2006年VOA标准英语-NSA Uses Old Technique to Gather Data

By Gary Thomas
Washington
11 May 2006

A published news report says the National Security Agency has been gathering¹ domestic telephone records to look for terrorists.  The report, which attributes the information to unnamed sources, says that the records obtained from telephone companies are used by the NSA to look for patterns of possible terrorist behavior.  Without confirming or denying the existence of the program, President Bush says U.S. intelligence activities have been both lawful² and protective of privacy.

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Employees of the National Security Agency sit in Threat Operations Center at Fort Meade, Maryland  
  

The report in the newspaper USA Today reignited the debate over the actions of the National Security Agency, which is America's electronic eavesdropping³ agency.  It also cast a cloud over the nomination⁴ of former NSA director Michael Hayden to head the Central Intelligence Agency.

According to the report, NSA has gathered thousands, perhaps millions, of phone records to search for patterns of terrorist behavior.  It adds that the telephone companies do not provide personal data, such as names and addresses.

Nevertheless, James Bamford, who has written two books about the NSA, says the program is a threat to civil liberties.
 

James Bamford  
  
"What the NSA has been doing is gathering a tremendous amount of data on American citizens, including where they call, who they call, how long they call, what time of the day they call," he said.  "And they're putting all this together with the capability⁵ for eavesdropping on American phone calls.  It's a very dangerous situation."

But Todd Gaziano, head of the Center for Legal and Judicial⁶ Studies at the Heritage Foundation, says the program is legal, especially as NSA does not obtain personal data.

"We can always dream up a constitutional angle, but there's no serious constitutional problem with obtaining telephone numbers that are not personally identifiable, especially when they're being used in this way, an aggregate⁷ way, to come up with sort of normal caller profiles," he explained.

The technique the NSA is reportedly using is known as "data mining" and has long been utilized⁸ by commercial businesses.  Companies gather data on consumers' buying habits to track product popularity.  For example, using a discount card at a store tracks purchasing patterns, which helps companies create and market products.

Todd Gaziano of the Heritage Foundation says the government is simply doing what businesses have been doing for years.

"This is nothing new. It would be shocking indeed if NSA and our government were not trying to use these same techniques to catch terrorists living amongst us that the commercial enterprises use all the time to provide more convenient service to us," he added.

But Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the non-profit Electronic Privacy Information Center, says the government needs some legal authority to get such information.

"The key difference between the government and the private sector⁹ is that when the government collects information from third parties, whether it's a bank or a hospital or a telephone company, it's supposed to have some legal authority [to do so] - a warrant, a subpoena¹⁰, some other independent determination that it is appropriate and that there is a legal basis to get the information," he explained.

Michael Berry, interim¹¹ head of the computer science department at the University of Tennessee and an expert on data mining, says the volume of information available in the digital age is enormous, and care must be taken how it is used.

"Now this is more of a digital age, and so that everything we do and interact with is societal and ultimately can be captured in some digital form," he said.  "The question is, what do you do with it?  Is it something that should be exploited for creating new technologies and better products? Or is it a way of monitoring people?"
 

President Bush listens to Gen. Michael Hayden, left, speak at White House, Monday  
  
Todd Gaziano says that the story about the gathering of phone records by the NSA might have been leaked in an effort to head off the nomination of General Michael Hayden to head the CIA.  General Hayden was director of the NSA when the data collection program began after September 11, 2001.

1 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

2 lawful   

adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的

参考例句：

• It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
• We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。

3 eavesdropping   

n. 偷听

参考例句：

• We caught him eavesdropping outside the window. 我们撞见他正在窗外偷听。
• Suddenly the kids,who had been eavesdropping,flew into the room. 突然间，一直在偷听的孩子们飞进屋来。

4 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

5 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

6 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

7 aggregate   

adj.总计的，集合的；n.总数；v.合计；集合

参考例句：

• The football team had a low goal aggregate last season.这支足球队上个赛季的进球总数很少。
• The money collected will aggregate a thousand dollars.进帐总额将达一千美元。

8 utilized   

v.利用，使用( utilize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• In the19th century waterpower was widely utilized to generate electricity. 在19世纪人们大规模使用水力来发电。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The empty building can be utilized for city storage. 可以利用那栋空建筑物作城市的仓库。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

10 subpoena   

n.（法律）传票；v.传讯

参考例句：

• He was brought up to court with a subpoena.他接到传讯，来到法庭上。
• Select committees have the power to subpoena witnesses.特别委员会有权传唤证人。

11 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。