Surveillance

A citizenry that’s constantly on guard for secret, unaccountable surveillance is one that’s constantly being remade along the lines the state would prefer. Foucault illustrated this point by reference to a hypothetical prison called the Panopticon. Designed by utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham, the Panopticon is a prison where all cells can be seen from a central tower shielded such that the guards can see out but the prisoners can’t see in.

The prisoners in the Panopticon could thus never know whether they were being surveilled, meaning that they have to, if they want to avoid running the risk of severe punishment, assume that they were being watched at all times. Thus, the Panopticon functioned as an effective tool of social control even when it wasn’t being staffed by a single guard.

Technocracy

The logic of this system is, in a limited sense, highly logical: past elites were unable to maintain control due to human mistakes and unpredictabilities. The thinking behind a technocracy is that machines make no mistakes. The large tech companies have all discussed this openly at large conferences. Money is a symbol of energy, and the erection of the mass surveillance grid is not for the purpose of security or preventing 'terrorism'.

In my opinion, the predicament we’re in has been woven of threads that include our evolved neuropsychology, our innate cleverness, our general lack of wisdom, and the technological and cultural structures that we have created around us. We may be able to work our way free of this monkey trap, but not unless we gain insight into our own nature, lovingly nurture the wisdom we need to recognize what we’re doing, and the courage to say “No” to some of it. If we can do that, the problems of nuclear power and all the rest will become much less threatening. Can we accomplish such a radical transformation of human consciousness? We are getting a wake-up call. it’s time for us to heed it, and to do a bit of growing up. ~ Slaying The Hydra

Snowden leaks

The Snowden leaks revealed a massive surveillance program including interception of email and other internet communications and phone call tapping. Some of it appears illegal, while other documents show the US spying on friendly nations during various international summits, and on its citizens. The programs are enabled by two US laws, the Patriot Act and the FISA Amendments Act (FAA), and a side dish called Executive Order 12.333. Although the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court oversees such surveillance activities, it operates in secrecy through one-sided procedures that favour the US government.

NSA operations

The NSA provides data to the FBI and DEA. And vice versa, because it has severe restrictions on using domestic intercepts, all eyes are on NSA, and this is where the FBI and DEA come in (see below).

Signals Intelligence (SIGINT)

Intelligence-gathering by interception of signals, between people (COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication (ELINT). The NSA SIGINT Strategy 2012-2016 covers all the comsec and crypto initiatives to covertly exploit people, cryptographers, anonymisers, informants, planted spies, security firms, networks, governments, nations .

Communications Intelligence (COMINT)

Covers all electronic communications in the US and the world "to ensure national security". The NSA at Ft Meade, Maryland has had the most advanced computers in the world since the 60s. Technology is developed and implemented in secret.

Electronic Intelligence (ELINT)

ELINT is divided into Technical ELINT (TechELINT) and Operational ELINT (OpELINT):

• Technical ELINT obtains signal structure, emission characteristics, modes of operation, emitter functions, and weapons systems associations of such emitters as radars, beacons, jammers, and navigational signals for determining its capabilities and role in a larger system as part of electronic warfare.
• Operational ELINT focuses on locating specific ELINT targets and determining operational patterns of the systems named Electronic Order of Battle (EOB) for supporting military operational planners and tactical military commanders on the battlefield.

And it's "counter" programs, existing and under development (afaik):

• Electronic counter-countermeasures (ECCM) in the US and electronic protective measures (EPM) in Europe
• Wild Weasel (alias Iron Hand or SEAD)
• Smart Dust
• Wolfpack

Human intelligence (HUMINT)

Any information that can be gathered from any human sources. The National Clandestine Service (NCS) is the branch of the CIA responsible for the collection of HUMINT.

Domestic Intelligence (DOMINT)

The NSA has a permanent national security anti-terrorist surveillance network in place. This surveillance network seems hidden from the public, save for the leaks.

CIA operations

???

No idea what it looks like, but we know they have one.

FBI operations

The FBI has its own capacity to monitor phone, email, chats, etc., in addition to whatever NSA shares with them and seems to be doing quite well obtaining what it needs by collecting all the data everywhere via subpoenas, though there are abundant reasons to worry about control functions in FBI’s bulky databases. The FBI also provides info to the NSA. By using telecom companies the government can circumvent controls and accountability that don't apply to companies. All major telecom companies have worked closely and secretly with government spying since their inceptions.

Data Intercept Technology Unit (DITU)

The Data Intercept Technology Unit has been described as NSA's Alter Ego in the FBI. It carries out its own signals intelligence operations and is trying to collect huge amounts of email and internet data from U.S. companies — an operation that the NSA once conducted, was reprimanded for, and says it abandoned.

Digital Collection System Network (DCSNet)

DCSNet is a suite of software that collects, sifts and stores phone numbers, phone calls and text messages. The system directly connects FBI wiretapping outposts around the US to a far-reaching private communications network. DCSNet includes at least three collection components, each running on Windows-based computers:

• DCS-3000 (alias Red Hook) handling pen-registers and trap-and-traces, a type of surveillance that collects signaling information -- primarily the numbers dialed from a telephone -- but no communications content. (Pen registers record outgoing calls; trap-and-traces record incoming calls.)
• DCS-6000 (alias Digital Storm) captures and collects the content of phone calls and text messages for full wiretap orders.
• DCS-5000 is used for targeted surveillance wiretaps (targeting spies or terrorists).

DoD operations

Foreign Instrumentation Signals Intelligence (FISINT)

TELINT (Telemetry Intelligence), later named FISINT (Foreign Instrumentation Signals Intelligence) used for intercepting, processing, and analysis of foreign telemetry is closely related to TechELINT and conducted by DoD.

Countermoves

Communications privacy folly

In reply to a request for comments on Mexico law revisions – Warrantless Real-time Cell phone Geolocation Data Surveillance, Cryptome comments - This is the short version of why there can be no solution to preventing communication systems abuse .

Political ecology

Brian Holmes writes, I don’t think any alternative will be possible until certain realities are faced, not just by fringe figures like ourselves but by much broader swathes of society, and that seems unlikely .

Sisters arming themselves

And what if we make spying on us as expensive as possible using lawful techniques and tools? And if need be we invent new (GNU and creative commons licensed) techniques and tools?

• Sisters arming themselves with linux

Confusing surveillance systems

• Confusing surveillance systems

News and watchdogs

• Bugged Planet http://buggedplanet.info/
• CanaryWatch https://www.canarywatch.org/
• Cryptome http://cryptome.org/
• Lux ex Umbra - monitoring Canadian signals intelligence (SIGINT) activities past and present http://luxexumbra.blogspot.ca/
• NSA observer https://www.nsa-observer.net/
• Top Level Communications http://electrospaces.blogspot.fr/
• Watching Them, Watching Us http://www.spy.org.uk/
• WikiLeaks: The Spy Files https://wikileaks.org/the-spyfiles.html

Maps

• Mindmeister NSA map https://www.mindmeister.com/fr/308518551/the-national-security-agency-operates-more-than-500-separate-signals-intelligence-platforms-employs-

Books

• The Shadow Factory, 2008 http://www.bookarmor.com/_files/TSF.pdf

Documentaries

• All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/all-watched-over-by-machines-of-loving-grace/

Related

• Covert operations
• Psychological warfare
• Game of drones
• Biometrics
• Censorship
• Targeted surveillance
• Underminers