UKUSA Agreement

The UKUSA Community: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States

The United Kingdom – United States of America Agreement (UKUSA, /juːkuːˈsɑː/ yoo-koo-SAH)[1][note 1] is a multilateral agreement for cooperation in signals intelligence between Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The alliance of intelligence operations is also known as the Five Eyes.[3][4][5] In classification markings this is abbreviated as FVEY, with the individual countries being abbreviated as AUS, CAN, NZL, GBR, and USA, respectively.

Emerging from an informal agreement related to the 1941 Atlantic Charter, the secret treaty was renewed with the passage of the 1943 BRUSA Agreement, before being officially enacted on 5 March 1946 by the United Kingdom and the United States. In the following years, it was extended to encompass Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Other countries, known as "third parties", such as West Germany, the Philippines, and several Nordic countries, also joined the UKUSA community in associate capacities, although they are not part of the mechanism for automatic sharing of intelligence that exists between the Five Eyes.[6]

Much of the sharing of information is performed via the ultra-sensitive STONEGHOST network, which has been claimed to contain "some of the Western world's most closely guarded secrets".[7] Besides laying down rules for intelligence sharing, the agreement formalized and cemented the "Special Relationship" between the UK and the US.[8]

Due to its status as a secret treaty, its existence was not known to the Prime Minister of Australia until 1973,[9] and it was not disclosed to the public until 2005.[10] On 25 June 2010, for the first time in history, the full text of the agreement was publicly released by the United Kingdom and the United States, and can now be viewed online.[11] Shortly after its release, the seven-page UKUSA Agreement was recognized by Time magazine as one of the Cold War's most important documents, with immense historical significance.[10]

The global surveillance disclosure by Edward Snowden has shown that the intelligence-sharing activities between the First World allies of the Cold War are rapidly shifting into the digital realm of the Internet.[12][13]

  1. ^ "Declassified UKUSA Signals Intelligence Agreement Documents Available" (Press release). National Security Agency. 24 June 2010. Archived from the original on 16 July 2013. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
  2. ^ Privacy and Human Rights 2002: An International Survey of Privacy Rights and Developments, EPIC, 2002, p. 100, ISBN 1-893044-16-5
  3. ^ Farrell, Paul (2 December 2013). "History of 5-Eyes – explainer". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 25 May 2017. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  4. ^ McGregor, Richard. "Global Insight: US spying risks clouding 'five eyes' vision". Financial Times. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  5. ^ Grubb, Ben. "Mission almost impossible: keeping a step ahead of prying 'Five Eyes'". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 18 April 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  6. ^ Gallagher, Ryan (19 June 2014). "How Secret Partners Expand NSA's Surveillance Dragnet". The Intercept. Archived from the original on 16 August 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  7. ^ Gordon, Rob. "Navy spy probe kept military in dark: documents". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 19 September 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2013. The military's fears were well-founded, given Delisle had access to terabytes of some of the Western world's most closely guarded secrets. He operated a computer system called Stone Ghost, which links the intelligence services of the Five Eyes: the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
  8. ^ Gardham, Duncan (24 June 2010). "Document that formalised 'special relationship' with the US". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 3 January 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  9. ^ Chittley, Jordan & Newman, Kevin. "Canada's role in secret intelligence alliance Five Eyes". CTV News. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  10. ^ a b White, Adam (29 June 2010). "How a Secret Spy Pact Helped Win the Cold War". Time. Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  11. ^ "Newly released GCHQ files: UKUSA Agreement". The National Archives. June 2010. Archived from the original on 26 June 2010. Retrieved 25 June 2010. The files contain details of the recently avowed UKUSA Agreement – the top secret, post-war arrangement for sharing intelligence between the United States and the UK. Signed by representatives of the London Signals Intelligence Board and its American counterpart in March 1946, the UKUSA Agreement is without parallel in the Western intelligence world and formed the basis for co-operation between the two countries throughout the Cold War.
  12. ^ Eddy, Melissa (9 July 2013). "For Western Allies, a Long History of Swapping Intelligence". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 13 September 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  13. ^ Smith, Nathan. "The world of signals intelligence and GCSB in context". National Business Review. Archived from the original on 3 July 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2013. A partnership with various telecommunications industries has secured access to the internet for the UKUSA signals agencies. All traffic on the internet and via emails is reportedly captured and stored.


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