Reports on the terrorist attacks in Paris, have revealed that intelligence officials
have known about the Kouachi brothers for years.
The pair were reported to be on terror watchlists both in the UK and the US1 which has cast
doubt over the ability of all three countries to counter terrorism.
The terror watch list is meant to help monitor potential threats but after numerous attacks
where suspects have been known to the authorities, the world is wondering just how closely are
they being watched?
According to documents leaked by Edward Snowden from the National Security Agency, the US
operates an extensive, cyber-surveillance network.
A data-mining program, known as Prism.
It is capable of collecting personal emails, social media posts, chat logs and other online
data, for the purposes of keeping tabs on those who are on the U.S. watch list.2 According
to French newspaper Le Monde, France also employs a very similar system to Prism.
And security information isn’t just limited to an individual suspect.
Gathering personal information on family, friends and acquaintances, is common practice.
Outside of collecting online data, another set of US security documents leaked to independent
news organization, The Intercept outlined how government security agencies had been
collecting biometric information that included facial images, fingerprints, and iris scans
for people that they consider to be a high-level threat.
Individuals can also have their travel monitored or can even be completely stopped from travelling
internationally.
That is what is known as the “no-fly list.”
Then there’s physical, 24-hour, surveillance.
This type of monitoring is usually reserved for select groups or individuals who have
a substantial amount of evidence to prove they are an active terrorist, like the Kouachi
brothers.
Up until just six months ago, the pair were under 24-hour surveillance.
They were a high priority for security agencies due to a previous terrorist conviction from
2008.
Authorities had been monitoring them for years but had stopped because the brothers recent
activities hadn’t been flagged as high-risk.
One French terrorist security consultant has argued that monitoring has become difficult
as the number of terror suspects have grown.
There are around 1,200 people on the French watch list, which authorities have expressed
makes it “extremely difficult to keep track of all of them.”
However, the number of people on France’s watch list seems small in comparison to the
US.
Last year the American terror watch list surpassed 1 million, almost double what it was four
years ago.
Of course, not every one of these people poses a significant threat to society.
Over half are either in the low-risk category or have no recognized terrorist affiliation.
But that still leaves a huge number of people to keep an eye on.
So are escalating numbers of people on the watch list really affecting our ability to
monitor high-risk suspects?
Looking at the manpower required the answer is yes.
Experts estimate that at least 25 field operatives are required to tail one individual, 24-hours
a day 7 and this doesn’t account for the number of people required to monitor emails,
phone calls and other data.
The FBI, which has an estimated 14,000 agents and their French equivalent, who is much smaller,
just don’t have the numbers to monitor everyone on their lists.
To learn more about how the US monitors those on its watchlists, check out our video on
the NSA now.
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