What You Should Know About the 5 Eyes, 9 Eyes, and 14 Eyes Alliances

The Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, and Fourteen Eyes may sound like something out of a science fiction novel, but they are very real multinational surveillance alliances. These secretive partnerships among countries to share signals intelligence were formed in the aftermath of World War II and have grown into a powerful global mass surveillance system. If you value your privacy online, it‘s crucial to understand what these alliances are, which countries are involved, what they can do, and how to protect yourself.

What Are the 5 Eyes, 9 Eyes, and 14 Eyes?

The Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, and Fourteen Eyes are intelligence sharing agreements between cooperating nations. Here‘s an overview:

Five Eyes

Formed in 1946, the Five Eyes alliance is the oldest surveillance partnership. It was created from an intelligence sharing agreement between the United States and United Kingdom, later expanded to include Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The Five Eyes closely guard their most sensitive intelligence gathering programs, only sharing information within their exclusive inner circle.

Nine Eyes

Building upon the Five Eyes, the Nine Eyes alliance grew out of increased intelligence cooperation with Denmark, France, Netherlands, and Norway during the 1950s and 60s. While the Nine Eyes have access to a large volume of shared intelligence, they are not privy to certain inner Five Eyes programs.

Fourteen Eyes

The largest surveillance alliance is the Fourteen Eyes, which adds Italy, Germany, Belgium, Spain, and Sweden to the Nine Eyes coalition. As the most expansive cooperative, the Fourteen Eyes has a wider reach but less access to extremely confidential intelligence operations restricted to the Five Eyes and sometimes the Nine Eyes core.

Third Parties

Beyond the three official alliances, there are "third party" surveillance partners that share certain signals intelligence. These include Israel, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and members of the UK Commonwealth such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Member Countries in the 5 Eyes, 9 Eyes, and 14 Eyes

The specific countries in each alliance are:

Five Eyes

• United States
• United Kingdom
• Canada
• Australia
• New Zealand

Nine Eyes

• The Five Eyes countries
• Denmark
• France
• Netherlands
• Norway

Fourteen Eyes

• The Nine Eyes countries
• Belgium
• Germany
• Italy
• Spain
• Sweden

The alliances follow a hierarchy. The Five Eyes share the most sensitive intelligence gathering programs among themselves. The Nine Eyes have access to less top secret operations, while the Fourteen Eyes receive a wider breadth of intelligence with less depth into the most classified projects.

Capabilities and Objectives

The core purpose of these surveillance alliances is for member nations to share signals intelligence — intercepted communications and data. Their capabilities include:

Collecting Private Internet Data

The alliances use sophisticated tools to monitor and store vast amounts of internet traffic and online data from foreign surveillance targets as well as their own citizens. This includes:

• Browsing histories
• Search histories
• Social media activity
• Emails
• Instant messages and video calls
• Uploaded/downloaded files
• Metadata

A 2010 FRA law allows Sweden to wiretap data cables crossing its borders, collecting huge volumes of traffic from the Baltic Sea Cable crossing between Germany and Lithuania.

Tapping Phone Calls

The agencies tap into major phone cables to intercept cell phone calls, texts, faxes, and landline calls. Under the U.S. Patriot Act, the NSA can monitor any U.S. phone number, even without probable cause.

Accessing Private Corporate Data

The alliances can use warrants, subpoenas, and confidential requests to compel tech companies, internet providers, and other firms to hand over emails, files, photos, and user data.

Domestic and Foreign Spying

While ostensibly focused on foreign intelligence targets, the alliances carry out widespread surveillance against domestic populations often by partnering with other countries. The UK can request Canada monitor British citizens to bypass UK laws.

Enhancing Technical Capabilities

Countries share technical knowledge, tools, hacking techniques, and analytics expertise. Collaborating with allies strengthens each nation‘s surveillance and data processing abilities.

Circumventing Privacy Laws

Laws restricting agencies from spying on their own population are rendered ineffective as partner agencies are used to monitor "foreign" targets. Oversight and rights protections are bypassed through these arrangements.

Digital privacy groups have raised serious concerns that the actual objectives of the alliances appear much more far-reaching and questionable than simply targeting security threats. Confidential documents point to economic espionage, suppression of political dissent, and retaining power as additional goals.

Protecting Your Privacy from the Surveillance Alliances

If you want to maintain your privacy online and not have your communications collected by one of these alliances, here are some tips:

Encrypt Your Internet Connection

An encrypted VPN tunnels all of your internet traffic so that not even your ISP can see your browsing activity. Choose a reputable VPN provider from outside the alliances, such as:

• ExpressVPN (British Virgin Islands)
• NordVPN (Panama)
• Surfshark (British Virgin Islands)
• ProtonVPN (Switzerland)

Verify they enforce a strict no-logs privacy policy.

Use End-to-End Encrypted Messaging

Messaging apps like Signal, WhatsApp, Wire, and iMessage scramble messages end-to-end so only you and the recipient can read them. Standard SMS and phone calls have weak protections.

Browse Privately

Use private search engines like DuckDuckGo and Startpage that don‘t store search histories. The Tor browser offers enhanced anonymity by routing traffic through encrypted hops.

Guard Personal Information

Provide as little personal data online as possible. This includes your address, phone number, identity documents, and other info that could identify you.

Secure Webcams

Intelligence agencies may be able to access device cameras remotely. Use a physical webcam cover when not on video calls to be safe.

Choose Secure Tech Tools

Select secure browsers like Firefox and Brave along with encrypted email providers like ProtonMail and Tutanota to enhance privacy.

Think Before You Post

Social media posts, emails, chats all create a data trail linking back to you. Be cautious sharing private opinions and details online.

History of the Surveillance Alliances

To understand the growth of the alliances into the mass surveillance system we see today, let‘s look at some key events in their history:

1940s

• 1946 – The UKUSA Agreement forms the original intelligence sharing alliance between the U.S. and UK after WWII, establishing the basis for Five Eyes.

• 1947 – The CIA and NSA are created in the U.S. while the UK forms MI6 and GCHQ for foreign intelligence.

1950s

• 1956 – Australia, Canada, and New Zealand begin collaborating with NSA and GCHQ more extensively, formally creating the Five Eyes.

• 1957 – The Five Eyes start spying on Egypt during the Suez Crisis, coordinating efforts to monitor military and government communications.

1960s

• 1961 – The Five Eyes form the ECHELON system to intercept satellite and radio signals from Intelsat satellites and ground stations.

• 1968 – GCHQ and NSA expand cooperation with agencies in Germany, France, Netherlands, and Norway – forming the Nine Eyes.

1970s

• 1970s – GCHQ begins operating a secret encrypted network called UKUSA (later renamed STONEGHOST) to communicate with Five Eyes partners.

• 1976 – The Five Eyes closely coordinate intelligence gathering on Argentina to assist the UK during the Falklands War.

1980s

• 1980s – The global surveillance capabilities of the Five Eyes expands dramatically with huge growth in digital communications.

• 1988 – Belgium‘s intelligence agency becomes a partner in the Nine Eyes alliance.

1990s

• 1990 – With East and West Germany reuniting after the Cold War, West Germany‘s agency is integrated into the Nine Eyes.

• 1997 – The Nine Eyes adopt the ECHELON Dictionary system for keyword-driven automated analysis and interception of satellite and radio communications.

2000s

• Mid 2000s – France‘s DGSE spy agency increases cooperation with Five Eyes partners, sharing much more intelligence.

• 2005 – The first media reports reveal the secret ECHELON system used by the Five Eyes to intercept global satellite and radio signals.

• 2007 – Italy, Spain, and Sweden join the Nine Eyes, forming the expanded Fourteen Eyes alliance.

2010s

• 2013 – Edward Snowden‘s NSA document leaks expose the massive global surveillance operations of the Five Eyes, sparking public outrage.

• 2015 – Britain‘s GCHQ is revealed to have spied on major internet cables funneling Facebook, Google, and YouTube traffic, harvesting data.

• 2018 – Reports confirm Denmark, France, and Netherlands have become surveillance partners fully integrated with the Five Eyes.

Today, the Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, and Fourteen Eyes operate vast high-tech surveillance programs in near secrecy, with capabilities expanding each year. However, public scrutiny has also grown significantly in recent times.

Controversies and Concerns Around the Alliances

The Five, Nine, and Fourteen Eyes alliances have generated many controversies:

Mass Collection of Civilian Data

There is extensive evidence these alliances amass huge amounts of internet activity, phone records, emails, files and other personal data from hundreds of millions of ordinary citizens with no links to national security issues. Despite public statements focused on targeting threats, documents show reliance on bulk data collection from the general population.

Circumventing Domestic Privacy Laws

Countries use their intelligence sharing arrangements to sidestep domestic surveillance restrictions and spy on their own populations by having partner agencies conduct the monitoring. This subverts legal oversight and rights protections.

Commercial and Political Espionage

In addition to security concerns, critics argue the alliances also conduct economic espionage on trade deals, mergers, and foreign corporations to give domestic firms advantages. There are also instances of spying on climate change activists, dissidents, and international bodies like UNICEF.

Illegal Spying on Home Populations

Partners have been caught directly monitoring each other‘s citizens illegally. NSA files revealed U.S. citizens and residents were spied on by British GCHQ. Australians were targeted by a Canadian intelligence agency.

Undermining Encryption and Security Standards

The agencies have sought to weaken commercial encryption protocols and standards so that they can defeat encryption that protects users‘ privacy but obscures intelligence gathering.

Attempting to Destroy Critics and Oversight

Aggressive campaigns to discredit critics and leakers have been uncovered, including spying on politicians overseeing intelligence agencies. Oversight efforts are frequently blocked through legal and legislative actions.

This combination of excess power and limited accountability has led civil liberties groups to warn the alliances violate privacy rights and harm free expression. The agencies assert all activities are focused on national security and fully lawful.

Are the Spying Alliances Legal?

The legality of global surveillance partnerships that share intelligence on domestic civilians remains hotly debated. Supporters claim they operate within the law, but critics argue they:

• Rely on overbroad interpretations of "national security" to justify spying that goes far beyond reasonable threats.

• Violate the clear restrictions and intent of domestic laws through exploitative loopholes.

• Operate with limited transparency and oversight, obscuring potential unlawful actions.

• Weaken internet encryption tools and standards contrary to stated government policies supporting strong encryption.

• Infringe on basic rights laid out in documents like the UDHR, ICCPR, EU Charter, and the laws of participating nations.

• Share intelligence specifically to circumvent the legal protections and privacy laws of partner countries.

While the agencies assert sovereign powers authorize their information sharing, privacy advocates counter that the alliances have strayed well beyond the rule of law into excessive and likely illegal surveillance activities. Meaningful accountability and reform are needed.

What Does the Future Hold for the Alliances?

What are the likely future trajectories for the Five, Nine, and Fourteen Eyes global surveillance partnerships?

Expanding Membership

There are recurring reports that additional countries like India, South Korea, Japan, and Israel may join as signals intelligence partners integrated into the alliances.

Leveraging Advanced Technologies

The agencies are certain to exploit any new technology – like AI, biometrics, DNA data mining, quantum computing and more – to expand their surveillance and analytical capabilities.

Increasing Commercial Spying

Economic espionage could grow in focus as member nations aggressively compete in areas like technology, intellectual property, manufacturing, and trade deal negotiations.

Undermining Encryption

Outlawing end-to-end encryption is a priority to preserve their intelligence gathering capabilities. Pressuring tech companies to install backdoors will continue.

Obstructing Privacy Efforts

As more countries enact privacy laws restricting mass surveillance, the agencies will lobby heavily against protections that could limit their programs.

Silencing Critics

Threats, intimidation, and spying campaigns against whistleblowers, journalists, rights groups, and anti-surveillance advocates will likely intensify.

Barring major legislative reforms, the Five Eyes and its partners show no inclination to restrain their invasive surveillance operations. However, expanding public demands for accountability could help finally force meaningful change.

In Summary

The Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, and Fourteen Eyes sound quite cryptic, but they represent powerful global surveillance alliances that impact the online privacy of hundreds of millions. I hope this guide gave you a comprehensive understanding of which nations are members, what disturbing capabilities they wield, their checkered history of controversies and overreach, and most importantly, how you can protect your personal data. While oversight remains weak, public pressure continues to mount against the alarming excesses carried out under the banner of "national security". Our fundamental right to privacy must be vigorously defended.