At this point, it may come as no surprise that the US government
has some ability to monitor internet traffic. However, the
tremendous extent of government surveillance may be somewhat
alarming to those who are interested in privacy on the
internet.
An article by RT.com reports that the NSA has the ability to read 75 percent of all U.S.
internet traffic. The article points out that programs referred
to as Stormbrew, Lithium, Oakstar, Fairview, and Blarney all have
the ability to monitor the actual text of emails, not just email
metadata.
According to the article, NSA officials have downplayed the
issue, stating that the NSA “touches” only 1.6 percent
of internet traffic. While this at first blush may provide some
solace to privacy advocates, TechCrunch has speculated that this 1.6 percent simply refers to information
that has been sent directly to the NSA and that has been
“culled to their liking.”
