NSA and Social Networks
NSA Examines Social Networks of US Citizens
In the past few months, as a result of Edward Snowden’s leaking of NSA secrets, we learn more and more about how the NSA does its work every day. Some consider it as an infringement of privacy, while others feel it is a necessary sacrifice in order to prevent terrorist attacks. Regardless of one’s opinion, it is undeniable how much information even just analyzing the metadata of a person’s communications can produce. As was talked about in class, the current human population is a very connected network, with only the possibility of a few groups of people that are not connected to the giant component. Furthermore, as stated in the article, the NSA does not just consider one type of connection between two people, but a multitude of types such as ofInterestTo, referencedIn, designedBy, listedIn, etc. As a result, it becomes apparent why the NSA was constantly frustrated by not being able to analyze the data of Americans. Considering the fact that all of the people the NSA is investigating are assuredly part of the giant component of the human population, which is densely connected, it’s unsurprising that there are also Americans who are connected somehow to the people the NSA are investigating, even if those Americans are in fact innocent bystanders.
However, this is hardly an excuse for the NSA’s actions, but an explanation for the reasoning behind their actions based on the network theory taught in class. By the same token, it is because we intuitively realize how connected the world is and how much personal information can be gleaned from our communication with others that the NSA’s surveillance programs has caused some controversy. If the human population was not as strongly connected as it is, or if people were not connected with others by strong edges, then there would be very little personal and secret information that could be gleaned from our communication with others. Furthermore, if that were true, then the NSA’s surveillance program would also be a futile effort, considering it would not be possible to determine much about terrorist attempts from the data gathered by the NSA. Thus, fundamentally, both the motivation for NSA’s surveillance of Americans, and the reason why the NSA surveillance is so controversial, are both a direct result of the network mechanisms we have learned in class.