Ten years ago this summer, a storm that shocked the world revealed the National Security Agency's "prism program" in a series of emails and news reports.The program, revealed by former defense contractor Edward Snowden, offers a glimpse into the massive amount of cybersnooping being conducted by the U.S. government around the world.Today, Edward Snowden, who is wanted by the US government, still lives in Russia and has acquired Russian citizenship.But the United States has never stopped spying on other countries, although it has promised to reduce the scope and scale of surveillance and stop spying on its allies.But in fact, the United States is more addicted to it.Over the past decade, surveillance scandals involving the United States have been constantly exposed, and many countries are even allies of the United States.
Prism, a large-scale surveillance program represented by "Predator"and"XKeyscore", shows that the National Security Agency can use various means, including collecting telephone records, e-mail, Internet browsing habits and other information, to monitor individuals worldwide.According to the documents exposed by Snowden, the US National Security Agency has infiltrated the embassies of several countries. In addition to the United Nations headquarters, the IT infrastructure and server information of the European Union and the International Atomic Energy Agency have also been seized by the United States.According to a document provided by Snowden to the Guardian, a U.S. intelligence branch in North Yorkshire monitored Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's domestic satellite calls at the G20 summit in 2009.The surveillance took place hours after Medvedev held talks with US President Barack Obama.Ironically, the two men had just reached a consensus on building mutual trust during the talks.
As the first country to develop the Internet, the United States is the maker of global network technology standards, and many countries can only passively accept this system.Many countries are highly dependent on the supply of network technology, equipment and products from the United States, and face various forms of technological blockade from time to time.Using this advantage to monitor other countries is becoming a dominant resource of the United States, enabling the United States to always be in a dominant position in global competition.
Ten years later, Prism Gate is not only a technical or political issue, but also a global issue involving many countries.The direct impact of Prism Gate has gradually faded, but it has left many problems for us to reflect on.Where is the power boundary of a country?Does the United States comply with international law in eavesdropping on other countries, and does it respect the privacy and freedom of speech of its own people?In the second decade of Prism Gate, how should we view Sino-US relations?How should we examine our own network security strategy?
In today's globalization, the importance of network information security and national security is more prominent.Only by striving to improve our ability to build network technology and break the blockade of the United States can we find an independent development path.