Special Source Operations
Special Source Operations (SSO) is a division in the US National Security Agency (NSA)[1] which is responsible for all programs aimed at collecting data from major fiber-optic cables and switches, both inside the US and abroad, and also through corporate partnerships.[2] Its existence was revealed through documents provided by Edward Snowden to media outlets in 2013 and, according to him, it is the "crown jewel" of the NSA.[3]
History
[edit | edit source]The program began in 2006, according to one of Snowden's documents, when the NSA was collecting the equivalent of "one Library of Congress every 14.4 seconds". The Washington Post described the official seal of the SSO division as something "that might have been parody: an eagle with all the world's cables in its grasp."[4]
Notable programs
[edit | edit source]The five biggest collection programs of the Special Source Operations division are codenamed:[5]
- DANCINGOASIS
- SPINNERET
- MOONLIGHTPATH
- INCENSER
- AZUREPHOENIX
Other known programs include:
- PRISM – front-door collection using Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) orders
- MUSCULAR – back-door collection from Google and Yahoo private clouds
- Upstream collection – which includes:
See also
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ "Edward Snowden, after months of NSA revelations, says his mission's accomplished" – The Washington Post, December 23, 2013.
- ^ Top Level Telecommunications, Some numbers about NSA's data collection, June 5, 2014
