool that allegedly has access to user browsing data and controls 90% of internet traffic.
In-depth details of the US army purchases a surveillance tool that has access to user browsing data and controls over 90% of internet traffic:
The US military has acquired a surveillance technology that is unmatched by anything else across many branches. It can cover an astounding 90% of global internet traffic. In turn, contracting data has shown that it offers US military access to people’s email information, surfing history, and other information including internet cookies.
Apparently, this information was used and purchased by NCIS, a US law enforcement organization that is a division of the US Navy, according to a source who got in touch with Senator Ron Wyden. The whistleblower lodged a grievance with the Department of Defense.
About The surveillance tool
The technology in question, named Augury, was created by Team Cymru, a cybersecurity company. In essence, it gathers a lot of data into one package and then provides it to the government and businesses in exchange for a fee.
In the private sector, it is used to find hackers and stop cyberattacks. Agencies in charge of criminal investigations have also obtained the capability, though government organizations will mostly employ it for the same purpose. In essence, it might cause issues with people’s privacy.
According to the document, “The network data is updated with at least 100 billion new records each day and comprises data from over 550 collecting stations worldwide, including collection points in Europe, the Middle East, North and South America, Africa, and Asia.”
According to the document, Augury enables access to “petabytes” of current and historical data. It indicates that a total of around $3.5 million was spent to access Augury by the US Navy, Army, Cyber Command, and Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency. In normal circumstances, a warrant or other legal procedures would be necessary to gain access to such sensitive material. Augury can be used to get around this. The vast amount of data that Augury collects, including cookie usage and browser history, can give observers access to a wealth of personal information.
