Big change in the security field
The encryption done with SSL/TLS protocol is based on the AES (Advanced Encryption Standard). Invented by two Belgian researchers, the algorithm was approved in 2000 by the NSA before becoming the encryption standard for the American government and its organizations. Since then, it has massively spread in web-based applications.
October 2000
Expansion of the SSL/TLS protocol
The SSL/TLS protocol is massively used on online shopping websites, social networks but also by banks because it provides one of the best compromises in the establishment of a security system.
Since 2000
Internet is growing more and more
Things have changed and the Internet has become hugely important. Nowadays, new devices are connected to the internet, your refrigerator, your dishwasher and even your alarm system. Public transport paper tickets are replaced by swipe cards. From now on, knowing the past, present and future behaviour of a person is quite easy. And that's something the NSA fully understands.
Since 2000
« Being spied on ? Me ? No way ! »
The American media reveals the existence of an NSA information system which allows for the automatic generation of a summary scoreboard storing every piece of information gathered in real time by NSA spywares. It can also detect the surveillance level applied to a certain country. Thus, more than 97 billion pieces of data from telecommunication networks have been stored in March 2013.
March 2013
Edward Snowden's first revelations
The Guardian reveals that Verizon and presumably other telephone operators provide information to the NSA, at the request of the FBI, every day. Basically every telephone communication within the United States and abroad.
June 2013
PRISM surveillance program
The American media exposed the PRISM surveillance program which allows the NSA and FBI to monitor Internet users. They would use backdoors in software produced by major American computing companies before accessing the servers of 9 of them, including Microsoft, Yahoo!, Google, Facebook and Apple.
Europe is affected
Snowden told the Guardian that the British government was spying on telecommunications transiting through fibre-optic cables able to relay up to 21 petabytes of data per day, connecting the US to Europe. Since 2011, this project allowed for the collecting of e-mails, Facebook messages and search histories of any Internet user. Those vast amounts of data are said to be shared with the NSA.
June 2013
a SSL/TLS security bug known as Heartbleed
In 2014, a major flaw was found in the SSL/TLS protocols (implemented in the OpenSSL library). It affected the biggest IT groups such as Google, Yahoo!, Amazon and also banks which immediately tried to close the loophole and sweep it under the rug. Edward Snowden supports that the NSA knew everything about this flaw and probably made a massive use of it.
March 2014
Mass surveillance in France
Despite the huge citizen mobilization, a very controversial intelligence bill has been passed by the National Assembly. The legislation allows for the expansion of the scope and the resources allocated to the French monitoring services. France is now gathering more than just basic’s metadata.
May 2015
British bill
On November 4, 2015, the British government published a bill allowing authorities to access all the research, histories and communications of web users living in the UK or abroad. Accessing metadata, remote access to data with more intrusive measures, setting up backdoors, banning specific coding systems : it may no longer be any limits.
November 2015
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