Government Surveillance and Crypto-Analysis in the Light of Public Safety and Privacy Concerns in Digital Fortress

Government Surveillance and Crypto-Analysis in the Light of Public Safety and Privacy Concerns in Digital Fortress
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Government Surveillance and Crypto-Analysis in the Light of Public Safety and Privacy Concerns in Digital Fortress
Digital Fortress is an American novel written by Dan Brown. Indeed, it reveals how the National Security Agency (NSA) works by collecting data and analyzing it to protect Americans. The primary themes in Digital Fortress are government surveillance cryptography, and public privacy and safety concerns. In particular, the book shows how the government facilitates data collection to safeguard its citizens’ well-being. However, it appears that there is no boundary when it comes to the information that the state gathers from its citizens. In other words, individuals’ privacy is violated through government surveillance. If the data collected from citizens can get into the public domain, people might not believe it since they are not aware that they are under surveillance. The paper assesses the ethics of government surveillance and crypto-analysis as depicted in Digital Fortress, in light of public safety and privacy concerns.
In particular, Digital Fortress shows that the NSA has a code-breaking supercomputer called TRANSLTR. The primary purpose of TRANSLTR is to break numerous codes to obtain people’s information. At some point, the supercomputer encounters a new code, Digital Fortress, which it cannot decipher. Commander Trevor Strathmore wonders what might be comprised by the code since TRANSLTR is unable to break it. The individual decides to ask for help from Susan Fletcher, who is a renowned cryptographer so that she can crack it (Brown, 1998). Specifically, cryptography entails coding or concealing information such that it can only be decrypted by the receiver. Encrypting data improves information security since even if the decrypted data gets into the wrong hands it is rendered useless. That is why Strathmore is more concerned about cracking the new code that TRANSLTR was unable to decipher. The only thing that Strathmore knows is that the code was written by a former NSA employee, Ensei Tankado. Fletcher takes over the task of figuring out what is Digital Fortress. At that moment, no one knows why Tankado came up with a code that cannot be cracked by TRANSLTR. If the person wanted to protect the government files, he should have created a code that could be decrypted by specific individuals or the supercomputer to pass the message. In that light, Digital Fortress attracts the attention of Strathmore and Fletcher since the NSA must have an appropriate explanation of the code. Since Tankado worked at the NSA, he must have figured out how TRANSLTR worked and was able to write a code that it could not crack.
Not everything that involves national security is communicated to Americans. On that note, it means that some things are done behind closed doors such that no information is leaked to the public. When Tankado worked for the NSA, he was not pleased by realizing that the government intruded on its citizens’ private lives (Brown, 1998). In other terms, it gathered sensitive data from the public. In addition, Americans were not aware of the existence of TRANSLTR. Tankado perceived it as a betrayal since the same government says that people have the right to privacy. That was what contributed to Tankado creating a complex code that TRANSLTR cannot decipher. By creating this code, Tankado wanted the NSA to inform the public about the presence of the supercomputer. If the NSA refused to tell the public about TRANSLTR, Tankado intended to auction the algorithm of his code to the highest bidder. Besides, if he died, North Dakota was meant to release the code for free. Whichever way, the public would know about the presence of TRANSLTR and have access to private data that is collected by the NSA behind their back. Tankado’s primary objective was to hold the NSA hostage so that it reveals what it does and the kind of information it collects about the public. That is why he created a complex code that TRANSLTR cannot break to coerce the security agency to inform Americans about its functions.
When reading Digital Fortress, the primary question that kept coming into a person’s mind was whether there is a limit to the data that the government should collect from its citizens. Should the government collect people’s private information? Can individuals lead private lives? If the government discloses what it does to the public, should people be happy about it? For sure, when it comes to surveillance, the NSA uses current technologies that can gather citizens’ private data. For example, using personal identification documents, such as national identity, social security number, and driver’s license, the government can gather more information about the public secretly. Surveillance technologies can screen, analyze, and monitor the email and telephone communications of billions of people (Reddick, Chatfield, & Jaramillo, 2015). They can also reveal an individual’s financial transactions, particularly if paid using credit cards and wire transfers. As such, Tankado might have been offended by realizing that the NSA closed the line to what people believe is private to them. For example, no person would be happy to know that the government listens to all his or her calls and reads all messages sent electronically. Although the novel does not give the specifics of the private data that the NSA gathers, it is clear that Americans have no privacy since everything they do is monitored and tracked. Besides, the digital era has seen many organizations collecting their clients’ data to improve performance and facilitate targeted advertising. Similarly, the government uses agencies, such as the NSA, to collect people’s private information claiming to promote national security.
Although the government might argue that it gathers people’s private information to maintain national security, no one understands whether the data collected is used to achieve this objective or used for other purposes. In the contemporary society, government surveillance is linked to bolstering the national security. After what happened on 9/11, the American government heightened individuals’ surveillance to prevent terrorism. Notably, Americans became more aware of large-scale government surveillance after Edward Snowden, a former NSA contractor, gave details of surveillance programs (Nam, 2019). Similarly, Tankado might have been offended by how the government intruded on people’s privacy. Since the American constitution gives people the right to private lives, surveillance programs should honor this regulation. Besides, the NSA does not inform Americans about the information that is collected. Everything about this security agency is confidential. However, if the government collects individuals’ private data...