

There is far too much data on the Internet for human investigators to manually search through all of it. In the United States for example, under the Communications Assistance For Law Enforcement Act, all phone calls and broadband Internet traffic (emails, web traffic, instant messaging, etc.) are required to be available for unimpeded real-time monitoring by federal law enforcement agencies. The vast majority of computer surveillance involves the monitoring of data and traffic on the Internet. International espionage seems to be common among all types of countries. Liberal democracies may have laws that seek to restrict governmental and private use of surveillance, whereas authoritarian governments seldom have any domestic restrictions.Įspionage is by definition covert and typically illegal according to the rules of the observed party, whereas most types of surveillance are overt and are considered legitimate.

Ī byproduct of surveillance is that it can unjustifiably violate people's privacy and is often criticized by civil liberties activists. Auditors carry out a form of surveillance. Religious organisations charged with detecting heresy and heterodoxy may also carry out surveillance.

It is also used by criminal organizations to plan and commit crimes, and by businesses to gather intelligence on criminals, their competitors, suppliers or customers. And by governments for intelligence gathering - including espionage, prevention of crime, the protection of a process, person, group or object, or the investigation of crime. Surveillance is used by citizens for protecting their neighborhoods. It can also include simple technical methods, such as human intelligence gathering and postal interception. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as closed-circuit television (CCTV), or interception of electronically transmitted information like Internet traffic. Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing or directing. Surveillance Camera to support the Washington DC Police
