Government and law enforcement have an insatiable appetite for private data they use, allegedly, to find bad guys, protect communities and generally be quiet heroes to us all.
Oh, and they can buy that data in bulk on the private market, giving them the ability to conduct mass surveillance while avoiding the constitutional niceties of getting warrants.
But the great gaping data maw extends well beyond cops and bureaucrats. The military is a big play in the surveillance game, too. As Vice reports:
Multiple branches of the U.S. military have bought access to a powerful internet monitoring tool that claims to cover over 90 percent of the world’s internet traffic, and which in some cases provides access to people’s email data, browsing history, and other information such as their sensitive internet cookies, according to contracting data and other documents reviewed by Motherboard.
It’s all thanks to a monitoring system called “Augury:”
The Augury platform makes a wide array of different types of internet data available to its users, according to online procurement records. These types of data include packet capture data (PCAP) related to email, remote desktop, and file sharing protocols. PCAP generally refers to a full capture of data, and encompasses very detailed information about network activity. PCAP data includes the request sent from one server to another, and the response from that server too.
But that’s just the beginning:
Augury’s data can also include web browser activity, like URLs visited and cookie usage, according to the procurement records. Cookies are sensitive files that websites plant onto computers when people visit them. Given their uniqueness, cookies can be effective for tracking.
Plus this:
Augury also contains so-called netflow data, which creates a picture of traffic flow and volume across a network. That can include which server communicated with another, which is information that may ordinarily only be available to the server owner themselves or to the internet service provider that is carrying the traffic. That netflow data can be used for following traffic through virtual private networks, and show the server they are ultimately connecting from. Multiple sources in the cybersecurity industry told Motherboard that netflow data can be useful for identifying infrastructure that hackers are using.
And yes, all of this is done without so much as a hint of a warrant:
In his letter addressed to the oversight departments of the DHS, DOJ, and DOD, Senator [Ron] Wyden writes that “my office was recently contacted by a whistleblower who described a series of formal complaints they filed up and down their chain of command, as well as to the DOD Inspector General and the Defense Intelligence Agency, regarding the warrantless purchase and use of netflow data by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS).”
The whistleblower alleges that NCIS is purchasing data from Team Cymru that includes both “netflow records and some communications content,” the letter continues. “The whistleblower has informed my office that their complaint was forwarded by the DOD Inspector General to the Navy Inspector General.” Pointing to the various U.S. government contracts for access to Augury, which his office also reviewed, in his letter Senator Wyden asks the oversight branches of the DHS, DOJ, and DOD to “investigate the warrantless purchase and use of Americans’ internet browsing records by the agencies under your jurisdictions. Your independent oversight must ensure that the government’s surveillance activities are consistent with the Supreme Court’s Carpenter decision and safeguard Americans’ Fourth Amendment rights.”
Ah, the Fourth Amendment. It’s supposed to stop government – including the military – from snooping on everyone, everywhere, often for no reason at all. And if government deems snooping necessary, it has to make its case to a judge who will issue a warrant establishing just how said snooping will be conducted. About time government got the message (again, and including the military this time) that the Fourth Amendment is still in effect…and applies to them in all circumstances.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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Nothing new here. Anyone can buy a dossier of information gathered from public records, internet use, criminal histories, physical data; they just have to pay a fee. It has been used by police agencies, prospective employers, private investigators, and many others, and has been in use for a very long time. All credit card purchases are tracked. The snoopers even know what kind of beer you like and your preference of brands of anti-perspirant. Even electronic communications are recorded and stored at a site in Utah, and can be pulled up and examined at anytime. People publish their own life story on Facebook for all to see. Cell phones track our every move..
Yeah, what’s the deal here? Why isn’t our moron in chief doing something about this? Is it maybe because he doesn’t believe in the Constitution? That would make sense because ever since he was installed as Emperor er, president, he has flaunted the law. He has made no real effort to follow the Constitution or oath of office. He has done all he could to divide the country and tear down our society. This makes perfect sense in a communist country or dictatorships. Is that the plan? I think it is.