Researchers at the University of Toronto have created a mapping tool that shows how internet data moves around and how the NSA can use just a few surveillance sites to scoop up online traffic. IXmaps is a visual, interactive database of traffic routes, and uses real data to help Canadians get a sense of what happens when they are sending and receiving information. In some cases, even when the servers you are accessing are next door, the data packets will move around the United States before heading back into Canada. The researchers call these “boomerang routes” and note that they move your information “into the jurisdiction of the U.S. National Security Agency.” In other words, put your details in the hands of the US government. It includes on the maps the sites of NSA listening stations.
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ORIGINAL SOURCE: The Register