CYBER-SURVEILLANCE

Monica Tremblay, Professional researcher

cole nationale d'administration publique
monica.tremblay@enap.ca

Cyber-surveillance is a mechanism for the surveillance of persons, objects or processes that is

based on new technologies and that is operated from and on data networks, such as the Internet. Its
purpose is to facilitate surveillance, in keeping with the quantity, rapidity or complexity of the data
to be processed. As with surveillance as a whole, it refers to the gathering and analysis of
information in the pursuit of various finalities in particular, preventing certain risks, orienting
human behaviours and, in the event of a problem, locating the persons responsible (Commission de
l'thique de la science et de la technologie, 2008; Cahen, n.d.; Boudreau, 2006).

Cyber-surveillance is part of a category of recent terms coined following the advent of

cybernetics in 1948 and whose use has become increasingly widespread since the dawning of
electronic communication networks in the 1970s. Many new words came into circulation especially
as access to the Internet became generalized in the mid-1990s. All in all, the prefix cyber- has
been linked to activities that are not new in themselves but that are now performed in virtual space
using computer systems and telecommunications.

Cyber-surveillance has, over time, become a part of our daily lives, as the ongoing development,
spread and refinement of information technologies have expanded the capabilities for managing
countless risks and ensuring the security of persons, places, data, infrastructures and processes
across a range of sectors (Commission nationale de l'informatique et des liberts, 2004; LemanLanglois and Ouimet, 2006; Bajc, 2007). Subsequent to international terrorist attacks, such as those
perpetrated in the United States on September 11, 2001 or in the London Underground in July
2005, recourse to cyber-surveillance has intensified, driven by the need to implement measures to
reduce not only threats to the security of States and their populations but also the fears that such
threats have given rise to.

Elsewhere, cyber-surveillance has been increasingly relied on by governments to carry out

certain administrative tasks in the health, welfare, education and civil security sectors (Commission
de l'thique de la science et de la technologie, 2008). Businesses keen to protect certain information
or to monitor the behaviour of their employees or clients have also engaged in cyberveillance and
corporate surveillance. Civil society and citizens' organizations may also use information
technologies to monitor the words and deeds of authorities or businesses as part of strategies to
publicly denounce conduct they deem to be unacceptable (Hyhti and Rinne, 2009; LemanLanglois and Ouimet, 2006; Boudreau, 2006). Finally, delinquents and criminal groups may turn to
cyber-surveillance in the pursuit of their objectives.

CYBER-SURVEILLANCE

Cyber-surveillance involves the gathering of data by means of technological tools and

surveillance software programs. This often abundant data (consisting in or relating to events,
messages, movements, system access, etc.) is recorded and then sifted through by automated
surveillance computers. The enhanced data resulting from this filtering process can then be used by
human investigators who contribute to decisions about the best courses of action to adopt. It has
thus become possible to monitor the behaviours of individuals in real time, over a specific period
and around the world (Bajc, 2007). One common example of cyber-surveillance consists in the
interception and analysis of electronic messages (Cahen, n.d.; Commission nationale de
l'informatique et des liberts, 2004). On an international scale, ECHELON refers to an electronic
espionage project launched by five signatory countries that was designed and coordinated by the
US National Security Agency and whose existence was disclosed in 1988. This signals intelligence
collection system enables the participating governments to intercept and inspect the electronic and
non-electronic telecommunications carried over various global networks. Powerful computers are
used to analyze a phenomenal quantity of data gathered by various systems for the purpose of
filtering out those messages containing potentially strategic information in particular of a kind
relating to a national security threat. There are numerous examples of government-run cybersurveillance operations, particularly as part of efforts to counter identity theft, computer intrusion,
terrorism, business fraud or pedophilia. Cyber-surveillance is a tool permitting mass surveillance.
Depending on the goal being pursued, cyber-surveillance practices can be of varying complexity,
with mass surveillance being generally cited as one of the most advanced. The more the data to be
collected and processed is abundant and the more the variables to be accounted for are
strategically important, the more a given surveillance system will have to be sophisticated.

Cyber-surveillance can serve a variety of purposes: preventing or pre-empting a variety of

threats; detecting various crime or offence risks; or conducting investigations in the aftermath of an
event. Cyber-surveillance can be useful not only in terms of the security or sound management of a
data system but also in terms of monitoring the appropriate transmission of correspondence
(Cahen, n.d., p. 1).

Though technological advances have created a potential for undreamed-of surveillance

practices, cyber-surveillance itself has also aroused questions and fears. Increasingly omnipresent
and invisible, often performed remotely and without the knowledge of the individuals concerned,
cyber-surveillance has fanned fears of a form of tight social control, exerted by authorities having
the ability to ultimately repress any individual freedom. Concerns have also been voiced as to the
risk of seeing the finalities for which data were initially gathered being diverted toward purposes
that are detrimental to the privacy and integrity of individuals (Boudreau, 2010). In the same vein,
the risks of racial profiling and discrimination have become a matter of serious concern (Biseul,
2004). Questions also crop up over how to achieve or maintain a balance between the quest for
security and respect for human rights. To what extent will it be possible to invoke reasons of State
security when gathering and cross-checking information against other personal data without also
causing prejudice to privacy? Technology has now made it possible to perform mass surveillance,
such that official suspects are not the only ones whose activities are subject to scrutiny; anyone
who happens to find him- or herself monitored under a surveillance process becomes a de facto
suspect for those who are watching (Commission nationale de l'informatique et des liberts, 2004;
Commission de l'thique de la science et de la technologie, 2008). Air passenger surveillance
constitutes but one example of this trend. In the context of globalization, particular attention should
be dedicated to the legal and ethical issues surrounding the sharing and use of data gathered under
a given legislative regime.
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Bibliography

CYBER-SURVEILLANCE

Bajc, V. (2007). Debating Surveillance in the Age of Security, American Behavioral Scientist, vol. 50, no. 12,
pp. 1567-1591.
Biseul, X. (2004). Cybersurveillance : les nouvelles technologies ravivent les vieilles peurs,
www.01net.com/article/248848.html (last retrieved in April 2010).

Commission nationale de l'informatique et des liberts (2004). La cybersurveillance sur les lieux de travail,
www.cnil.fr/fileadmin/documents/approfondir/dossier/travail/cyber_conclusions.pdf (last retrieved in
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Boudreau, C. (2010). Cybercriminalit et cybersurveillance, lecture notes, ENAP.

Boudreau, C. (2006). Multipolarit de la surveillance et gestion des mdicaments au Qubec, Recherches

sociographiques, vol. 47, no. 2, pp. 299-320.
Cahen, M. (n. d.). Le rle de l'administrateur rseau dans la cybersurveillance,
www.netalya.com/fr/Article2.asp?CLE=162# (last retrieved in April 2010).

Commission de l'thique de la science et de la technologie (2008). Viser un juste quilibre : un regard thique
sur les nouvelles technologies de surveillance et de contrle des fins de scurit, Avis adopt la 34e runion
de la Commission de l'thique de la science et de la technologie le 12 fvrier.

Hyhti, T. and J. Rinne (2009). Little Brothers and Sisters Are Watching, Information, Communication and
Society, vol. 12, no. 6, pp. 840-859.
Leman-Langlois, S. and M. Ouimet (2006). Introduction, Criminologie, vol. 39, no. 1, pp. 3-6.

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Reproduction in whole or part of the definitions contained in the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Public
Administration is authorized, provided the source is acknowledged.

Tremblay, M. (2012). Cyber-surveillance, in L. Ct and J.-F. Savard (eds.), Encyclopedic Dictionary of

Public Administration, [online], www.dictionnaire.enap.ca
For further information, please visit www.dictionnaire.enap.ca

Library and Archives Canada, 2012 | ISBN 978-2-923008-70-7 (Online)

ENCYCLOPEDIC DICTIONARY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION