Surveillance Topic Terms, p. 1 TERMS IN USE ON THE SURVEILLANCE TOPIC Dr. Rich Edwards Professor of Communication Studies Baylor University American Community Survey (ACS): This subset of the U.S. Census asks intrusive questions such as the number of times a person has been married, whether they have a mortgage on their home and whether they are enrolled in a health care plan. The ACS selects a sample size of about 2.5 percent of households each year to complete the survey. The ACS is controversial not only because of its intrusiveness, but also because participation is mandatory – the federal government reportedly pursues participants with phone calls, visits and threats of jail time if they refuse to complete the form. Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT): This is the name given to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s system for storing the fingerprints and facial recognition data for persons applying for visas, immigration benefits and the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). The system also stores biometric data for suspected terrorists and immigration law violators. Big Data Research and Development Initiative: The Obama administration launched this program in 2012, providing about $200 million with the announced purpose of “transforming our ability to use Big Data for scientific discovery, environmental and biomedical research, education and national security.” Six federal agencies are involved in the initiative, led by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) – the same agency that created the controversial Total Information Awareness program. Biometrics: This term refers to the use for identification purposes of any of the persistent characteristics of the human body. Examples of biometric identification include fingerprints, retina scans, facial recognition and DNA profiles. Border Enforcement Security Task Forces (BEST): This Immigration and Customs Enforcement program is designed to identify and dismantle criminal organizations operating on or near the Mexican border. The BEST program is designed to facilitate cooperation between U.S. and Mexican law enforcement agencies for the purpose of shutting down drug trafficking organizations. Boundless Informant: This is the name for a computer mining system operated by the National Security Agency that reportedly counts the number of telephone calls and emails that have been logged into the agency’s database. According to information leaked by Edward Snowden, the system intercepted within a single 30-day period of 2013 more than 3 billion telephone calls and emails that originated within the United States. Surveillance Topic Terms, p. 2 Bullrun: According to Edward Snowden, this is the name the National Security Agency uses for its program designed to defeat the encryption programs used by various data storage systems. Snowden also claims that the federal government has forced U.S.- based Internet companies to inset “back doors” into their encryption programs, allowing the NSA access to read encrypted messages. Carnivore: This is the name of a controversial system implemented by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1997 to monitor email and other electronic messages from a target user. The system has since been replaced by much more capable monitoring systems. Church Committee: Frank Church, a U.S. Senator from Idaho, was selected to chair the Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations With Respect to Intelligence Activities. This committee was created in 1975 to investigate the way that the Nixon administration had used U.S. intelligence agencies to gather information on political opponents. The disclosures from the committee report – commonly called the “Church Report” – prompted Congress to pass the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). FISA was originally designed to create a wall of separation between foreign and domestic surveillance activities. Agencies such as the CIA and NSA were essentially banned from conducting domestic surveillance; foreign surveillance would be conducted under the supervision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC). This “wall of separation” between domestic and foreign surveillance would later be blamed for the intelligence mistakes that failed to detect the planning for the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The PATRIOT Act would later revise FISA in such a way as to eliminate the wall separating foreign and domestic intelligence gathering. Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act (CALEA): This 1994 legislation established the procedures by which law enforcement agencies could conduct wiretaps on digital telephone networks. CALEA, since it was created before the recent revolution in Internet and cell phone communication, has been criticized as incapable of protecting contemporary communication from interception by intelligence agencies. Consolidated Cryptologic Program: According to a recent report from the Washington Post, the federal government’s “black budget” provides billions of dollars for this NSA program involving a staff of approximately 35,000 computer specialists charged with breaking encryption systems. Cyberterrorism: Homeland security experts warn that terrorist organizations may soon direct cyber attacks at critical infrastructures such as the electrical grid, financial systems, telecommunication networks, municipal water supplies and even nuclear power plants. Surveillance Topic Terms, p. 3 Data Localization: This refers to the effort of governments to force Internet companies to physically store data within a nation’s own borders rather than to allow the data to cross international boundaries. The Snowden revelations have caused some countries to distrust the security of “cloud-based” data when the servers are located in the United States where they might be subject to NSA snooping. Some experts are concerned that a trend toward data localization could undermine the normal functioning of the Internet; at present, Internet messages are routed over the fastest and most efficient routes, regardless of the geographic location of servers. Data Mining: This term refers to the use of specialized software to send queries to huge databases for the purpose of discovering otherwise hidden patterns and relationships. Corporations engage in data mining in order to strategically target advertising at users most likely to purchase their products. Governments may engage in data mining in order to identify persons or groups perceived as threats to national security. Domestic Communications Assistance Center: This refers to a surveillance unit in Quantico, Virginia designed to be staffed with agents from the FBI, the U.S. Marshalls Service and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The purpose of the center is to support various law enforcement investigations with information gleaned from wireless providers and social networking systems. E-Government Act of 2002: This legislation requires federal government agencies to provide privacy impact assessments (PIAs) for the ways that they collect, store, share and manage information. The purpose of the Act is to enhance the protection of personal information in government databases. Echelon: This is a secretive data collection system based upon shared information from intelligence agencies in the U.S., England, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. It is thought that the system intercepts international email, fax and telephone communications. The intelligence agencies then use supercomputers to provide analyses of the data. Einstein 3: This software system was designed by the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) to identify and disable cyber threats to key U.S. government computer networks. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security views the program as a vital protection against cyber attack, but some privacy advocates worry that the system is overly intrusive in its examination of private emails and other electronic communication. Surveillance Topic Terms, p. 4 Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA): This 1986 statute has three essential components: the Wiretap Act, designed to limit the interception of the content of electronic communication; the Pen Register Act, to protect such metadata elements as phone numbers called and persons contacted and the Stored Communication Act, to regulate access to messages held in electronic storage. While the ECPA has the purpose of protecting electronic privacy, the language of the Act is out of date. It was passed before the advent of the Internet and has not been updated to account for changes in how modern messages are sent, stored or retrieved. Executive Order (EO) 12333: This order, signed by Ronald Reagan in 1981, has been revised by every recent president. It established broad powers for the intelligence community to conduct surveillance on persons living outside the United States. Critics charge that this Executive Order has allowed U.S. intelligence agencies to circumvent the requirements of Congressional and FISA Court oversight. In the course of conducting surveillance on persons living outside the United States, intelligence agencies may also be monitoring the international communication of U.S. citizens. FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012: This legislation was designed to force the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to establish regulations allowing the domestic use of drones. Lobbying groups for farmers have been seeking permission to use inexpensive aerial surveillance systems to examine the status of crops; businesses have been seeking