5-Eyes, 9-Eyes and 14-Eyes Surveillance Agreement Explained

Nowadays, it’s practically impossible to exist without connecting to the internet in some way. There’s a reason why it’s called the digital age, it’s because we practically all live online. As such, it’s only natural that many people take internet security seriously. You don’t want your sensitive information stolen, so you take safety precautions like subscribing to a VPN. Then, you hear about 5 Eyes, 9 Eyes and 14 Eyes.

It sounds ominous, and you start to see many VPN providers boasting about not being based within the 5 Eyes, 9 Eyes and 14 Eyes Alliance countries. You grasp that it’s probably about security, but it’s unclear what exactly it is. Today, we look to clear up that uncertainty for you. We’re going to explain to you what the 5 Eyes, 9 Eyes and 14 Eyes Alliance is, what it does, and what it means for you.

What are the 5 Eyes, 9 Eyes and 14 Eyes Alliances?

As it stands today, the 5 Eyes, 9 Eyes and 14 Eyes Alliance is a collaborative effort between multiple countries to share intelligence for the sake of national security. The origin of the alliance began right after WWII, with the signing of the UKUSA agreement.

The National Security Agency and Britain’s Government Communications Headquarters banded together during the Cold War, in an effort to combat the threat presented by Russia and China. This would eventually grow into the 5 Eyes Alliance. It was made up of five countries looking for a foothold against the behemoths that were Russia and China.

Over time, other countries would come to see the benefit in such an alliance. It provided them with the ability to stay ahead of the curve, at the expense of the privacy of their own intelligence. For most, this was enough incentive to push them into joining. After all, being left in the dark was never a good thing in the eyes of the world.

Where this becomes an issue for the common person is in internet privacy. The 5 Eyes, 9 Eyes and 14 Eyes Alliance is a constant reminder of how intrusive a government can be with your data. All of the countries within the alliance have access to your internet activity, be it from your ISP, your activity trackers, or more. They’re even capable of strong-arming VPN services into handing over data.

The very idea of this happening is scary enough, which is what’s led to so much hubbub around the topic. People don’t feel safe with this knowledge, leading to fear and paranoia surrounding VPNs and other security services. Of course, as with most things, all isn’t what it seems, so let’s dive deeper and find out what’s going on here.

The 5 Eyes Alliance

Things all start with the 5 Eyes, the original group and the most secretive of the eyes. It’s made up of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Originally formed in the 1940s right after WWII, it gave all the countries involved a greater standing against the Soviet Union.

The 5 Eyes, also known as FVEY, developed a system for intercepting communications between the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc of Communist nations. This was accomplished through what they’d call the ECHELON surveillance system. With state-of-the-art technology including phones, fax machines and computers, they’d stand their ground until the Soviets fell.

With the fall of its main threat, the 5 Eyes would instead focus on internal intelligence. ECHELON would be used to monitor the emails, social media and messages of their people. This continues to this day, fueling the worry and paranoia among netizens.

The 9 Eyes Alliance

With the original 5 Eyes being a successful alliance, more countries would seek the security benefits it provided. While many countries would make arrangements to join, most attempts would fizzle out. This would change when four more countries entered the alliance. On top of the original 5 countries, the Netherlands, France, Norway and Denmark would join, forming the 9 Eyes.

When it comes to the 9 Eyes, we know a lot less compared to the 5 Eyes. It’s far more secretive, despite their pledges towards transparency. What we do know is that the 9 Eyes share less information with each other compared to the 5 Eyes. To be precise, the 9 Eyes can share their information, but not all of them can gain full access to this shared pool of data.

The goal of the 9 Eyes was to gain an information foothold on mainland Europe, which was a success. Outside of that, information on the 9 Eyes and how it functions internally remains somewhat unclear. Regardless, this mainly allowed the alliance to increase its scope of influence, without overly major ramifications.

The 14 Eyes Alliance

Moving on to the 14 Eyes, this is where things begin to loosen a little in terms of tensions between countries. The 14 Eyes sees Belgium, Italy, Spain, Sweden and Germany joining the information-gathering alliance. At this point, the need for surveillance against possible threats had ramped down, allowing the 14 Eyes to refocus their efforts towards other endeavours.

Unfortunately for the public, the formation of the 14 Eyes is when the alliance began doubling down on its efforts to keep the people in check. The intention of the alliance now was to keep the people safe by weeding out potential internal threats before they happened. While a valiant effort, this, unfortunately, came at the cost of people’s privacy and security.

The modern-day 14 Eyes alliance represents just how intrusive a government can be of its citizens. While many believe the 14 Eyes don’t want or care for accessing users’ information, others argue the fact they CAN access said information in the first place already cause for alarm. Again, how the eyes function internally isn’t clear, but we do know the 14 Eyes don’t share as much info as the 5 Eyes.

Other Countries Associated with the 14 Eyes

Outside of the 5/9/14 Eyes, there are several countries that aren’t in the alliance but have ties with it. Most of the time, the point of these associated countries is to provide intelligence to the alliance. These include Israel, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland, Finland, and Poland. All of these countries are known to regularly work with the 14 Eyes.

Japan is particularly close to the 5 Eyes themselves, often being called the Sixth Eye as a result. While it’s not officially in the alliance, Japan has extensive intelligence-sharing agreements with the 5 Eyes. Japan’s Defense Intelligence Agency and the National Police Agency are both known to work closely with foreign governments to gather information.

Outside of these few examples, other countries are also known to work with the 14 Eyes alliance. Sometimes, it’s on a simple project-by-project basis. Other times, it’s an informal agreement for intelligence sharing. Again, we aren’t privy to the true extent of these working relationships, but we do know they exist.

A Complete Table of 5 Eyes, 9 Eyes and 14 Eyes Related Countries

To make things more simple to understand, we’ve compiled a table of all countries associated with the 5/9/14 Eyes. If you’re looking to quickly cross-reference this information to see if you’re in a 5/9/14 Eyes country, then this is where you want to look.

5 Eyes	United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand
9 Eyes	Netherlands, France, Norway, Denmark
14 Eyes	Belgium, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Germany
Associated Countries	Israel, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland, Finland, Poland

What Does Being in a 5 Eyes, 9 Eyes or 14 Eyes Country Mean For Me?

Privacy is the main concern regarding living in a 5 Eyes, 9 Eyes or 14 Eyes country. With all of these countries sharing vast amounts of personal data with their citizens, your information is never safe. This includes information on your financial transactions, your whereabouts at any given time, and even your daily activities. This mass surveillance can cause paranoia among more cautious citizens.

On top of this, the governments can also use this power to apply pressure on individuals who are critical of them. In the wrong hands, this leads to political repression, and in worst-case scenarios, can even be used to maliciously target specific individuals. Perhaps the most common and noticeable use of your information however is when it’s utilized for targeted advertising and marketing, which you’ve surely noticed if you’ve ever been online.

It’s also a surprising loophole for some countries. For example, it’s illegal for Britain to spy on its own citizens. To overcome this, Britain can request one of the other 5 Eyes to do it for them. This applies to practically any country in the 14 Eyes, and it’s alarming, to say the least. Perhaps worst of all, even with businesses like VPNs, 14 Eyes countries can strong-arm them into handing over sensitive personal data.

All of this can be quite overwhelming for some people, especially the feeling of constantly being watched. It’s a violation of the common person’s privacy, and as a result, people who value their privacy are forced to search for ways around this surveillance. To do this, you’ll need a thorough understanding of the systems at play.

Surveillance Systems Used By the 5 Eyes, 9 Eyes and 14 Eyes

The 5/9/14 Eyes have several mass surveillance systems in operation, keeping an eye on the public. Most of these are unknown to the public, though a few have received a fair degree of media attention in the past. We’ll be breaking these down, and seeing how they work.

1. ECHELON is the original and most well-known 5/9/14 Eyes global surveillance system. Originally created to intercept communications between the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc during the cold war, it’s now been repurposed to keep an eye on the citizens’ activities. According to reports, it’s capable of monitoring telephone calls, faxes, e-mails, bank activity, and many other streams of data.

2. PRISM is an initiative led by the United States government. In effect, it essentially allows the NSA to collect data from internet companies and big corporations such as Microsoft, Google, Apple, Facebook, Instagram and more. PRISM was brought to light by Edward Snowden back in 2013, revealing the NSA’s surveillance of most, if not all social media and online activity.

3. XKeyscore. Once again brought to you by the folks over at the NSA, XKeyscore is a program that records and analyzes data in real-time. XKeyscore was also revealed by Edward Snowden, and according to him, XKeyscore is especially frightening. With the ability to access your phone calls, search history and even office documents without the need for a warrant, it’s a huge breach of privacy that’s difficult to combat.

What You Can Do To Avoid the 5 Eyes, 9 Eyes and 14 Eyes

Now, if you’re someone who would prefer to keep their information safe, then this is an absolute nightmare for you. Knowing that anything you do can be seen by the government at any given time is scary, but thankfully, there are ways to keep yourself safe. We’ve compiled a few of them down below.

1. Get a Good VPN Provider

Now, getting a VPN is the perfect first step to protect your internet data from the prying eyes of the government. While we did say earlier that governments can strong-arm VPNs into sharing data, that only applies if the VPN provider has logs. That’s why you want to find a VPN provider with a no-logs policy. When there aren’t any logs to check, the VPN can’t share anything with the government.

Some VPN providers boast that they aren’t based in a 5/9/14 Eyes country. The usefulness of this claim is debated among analysts since most of these companies have other bases in said countries anyway. Regardless, it’s another thing to consider when picking a VPN provider. But generally, the most important thing is that there aren’t any logs.

If you’re looking to get a VPN provider but aren’t sure where to begin, then worry not. We’ve compiled a list of some of the best, no-logging VPNs.

2. Update Your App and Service Privacy Settings

Most services and apps like YouTube, Windows and Google have privacy-focused settings. If you’re looking to keep yourself and your information safe from prying eyes, you’ll want to peruse these settings. With these, you can fine-tune how much information services can take from your usage. If you’re worried about your privacy, then adjust these accordingly.

3. Use Security-oriented Programs

There are many services focused on providing users with privacy and security-focused alternatives to popular options. For example, the Tor browser is an excellent choice if you’re looking for a web browser that adds layers of safety to your internet usage. It works well doing everything you’d usually do with a browser, but with an added layer of safety in the mix.

Best VPN to Protect Yourself From the 5 Eyes, 9 Eyes and 14 Eyes

When it comes to VPN providers, it’s hard to really argue with what ExpressVPN provides. ExpressVPN tends to sit at the top of recommendation lists, and this is because it’s the most comprehensive package available. While it’s located in the British Virgin Isles, ExpressVPN has a solid no-logs policy, audited by third parties. They’re one of the most trusted names and for good reason.

Server Count	3000+ Ram-only Servers
Server Countries	94 Countries
Base Location	British Virgin Islands
Max Device Count	5 Devices
Supported Protocols	Lightway, OpenVPN, IKEv2
Key Features	Lightway Protocol, RAM-only Servers, Threat Manager, Split Tunneling, Extensive Customer Support
Customer Support Options	Support Website, 24/7 Live Chat Support, Email Support
Supported Platforms	Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, Routers
Peak Speeds	Lightway – 560Mbps OpenVPN – 355Mbps
Pricing	Monthly – $12.95/month 6-month Plan – $59.99/ 6-months ($9.99/month) 1-year Plan – $99.95/ year ($8.32/month)

Conclusion

With this, we’ve covered just about everything you could want to know about the 5/9/14 Eyes Alliance. It’s definitely a bit of a bitter pill to swallow, and it can be worrisome knowing that you’re being watched at all times. That’s all the more reason to start taking your internet security and privacy seriously! So, we hope you take the necessary precautions to keep yourself safe!