It is important to clearly establish what we analyze and how we analyze it. What is espionage? The Merriam-Webster Dictionary (2014) defines espionage as an activity aimed at discovering secrets from enemies or competitors, an espionage activity. Ethics is defined as involving issues of good and bad behavior consistent with accepted standards of conduct. The United States has failed to follow accepted standards of conduct regarding its domestic and international surveillance techniques. The initial document released by Edward Snowden was an order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) ordering Verizon to provide all of its customers' metadata. to the US government on an ongoing basis. (Greenwald, 2013) At first glance, this doesn't seem too alarming. Metadata is strictly statistical data that identifies the locations and duration of calls, but does not reveal the identity of the callers or the content of the call itself. However, later documents released by Snowden reveal that this metadata was cross-referenced with other databases, which allowed the government to identify the two callers. Additionally, the government has created software that analyzes metadata to identify and track data patterns. (Roberts & Ackerman, 2013) Additional documents released by Snowden indicate that, through the creation of the Prism program, the government was able to conduct unlimited surveillance of Internet traffic through servers of Google, Facebook, Apple and others. Not only did the US government use this data, but it shared it with allied countries. (Hopkins, 2013) Subsequent publications by Snowden revealed that the United States was also spying on these allied countries. This is truly alarming.How...... middle of paper ......coded: Edward Snowden surveillance revelations explained | World News | theguardian.com. Retrieved May 15, 2014 from http://www.theguardian.com/world/interactive/2013/nov/01/snowden-nsa-files-surveillance-revelations-decoded#section/1Mollasalihoglu, A. (December 14, 2013). ). Is it ethical for the United States to spy on its allies? | Wee. Accessed May 15, 2014, from http://www.nouse.co.uk/2013/12/14/is-it-ethical-for-the-us-to-spy-on-its-allies/Perry, DL ( 1995). Ethics, espionage and covert action. Retrieved from Journal of Conflict Studies website: http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/submitte/Perry/repugnant.html#nineRoberts, D. and Ackerman, S. (June 6, 2013). Anger grows after revelations of court orders recorded by NSA | World News | The Guardian. Retrieved May 15, 2014 from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/06/obama-administration-nsa-verizon-records