Bruce Schneier's blog has an entry (archive) making reference to an "interesting analysis" by Susan Landau and Asaf Lubin:
Here's the abstract:
The telephony metadata program which was authorized under Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act, remains one of the most controversial programs launched by the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. Under the program major U.S. carriers were ordered to provide NSA with daily Call Detail Records (CDRs) for all communications to, from, or within the United States. The Snowden disclosures and the public controversy that followed led Congress in 2015 to end bulk collection and amend the CDR authorities with the adoption of the USA FREEDOM Act (UFA).
For a time, the new program seemed to be functioning well. Nonetheless, three issues emerged around the program. The first concern was over high numbers: in both 2016 and 2017, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court issued 40 orders for collection, but the NSA collected hundreds of millions of CDRs, and the agency provided little clarification for the high numbers. The second emerged in June 2018 when the NSA announced the purging of three years' worth of CDR records for "technical irregularities." Finally, in March 2019 it was reported that the NSA had decided to completely abandon the program and not seek its renewal as it is due to sunset in late 2019.
This paper sheds significant light on all three of these concerns. First, we carefully analyze the numbers, showing how forty orders might lead to the collection of several million CDRs, thus offering a model to assist in understanding Intelligence Community transparency reporting across its surveillance programs. Second, we show how the architecture of modern telephone communications might cause collection errors that fit the reported reasons for the 2018 purge. Finally, we show how changes in the terrorist threat environment as well as in the technology and communication methods they employ — in particular the deployment of asynchronous encrypted IP-based communications — has made the telephony metadata program far less beneficial over time. We further provide policy recommendations for Congress to increase effective intelligence oversight.
Free registration should give access to the entire article.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 12 2019, @05:51PM (1 child)
Free Registration? should? This is the NSA we are talking about, no? Shirley you jhest!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 12 2019, @06:44PM
NSA: Trust us ... like you have a choice.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by ikanreed on Monday August 12 2019, @05:54PM (4 children)
It's hard to forget the sheer, unrepetant orwellianism of the Bush administration.
Look at that bill name. Call spying on literally every single american the "USA FREEDOM Act". Mandating national travel papers for all citizens in the "US PATRIOT Act". It was an absurd era.
Don't get me wrong, Obama fixed none of it. Except possibly, maybe the use of torture? maybe?? Claimed to end it, without a lot of material evidence that he did, definitely no prosecutions of those responsible.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 12 2019, @06:46PM
I think Obama ended the torture via attrition. Everyone being tortured was either convicted, released or expired.
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Tuesday August 13 2019, @12:32AM (2 children)
Every time I read about your "Department of Homeland Security" I have a mental picture of men in shiny boots stopping a bus and calling out "Papers please"!
(Score: 2) by ikanreed on Tuesday August 13 2019, @05:14AM (1 child)
That's ICE, one division of the department of homeland security.
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Tuesday August 13 2019, @08:25PM
Oh. Well, that's OK then.
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Monday August 12 2019, @06:21PM
Only that one tired old question remains...
Who's gonna stop 'em?
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 12 2019, @06:42PM (1 child)
me: can you hear me now?
nsa: yes, but i can't tell you.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 12 2019, @06:49PM
NSA: Yes, but you don't need to be on the phone. Hold on a sec, "Alexa, turn that TV down! How many times do I have to tell you we can't hear properly with that stupid thing blaring like that? Order the old lady some hearing aides already!" Now, where was I?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 12 2019, @07:58PM
the data exists. as long as people providing/building the infrastructure that enables this communication dont work for free, then bills or rather EXACT bills need to be generated. this is the reason why the data exists.
it's just another item on the "running costs" bill of items to make a copy for the NSA. heck, who knows, maybe the NSA reimburses the telcoms?
again, it seems, cell phone users need to be reminded that their calls are routed thru FIXED and precisedly know location of cell phone towers and that cell users have no official way to pick their cell tower. plain and simple: if you're making a cell phone call in florida you're not going to connect to a cell tower in california. pay attention to your tech else the effect of a dialed cell phone number involves magical fairies on unicorn back doing a faster then light sweep of the country to find the location of the device with that number?
what is however miserable is what happend to lava email?