EOTO #2 - React

I had never heard of the Five Eyes until I had listened to a presentation, and so all of it sounded like a complete shock to me. Five Eyes was an intelligence sharing group that began in WW2 (around 1946), and was made up of the US, UK, CA, AU, and NZ. It was a collaborative surveillance, counterterrorism, and cyberdefense unit between all five of those countries.



In my opinion, Five Eyes was a necessary evil in times of war and brought enhanced security, tech advancements, and strengthened relationships between each nation who joined together. However it is very hard to talk about the Five Eyes without running into the large amount of negatives the group had. There were massive privacy concerns, as each nation not only spied on their enemies, it spied on its citizens as well. It also brought power imbalances. Finally it came with many moral dilemmas and laws for the group to work around, as many citizens from several different countries did not appreciate being observed by Governments like rats in an experiment.
(https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/ntnl-scrt/fv-cntry-mnstrl-en.aspx)



Five Eyes still exists today, but in a much smaller fashion than when it was first created. Nowadays, it serves as an interesting glimpse into how surveillance was in the days past. It was created as an intelligence sharing group but caused more and more concern with the citizens aligned with the group, and the ones against it. It is a showcase of the danger an unchecked government that constantly watches its citizens can pose to them, and demonstrates the divide between the government. In a way it reflects our modern world, but it is not just our government watching us, its China and Russia who cannot help but listen to us. Keep your data protected people, you never know who is listening.
(https://www.dni.gov/index.php/ncsc-how-we-work/217-about/organization/icig-pages/2660-icig-fiorc)