Random thoughts on law, the internet and society
The XKeyscore system was described in slides 20 (dated 2008 21 ) published by The Guardian on the 31 st of July. It is an “exploitation system/analytic framework”, which enables searching a “3 day rolling buffer” of “full take” data stored at 150 global sites on 700 database servers. The system integrates data collected 22 from US embassy sites, foreign satellite and microwave transmissions (i.e. the system formerly known as ECHELON), and the “upstream” sources above.
The system indexes e - mail addresses, file names, IP addresses and port numbers, cookies, webmail and chat usernames and buddylists, phone numbers, and metadata from web browsing sessions (including words typed into search engines and locations visited on Google Maps). The distinctive advantage of the system is that it enables an analyst to discover “strong selectors” (search parameters which identify or can be used to extract data precisely about a target), and to look for “anomalous events” such as someone “using encryption” or “searching for suspicious stuff”
The FISA definition of “foreign intelligence information” has been amended several times to include specific and explicit categories for e.g. money laundering, terrorism, weapons of mass - destruction, but has always included two limbs which seem almost unlimited in scope. When the terms are unwound it includes:
information with respect to a foreign - based political organization or foreign territory that relates to, and if concerning a United States person is necessary to the conduct of the foreign affairs of the United States. [emphasis added]
This definition is of such generality that from the perspective of a non - American it appears any data of assistance to US foreign policy is eligible, including expressly political surveillance over ordinary lawful democratic activities.
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