The National Security Agency. What exactly is its function?

[terrya]

I know it's a super secret agency. Very little is known about it.

They monitor telephone traffic, right? I read that the agency somehow monitors all international phone traffic out of and into the United States. I can't possibly conceive how that might be possible.

I'm talking to my boyfriend (and other friends) in Canada. Just routine conversations. Is the NSA monitoring these calls? (or am I being extremely paranoid)? In George Bush's America, you just don't know.

Thanks very much in advance for answers.

[Loonman]

1. Find out

http://www.nsa.gov/

[La_Serpiente]

2. I don't know

I think the NSA is really looking at terrorist activities. I don't know anything else that it does.

[MattNC]

3. they monitor

, protect our government's communications - also do a lot of work in cryptography.

are they monitoring your calls? yes and no. there's no little guy listening to it per say, but they have the capability to do so of course.

[papau]

5. monitoring your calls? yes and no?

Most that know have signed to not reveal, and indeed are under criminal legal restraint from answering.

Even public domain - because it was noted in another countries press - facts are not to be repeated by those folks.

Howver on the simple question of monitoring your calls - the answer is yes - but the method is by computer phrase capture. This is not a tap on "your call" - it just checks phone, etc. traffic for key phrases that may indicate evil intent.

Last I looked the operation was in Toronto (why outside the US I do not know) and was a simple record, review, and see if supervisor wants to have agent do some real monitoring of a real person that said the phrase. Low level military work the desks -

A similiar program for the internet - called carnivore - has been proposed and has discussions all over the media/internet.

http://www.free-market.net/spotlight/carnivore/

http://archive.aclu.org/news/2001/w021401b.html

http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,46852,00.html

http://www.epic.org/privacy/carnivore/

http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/1146651

http://www.fbi.gov/congress/congress00/kerr072400.htm

http://www.crypto.com/papers/opentap.html

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

4. Get James Bamford's "Body of Secrets"

which is (as best as he could achieve given all the secrecy!) a history of the NSA.

http://www.randomhouse.com/features/bamford/book.html

[sangh0]

6. I 2nd that suggestion

It's very informative and an interesting read.

[leetrisck]

7. And I'll 3rd that

Great book chock full of info - I keep going back to it for reference.