http://www.forbes.com/sites/runasandvik/2013/11/26/illuminating-the-united-states-billion-dollar-intelligence-budget-project-spylighter-documents-surveillance-technology-used-by-the-nsa/ Illuminating The Billion Dollar U.S. Intelligence Budget: Project SpyLighter Documents NSA Surveillance Technology
Documents released by the U.S. National Security Agency in the last couple of months, following successful Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests as part of a new crowdsourcing project called SpyLighter<https://www.muckrock.com/projects/spylighter/>, reveal the agency purchased products from Packet Forensics and VUPEN Security in 2010 and 2012. The two companies are well known for selling Internet surveillance technology and software exploits to governments and businesses world-wide. The requests were filed by Heather Akers-Healy just weeks after the Washington Post published top-secret documents, obtained from former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, disclosing the $52.6 billion “black budget”<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/national/black-budget/>that funds the NSA and other agencies in the United States intelligence community. In the requests, Akers-Healy asked for copies of contracts with VUPEN and Packet Forensics, and any final reports generated and delivered by the companies to the agency, over the past 10 years. [image: The seal of the U.S. National Security Agency....]<http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:National_Security_Agency.svg> The seal of the U.S. National Security Agency. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Inspired by projects such as WikiLeaks and Telecomix Blue Cabinet, the California-based human rights and privacy activist says she filed the requests in hopes of getting “more information regarding the tactics and technology in use by the NSA.” “The Snowden files are illuminating but specific technological details have sometimes been withheld.” Project SpyLighter, led by Akers-Healy and Jason Gulledge, launched unofficially on Sept. 16, 2013, when the spy agency responded<https://www.muckrock.com/foi/united-states-of-america-10/vupen-contracts-with-nsa-6593/>with a 19-page document detailing a contract with French security firm VUPEN, just 11 days after the request was filed. The goal of the project is to use FOIA requests to obtain “more information about vendors and technology in use by the NSA and other agencies,” says Akers-Healy. “Anyone who signs up at the Muckrock website [which allows users to request, analyze, and share government documents] can participate in SpyLighter.” The contract shows that the agency purchased a 12-month subscription of the VUPEN Binary Analysis and Exploits Service in Sept. 2012. Though the amount paid to VUPEN for this service has been redacted by the NSA, analysts have estimated<http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2012/03/21/meet-the-hackers-who-sell-spies-the-tools-to-crack-your-pc-and-get-paid-six-figure-fees/>that VUPEN’s clients pay around $100,000 annually for a subscription. The service includes in-depth analysis of vulnerabilities, exploits and proof-of-concept code for software such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Adobe Flash Player and many more. Responding to the publication of VUPEN’s one-year long contract with the U.S. spy agency, VUPEN’s chief executive and lead hacker, Chaouki Bekrar, tweeted <https://twitter.com/cBekrar/status/380363595042656256>, “We all had great fun with yesterday news, let’s extend the pleasure of transparency to US companies & laugh together.” Bekrar went on<https://twitter.com/cBekrar/status/380354389543632896>to suggest that Project SpyLighter also file FOIA requests for information related to exploits sold by U.S. companies, including ManTech, Raytheon and Harris Corp. VUPEN has not commented on whether the NSA renewed the subscription for another year. Another response<https://www.muckrock.com/foi/united-states-of-america-10/nsa-contracts-with-packet-forensics-6699/>from the agency came on Nov. 15, 2013, when it released copies of contracts with Packet Forensics from 2010 and 2012. One of the main selling points for the privately-held U.S. company seems to be the simplification of surveillance; one of their sales brochures<https://www.privacyinternational.org/sii/packet_forensics/>says that “if you can surf the Internet and use e-mail, you can perform a cyber investigation.” According to the company’s website, their products allow customers to perform “stealth packet filtering and transparent redirection” and surveil “networks using deep packet inspection.” Details about the product purchased have been redacted, but the 2010 contract shows the NSA spent $17,500 on products delivered to the agency’s Interagency Training Center in Fort Washington, Maryland. In 2012, the spy agency purchased software and software licenses for a total of $500,000. Akers-Healy says the “quick, successful response [to the request for contracts with VUPEN] provided impetus to expand and file for additional vendors,” and more than 35 FOIA requests have so far been filed as part of Project SpyLighter. The requests are asking for copies of contracts and invoices between the NSA, as well as other U.S. spy agencies, and a number of different intelligence contractors, including Harris Corp., ManTech, Palantir and Gamma International. It is far from common to receive responsive documents less than two weeks after filing a request with a U.S. government agency, as was the case with Akers-Healy’s initial request to the NSA. Agencies often fight releases for months or years, and requests are often rejected for being too vague, too broad or too burdensome to complete. In some cases, agencies will respond saying the release of the information requested would be a threat to national security. “Unfortunately subsequent requests have not gone as smoothly and many are currently in appeal,” says Akers-Healy. She has already appealed the NSA’s decision to redact the amount of the VUPEN contract and the product names in the contracts with Packet Forensics. “This has been a learning experience. We are learning as we go and will publish tips so that others will have an easier time in filing.” __._,_.___ __,_._,___ -- -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "PoliticalForum" group. 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