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![]() Surveillance Techniques: How Your Data Becomes Our DataIn 2001, NSA published the secret "Transition 2001" report defining our strategy for the 21st century. No longer could we simply access analog communications using conventional means, the new digital world of globally-networked encrypted communications required a dramatic change to our surveillance strategy: NSA would need to "live on the network". We've turned our nation's Internet and telecommunications companies into collection partners by installing filters in their facilities, serving them with secret court orders, building back doors into
their software and acquiring keys to break their encryption.
Backdoor SearchesSection 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) provides us with a bonanza of "incidental" data collected from ordinary Americans communicating with foreigners targeted by this sweeping law. This convenient loophole allows us to peruse this database in our never-ending search for the elusive "needle in a haystack".
Our Domestic Intercept StationsNSA technicians have installed intercept stations at key junction points, or switches, throughout the country. These switches are located in large windowless buildings owned by the major telecommunication companies and control the domestic internet traffic flow across the nation.
A fiber optic splitter is placed on the incoming communication lines and routes the traffic to an NSA intercept station for processing.
Bulk Collection of U.S. Citizens' Phone RecordsIn the past, we used our close partnership with the FBI to collect bulk telephone records on an ongoing basis using a Top Secret order from the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC). The metadata we collected from this program gave us information about what communications you sent and received, who you talked to, where you were when you talked to them, the lengths of your conversations, and what kind of device you
were using.
The PRISM Program: Our #1 Source of Raw IntelligenceOur partners at the FBI DITU (Data Intercept Technology Unit) extract information from the servers of nine major American
internet companies: Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, PalTalk, AOL, Skype, YouTube, and Apple. This important partnership gives us direct access to audio, video, photographs, e-mails,
documents and connection logs for each of these systems.
![]() This slide illustrates how the collected PRISM data flows through multiple NSA systems and databases To learn more about the PRISM program, view additional PRISM slides.
Google Cloud ExploitationThe NSA "MUSCULAR" program allows us to conveniently conduct large-scale data gathering outside the jurisdiction of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court by secretly tapping into the
communication links between Google's data centers outside the U.S. The Special Source Operations (SSO) group discovered a clever way around Google's security measures giving us full access to the rich data Google stores on the cloud
for its users.
Cellphone TrackingOur bulk cellphone location tracking program captures almost 5 billion records a day and feeds into a massive 27 terabyte database storing information about the locations of a hundred million devices. By tapping into the cables that connect the mobile networks globally and working with our corporate partners to install intercept equipment, we can apply mathematical techniques that enable our analysts to map cellphone owners' relationships by correlating their patterns of movement over time with thousands or millions of other phone users who cross their paths. This "Co-traveler" program allows us to look for unknown associates of known intelligence targets by tracking people whose movements intersect.
Spying Toolbox: The ANT CatalogWhen the data we seek resides in places we cannot access using the above surveillance techniques, we rely on the technical experts in the Tailored Access Operations Group and their specialized tools from the ANT Product Catalog. The categories of available tools are listed below. ![]() Click on an icon above to view the related ANT products
FBI Aviation Surveillance Operations (FBI Hawk Owl Project)An FBI fleet of over one hundred specially-modified Cessna planes equipped with sophisticated camera systems
in steerable mounts that can provide detailed video, night vision, and infrared thermal imaging quietly fly circular routes daily around many major U.S. cities tracking
targets and gathering intelligence.
Some of the planes use “augmented reality” software and sophisticated surveillance technology capable of tracking thousands of cellphones users.
FBI Aerial Surveillance in the Continental U.S.Zoom in and click on the red map markers to view images of the unusual flight patterns in the FBI's targeted areas. View the map in full-screen mode.
FBI Aerial Surveillance in Hawaii
S. 1595: Protecting Individuals From Mass Aerial Surveillance Act of 2015In June 2015, a Senate bill was introduced to "protect" our citizens from Mass Aerial Surveillance. We are happy to report that no action has been taken on this bill and we have every confidence that Congress will agree with us that mass surveillance "IS" protection for our citizens. You can track the progress of this ill-advised bill below.
Our Undersea Cable Tapping StrategyBy tapping into the worldwide network of undersea cables, our OAKSTAR, STORMBREW, BLARNEY and FAIRVIEW systems can process data as it flows across the internet. Each
system is responsible for different types of intercepted data. For example, the BLARNEY system gathers metadata describing who is speaking to whom and through which networks and devices.
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XKeyscore: Our Real-Time Internet Monitoring CapabilityAs data flows through our worldwide data collection points, the XKeyscore system indexes and stores this information in a rolling three-day buffer database containing all internet activity passing
through each collection site. XKeyscore is a massive distributed Linux cluster with over 700 servers distributed around the world.
This slide shows how metadata is extracted and stored in the XKeyscore database Learn more about the XKeyscore system.
Tracking Our Surveillance Data: Boundless InformantThe "Boundless Informant" mapping tool provides our analysts the means to track intelligence collection statistics worldwide. Using a color-coded map, we can quickly determine the volume of collection data we have by geographical location. This global heat map assigns each nation a color code based on its surveillance intensity ranging from green (least subjected to surveillance) through yellow and orange to red (most surveillance). With the monthly domestic intelligence collection volume at almost three billion pieces, the United States is assigned the color orange.
Surveillance Data from Other SourcesIn addition to our own data collection activities, the Domestic Surveillance Directorate receives a constant flow of information from other sources. For more information about these sources, visit Our Partners page. |