Purpose: XKEYSCORE is an NSA search and analysis system for data collected by other surveillance programmes. The system is described by Snowden as a search engine that provides a “one-stop shop” for access to content, metadata and real-time tracking and monitoring of user activities (COU01). Access to XKEYSCORE is shared…
Purpose: FASCIA is the US National Security Agency’s (NSA) data storage and analyse programme focused on mobile phone location metadata. Approximately 5 billion records per day are collected [WAH01]. The programme exploits the SS7 (Signaling System No. 7) data exchange protocol, which links mobile network providers together. Two kinds of…
Purpose: SKYNET is a behaviour profiling programme that attempts to identify “interesting travel patterns”, including how often a person travels and to where [SKYNET-02, Slide13]. Specifically, the programme aims to identify “courier-like travel patterns” [SKYNET-02, Slide20]. It achieves this by analysing mobile phone metadata that reveals both location and communication…
Purpose: MARINA is an NSA repository for metadata. It stores information about millions of Internet users for up to a year (GUA01). The repository contains contact information, browsing history and other metadata. It also has the ability to export data in a variety of formats, including charts that assist in…
