What is the News ?

The recent claims made by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, connecting the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian territory to the Indian government, have drawn attention to the intelligence-sharing coalition known as the 'Five Eyes' (FVEY).

Facts About:

• This multilateral intelligence-sharing network involves more than 20 agencies from five predominantly English-speaking nations:

                   Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

• It encompasses both surveillance-based activities and signals intelligence (SIGINT).
• The intelligence documents shared among member countries are labeled as 'Secret—AUS/CAN/NZ/UK/US Eyes Only,' which gives rise to the group's name, 'Five Eyes.'

Background of the Alliance:

• The origins of this alliance between the U.S. and the U.K. date back to the Second World War when they collaborated to counter the Cold War Soviet threat.
• These two nations, renowned for their code-breaking achievements during World War II, established cooperation in sharing intelligence related to various forms of signals, including radio, satellite, and internet communications.
• Following the war, in 1946, the alliance formalized through an agreement focused on signals intelligence.

This agreement, originally named the British-U.S. Communication Intelligence Agreement (BRUSA) and now known as the UKUSA Agreement, was signed between the U.S. State-Army-Navy Communication Intelligence Board (STANCIB) and the British London Signal Intelligence Board (SIGINT).

• Initially, its scope was limited to 'communication intelligence matters only,' involving the unrestricted exchange of intelligence products across six areas: traffic collection, acquisition of communication documents and equipment, traffic analysis, cryptanalysis, decryption and translation, and the acquisition of information regarding communication organizations, practices, procedures, and equipment.
• Over time, the alliance expanded to include 'second party' countries, with Canada joining in 1948, and Australia and New Zealand becoming part of the alliance in 1956.