Global interception is not only aimed at terrorists and dictators. It is targeting everyone. Since World War II, the technology to carry out mass interception and surveillance has grown steadily. In the late 90s, it came into global focus with the revelations of the UKUSA collaboration and the Echelon scandal. Journalists uncovered the stories based on open and closed sources and on a number of whistleblowers - several years before Edward Snowden stepped forward.