What word has 5 eyes

If you’re a VPN user, you’ve probably heard of the 5 Eyes, 9 Eyes, and 14 Eyes Alliances. These alliances may sound like something out of a spy movie, but they pose a very real threat to your privacy.

The Eyes Alliances are international intelligence-sharing agreements between governmental bodies. Participating countries are known to spy on their citizens through various means, acquiring sensitive and private information that may be shared with the other members of the alliance. But what exactly does that mean for you? And will a VPN really protect you from these threats to your privacy?

The answer is yes — but only if you choose a quality and trustworthy VPN. There are many critical features you have to consider in a VPN to ensure your privacy really will be protected. My top recommendation is ExpressVPN, which is based in the privacy-friendly British Virgin Islands, outside the reach of the Eyes Alliances. It’s also passed several independent security audits from top auditing firms, meaning that you can use it with confidence.

Protect Your Privacy with ExpressVPN

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

5 Eyes Alliance

The 5 Eyes Alliance arose out of a cold war era intelligence pact called the UKUSA Agreement. This was originally an intelligence-sharing agreement between the United States and the UK aimed at decrypting Soviet Russian intelligence.

By the late 1950s, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand had also joined the Alliance. These five English-speaking countries make up the Five Eyes Alliance as we know it today. The intelligence-sharing agreement between these five countries has only strengthened over time, extending to surveillance of online activity.

The scope of activity performed by the Five Eyes Alliance was made clear in 2013 after Edward Snowden leaked a number of documents that he obtained while working as an NSA contractor. Widespread government surveillance of citizens’ online activity was exposed to the public. The leak provided clear evidence that the international intelligence-sharing network was more extensive than previously thought.

Evidence was also revealed of member countries using the alliance to circumvent the privacy laws of their own citizens. For example, the UK was found to be working around surveillance laws protecting its populace by asking the USA’s NSA to spy on UK nationals instead. They would then simply request the NSA share the data they pulled. Very clever.

The UK and US in particular have been named as some of the worst violators of online privacy. Here’s a further example of how each country has and continues to monitor the personal information of its citizens:

• United Kingdom. In November 2016, the Royal Assent passed the Investigatory Powers Bill (aka Snoopers’ Charter) into law. The bill grants exclusive surveillance powers to the government. As per the act, internet service providers are required to retain user data such as browsing history, connection times, and text messages for two years, which can be accessed by government agencies and their partners without a warrant.
• United States. After the 9/11 incident, the NSA was authorized to monitor the phone calls and internet data of millions of Americans without a warrant. In 2017, the US Senate also approved a law that would give ISPs the authority to collect and sell user data without their consent.

Other member nations have also implemented similar data retention laws. For example, in 2015, the Australian government passed a law that mandates ISPs to retain customers’ metadata for 2 years.

Member countries of the 5 Eyes:

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

9 Eyes Alliance

The 9 Eyes is an extension of the 5 Eyes Alliance. It includes all the 5 Eyes nations and 4 additional countries: Denmark, France, the Netherlands, and Norway. The alliance was established to enhance intelligence sharing between member nations, with the common goal of preventing threats to national security.

Member countries:

• 5 Eyes countries +
• Denmark
• France
• The Netherlands
• Norway

14 Eyes Alliance

The 14 Eyes alliance is a further extension of the 5 Eyes. It consists of the 9 Eyes countries and 5 additional members: Germany, Belgium, Italy, Sweden, and Spain. This group of countries is officially called SIGINT Seniors Europe (SSEUR).

Member countries:

• 9 Eyes countries +
• Germany
• Belgium
• Italy
• Sweden
• Spain

Third-Party Contributors

Aside from these confirmed alliances, it is also worth mentioning another handful of countries that have been caught or suspected of exchanging information with the Fourteen Eyes Alliance. These include Israel, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea.

Possible 6th Eye?

The 6th Eye is a term used to refer to Japan as a possible addition to the 5 Eyes Alliance. While Japan is not officially a member of the alliance, it has close intelligence-sharing relationships with the 5 Eyes countries.

In August 2020, the Japanese Defense Minister expressed the desire for even closer cooperation with the 5 Eyes and suggested that Japan could become known as the “6th Eye”. Both the US and UK have shown interest in Japan’s possible involvement. However, the concept of Japan being the 6th Eye is not an official designation and remains largely speculative.

A quick-guide to which countries feature in the alliance

Surveillance Systems Used By These Alliances and the Data They Collect

These alliances have a large number of mass surveillance systems in place, with some remaining unknown to the public. Some that have received significant media attention include:

ECHELON

ECHELON is a global surveillance program operated by the 5 Eyes countries. It was originally developed to intercept the military and diplomatic communications between the Soviet Union and its Eastern bloc allies during the Cold War.

By the end of the 20th century, the program had expanded beyond its original scope. Reportedly, it can now monitor telephone calls, faxes, e-mails, and other data streams. It can even trace bank account activity.

PRISM

PRISM is a US government-led initiative that allows the USA’s National Security Agency (NSA) to collect communications data from big corporations like Microsoft, Facebook, Google, Apple, Yahoo, and others. The program was revealed to the public by Edward Snowden in 2013.

XKeyscore

XKeyscore is yet another mass surveillance program operated by the NSA. This can collect and analyze internet data in real-time. According to Snowden, the system enables almost unlimited surveillance. NSA analysts can access your phone calls, emails, search history, and even Microsoft Word documents without a warrant.

How Can This Affect VPN Users?

While a VPN with military-grade encryption can protect you from these surveillance systems, the alliances are always devising more methods to get at your data. For example, in 2018, the 5 Eyes countries released a statement calling on tech companies (including VPN providers) to provide a means for law enforcement to access end-to-end encrypted communications.

Australia is an example of a country that has already passed a bill that permits government authorities to access user data, even if it’s encrypted.

There have also been several instances where VPN providers shared user data with authorities. Riseup, a US-based privacy-focused email/VPN provider, complied with two warrants to share user data. However, the company didn’t disclose this information to the public until much later because of a court-issued gag order.

As another example, UK-based HMA VPN handed over user data to the feds in response to a court order in 2011, which led to the arrest of a LulzSec hacker.

It is also safe to assume that if any of these 14 nations gain access to your data online, your data can then be shared with the other countries in the alliance.

What Can You Do?

So, how do you protect your online data? A VPN should still be your first line of defense against invasive surveillance and monitoring, but your choice of provider is highly important. Not all VPNs will keep you safe from the Eyes Alliances — as I’ve shown above, some do and will continue to cooperate with them.

Listed below are a few critical things to consider if you’re (rightfully) concerned about your online data while using a VPN.

Check the Location of Your VPN’s Headquarters

It’s important to consider where your VPN is headquartered as a business. It’s strongly recommended that you do not choose a VPN provider based in a country associated with the Fourteen Eyes Alliance if you are concerned about online privacy.

If it is, your VPN provider could be forced to hand over user information to the government. This data could then be shared with other countries in the alliance. You may not even know that your privacy has been breached.

Check Your VPN’s No-Logs Policy

The many ways that VPNs can fall under the jurisdiction of various governments (such as the location of the user, location of the server, etc) is why the best VPNs for privacy have strict no-logs policies. This means that they do not retain any kind of identifying information about their users or their online activity.

A great example of this policy in action comes from the well-known VPN provider ExpressVPN. During a Turkish investigation into an ExpressVPN user, law enforcement tried to compel this VPN to hand over identifying data. Despite their best attempts, authorities were unable to find any identifying information due to ExpressVPN’s commitment to protecting its users’ privacy.

Check VPN Legality in Your Country

You need to be aware of the online laws and regulations regarding VPNs of the country you live in. For example, is VPN use even legal in your country? In most cases, the answer is yes, but not always.

Some countries (like China and Iran) have heavily regulated VPN use to a short list of “government approved” VPNs — which you can safely assume are sharing data with the authorities. Others have outright banned VPNs altogether. We always recommend you check your local laws regarding VPNs, as we do not condone breaking the law.

3 Best VPNs Outside 14 Eyes Countries

If privacy protection is the goal, you should always choose a VPN with a strict no-logs policy that is based outside of Eyes Alliance jurisdiction. Even this isn’t enough if you’re serious about staying private online — you need to choose a VPN that is truly dedicated to privacy and can back this up with robust features and proven policies. That’s why I tested dozens of VPNs outside of the 14 Eyes jurisdictions to find the best ones for protecting your personal data.

1. ExpressVPN — Overall Best Privacy VPN Based Outside of the 14 Eyes Countries

Having used ExpressVPN for years, I can confidently say that it’s the ideal choice for privacy enthusiasts. ExpressVPN doesn’t store identifiable information, and this has been proven in real-life cases. For example, Turkish law enforcement seized an ExpressVPN server looking for evidence to identify and incriminate a user of the service. However, as ExpressVPN doesn’t keep logs, no identifiable data was ever found.

ExpressVPN is based in the privacy-friendly British Virgin Islands (BVI), so it can freely honor its no-logs policy without any government interference. This means that it isn’t legally obligated to store or share user data even if the request is made by government officials or any 14 Eyes countries.

In addition, ExpressVPN uses a RAM-based server configuration, which wipes user data from previous sessions after every reboot of the server. None of your personal data should ever be accessible.

Its no-logs claims have been verified on several occasions. For example, in 2019, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) exhaustively examined its servers and code and confirmed its privacy claims as valid. The claims were again verified by Cure53 and KPMG in 2022.

ExpressVPN has even open-sourced its browser extensions for anyone to examine its code, which goes to show the level of confidence it has in its offerings.

You’re covered by a 30-day money-back guarantee when you sign up for ExpressVPN. If you’re not satisfied, it’s easy to get a full refund.

Features:

• Strong security. ExpressVPN offers AES 256-bit encryption with perfect forward secrecy, which regularly changes encryption keys to make your data even more difficult and time-consuming to decrypt. Plus, it offers leak protection and a kill switch to prevent IP/DNS leaks.
• Secure and fast Lightway protocol. ExpressVPN’s proprietary Lightway protocol is 100% open-source and has passed a thorough independent audit performed by Cure53, so you can rest assured that it offers top security. As an added bonus, Lightway is one of the fastest protocols we’ve tested. On nearby servers, we only experienced a speed drop of 5%.
• Automatic server obfuscation. ExpressVPN uses obfuscation on all its servers to hide the fact that you’re using a VPN. This allows you to bypass tough firewalls and VPN blocks. The best part is that it activates automatically when the app detects network restrictions.
• P2P support. All of ExpressVPN’s servers are P2P-friendly. This means you can securely and privately torrent for hours without interruption or slowdowns.

Protect Your Privacy with ExpressVPN

2. CyberGhost — Dedicated NoSpy Servers Based in Privacy Haven Romania

For those seeking a cost-effective yet privacy-centric VPN, CyberGhost is an excellent option. It is based beyond the jurisdiction of the 14 Eyes Alliance and employs military-grade 256-bit encryption to secure your browsing activities while maintaining a stringent no-logs policy.

Its policy was put to the test in 2019 when a customer survey firm it works with was compromised. The breach resulted in the exposure of 14 CyberGhost usernames. However, no sensitive information was leaked because the company doesn’t store any.

To add to this, CyberGhost regularly releases transparency reports. These contain information about legal requests it has received over the years to hand over user data and how CyberGhost responded to those requests. Thanks to its no-logs policy, CyberGhost has never had anything to share with authorities.

I also appreciate that CyberGhost offers NoSpy servers that are housed in its own headquarters in privacy-haven Romania. These are highly secure servers that only CyberGhost employees can access. This adds an additional layer of privacy by reducing the risk of third-party interference.

It’s very affordable — you can get CyberGhost for just $2.11/month with its long-term plan. Plus, its generous 45-day money-back guarantee lets you try CyberGhost risk-free for much longer than most VPNs.

Features:

• Extra privacy protection on Windows. CyberGhost’s Privacy Guard feature lets you disable the intrusive functionalities of your Windows device. For example, you can disable geo-tracking, disable Microsoft account syncing, and stop Windows from collecting your data.
• WireGuard support. CyberGhost supports WireGuard, which joins Lightway as one of the faster VPN protocols out there. It’s lightweight, open source, and thoroughly audited. Using WireGuard, I experienced fast speeds on CyberGhost’s nearby servers in my tests. However, its long-distance connections were a bit slower than ExpressVPN.
• Wi-Fi protection. This feature allows you to customize your VPN behavior when you connect to a new network. For instance, if you set the default action to “protect”, you’ll be automatically connected to the VPN when you connect to an unknown network.
• Content Blocker. In addition to blocking ads and malicious domains, CyberGhost’s Content Blocker will prevent trackers from being able to identify and monitor your browsing activity.

Protect Your Privacy with CyberGhost

3. NordVPN — Route Your Connection Through Two VPN Servers for Added Protection

NordVPN is another excellent option for those looking for a VPN based outside of the 14 Eyes jurisdiction. It’s based in Panama, which is a privacy-friendly country with no data retention laws. Plus, the internet in Panama is not subject to government surveillance.

What sets NordVPN apart is its Double VPN feature. This routes your traffic through two VPN servers instead of one, encrypting your data with two layers of AES 256-bit encryption. This makes it even harder for government agencies to get hold of your sensitive data. Your IP address is also replaced twice, making it near-impossible to trace your online activity back to your home network.

NordVPN also enhances your online privacy by blocking ads and trackers with its Threat Protection feature. Plus, it also scans your downloaded files for malware and blocks them before they could infect your device. I tested this feature by visiting ad-heavy forbes.com, and it blocked all the ads and trackers on the page.

The service also sticks to a watertight no-logs policy. Its claims have been independently verified twice by PwC — once in 2018, and again in 2020. At the end of 2022, well-known auditing firm Deloitte confirmed that NordVPN is compliant with its no-logs policy.

You can always claim a full refund within 30 days if you want to try NordVPN out first. Its money-back guarantee is legit and it’s easy to get a refund.

Features:

• Dark web monitor. This feature continuously scans the dark web and alerts you if credentials associated with the email address you used to sign up with NordVPN are exposed in a data breach.
• NordLynx. This is NordVPN’s proprietary protocol that uses WireGuard technology but improves upon it by implementing double Network Address Translation (NAT) to further increase security and performance. Despite the added security, NordLynx is still a close match to Lightway and WireGuard in terms of speeds.
• Obfuscated servers. NordVPN also offers obfuscated servers, so you can use the VPN on restrictive networks. However, unlike ExpressVPN, obfuscation isn’t automatic.
• Onion over VPN support. This lets you access the dark web without the need for the Tor browser. Plus, it also adds an additional layer of privacy because your traffic is first encrypted by NordVPN and then sent through 3 random onion servers, which have their own encryption layers.

Protect Your Privacy with NordVPN >>

Additional Privacy Measures to Consider

Listed below are some additional privacy measures you can take to safeguard your online privacy.

• Use an anonymous email. Anonymous email services encrypt the content of your message and do not contain identifiable information. ProtonMail is an excellent example, but if you need more options, you can check out our article on the best private emails.
• Switch to a privacy-friendly browser. Many popular browsers (like Chrome) collect your data and target you with ads through their marketing partners. However, you can prevent this by switching to trusted private browsers like Brave and Tor.
• Don’t overshare. Do not share personal or identifiable information on public apps. Many online services also allow you to disable the logging of your browsing activity and location data. I recommend you disable these tracking services if possible, and avoid apps that don’t allow you to prevent your data from being shared.
• Be wary of the messaging apps you use. For example, WhatsApp offers end-to-end encryption, but its privacy policy indicates that it shares certain data (like your phone number, profile name, and transaction data) with other Meta companies. In addition, WhatsApp doesn’t protect your metadata. It’s better to switch to alternatives like Signal that offer metadata protection and do not collect or share your data.

FAQs on the 5/9/14 Eyes Alliances and VPNs

Are the 5/9/14 Eyes Alliances the only international surveillance networks?

No, they’re not the only ones, just the most well-known international surveillance networks. There are several other intelligence-sharing agreements between nations that may affect you to varying degrees.

Some other examples include the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (also known as the Quad), SIGINT Seniors of the Pacific (SSPAC), and Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). These networks include countries such as India, Thailand, China, and Russia, to name a few. Many of the nations in the Eyes Alliances are also members of these additional surveillance networks.

Using a VPN in a member nation of the above surveillance networks could put your personal data at risk — even if the country isn’t a part of the Eyes Alliances. That’s why it’s so important to choose a VPN that has a strict no-logs policy and is based in a privacy-friendly country.

Why is it called the 5 Eyes Alliance?

The name “5 Eyes Alliance” originated as a shorthand for the “AUS/CAN/NZ/UK/US EYES ONLY” caveat, used to mark confidential documents. It was formed during the cold war with the goal of intercepting communications between the Soviet Union and its allies. However, it has expanded beyond its original scope and is now used to monitor communications worldwide.

Therefore, it’s important that you use a VPN with a strong focus on privacy.

Is Iceland part of the 14 Eyes?

No, Iceland is not a member of the 14 Eyes Alliance, nor are they known to be a third-party contributor. Iceland is a privacy-friendly country with no data retention laws.

According to the Icelandic Data Protection Act passed in 2018, data must be collected fairly and lawfully. Tech companies must also have users’ explicit consent for them to collect data.

This means citizens of Iceland and VPN providers based in the country are outside the scope of the 14 Eyes Alliance. Still, your personal data can be shared without your consent with an untrustworthy VPN, regardless of where you or the provider is based. It’s always best to choose a VPN with a strict no-logs policy and strong privacy features.

Protect Yourself With ExpressVPN

The Bottom Line

Online privacy is becoming a bigger concern for internet users as international surveillance practices grow larger and more effective.

There are many reasons to be wary of government powers having access to your data and online activity, particularly when international intelligence-sharing agreements can allow nations to bypass their own privacy protection laws. If you wish to keep your personal data private, a VPN is your first and strongest line of defense.

When choosing a VPN, it’s important to stick to a reputable provider that offers a strict no-logs policy and is based outside of the 14 Eyes countries. I recommend ExpressVPN because its no logs claim has been independently audited multiple times and proven in real legal challenges. Plus, it’s even backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can try ExpressVPN risk-free. If it’s not for you, it’s easy to get a full refund.

To summarize, here are the best VPNs outside 5/9/14 Eyes countries in 2023…

Whenever I’ve researched about VPNs, I’ve always encountered the infamous “5 eyes”, “9 eyes”, and “14 eyes”.

However, I’ve never felt the need to properly address this topic until now. No matter where I look, all I can see is people seriously concerned about their privacy.

So after spending 96 hours, researching 123 VPN providers, I’ve put together this guide for you.

By the end of this guide, you will know which VPN providers are based in which jurisdictions, their impact on privacy, and whether you should trust them or not.

Here is a quick breakdown of countries in each of the Eyes alliance that are an enemy of the internet:

• • Five eyes: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand
  • Nine Eyes: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, France, Netherlands, Norway
  • Fourteen eyes: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, France, Netherlands, Norway, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Italy, Sweden

Is the VPN You’re Using Outside 5,9,14 eyes countries?

What are the Five Eyes Nations?

So, who are the five eyes?

Well, five eyes or FVEY is an alliance between the intelligence agencies of five nations. The core objective of the five eyes intelligence is collective surveillance.

Five eyes alliance includes:

• • 1. The United States – National Security Agency (NSA)
    2. The United Kingdom – Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ)
    3. Australia – Australian Signals Directorate (ASD)
    4. Canada – Communication Security Establishment Canada (CSEC)
    5. New Zealand – Government Communication Security Bureau (GCSB)

First signs of five eyes intelligence alliance were seen post World War II and dates back to the UKUSA Agreement. The pact between the USA and UK formalized an alliance for intelligence sharing. The agreement has strengthened over the years and soon other nations (Australia, Canada, and New Zealand) were made part of the surveillance coalition.

But the five eyes alliance just doesn’t end there, in fact, as global threats increased and the need for more rigorous online surveillance arose, more and more global nations pitched in.

The Birth of 5/9/14 eyes alliance

The 5, 9, and 14 eyes surveillance alliance work in coalition to intercept and closely analyze both offline and online activities of the masses.

These intelligence agencies don’t just operate in their own designated jurisdictions, but also in other countries where they don’t have legal rights.

If for say NSA wants to track down someone in Canada, they can just ask CSEC to handle the operation for them.

The primary goal of these organizations is to fend off any threats to national security.

That said, as you shall see later on this blog, these alliances have also been involved in some very shifty spy operations against people like you and me.

5, 9 and 14 eye alliances are nothing new, they ’ve and have been operating under the radar. However, the general public was only made aware of the ongoing mass surveillance as recent as 2013 thanks to the whistleblower, Edward Snowden.

Subsequent to the Snowden leaks, The Guardian disclosed that the NSA had been secretly recording telephone records of tens of millions of Americans.

By now you must be wondering, how on earth they get away with unlawful mass surveillance?

Well, that’s because the governments backing five eyes alliance has passed bills that allow surveillance agencies to freely conduct such operations.

Here’s a rundown of few brute force investigatory legislations…

United Kingdom (Investigatory Powers Act, AKA Snoopers charter)

Back in 2016, the United Kingdom passed the Investigatory Powers Act. This act mandates ISPs and telecom companies that fall under the umbrella of the Five Eye to actively store connection information, text messages and even browsing histories of users.

Furthermore, these logs must be kept for two years (2) and must be made available to the U.K government and collaborating alliances. Worst of all, this data can be stored and shared without any form of legal warrant.

Australia (Assistance and Access Bill 2018)

Similar to the U.K’s stringent Investigatory powers Act, Australia’s recent Assistance and Access Bill gives law enforcement agencies unhindered access to encrypted user data. Australia’s equivalent legislation contains three different powers, but the one we should be all concerned about is the “technical capability notices” (TCN).

This power forces a wide range of companies associated with the digital sector to integrate spyware into devices and apps without the consent or knowledge of their customers. [Source]

In opposition of the new legislation, Greens’ senator Jordon Steele-John said in a tweet, “Far from being a ‘national security measure’ this bill will have the unintended consequence of diminishing the online safety, security and privacy of every single Australian”

What are the 9 eyes countries?

If you have seen the James Bond movie Spectre (2015), then you have an idea about Nine Eye Nations.

9 eyes is basically an extension of the five eyes alliance, and further includes four more countries. In total, 9 eyes countries include:

• • 1. The United States
    2. The United Kingdom
    3. Australia
    4. Canada
    5. New Zealand
    6. France
    7. Norway
    8. Denmark
    9. Netherlands

The overall goal of this arrangement between the nine nations is the same, share intelligence with each other.

First signs of this were seen when the Danish intelligence agency collaborated with NSA. The Danish authorities gained access to NSA tech while allowing the American intelligence agency to install surveillance equipment on fiber optic cables throughout the country. [Source]

What are 14 eyes countries?

The intelligence alliance further expanded between nations and included more countries, resulting in 14 Eyes. This agreement included both Five eyes countries, nine eyes country, and other nations:

• • 1. The United States
    2. The United Kingdom
    3. Australia
    4. Canada
    5. New Zealand
    6. France
    7. Norway
    8. Denmark
    9. Netherlands
    10. Spain
    11. Sweden
    12. Germany
    13. Italy
    14. Belgium

The objective of this arrangement was also the same: share intelligence information with each other, provide technical support, and allow respective agencies to conduct surveillance in the country.

How Do 5 Eyes, 9 Eyes, & 14 Eyes Countries Impact Your Privacy?

Ever sent an encrypted message? Of course, you have. In fact, WhatsApp, Messenger, and other mainstream social sharing apps have all incorporated end to end encryption.

Nobody wants people spying on them. Privacy of personal information is everyone’s basic necessity – Right?

Well, that’s what you think. Five eyes law enforcement group and other surveillance alliances beg to differ. Just last year, Five eyes countries have been pressuring tech companies to give them lawful access to all encrypted user data. [Source]

For instance, when the Russian Ambassador got assassinated in turkey, ExpressVPN’s servers got seized by the authorities.

Sounds crazy right? Just wait for what I have I store for you.

If granted access, Five eyes, and other alliances could legally intercept text messages, encrypted emails, and even voice conversations.

This is all real, swear to god I’m not scaremongering. I’m just as paranoid as you are.

To know more about factors other than jurisdiction that influence users’ privacy to certain extent, read our unbiased VPN reviews guide.

So why does FVEY wants to access to your data?

Well, according to the Australian government’s national security policy, encryption “present challenges for nations in combatting serious crimes and threats to national and global security”.

While encryption is a godsend for privacy-concerned folks like you and me, it’s also a holy grail for criminals, sex offenders, and even terrorist organizations.

Now I’m all up for catching pedophiles and countering terrorists, but I’m still not comfortable with global surveillance on the masses.

According to the Attorneys General and Interior Ministers of the five (5) nations, “The Governments of the 5 Eyes encourage information and communications technology service providers to voluntarily establish lawful access solutions to their products and services that they create or operate in our countries.” [Source]

“Should governments continue to encounter impediments to lawful access to information necessary to aid the protection of the citizens of our countries, we may pursue technological, enforcement, legislative or other measures to achieve lawful access solutions.” [Source]

In other words, if tech companies don’t comply with the Five eyes, they’ll forcefully get access anyways.

What are the risks?

So, what are five eyes basically proposing? Well, they want a master key to decrypt all encrypted data in transit. In other words, global backdoor access to encrypted communications.

What could even go wrong? (Sarcasm)

If you aren’t catching my drift, this is a serious threat to our privacy. Can you even imagine someone barging into your home and ransacking your personal belongings? Me neither.

As I said, Encryption is a basic necessity. We need it for banking, online shopping and making sure no one screws us over.

If Five eyes get a go-ahead to use backdoor methods of decryption, that’ll pave the way for other more malicious groups of individuals. [Source]

In theory, it would drastically change the way we perceive online privacy and our dependency on everyday apps.

A perspective on online mass surveillance

Ever since Edward Snowden blew the lid off of the Five eyes, more and more confidential information started to surface.

Two of the most revelations opens up a whole new Pandora box mass surveillance activities. According to official government documents disclosed by CBC News and The Intercept, the Communications Security Establishment (CSE) has monitored file downloading activities of millions of Canadians every day. [Source]

To be more specific, according to Edward Snowden documents, the CSE has been involved in storing and analyzing up to 15 million file downloads daily. [Source]

If that’s not terrifying, I don’t know what is.

That’s just one country, just imagine what atrocities FVEY can jointly wreak.

That’s not all. After already disclosing the unethical surveillance program of CSE, CBC News and The Intercept again disclosed shocking documents revealing the mass email surveillance of Canadian citizens. From the investigation, it was disclosed that Canada’s electronic spy agency collected around 400,000 emails to the government every day. [Source]

Without a doubt, such excessive monitoring is enough to generate an accurate profile of you and the people you interact with.

Paranoid? Well, hold on to your pants for this one…

According to Professor Ron Deibert, a collection of precise metadata can give surveillance agencies the power to “pinpoint not only who you are, but with whom you meet, with what frequency and duration, and at which locations.” [Source]

In conclusion, FVEY and subsequent alliances are spending billions of dollars on mass online surveillance.

What Do Industry Experts Have To Say About 5 Eyes, 9 Eyes & Fourteen Eyes Country

To get an external view on Five eyes, 9 Eyes, and 14 Eyes, we got in touch with some industry experts and asked their opinion and tips.

Arthur Cockfield – Professor at Queen’s University

Arthur Cockfield is a Professor and a member of the Faculty of Law at Queen’s University. His expertise is in Law and Technology,  Privacy law, and Tax law. Our team reached out to Arthur and asked if there are any laws that protect users against governmental agencies from obtaining personal information.

The countries that participate in 5 eyes, 9 eyes, and 14 eyes are all democracies with a strong rule of law. Accordingly, each country has due process protections, with varying degrees, against government searches of personal data.

While there are some processes that safeguard users, but they can be overlooked when it is a matter of national security.

However, in many cases, national security concerns identified by ‘eyes’ countries can trump these due process protections. For instance, an intelligence service may be able to demand or access a users’ personal data stored by a VPN without obtaining a warrant or other legal mechanism with due process protections.

The above statement by Arthur clearly explains that even if a VPN is based outside an FVEY jurisdiction, there is always a chance that the provider would have to comply with legal notices such as warrants and subpoenas.

David Murphy – Senior Technology Editor, Lifehacker

David Murphy is an experienced tech writer and editor who has years of experience covering various topics related to technology. He is currently working as Senior Technology Editor at Lifehacker and our team asked him some question about VPNs based in 14 eyes countries and what tips can he offer our users.

According to David, choosing a VPN within the FVEY jurisdiction comes down to what is your purpose of use. He explained it through an interesting example saying, “If you just care about protecting your online shopping while you’re working at your local coffee shop, it doesn’t really matter.” 

If you’re running a BitTorrent server and you’re looking to avoid the law as much as possible, I’d probably look for a VPN outside of the 14 eyes countries.

When we dug a bit deeper with David about trusting VPN providers based in the 5 Eyes, 9 Eyes, 14 Eyes, he said:

Generally speaking, you can probably get away with using a VPN within the 14 eyes countries so long as the provider uses solid encryption and doesn’t keep logs, and the country where it’s located has pretty strong privacy laws—like, say, Switzerland, though that’s technically not a 14 eyes country.

This was an interesting take on the subject, and while we cannot stop to use the internet, David provided valuable tips that users can use to safeguard against agencies snooping on their activities. He said that it all boils down to how paranoid you are about your privacy and don’t want to be tracked.

“Burner devices. Tor. Running your own VPN that only you have access to. Not sticking to the same habits or routines for where you connect to the web. Not using a similar online handle for your secret / non-secret activity. Sandboxing anything you do in your OS, or keeping your nefarious activities limited to a virtual machine (or Live USB key, like Tails),” he advised.

Invasion of Privacy Incidents: If Diana was spied upon, so can YOU!

By now you might have an idea of what the five eyes countries are capable of. Now we’ll take a look at some of the outrageous invasion of privacy incidents committed by the infamous Five eyes

August 1997 – The Night Princess Diana Passed away

One of the most high-profile cases of the century, the American secret service bugged Princess Diana’s telephone conversations without the approval of the British security services on the night she died.

The princess of Wales had been under the radar of the five eyes surveillance alliance and primary spied upon by the NSA. More than a 1000 page dossier was compiled on the princess. Although some information related to the case was publically released, 39 classified documents will never be released.

In reference to her mysterious death, NSA later admitted that they were monitoring Princess Diana, but never actively monitored her movements.

At least that’s what the intelligence reports tell us, who knows what might be locked up in those 39 classified documents.

The 1970s– John Lennon under surveillance

According to former Sunday Express legal correspondent Fenton Bresler, classified documents obtained from the FBI and CIA reveal that Lennon was being tracked by the intelligence agencies during the 1970s.

NSA and GCHQ were reportedly speculated to conducting warrantless eavesdropping on the Beatles singer, John Lennon. [Source]

According to sources, intelligence agencies were becoming more concerned with Lennon because of his radical influence in politics. The FBI and CIA jointly ordered agents to continue surveillance on Lennon. [Source]

January 2012 – Unlawful Raid on Kim Dotcom

January 2012, New Zealand law enforcement personals in coordination with NSA, forcefully entered Kim Dotcom’s mansion ransacking his property and seizing alleged evidence of US copyright infringements. This case was particularly appalling, as it violated the GCSB Act article 14.

According to article 14, ‘[n]either the Director, nor an employee of the bureau, nor a person acting on behalf of the bureau may authorize or take any action for the purpose of intercepting the communications of a person who is a New Zealand citizen or a permanent resident.’

Even prior to his arrest, Dotcom had been under surveillance from December 16, 2011. Surveillance cameras were installed at a nearby property by the Organized and Financial Crime Agency New Zealand, (OFCANZ).

In addition, tiny pencam was used or was about to be used by law enforcement when they raided the Mahoenui Valley property on January 19, 2012, without a warrant.

Sadly, despite there being evidence of forced entry and physical abuse, law enforcement agents that conducted the raid, mostly denied the accusations.

June 2013 – Telephony Meta-Data Collection

On June 5th, 2013, Guardian, a major news publication firm, disclosed NSA’s National Security Telephony Metadata Collection program. [Source]

According to The Guardian, NSA collected the communication records of millions of US citizens, indiscriminately and in bulk. During the program, The NSA collected unique identifiers such as time and duration of all intercepted calls.

Naturally, the invasion of privacy of millions of US citizens was met with mass outrage and anger. Sadly, despite the unlawful eavesdropping by the NSA, The White Paper issued by the Obama administration deemed the program legal under section 215 of the USA Patriot Act.

That’s outrageous, to say the least. I mean, what gives them the right to tap our phone calls.

2013 – Brazilian Mining and Energy Ministry surveillance

One of the infamous cases of international invasion of privacy occurred in 2013.

CSE, an organization that had already been ridiculed for their outrageous surveillance tactics, went overboard and conducted surveillance operation on Brazil’s Mining and Energy Ministry.

An outrageous move indeed.

Soon after the matter surfaced, mass hysteria and anger were demonstrated by Brazil. Even the Brazilian President of that time (Dilma Rousseff) strongly condemned the violation of Brazilian sanctity by CSE.

January 2014 – Pearson Airport Wi-Fi spying

In January of 2014, CSE initiated mass surveillance on Canadian travelers using airport Wi-Fi at the Pearson Airport, Canada.

According to the details related to the case, CSE collected data of thousands of travelers without any warrant. The unethical operation went on for weeks and gathered very precise tracking information of travelers around the world.

That’s seriously messed up.

Speaking on this matter, Ron Deibert, a privacy expert, labeled the unlawful surveillance as, illegal and unconstitutional.

Deibert further quoted “I can’t see any circumstance in which this would not be unlawful, under current Canadian law, under our Charter, under CSEC’s mandates.”

I couldn’t agree more.

Implications of Selecting a VPN from 5 Eyes, 9 Eyes & 14 Eyes Countries

When it comes to selecting a VPN, there plenty of factors you need to consider. For instance, experts would advise to avoid VPNs that leak, use virtual VPN servers or aren’t transparent about their company or business.

However, the number one thing you should look for in any VPN service is the jurisdiction from which the VPN provider is operating its business. More specifically, is the VPN provider operating from Five eyes, 9 Eyes, or 14 Eyes countries.

Why is that?

Well, VPN providers have been pressurized by law enforcement agencies in the past and forced to comply against their will. Just to give you a perspective, let’s look at the case of PureVPN and HideMyAss VPN.

HMA user handed over to the FBI

Who can forget the case of the infamous log of HideMyAss VPN? For those of you who don’t remember, back in June 2011, Cody Andrew Kretsinger, then only 23-year-old, was sentenced to 15 years in prison after getting caught by the FBI.

Kretsinger was suspected to be a member of a malicious hacker group LulzSec. According to the allegations, he was accused of hacking Sony Pictures Entertainment servers using SQL injection.

Being such a high profile case, HideMyAss was ordered by the court to hand over Kretsinger VPN logs. Despite boasting about No logging policy, HideMyAss complied with the court’s order and handed over Kretsinger real home IP.

You can read the official case file at this [Source].

PureVPN helps the FBI catch a Cyberstalker

A bit different than the HMA’s case, PureVPN also cooperated with FBI. However, some may argue that PureVPN’s cooperation with the FBI was for a good cause.

Allow me to explain what I’m talking about…

In October 2017, PureVPN helped FBI identify a crazed Cyberstalker. Ryan S. Lin of Newton Massachusetts was found to be stalking a female victim. After getting a hold of the victim’s intimate photos and other information, Lin then distributed it to hundreds of online users.

However, according to the FBI, PureVPN aided the authorities in identifying the two IP addresses associated with Lin, effectively leading to his arrest. [Source]

So what does that leave you with?

This is where using a VPN based in an internet friendly location and preferably outside the Fourteen eyes is preferred.

However, there are several other factors to consider when choosing any Best VPN service. Among them is whether the provider keeps VPN logs or not.

If a VPN provider does not record or store your browsing and downloading history, they would have nothing to handover to the concerned authorities.

Likewise, with the introduction of GDPR, companies now offer greater transparency than before. But not all VPNs are compliant.

This is because selecting a VPN based solely on its location is difficult. Their jurisdiction of preserving user’s privacy and security cannot be determined based on the country of its operations.

VPN Jurisdiction: China

Only 3 to 4 VPNs work in China, mainly because the official authorities in China only allow a handful of VPN services to operate in the country.

The Chinese officials started a major crackdown against VPNs back in 2011. When people started having issues connecting to offshore websites and services, businesses and universities actually issued warnings to not bypass the great firewall.

Subsequently, in 2012, VPN providers reported that the Great Firewall of China was able to detect and efficiently block encrypted communications passed through VPN providers. [Source]

Although the country does not have any affiliation with 5 eyes, 9 eyes, and 14 eyes countries, you can still find yourself in trouble if the official authorities catch you red-handed.

Since VPNs in China are considered illegal, you can expect a hefty fine. According to The Inquirer, you can be fined $145 just for using a VPN. [Source]

Multinational organizations that are collecting personal information in China have to store that information within China too. They have to abide by the Chinese Data Protection Regulation (CDPR). The country is also planning to devise rules regarding personal information cross-border transmission. [Source]

If all of this sounds a bit complicated, I’ve extensively covered China-related issues and VPNs that offer obfuscated servers in my best VPN for China guide.

VPN Jurisdiction: Australia

Assessing the current legislations regarding online privacy in Australia, It feels like user privacy is fading at an alarming rate.

The Australian government is infamous for masquerading overly intrusive online surveillance programs as a need to safeguard national security.

The recent amendments to online surveillance legislations have legally granted intelligence agencies including federal and state police to request access to telephone and internet records.

Even encrypted communications is not totally safe. If we take a look at the “Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Act 2018”, government agencies have greater access to encrypted communications.

Similarly, in an attempt to counter piracy in the country, Australia’s Anti-piracy laws are speculated to blocking and potentially limiting access to virtual private networks (VPNs).

Copyright Amendment (Online Infringement) Bill 2018, can force telecommunication providers to prevent its customers from accessing particular online services. This bill is also applicable for VPN services since they can aid access to blocked content. [Source]

According to Communications Minister Senator Mitch Fifield, the copyright amendment bill will make it much harder for the operators of such services to bypass geo-blocks. [Source]

I’ve spent a great deal finding a quality VPN for Australia and I could only find a few.

As of now, VPN services are not blocked, but they do have to comply with data retention laws. These rules force them to keep data logs.

According to the Australian Prime Minister’s official site, you can use a VPN to access geo-restricted content. Nevertheless, this notion only applies to content streaming.  As soon as users download or upload copyright content with the help of a VPN, they violate copyright law through VPN. They receive legal penalties in return.

Famous tech giants like Facebook and Google have shown their disappointments over the drafted Australian data bill. According to this, tech firms need to assist Australian police to decode specific forms of communications on their platforms.  This act can greatly hamper the online privacy of Australians. [Source]

The same is true for New Zealand as well. You can use a VPN in New Zealand, because they are not considered illegal by the government. However, use of VPNs for illegal activities is a punishable crime in New Zealand.

VPN Jurisdiction: Canada

Canada is also an integral five eyes member and considered one of the harshest countries In terms of surveillance, data retention, and net neutrality. You can use a VPN within the legal parameters, however, intelligence agencies can use and share users’ information with other nations without their consent.

Windscribe, SurfEasy, and TunnelBear are just a few VPNs in Canada. You are going to be monitored, that’s inevitable. Therefore, it is essential that you opt for only those VPN providers in Canada, that have jurisdiction outside the 5,9 and 14 Eyes countries.

However, there are still some VPNs that can help you access content in the USA.

Similar to Australia, Canada also doesn’t consider VPNs to be illegal. However, if you violate the terms and conditions of any service, let say Netflix or Hulu, you can either have your subscription canceled or won’t be able to access the site at all. [Source]

Bypassing geo-restrictions through masking IPs, is in a gray area. In references to accessing streaming services through VPNs, Mitch Stoltz, a staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation said,

“While there are differences among the courts about the use of masking IP addresses to gain access to a site, it is pretty well established that simply violating the Terms of Service alone is not sufficient to warrant a violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.” [Source]

VPN Jurisdiction: United Kingdom

Just strongly clarify, the UK is in fact a five eyes country. VPNs are legal within the territory of the UK. There are no bans and no restrictions on VPNs either. But since the UK is a part of the five, nine, and fourteen eyes alliances, your VPN usage will inevitably be monitored.

As I mentioned earlier, the Investigatory Powers Act 2016, gives law enforcement agencies unimaginable power to carry out surveillance on their own citizens.

So while VPN providers are flourishing in the country, UK based VPN services have to follow British data retention laws.

For instance, you can exercise your freedom of expression right by hiding behind a VPN, however, Your online activities will still be under surveillance by the GCHQ. The same is true for other European countries like Italy, thus making the use of a VPN in Italy not a choice, but a necessity, considering the current online privacy scenario.

On the bright side, The GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) has already started affecting UK tech organizations. Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018, empowers U.K citizens to take control of their data.

Here are VPNs with UK servers that can help you circumvent online restrictions in the UK.

VPN Jurisdiction: USA

VPN usage is lawful within the US. However, the country is a part of five, nine, and 14 eyes groups.

Therefore, surveillance agencies can track users’ online activities through the support of ISPs. In addition to that, recent overturn of the net neutrality rules by the FCC, has created a ripple effect.

The official authorities do not censor online content, but the VPN providers have to store their subscribers’ data logs.

Recently, the US has abolished net neutrality rule. As a result, ISPs can charge an extra fee for providing specific content streaming. The initiative could hurt small and medium-sized business firms quite badly in the future.

That said, price discrimination can be tackled by VPNs. Here are some Best USA VPN You can consider.

Are Governments forcing VPN services to store users’ information?

Yes and no, there are some jurisdictions that are exempt from online surveillance. For instance, there are no mandatory data retention laws in Hong Kong.  That is because Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region (SAR).

This is primarily the reason why most Hong Kong-based providers offer  Source

Similarly, Panama and British Virgin Island (BVI) are the other two known jurisdictions that are free from data retention laws.

On the other hand, countries falling under the Five eyes, 9 eyes, and 14 eyes alliances have initiated stern actions that allow them to influence businesses to store their users’ data. They can compel VPN services to abide by the rules described by higher authorities.

This way, the information collected can be shared with other stakeholders. Intelligence agencies from other countries may also access the information if they wish to use it for their own purposes.

Surveillance Programs Operated by 5, 9 and 14 Eyes Countries

There are several surveillance programs carried out by the Five eyes countries. Thanks to Edward Snowden, we know details about most of these surveillance programs.

ECHELON

One of the most prominent programs involved the development of ECHELON surveillance systems during WWII.  Built to monitor the Soviet Union’s communication, ECHELON computers were capable of storing millions of records. It was then later used to eavesdrop on private conversations and commercial communications.

Over 5 decades, ECHELON has aided the UK and United States to track enemies and allies alike with great precision. Although the scope has evolved since then the objective remains the same. [Source]

ECHELON was mostly talked about by conspiracy nerds, however, it was only until the Snowden leaks that everything came into plain sight.

The program was used by Bush administration to tap American phones without warrants. Just for perspective, one ECHELON facility in York-shire U.K monitoring 300 million emails and phone calls daily. [Source]

PRISM

PRISM is one of the most talked about surveillance program conducted by the five eyes network.

It was a code name project run by NSA and its main objective was to monitor and record internet communications.

Several tech companies were part of the program, including the likes of Google, Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, YouTube, Microsoft, Apple, and Skype.

According to the revelations unveiled by Edward Snowden about PRISM, NSA could conduct mass surveillance on live communications and record information such as emails, conversations over VoIP services (Skype), social media activities, file transfers, videos, pictures, voice and video chats, and internet browsing history.

Likewise, NSA and other intelligence agencies could summon special requests to ISPs and tech companies and demand for data regarding specific users.

The extent of surveillance was not only restricted to the NSA. Other intelligence agencies such as GCHQ of UK could also use the program to intercept communications of civilians. [Source]

In short, any operative from NSA, FBI, CIA, DIA or other agency could know anything about anyone using PRISM.

XKeyscore

XKeyscore is another program run by the NSA in collaboration with intelligence agencies from Australia and the UK.

The primary aim of this program was to search and analyze internet traffic from around the world.

Edward Snowden revealed top-secret documents pertaining to XKeyscore, unveiling how NSA was able to monitor, record, and analyze communications and internet usage of just about anyone.

In an interview, with a German broadcaster asked Edward Snowden about the capabilities of XKeyscore and he replied:

“You could read anyone’s email in the world, anybody you’ve got an email address for. Any website: You can watch traffic to and from it. Any computer that an individual sits at: You can watch it. Any laptop that you’re tracking: you can follow it as it moves from place to place throughout the world…”

Investigatory Power Act

The GCHQ and other intelligence agencies in the UK are just as involved in cyber surveillance as NSA.

With the passage of Investigatory Power Act, ISPs and telecom companies can record internet browsing history, conversations, text messages, and all other forms of communications.

This data is stored for two years and gives full liberty to intelligence agencies to access it for their use.

Other Notable Surveillance Programs

In addition to the above-mentioned programs, other initiatives undertaken by the five eyes nations or fourteen eyes surveillance network includes:

• • • Signals Intelligence
    • Tempora
    • STATEROOM
    • MUSCULAR
    • Data Retention Bill in Australia

Do Additional Eyes Exist?

Edward Snowden has revealed more or less 30 countries that are working as third-party partners. They support eyes countries by different surveillance acts like cyberspace monitoring, information, wire-tapping and so on.

Here is the list of countries that are acting as allies of eyes territories.

• • • Japan
    • South Korea
    • United Arab Emirates
    • Singapore
    • Israel

Huawei – Dividing the Five Eyes Alliance

Let’s be honest for a second, there’s no corporation out there that can challenge the five eyes, right? That’s what I thought too until I stumbled upon the news of the five eyes banning the Chinese telecoms giant Huawei from the 5G race.

But not all members of the 5 eyes alliance are on the same page. The US is campaigning hard to restrict Huawei from delivering 5G infrastructure over privacy concerns.

Bill Evanina, the head of America’s National Counterintelligence and Security Center had this to say:

“We have serious concerns over Huawei’s obligations to the Chinese government and the danger that poses to the integrity of telecommunications networks in the US and elsewhere”

“Chinese company relationships with the Chinese government aren’t like private sector company relationships with governments in the West.”

Even though the Huawei straight up denied being under control of the Chinese government, or that it poses any risks, the US is not only adamant about restricting the company but is also pressuring other allies to take the same course.

However, despite pressure, allies like the UK are considering collaborating with the solely because Huawei is the cheapest 5G vendor currently in the market.

But according to the latest updates on the matter, Australia and New Zealand have decided to take the same course as the US and ban Huawei from participation in their 5G networks.

What about Canada?

Well, it’s not concretely decided yet whether Canada will subdue to the US, however, according to speculations, Canada might take the same approach as the UK.

Since the 5 eyes members cannot settle on a collaborative decision, many have speculated that this will directly impact the intelligence sharing between the countries.

Tom Tugendhat, a former military officer who chairs the UK Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee had this to say on the matter:

“I think it’s hugely concerning because the Five Eyes relationship is fundamentally based on trust,”

“Injecting doubt into a trust-based relationship can undermine the fundamentals of the partnership. Particularly at a time when the liberal order is in question.”

If Canada and the UK go ahead with their decisions, it could ultimately mean limited information sharing between the alliances, or even quite possibly a complete dismantlement of the so-called five eyes alliance.

Final Words

If you’ve ever seen the movie, “Enemy of The State”, then you know how powerful NSA’s surveillance really is.

With surveillance programs stretching to international borders, several alliances have formed over the years. The most famous of all is the 5 Eyes, 9 Eyes, and 14 eyes countries.

These so-called “saviors” of our privacy have been caught doing some very shady stuff. I personally cannot trust them, and you shouldn’t too.

Now, I’m not against surveillance agencies. After all, they’re the reason we can sleep safely at night. However, don’t you think it might be better if at least they can be a little bit transparent about it?

Anyways, after personally researching VPN jurisdictions of 100+ VPN providers, I’ve rounded up only a handful of best VPN services.

And if you’re not looking to spend a lot of money, we have great VPN deals and best christmas 2019 VPN deals for you as well!

You’re welcome.

The Five Eyes Alliance (abbreviated as FVEY in government documents) is a cooperative intelligence network that monitors the electronic communications of citizens and foreign governments. This network of anglophone countries includes the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The Five Eyes Alliance became the subject of controversy in 2013 — when U.S. NSA employee Edward Snowden released classified documents about its activities to the public.

FVEY is the result of the UKUSA (United Kingdom – United States of America) Agreement of 1946 and is the world’s oldest intelligence partnership. In the past, it was used to monitor foreign communications among a number of countries, serving various political interests. Today, FVEY monitors private communications of billions of people, worldwide.   

The Five Eyes Alliance uses communications methods, such as signals intelligence (SIGINT), to monitor the citizens of other FVEY member countries. By monitoring each other’s citizens, FVEY can bypass domestic surveillance regulations. FVEY has steadily advanced since its initial inception and has developed to the point of a multinational global surveillance program, capable of monitoring the data of entire populations.

FVEY collects information by intercepting private communications — such as telephone calls, faxes, emails and text messages — from infrastructure such as satellites, telephone networks and fiber optic cables. FVEY also receives records of user data from large technology companies — including Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, Paltalk, YouTube, AOL, Skype and Apple. Each member country has three to five government agencies involved; each agency is responsible for one to two roles, including human intelligence, defense intelligence, security intelligence, geo intelligence and signal intelligence.

Origin and history

FVEY originated as a result of the 1941 Atlantic Charter, which laid out Allied goals for the world after World War II. In 1943, the U.S. and the U.K. formed a cooperative intelligence agreement — a secret treaty known as the BRUSA Agreement — which was later formalized as the UKUSA Agreement. In the next decade, Canada, Norway, Denmark, West Germany, Australia and New Zealand were temporarily added as less-involved third parties. In 1955, an update narrowed the group down to its current, tighter-knit selection of Five Eyes countries — the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia and NZ.

In the 1950’s, FVEY shared Cold War intelligence and monitored communications from the Soviet Union, People’s Republic of China and Eastern Bloc countries. Intelligence from FVEY was also used for:

• the Vietnam War;
• the Falklands War;
• the Gulf War;
• the overthrowing of Iran’s Prime Minister Mohammed Mosaddegh;
• the assassination of Patrice Lumumba;
• the overthrowing of Chilean President Salvador Allende;
• aiding Chinese dissidents during the Tiananmen Square protests; and
• the war on terror.

Controversies and leaks in the news

Information about the Five Eyes Alliance was among the classified documents leaked to the public in 2013, by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.

This stirred global controversy, as questions were raised about the line between surveillance and the invasion of online privacy. Though some previous knowledge about FVEY existed, the public was unaware of the full extent of data collection and the new revelations left much of the public feeling violated about their privacy rights. The involved government agencies have maintained the necessity of their surveillance for national security purposes.

In 2016, the Investigatory Powers Act was drafted in the U.K., which expanded the U.K. Intelligence Community’s legal limitations of electronic surveillance. The draft was received with backlash in the U.K. for privacy concerns — with mass petitions to repeal the act — and was amended in 2018 after the U.K. high court ruled the draft an act in violation of EU law.

Five Eyes and human privacy rights

Since the Snowden leak, the Five Eyes Alliance has faced large amounts of public distrust, with many people believing it to be a violation of basic human rights. Prior to the leak, it was thought that the Five Eyes Alliance intelligence activities were limited to foreign countries. However, the classified NSA documents leaked by Snowden showed that the Five Eyes were collecting and storing large amounts of electronic communications records from their own ordinary citizens. The documents revealed that the partner countries were monitoring the citizens of each other— as a loophole, to bypass domestic spying laws for mass surveillance. This Five Eyes surveillance program was known as Echelon.

Organizations, individuals targeted by Five Eyes

Organizations that have been targeted by the Five Eyes Alliance are diverse. The list includes major technology companies, United Nations organizations, airlines, telecom operators, news and media companies, financial institutions, multinational corporations, oil companies and educational institutions. Some of these organizations include:

• United Nations (General Assembly, Institute for Disarmament Research, Children’s Fund, Development Programme, International Atomic Energy Agency)
• Google
• Yahoo
• Mastercard
• Visa Inc.
• Aeroflot (Russian Airlines)
• Al Jazeera (media group)
• Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication
• Thales Group (corporation)
• Petrobras (oil company)
• Total S.A. (oil company)
• Alcatel-Lucent (French telecom operator)
• Belgacom (Belgian telecom operator)
• Pacnet (Hong Kong-based telecom operator)
• Tsinghua University
• The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

The list of well-known individuals who have been targeted by FVEY include politicians, government leaders, entrepreneurs and even entertainers. Some of these individuals include:

• Charlie Chaplin
• Strom Thurmond
• Nelson Mandela
• Jane Fonda
• Ali Khamenei
• John Lennon
• Ehud Olmert
• Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
• Angela Merkel
• Princess Diana, princess of Wales
• Kim Dotcom

Other related international intelligence alliances

The countries involved in the Five Eyes Alliance have built decades-long partnerships that involve deeper levels of intelligence sharing and an agreement to not spy on each other. In addition, third-party countries — those not involved in FVEY — with less privileges have separate agreements worked out with the Five Eyes countries for specific common interests, such as monitoring the activities of one or two countries. Unlike second-party countries — members of FVEY — third-party countries are still subject to intelligence targeting and do not share the full extent of intelligence privileges as the inner circle.

Other intelligence alliances include:

• Five Eyes Plus Three Against China and Russia

• Includes the Five Eyes Alliance countries along with France, Germany and Japan. The alliance was formed in early 2018 as a response to common threats from Russian and Chinese activities.
• Five Eyes Plus Three Against North Korea
• Includes the Five Eyes Alliance countries along with France, Japan and South Korea. The alliance is used to share intelligence about North Korean military activities, such as ballistic missile-related threats.
• Nine Eyes
• Five Eyes Alliance countries, along with Denmark, France, the Netherlands and Norway.
• Fourteen Eyes
• The informal name for Nine Eyes countries, along with Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain and Sweden. Formally known as SIGINT Seniors Europe (SSEUR).

This was last updated in April 2020

Continue Reading About Five Eyes Alliance

• Five Eyes wants to weaken encryption, or legislation may be needed

• Snowden: Data encryption is good, but not good enough

• Newly disclosed NSA documents shed further light on Five Eyes Alliance