(Updated: July 15, 2018)
One of the most controversial NSA programs revealed past times Edward Snowden was the mass collection of domestic telephone records nether the ascendency of Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act. H5N1 detailed analysis of the workings of this programme was published on this weblog earlier.
In 2015, Section 215 was replaced past times the USA FREEDOM Act, which prohibited the collection inwards mass too provided to a greater extent than safeguards. The NSA became much to a greater extent than transparant nigh this program, which gives the chance for the next explanation of how the domestic telephone records programme currently works.
NSA is also to a greater extent than transparant nigh things going wrong: final calendar month it revealed that it had to delete all the telephone records collected since 2015 due to technical irregularities.
Screenshot from 60 Minutes from Dec 15, 2013, showing an NSA contact chaining tool
used for the telephone records collected nether Section 215.
Collection nether Section 215 USA PATRIOT Act
The NSA started its mass collection of domestic telephone metadata every bit component of the President's Surveillance Program (PSP), which president George W. Bush authorized inwards secret correct later the 9/11 attacks. Its role was non to spy on random Americans, but to notice connections betwixt unusual terrorists too conspirators within the US.
In May 2006, this mass collection was brought from the president's ascendency nether that of the FISA Court, based upon a real extensive interpretation of Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act. Internally, NSA refers to this variety of collection every bit BR FISA, amongst BR for Business Records.
Under Section 215, NSA collected domestic telephone records from the 3 biggest American telecommunication companies: AT&T, Verizon too Sprint. According to authorities officials, the information provided past times these companies consisted to a greater extent than oft than non of landline telephone records, which meant that NSA genuinely got less than 30% of the full amount of the States telephone metadata.
However, every bit of August 29, 2011, AT&T started to render jail Galvanic cell telephone metadata too: ca. 1,1 billion records a day, which would brand over thirty billion records each month. Before these records were handed over to NSA, AT&T stripped off the location data, to comply amongst the FISA Court orders that don't allow the collection of location data. Verizon was evidently non able or non willing to strip the location metadata, thence their jail Galvanic cell telephone records could non last acquired past times NSA.
To position these numbers inwards perspective: amongst a wireless communications total collection of unusual telephone metadata was 135 billion records a month. In Jan 2013, mobile telephone calls inwards the Netherlands generated some 7.65 billion records a month.
At NSA, the domestic telephone records were forwarded to MAINWAY, which is a centralized organization for "contact chaining to position targets of interest." MAINWAY non exclusively contains domestic telephone metadata, but also unusual telephone too cyberspace metadata, collected both within too exterior the US. Putting both unusual too domestic metadata inwards 1 system, allows finding every bit many connections every bit possible.
See for more:
- How NSA contact chaining combines domestic too unusual telephone records
- Section 215 mass telephone records too the MAINWAY database
Collection nether the USA FREEDOM Act
Because the mass collection nether Section 215 was oft regarded unconstitutional, the programme was terminated every bit of Nov 2015 too replaced past times the USA FREEDOM Act (USAFA), which was incorporated inwards Title V of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Under this novel authority, mass collection of domestic telephone records is non allowed anymore.
Instead, NSA tin asking exclusively those records that contain telephone numbers that have got been inwards contact amongst an approved "seed" number. This way that all the American telecoms straight off have got to paw over the matching results from both landline too Galvanic cell calls, thence it's a much larger puddle compared to the province of affairs nether Section 215.
How this electrical flow domestic telephone records programme plant is explained inwards remarkable especial inwards the transparancy report of the NSA Civil Liberties too Privacy Office (CLPO) from Jan 2016, every bit good every bit inwards the Annual Statistical Transparancy Report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).
The statistical study for 2017 was published final Apr too also contains a lot of information nigh traditional FISA too Section 702 FAA (PRISM too Upstream) collection.
Overview of NSA's collection of domestic telephone records nether the USA FREEDOM Act
(source: NSA Transparancy Report - click to enlarge)
Seed numbers
The physical care for starts amongst selecting specific targets too the telephone numbers ("selectors") they use. Through the FBI too the Department of Justice, these selectors are submitted to the FISA Court (FISC), which determines whether there's a Reasonable, Articulable Suspicion (RAS) that these numbers are associated amongst unusual intelligence agents or people engaged inwards international terrorism. Under Section 215, the RAS was determined past times 1 of 22 designated NSA officials.
After the FISC has approved these numbers, it issues private orders blessing the submission of these specific selectors to the telecommunication providers, too directing those providers to paw over the associated metadata to the proper authorities agency. According to the ODNI statistical study for 2017, the FISC issued orders for 42 targets inwards 2016 too for xl targets final year.
The study doesn't advert the full number of selectors used past times these targets. It's these selectors, telephone numbers too mayhap similar identifiers, that NSA uses every bit a "seed" to start creating a so-called contact chain. For before years, the full numbers of seed selectors were every bit follows (it's non known how many of these belonged to Americans):
Business records
At NSA, the RAS-approved selectors are entered into what is publicly called the "Enterprise Architecture", but which genuinely must last the MAINWAY contact chaining system. This returns whatever selectors from NSA's existing metadata collection that have got been inwards straight contact amongst the RAS-approved seed selector.
Both the RAS-approved seed selectors too the connected ones from NSA's existing collection are thence submitted to the telecommunication providers. They volition interrogation their databases of occupation concern records for those that contain whatever of the submitted telephone numbers. The results are returned to the NSA, which lets them transcend diverse validation steps, applies information tags too forwards them to the MAINWAY system.
Because a FISC lodge is valid for upwards to 180 days, the selectors tin last submitted multiple times during that menstruation inwards lodge to caputure whatever novel matching records. These occupation concern records, or Call Detail Records (CDRs) are defined every bit "session identifying information" too include:
- Originating telephone numberNSA is non allowed to have the content of whatever communication, the name, address, or fiscal information of a subscriber or customer, or the jail Galvanic cell site location or Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates.
- Terminating telephone number
- International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) number
- International Mobile Station Equipment Identity (IMEI) number
- Telephone calling bill of fare number
- Time too duration of a call
Contact chaining
The ODNI statistical transparancy study from Apr has a squeamish graphic that shows how to count the number of occupation concern records that the telecoms render to the NSA:
Example of contact chaining of telephone metadata nether the USA FREEDOM Act
(source: ODNI Transparancy Report - click to enlarge)
We encounter that the RAS-approved seed telephone (number) tin last inwards straight contact amongst a sure as shooting number of other phones, which is called the "first hop". Additionally, the providers also have got to facial expression for the phones that have got been inwards contact amongst those outset hop phones. This mensuration is called the "second hop". H5N1 3rd hop is prohibited past times law, but NSA analysts also determined that a 3rd mensuration is non analytically useful.
This way of contact chaining past times linking telephone numbers that have got been inwards contact amongst each other may already last familiar from the reportings nigh the Section 215 program.
But the graphic also shows something that was rarely made clear: the occupation concern records collected past times NSA are non only the telephone numbers. Two telephone numbers that have got been inwards contact amongst eachother volition unremarkably have got done thence to a greater extent than than 1 time (except for so-called "burner phones" that are intentionally used for 1 telephone band only).
So for each twosome of telephone numbers, at that topographic point tin last a lot of records, at to the lowest degree 1 tape generated per telephone phone band or text message, both for the soul calling too the soul called. The event inwards the graphic shows vii phones that create 6000 telephone band especial records (CDRs) during a sure as shooting menstruation of time. This is something to maintain inwards heed when it comes to the huge numbers of metadata collected past times NSA.
Number of records
The ODNI transparancy study also provides the existent numbers of telephone records collected past times NSA nether the ascendency of the USA FREEDOM Act. Although NSA is required past times constabulary to render the annual number of "unique identifiers", the agency doesn't has the technical might to isolate these unique identifiers within records received from the providers. This way that every unmarried tape is counted, fifty-fifty if the same tape is received multiple times from 1 or multiple providers.
The study also explicitly says that the results of contact chaining volition probable include both unusual too domestic telephone numbers: "while the records are received from domestic communications service providers, the records received are for domestic too unusual numbers." Also, the targeted seed number could last a unusual number, which inwards the outset hop could have got called a unusual number, that inwards its plow could have got called some other unusual number inwards the 2nd hop.
With that inwards mind, the study says that inwards 2016, the telecommunication providers handed over 151.230.968 telephone records to NSA. In 2017 they did thence for 534.396.285 records, which is non exclusively a dramatic increase compared to the previous year, but also a likely unexpectedly high number for the only xl targets approved past times the FISA Court.
However, if each of these xl targets called 50 numbers, too those numbers were also inwards contact amongst 50 numbers, nosotros larn some 100.000 telephone numbers. Let's assume each twosome of numbers was involved inwards 500 calls (or text messages), nosotros already have got 50.000.000 records. And this is even thence without duplicate records, similar from multiple providers or recurring requests.
The large increase compared to 2016 may have got been caused past times a multifariousness of factors, according to Alex Joel, ODNI's principal civil liberties officer: changes inwards the amount of historical information companies are choosing to keep; the number of telephone accounts used past times each target too changes to how the telecommunication manufacture creates records based on constantly shifting technology scientific discipline too practices.
Retention
These domestic telephone band especial records may non last stored for to a greater extent than than v years later they were initially delivered to NSA. In addition, the minimization procedures postulate NSA to destroy promptly whatever records that are determined non to contain unusual intelligence information. Phone records that have got been "the reason of a properly approved dissemination of unusual intelligence information" may last retained past times NSA indefinitely.
After these records have got been received too stored, they may also last queried, including using search damage associated amongst the States persons. In 2016, NSA used ca. 22.360 search damage for such queries, piece inwards 2017 that number had risen to 31.196.
Deletion
Recently, it turned out that the practical implementation of the collection of domestic telephone records nether the USA FREEDOM Act is evidently non that easy: inwards a remarkable world statement from June 28, 2018, NSA revealed that several months earlier, "analysts noted technical irregularities inwards some information received from telecommunication service providers."
These irregularities occurred inwards a number of Call Detail Records (CDRs), which meant that NSA was non legally authorized to have them inwards that form. It appeared infeasible to position too isolate the properly produced data, thence NSA concluded that it should non utilisation whatever of these records.
Subsequently, the agency began deleting all the telephone records they had acquired since 2015. According to the statement, NSA meanwhile addressed the beginning crusade of the occupation for hereafter CDR acquisitions. Civil liberties blogger emptywheel said that the occupation did non outcome inwards whatever collection of location records from Galvanic cell towers.
According to the NSA's full general counsel, Glenn S. Gerstell, the irregularities were caused past times 1 or to a greater extent than providers who sent NSA information sets that also included some numbers of people the targets had non been inwards contact with. When the agency thence fed those telephone numbers dorsum to the telecoms to larn the "second hop" records, NSA acquired metadata of people amongst no connectedness to the approved targets.
Senator Ron Wyden, a longtime NSA critic who for years tried to larn the Section 215 programme disclosed, straight off blamed the providers instead of NSA for the technical problems: "Telecom companies concur vast amounts of private information on Americans," Wyden said. "This incident shows these companies acted amongst unacceptable carelessness, too failed to comply amongst the constabulary when they shared customers’ sensitive information amongst the government."
Former assistant attorney full general for national safety David Kris said that these "errors illustrated how novel problems tin sometimes crop upwards when the authorities makes systems to a greater extent than complex inwards an endeavour to meliorate residue safety too privacy."
Speculations
In Earth disputation it is said that the massive metadata deletion follows from the NSA's "core values of honor for the law, accountability, integrity, too transparency" but outsiders speculated nigh other motives: were these records destroyed before the Trump direction could misuse them? President Trump also tweeted nigh this number too saw it every bit component of the "Witch Hunt" against him:
Wow! The NSA has deleted 685 1000000 telephone calls too text messages. Privacy violations? They blame technical irregularities. Such a disgrace. The Witch Hunt continues!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 3 juli 2018
David Kris, one-time assistant attorney full general for national security, replied to Trump that "This NSA programme is exclusively for international terrorism, non spying or secret intelligence activity, thence unless your collusion included terrorism, it should last no occupation for you lot personally!"
Links too sources
- TheMarketsWork.com: N.S.A. Purges Hundreds of Millions of Call too Text Records (2018)
- Emptywheel.net: The NSA’s Telephone Metadata Program Is Unconstitutional (2014)
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