Rabu, 05 Februari 2020

Do Nsa Compliance Reports Betoken To An Unknown Classification Compartment?

(UPDATED Dec 9, 2017)

On July 12, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) published 2 Top Secret NSA compliance reports, which were obtained later declassification nether the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA). Here nosotros volition have got a aspect the classification mark of these reports, of which i business office has been redacted:




Both documents are quarterly reports from the NSA to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) on compliance nether Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act (FAA), which governs both the PRISM together with the Upstream collection efforts. One of the reports is from March 2014, the other i from March 2015.

More virtually the content of these 2 compliance reports tin survive institute inward The U.S. classification system
UPDATE:

Meanwhile, a reader suggested that the redacted business office of the classification business mightiness cover HCS, which is the abbreviation for HUMINT Control System. HUMINT stands for Human Intelligence, together with therefore, HCS is the command arrangement that protects intelligence from the CIA. And indeed, it appears that "HCS" fits the redacted infinite perfectly:



HCS itself isn't classified, so the argue why this mark appears redacted here, is in all probability that NSA alone declassified its ain business office together with redacted everything related to the CIA. Analysts of the CIA asking together with have information from 702 FAA collection, but the compass of their interest remains classified.

With HCS existence the most probable selection for the redacted infinite inward the 2014 together with 2015 compliance reports, delight read the next amongst that inward mind!


STELLARWIND

Another selection that comes to hear is the STELLARWIND compartment, which was created inward Oct 2001 to protect NSA's novel collection methods every bit authorized yesteryear president George W. Bush. This is officially known every bit the President's Surveillance Program (PSP) together with to a greater extent than pop every bit the "warrantless wiretapping".

For classification purposes, the abbreviation of STELLARWIND is STLW, which is likewise long for the redacted infinite inward the mark on the compliance reports. The PRISM collection, which started inward September 2007 amongst information existence provided yesteryear Microsoft. Until Oct 2012, simply about other 8 meshing companies had followed. While Upstream collection, at major telecom switches, alone provides hereafter communications inward transit, PRISM gives access to stored information from a target's yesteryear too.

After revelations yesteryear the New York Times inward Dec 2005, president Bush admitted that NSA was collecting the one-end unusual telephone together with meshing content together with named it the Terrorist Surveillance Program (TSP). Bush stayed soundless though virtually the other business office of the PSP, which involved the volume collection of domestic metadata.

The latter was start published virtually inward May 2006 yesteryear USA Today, but it alone became a large upshot later June 2013, when Snowden provided the Verizon order to the press.



Another option

As nosotros have got seen, the TSP mark fits the redacted infinite inward the classification business of the compliance reports rattling well, but of course of study it's ever possible that a dissimilar abbreviation mightiness survive hidden there. In documents that have got been declassified earlier, "TSP" was non redacted, so strictly spoken, it shouldn't have got been redacted here.

And there's indeed simply about other option: on September 6, 2014, the U.S. Justice Department released a declassified version of a 2004 memorandum virtually the STELLARWIND program. The classification business of this document has a similar curt redaction right later "Top Secret", simply similar inward the compliance reports:



Classification mark of the 2004 DoJ memorandum virtually STELLAR WIND


Interestingly, "TSP" would also jibe the redacted infinite hither - but this wouldn't brand much sense, every bit TSP was meant every bit a replacement for STELLARWIND for audiences who didn't have got a need-to-know for the STELLARWIND encompass term - together with "STELLAR WIND" is inward the classification business hither too. Also, the shout out Terrorist Surveillance Program in all probability didn't be inward 2004, every bit it was plainly start used yesteryear President Bush inward a speech on Jan 23, 2006.




So, it's non rattling probable that "TSP" is the mark that was redacted inward the 2004 memorandum, but seat together with length of the mark betoken that it's rattling good possible that it's genuinely the same command arrangement every bit inward the classification business of the compliance reports from 2014 together with 2015 - amongst an abbreviation of almost precisely the same length every bit "TSP".

Regarding the condition of this mysterious marking: inward the 2004 document it's shown betwixt double slashes, which is strange, because according to the official classification manuals, in that location cannot survive something betwixt 2 double slashes inward that seat (see the nautical chart below).

If this double slash is correct, together with so nosotros would have got a consummate novel category which isn't inward the (public) classification manuals. This reminds of the UMBRA marking, which also appeared unexpectedly betwixt double slashes inward a classification line.

Another selection is that the double slash behind the redacted mark is genuinely a error together with in that location should have got been simply a unmarried slash, simply similar inward the classification lines of the 2014 together with 2015 compliance reports. In this case, the mark represents a normal command arrangement similar SI, HCS, together with several others mentioned inward the classification manuals.



Overview of the categories together with formatting for the U.S. classification together with command markings
From the Intelligence Community Classification Manual 6.0 from Dec 2013
(click to enlarge)



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