This has been around for much longer than people realize. What does everyone think this is used for these days: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECHELON http://en.w

This has been around for much longer than people realize. What does everyone think this is used for these days: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECHELON http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECHELON All those intercept points didn't just go away. Wasn't there a legal requirement that ISPs install some sort of box for law enforcement usage back in the early 2000s? Also, I recall reading article from around the same time where a network operator noticed mysterious taps that appeared in his fiber rack over night. These were at a major peering point(lvl3 or att?). The taps went into the ceiling and over a wall. When he questioned their existence, he wasn't allowed to remove them or investigate further. This has been going on ever since the internet and cell phones became popular. The difference now is that they are less secretive about it. See before, you had to have your ally(the UK, AUS, etc...) log communications for you and you'd log communications for them. Then there's no risk of federal or local laws getting in the way. It looks like just good old fashioned espionage. I guess after 9/11, the powers that be felt that wasn't good enough.