Echelon: Considerations with International Communications Monitoring :: Technology

Echelon: Considerations with International Communications Monitoring Introduction Since the invention of radio, intelligence-gathering organizations have been developing and using eavesdropping techniques to intercept and review wireless communications. Initially, these capabilities were solely used to spy on hostile nations, and particularly for military purposes. Human operators had to manually review each transmission, and cryptanalysts pored over military ciphers in an attempt to decode important messages. As wireless communication has become an integral part of commercial and individual existence, and potential threats to security are increasingly found in peacetime and on home ground, the scope of this intelligence gathering has likewise broadened. One of the most controversial eavesdropping systems in existence is a classified project known as ‘Echelon.’ Its use of computer hardware and software to filter communications from all over the world brings up many ethical issues related to the impact of computers on privacy. Overview of Echelon Most of the evidence for Echelon is circumstantial, though a few facts have been established. The participating organizations (notably the US Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency) have neither confirmed nor denied its existence. In lieu of a discussion of the ethical issues, a brief summary of the current knowledge follows. How it Works Echelon is the product of Cold War efforts to monitor wireless communications in the USSR. It traces its roots back to the clandestine UKUSA alliance, a communications intelligence agreement that dates back from around 1947. Member nations include the US, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. It is now known that the system has been in existence for at least 20 years.[1] In the past, high frequency radio listening posts were also used to listen to radio communications. Currently, the system is composed of a series of eavesdropping satellites, ground listening stations, and supercomputers that intercept and sift through telecommunications satellite broadcasts. These broadcasts include faxes, phone calls, and web traffic- especially those dispatched over long distances.[2] The term Echelon has never actually been mentioned by officials, but is believed to represent the computer system that manages the data gathered by the network.[3] The computers are used to store and ana lyze text data for key words, and to review telephone conversations for unique ‘voiceprints’ or the phone numbers of persons under surveillance.[4] This makes it possible to filter an enormous amount of traffic, since human analysts review only relevant messages. The US National Security Agency (NSA) is widely considered to be both the originator and head of the project, and likely owns and operates the major computer facilities for Echelon. Echelon: Considerations with International Communications Monitoring :: Technology Echelon: Considerations with International Communications Monitoring Introduction Since the invention of radio, intelligence-gathering organizations have been developing and using eavesdropping techniques to intercept and review wireless communications. Initially, these capabilities were solely used to spy on hostile nations, and particularly for military purposes. Human operators had to manually review each transmission, and cryptanalysts pored over military ciphers in an attempt to decode important messages. As wireless communication has become an integral part of commercial and individual existence, and potential threats to security are increasingly found in peacetime and on home ground, the scope of this intelligence gathering has likewise broadened. One of the most controversial eavesdropping systems in existence is a classified project known as ‘Echelon.’ Its use of computer hardware and software to filter communications from all over the world brings up many ethical issues related to the impact of computers on privacy. Overview of Echelon Most of the evidence for Echelon is circumstantial, though a few facts have been established. The participating organizations (notably the US Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency) have neither confirmed nor denied its existence. In lieu of a discussion of the ethical issues, a brief summary of the current knowledge follows. How it Works Echelon is the product of Cold War efforts to monitor wireless communications in the USSR. It traces its roots back to the clandestine UKUSA alliance, a communications intelligence agreement that dates back from around 1947. Member nations include the US, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. It is now known that the system has been in existence for at least 20 years.[1] In the past, high frequency radio listening posts were also used to listen to radio communications. Currently, the system is composed of a series of eavesdropping satellites, ground listening stations, and supercomputers that intercept and sift through telecommunications satellite broadcasts. These broadcasts include faxes, phone calls, and web traffic- especially those dispatched over long distances.[2] The term Echelon has never actually been mentioned by officials, but is believed to represent the computer system that manages the data gathered by the network.[3] The computers are used to store and ana lyze text data for key words, and to review telephone conversations for unique ‘voiceprints’ or the phone numbers of persons under surveillance.[4] This makes it possible to filter an enormous amount of traffic, since human analysts review only relevant messages. The US National Security Agency (NSA) is widely considered to be both the originator and head of the project, and likely owns and operates the major computer facilities for Echelon.

Position of the leader Essay

In every team endeavor someone formally or informally takes the position of the leader. A leader keeps track of all the team activities and has a deciding effect on the workings of the team. He has to care not only about the work but also its speed of execution. As team is composed of people, this means he has to get the work done with the people and as always observed; people work when they have some motivation to do so. Motivation is the key to how people react to a particular work or situation. A good leader very well knows what is the motivation behind each of his team member’s work and uses it for the maximum benefit of the team. Some of my motivations are holidays and spending time on my hobbies. I am also motivated by being a part of process of some positive change and also if I get chance to work with small, relaxed, honest people. These form the major crunch of my motivation. I believe that things that motivate me will very well motivate others also. I find the theory Y approach1 useful. In it the workers are assumed to be happy with their job and use their creativity and imagination to make decision and to solve problems. These set of people will tackle problem themselves as far as possible and remain satisfied with their work because this gives them opportunity to do the work as they like. Of course, some people fall in the theory X category, I prefer to throw out such people and if that’s not possible try to turn them to Y side. Also I find the ‘Maslow’s hierarchy of needs’2 quite useful. He mentions that everyone is motivated by his needs but once his needs are met, He isn’t satisfied instead it is taken over by another higher need. A leader has to take care of the needs of where his people are in this hierarchy. References: 1 Douglas McGregor (1960). ‘The Human Side of Enterprise’. McGraw Hill 2 ‘A Theory of Human Motivation’ Psychological Review 50, pp 370-396

The Costs Of Prescription Drugs Essay - 2312 Words

Skyrocket costs of Prescription Drugs Prescription drugs all around are very expensive, but without out them some of us would not be able to say we are alive. We can still see the price of these prescription drugs go through the roof as we speak. Although most of low-income workers can barely afford medicine and drugs, one way or another, we make it work because without it we would be dead. Although having insurance covers a lot of our medical health expenses, such as medical bills, prescription bills, hospital bills and things of this nature. As the cost of prescriptions keep going up, sometimes our insurance companies cannot cover the cost because they have hit their Cap of money able to spend. Some insurance companies have Cap for a person or a cap for a whole family it can be yearly or annually it just depends on the â€Å"deal† you worked out with your insurance provider. Most families, like my own make due to cover the cost of having insurance, yet we have to still be ab le to cover what remains of the prescription cost if we want to live. Money sometimes is very tight and meeting these necessary financial situations get tough. My family consists of my mom, dad, two brothers, two sisters and myself. Both of our parents have diabetes and need medication to control it. My dad has to take even more medication because of his kidney transplant. They have their oldest (my twin sister, and myself) both going to college, a big expense. At the same time, they have to take care ofShow MoreRelatedHigh Costs Of Prescription Drugs1552 Words   |  7 PagesAre You Actually Paying For? A Critical Review of the High Costs of Prescription Drugs in America By: William A. Hopkins, III Radford University Author Note: This paper was prepared for Economics 495, taught by Dr. Prahlad Kasturi Abstract Recently, there has been a debate about the high prescription drug prices in the United States. Accounting for 9.7% of the national health expenditure, $329.2 billion was spent on prescription medications ($931 per person) in 2011 (Linton, 2014). So whatRead MoreThe Cost Reduction Strategies For Prescription Drugs968 Words   |  4 Pagesproblems and core solutions in resolving the cost reduction strategies for prescription drugs, it’s important to consider the short-term solution rather than the long-term. In long-term problem solving strategic plan like the change in the overall U.S health system, the process of transforming the highly dominated private health financing system to government funding and controlling system takes years, even decade. To reduce the price of prescription drugs in the United States, this paper (part III)Read MoreArticle Review : Reducing Prescription Drug Costs1153 Words   |  5 Pages Reducing prescription drug costs Company Name: Horizons Investment/Retirement Planning 250 Employees Marysville, Ohio $135 Million USD Commodities such as food, cars, and even precious metals have steadily increased year after year which is something that is widely accepted as ‘inflation’. The dollar in 2016 isn’t worth what the dollar in say, 2010 was, but salaries are often adjusted to take the rise in commodities into effect. Prescription drugs however doRead MoreThe Cost Of Pharmaceuticals Prescription Drug Prices And Retail Mark Up Essay2136 Words   |  9 Pages The Cost of Pharmaceuticals: Prescription Drug Prices and Retail Mark Up Diandra Hopkins American Public University Anyone who has purchased prescription medication has probably wondered why they cost so much. The pharmaceutical industry consist of thousands of firms engaged in one or several functions of discovering, developing, manufacturing and marketing medicines for human use. The price paid to a retail pharmacy for a drug is negotiated by the PBM (Pharmacy Benefit Manager)Read MoreFinancing Issues Of Prescription Drugs1633 Words   |  7 PagesFinancing Issues in Prescription Drugs and the Ways to Establish Cost-Effective Strategy One of the biggest industries in the United States is healthcare industry, which accounts for over 17.5 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country. This big representation of the nation’s economic activities impacts the overall economy. In other ways, it’s also impacted by the general economy. While the health care industry continues to grow, transformationalRead MoreEssay On Medical Issues In Health Care1289 Words   |  6 PagesWhile it is clearly evident that the United States has much higher prescription prices than Canada and England, it will not be easy to solve these issues. Congressional gridlock, polarization, and the power of pharmaceutical lobbyists makes negotiating or changing Part D, the part of Medicare concerned with prescription drug costs, very difficult. However the best chance at creating change might be advocating the severity of the issue to those on the frontline of healthcare: physicians. Due to theRead MorePrescription Drug Pric e Controls Essay Essay1251 Words   |  6 Pages Prescription Drug Price Controls Intro to Health Science Professor Feinberg Brittany Aaron 10-25-2016 Introduction: Prescription drug prices are on the rise in the United States. Currently, the United States does not implement a price control on prescription drugs. Every day the supply and demand for prescription drugs fluctuates. Pharmaceutical companies produce drugs that are necessary for survival. Therefore, it is necessary for research and development to continue in theRead MoreCanadian Drug Coverage940 Words   |  4 PagesAddressing Gaps in Canadian Drug Coverage According to Morgan and Boothe (2016), Canadas medicare system is the only one among developed countries that has universal public health insurance but does not also have universal prescription drug coverage. The amount of out-of-pocket (OOP) spending is an immense burden for many Canadians, accounting for 34.3% of private expenditures, (Hennessey et al., 2016); and in Ontario, one in three people do not have employer-provided health insurance (Barnes Read MoreThe Health Care Industry Of The United States1695 Words   |  7 Pagesnew medical technology (to provide the best quality services), financial system, and the entire health care service structure, rules, and regulations are changed. Hence, a health care industry is fronting a noteworthy pressure to reduce health care cost, to prepare for an influential change in how health care is provided, financed and consumed while delivering the quality care (Hicks Jacobs, 2014, pp. 385-402). Despite many financing methods in the United States, such as insurance premium, taxationRead MoreWhat Is Political Action For Universal Drug Care934 Words   |  4 Pagesuniversal public health insurance but does not also have universal prescription drug coverage. The amount of out-of-pocket (OOP) spending can become a great burden on Canadians, as private insurance â€Å"only composes approximately 34.3% of expenditures,† (Hennessey et al., 2016); and in Ontario, 1 in 3 people do not have employer-provided health benefits to begin with (Barnes, 2015). Cost-related non-adherence to prescription drugs is associated with households with low income, which can lead to poorer