Greenwald exposes 'Boundless Informant' datamining program

[Warlord]

The National Security Agency has developed a powerful tool for recording and analysing where its intelligence comes from, raising questions about its repeated assurances to Congress that it cannot keep track of all the surveillance it performs on American communications.

The Guardian has acquired top-secret documents about the NSA (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/nsa) datamining tool, called Boundless Informant, that details and even maps by country the voluminous amount of information it collects from computer and telephone networks.

The focus of the internal NSA tool is on counting and categorizing the records of communications, known as metadata, rather than the content of an email or instant message.

The Boundless Informant documents show the agency collecting almost 3 billion pieces of intelligence from US computer networks over a 30-day period ending in March 2013. One document says it is designed to give NSA officials answers to questions like, "What type of coverage do we have on country X" in "near real-time by asking the SIGINT [signals intelligence] infrastructure."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/08/nsa-boundless-informant-global-datamining?CMP=twt_gu

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THE hits keep coming.

[Warlord]

SHUT IT DOWN !

[MoneyWhereMyMouthIs2]

raising questions about its repeated assurances to Congress that it cannot keep track of all the surveillance it performs on American communications.


Really? Is that what they say? That's just too dumb. I thought they refused to say.

[Jack Bauer]

http://i.imgur.com/KM5i2ST.jpg

[Lucille]

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/6/8/1370716131074/boundless-heatmap-008.jpg

The color scheme ranges from green (least subjected to surveillance) through yellow and orange to red (most surveillance). Note the '2007' date in the image relates to the document from which the interactive map derives its top secret classification, not to the map itself.

That 2,892,343,446 is how much data the NSA gathered on Americans in ONE MONTH.

It makes me want to run screaming into the streets!

And lest we forget, the only reason this is "necessary" is because the criminal Ruling Class refuses to change their INSANE INTERVENTIONIST FOREIGN POLICY and end their self-perpetuating Global War on Terror, and mind their own GD business going forward.

[Anti Federalist]

Wow, GG has got himself one major inside informant.

God protect both of them now.

[ghengis86]

Wow, GG has got himself one major inside informant.

God protect both of them now.

Yep. Only a matter of time before he or his source get Assange'd and Manning'd.

[Anti Federalist]

That 2,892,343,446 is how much data the NSA gathered on Americans in ONE MONTH.

It makes me want to run screaming into the streets!

And lest we forget, the only reason this is "necessary" is because the criminal Ruling Class refuses to change their INSANE INTERVENTIONIST FOREIGN POLICY and end their self-perpetuating Global War on Terror, and mind their own GD business going forward.

You and me both.

Where we would be promptly tased and arrested for "dehumanizing stares".

I wonder what the Germans think of us spying on them as well, since it looks like Germany is singled out in Europe.

Oh, and I saved this to imgur, so it won't fall down the memory hole.

http://i.imgur.com/PTpt7OL.jpg

[Anti Federalist]

I'd like a sticky of each one of these programs that GG has exposed, with a clear title to each one:

Greenwald on PRISM.

Greenwald on BOUNDLESS INFORMANT.

Greenwald on PATRIOT Act.

Etc...

At least for short term period of time, so these can be updated, accessed spread and kept handy.

[Warlord]

Greenwald is a one man wrecking crew....

But careful AF, you might be accused of downloading previously classified material. This can be considered treason punishable by death.

[Anti Federalist]

Greenwald is a one man wrecking crew....

But careful AF, you might be accused of downloading previously classified material. This can be considered treason punishable by death.

Warlord is cautious.

We are all going to be in prison, or going to die, unless this gets stopped.

Oh sure, it may not look like a normal prison, but it will be a prison nonetheless.

[MoneyWhereMyMouthIs2]

You and me both.


Let's be real here. Many of us have known this for years. Many of us have been screaming in the streets for years. They're crunching everything.

[Anti Federalist]

Let's be real here. Many of us have known this for years. Many of us have been screaming in the streets for years. They're crunching everything.

Not to take anything away from you at all, yes I am well aware of that.

Never forget just how small a minority of refuseniks we are.

[MoneyWhereMyMouthIs2]

Not to take anything away from you at all, yes I am well aware of that.

Never forget just how small a minority of refuseniks we are.


We're recently ballooning, and I honestly can't tell if it's good or bad. The average boobus seems to be getting irritated at receiving this news. That topic really deserves a dedicated thread. I wonder if the intent of the leaks backfired. Were they trying to make it "old news" and "everybody knows that" so they could move forward? I find it hard to believe they expected this. Places like reddit are turning into a sea of constitutionalists all of the sudden.

[YesI'mALiberal]

THE hits keep coming.


The "hits?" The White House/NSA/GOP are overjoyed with this map being published.

Iran - 14bn
Pakistan - 13.5bn
Jordan - 12.7bn
Egypt - 7.6bn
India - 6.3bn
China - ??
Iraq - ??
Saudi Arabia - ??
Afghanistan - ??
Kenya - ??
United States - 2.8bn
Germany - ??

[sluggo]

Glenn Greenwald has gone from being one of the few REAL journalists working today to being a national hero.

God bless this man.

[liberty2897]

Glenn Greenwald has gone from being one of the few REAL journalists working today to being a national hero.


Yes he has.

Damage control kicking in now... (at least trying to anyway)
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57588362/nsa-surveillance-myths-rebutted-by-u.s-intel-chief-james-clapper/

[tod evans]

That 2,892,343,446 is how much data the NSA gathered on Americans in ONE MONTH.


Wonder how many of those were posts right here:eek:

[Todd]

Time to start the proceedings. if Blowjobs are impeachable, I'd guess, there's a great case for bombing civilians with drones, chasing down political opponents on taxes, the Benghazi deboggle and now the NSA

[Lucille]

Wonder how many of those were posts right here:eek:

I'm pretty sure we have personal attention here at RPF!

"Boundless Informant." What a bunch of dorks.

The NSA's "Boundless Informant" Collects 3 Billion Intelligence Pieces From US Computer Networks In One Month
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-06-08/nsas-boundless-informant-collects-3-billion-intelligence-pieces-us-computer-networks


There's one reason why the administration, James Clapper and the NSA should just keep their mouths shut as the PRISM-gate fallout escalates: with every incremental attempt to refute some previously unknown facet of the US Big Brother state, a new piece of previously unleaked information from the same intelligence organization now scrambling for damage control, emerges and exposes the brand new narrative as yet another lie, forcing even more lies, more retribution against sources, more journalist persecution and so on.

The latest piece of news once again comes from the Guardian's Glenn Greenwald who this time exposes the NSA's datamining tool "Boundless Informant" which according to leaked documents collected 97 billion pieces of intelligence from computer networks worldwide in March 2013 alone, and "3 billion pieces of intelligence from US computer networks over a 30-day period."
[...]
Using simple, non-AES 256 breaking math, 3 billion per month amounts to some 100 million intrusions into the US per day, or looked at from another perspective, just a little more than the "zero" which James Clapper vouched announced earlier today is the applicable number of US citizens falling under the NSA's espionage mandate: "Section 702 cannot be used to intentionally target any U.S. citizen, or any other U.S. person, or to intentionally target any person known to be in the United States." Oops.
[...]
In other words, Americans are absolutely the target of billions of monthly intrusions, but said data "mining" is exempted because it is difficult to identify in advance if a US citizen is implicated in any metadata chain.

Only it isn't as it is the whole premise behind Boundless Informant.


[...] Under the heading "Sample use cases", the factsheet also states the tool shows information including: "How many records (and what type) are collected against a particular country."

A snapshot of the Boundless Informant data, contained in a top secret NSA "global heat map" seen by the Guardian, shows that in March 2013 the agency collected 97bn pieces of intelligence from computer networks worldwide.

Iran was the country where the largest amount of intelligence was gathered, with more than 14bn reports in that period, followed by 13.5bn from Pakistan. Jordan, one of America's closest Arab allies, came third with 12.7bn, Egypt fourth with 7.6bn and India fifth with 6.3bn

http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user5/imageroot/2013/06/Boundless%20Informant%20Large_0.jpg

Next up: more NSA lies of course.


The disclosure of the internal Boundless Informant system comes amid a struggle between the NSA and its overseers in the Senate over whether it can track the intelligence it collects on American communications. The NSA's position is that it is not technologically feasible to do so.

At a hearing of the Senate intelligence committee In March this year, Democratic senator Ron Wyden asked James Clapper, the director of national intelligence: "Does the NSA collect any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans?"

"No sir," replied Clapper.
[...]
IP address is not a perfect proxy for someone's physical location but it is rather close, said Chris Soghoian, the principal technologist with the Speech Privacy and Technology Project of the American Civil Liberties Union. "If you don't take steps to hide it, the IP address provided by your internet provider will certainly tell you what country, state and, typically, city you are in," Soghoian said.
[...]
At a congressional hearing in March last year, Alexander denied point-blank that the agency had the figures on how many Americans had their electronic communications collected or reviewed. Asked if he had the capability to get them, Alexander said: "No. No. We do not have the technical insights in the United States." He added that "nor do we do have the equipment in the United States to actually collect that kind of information".

Turns out they do, and that perjury in the US is now merely another facet of the "New Normal." Plus what difference does it make that yet another member of the most transparent administration perjured themselves. Then again, when the head of the Department of Justice is being investigated for lying to Congress under oath, one can only laugh.

That laughter risks becoming an imbecilic cackle when reading the following veiled threat to the Guardian from the NSA's Judith Emmel: "The continued publication of these allegations about highly classified issues, and other information taken out of context, makes it impossible to conduct a reasonable discussion on the merits of these programs."

In other words, the best discussion is one that would simply not take place as reporters should promptly stop actually reporting, and fall back to their New Normal role of being access journalists to important people (see Andrew Ross Sorkin's rise to fame on... nothing) with zero critical insight or investigative effort. Or else...

[Anti Federalist]

There's one reason why the administration, James Clapper and the NSA should just keep their mouths shut as the PRISM-gate fallout escalates: with every incremental attempt to refute some previously unknown facet of the US Big Brother state, a new piece of previously unleaked information from the same intelligence organization now scrambling for damage control, emerges and exposes the brand new narrative as yet another lie, forcing even more lies, more retribution against sources, more journalist persecution and so on.

The bullshit is piling up so fast you need wings to stay above it.