PRISM is a code name for a program under which the United States National Security Agency (NSA) collects internet communications from various U.S. internet companies.The program is also known by the SIGADUS-984XN. PRISM collects stored internet communications based on demands made to internet companies such as Google Inc. under Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 to turn over any data that match court-approved search terms.The NSA can use these PRISM requests to target communications that were encrypted when they traveled across the internet backbone, to focus on stored data that telecommunication filtering systems discarded earlier, and to get data that is easier to handle, among other things.
The need is for national intelligence organizations to provide appropriate guidance to the inter- national bodies, which must in turn develop the capacity to be wise users and guardians of intelligence.
There are several reasons why nations and their intelligence agencies will be concerned about passing secret information to an international body and, in the process, losing control over how it is used.