In the wake of the Edward Snowden/Wikileaks/NSA snooping debacle, the world has really woken up to government spying on the internet. Companies such as Google and Microsoft are suing the US Government for better transparency, Apple is mobilising its security people to encrypt data on smartphones – the entire tech industry is abuzz with the anti-snooping fervour.
Of course, there were other ramifications to the Snowden leaks. Brazil were extensively snooped on according to data uncovered in the leak, apparently due to the fact all their internet makes its way through the Americas, from the United States of America. With the ‘ol USA’s security forces having a tendency to check up upon anything in America’s jurisdiction, it’s no wonder that client web nation Brazil were peeked into by the NSA.
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In a defiant move the emerging local power has decided they’ve had enough of Uncle Sam’s prying eyes. Following up on plans announced last year, Brazil is making ready to extend a cable from Brazil, under the Atlantic Ocean and all the way back the Portugal – Brazil’s motherland in Europe.
Not only is Brazil breaking away from the US with regards to the internet, but they’re also managing the undersea cable project by themselves, with no help or assistance from any US contractor or government official, in another blow for the continental superpower.
Back in the US, the Snowden debacle has weighed in heavy on the economy, with analysts predicting that mistrust, severed partnerships, and the universal idea that ‘America spies on the internet’ causing economic damages to the country piling up to $35 billion of revenue which will apparently be missed out upon in the next year.
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But this isn’t much to be worried about. The United States has maintained a massive monopoly over the internet and internet related technologies over the past 2 decades, it’s been a hub for electronic trading, e-commerce and other online activities for just as much time. The up side of the widespread distrust may just be a boon for foreign companies which may once have been overlooked in favor of the USA.
Via: Techspot
Source: Bloomberg