(VOVworld) – More large-scale cases of cyber and phone interception have been revealed globally. Indignation, criticism, and threats of economic sanctions have been the reaction of affected countries. After the global economic crisis, people around the world now have to become familiar with a new concept: global trust crisis.

From Edward Snowden’s revelations…

The UK newspaper “The Guardian” on Monday quoted former CIA contractor Edward Snowden as saying that German, French, Spanish, Dutch, and Swedish intelligence agencies have been cooperating with the UK in large-scale global online and phone spying programs. British intelligence agencies have been giving other countries direct access to optical cable systems or through secret links with telecom companies since 2008.

This shocking revelation has embarrassed European governments that have been criticizing the US for its global surveillance program. Germany and Brazil have been drafting a resolution to denounce the US spying program which will be submitted to the UN Security Council. Leaders of the 28 EU countries have agreed to establish a common front against the US spying program and have sent a delegation to Washington to question US officials.

Reacting to the new revelation, the German intelligence agency said it was sharing experience in surveillance techniques with British and other European intelligence agencies and that this action was legal. The Swedish intelligence agency also said its activities are legal and that intelligence cooperation is nothing unusual.

…to consequences

Large-scale blatant surveillance activities have resulted in a diplomatic row between the US and several countries with unpredictable consequences. Priorities in US and EU policies are threatened, including their joint effort to combat terrorism. The EU Parliament has voted to suspend an agreement on financial data sharing with the US, which targets terrorist suspects. The EU has announced that bilateral trade agreements with the US will be seriously affected. President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz has said that it’s time to stop and think carefully about how to approach free trade agreements. The spying scandal has slowed the biggest trade agreement in history, which involves almost half of the global economy and approximately 30% of global trade. It has also harmed the image and revenue of leading IT groups like Google and Apple and set back the global economic recovery.   

The spying revelation has been a pretext for hackers to act. Hackers in Indonesia have shut down 200 Australian websites in retaliation for Australia and the US spying on Indonesia. This anger stemmed from a document released by Snowden revealing that Australia and the US spied on Indonesia by wiretapping a number of Indonesian security officials at a UN climate change conference in Bali in 2007.

National interests can’t be beyond international practices

Trust seems to be out of the current international political life. A German researcher of international security issues has said that trust is an important index of international relations and without it serious rifts will emerge.