Communities of Interest

by emptywheel

This Eric Lichtblau article provides a lot of dots that have been, heretofore, missing in our picture of the surveillance they've got us under. It's no surprise the government has been using data mining on not just suspects themselves, but also on their friends and associates--a virtual "Friends and Families" plan of surveillance.

The documents indicate that the Federal Bureau of Investigation used secret demands for records to obtain data not only on individuals it saw as targets but also details on their “community of interest” — the network of people that the target in turn was in contact with.

But given the description, it's more clear now why the Administration refused all meaningful oversight of the minimization they're doing on their warrantless wiretapping. You can't really collect a "community of interest" and at the same time be claiming you're eliminating all data on those not directly targeted.

Further, the article explains why Alberto Gonzales got all squirmy early this year when SJC asked him for information on National Security Letters. They were still trying to hide these communities of interest, so Gonzales didn't want to provide much information on the program. And meanwhile, they were trying to bury the program.

The government official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the F.B.I. recently stopped asking the telecommunications companies for the community of interest data. The exact time of and reason for the suspension is unclear, but it appears to have been set off in part by the questions raised earlier this year by the inspector general’s initial review into abuses in the use of national security letters.

And finally, it adds another reason why telecom companies are anxious to get immunity for their work on the Administration's warrantless wiretap program. That's because some of that wiretapping was based on analysis the telecom companies are already doing on us.

Matt Blaze, a professor of computer and information science at the University of Pennsylvania and a former researcher for AT&T, said the telecommunications companies could have easily provided the F.B.I. with the type of network analysis data it was seeking because they themselves had developed it over many years, often using sophisticated software like a program called Analyst’s Notebook.

“This sort of analysis of calling patterns and who the communities of interests are is the sort of things telephone companies are doing anyway because it’s central to their businesses for marketing or optimizing the network or detecting fraud,” said Professor Blaze, who has worked with the F.B.I. on technology issues.

Such “analysis is extremely powerful and very revealing because you get these linkages between people that wouldn’t be otherwise clear, sometimes even more important than the content itself” of phone calls and e-mail messages, he said. “But it’s also very invasive. There’s always going to be a certain amount of noise,” with data collected on people who have no real links to suspicious activity, he said. [my emphasis]

You see, when these lawsuits go forward, we'll have a sense not just of how the telecom companies are complicit in the government's spying on us--but how much they're already spying on us, anyway.

Comments

[bmaz]

Man, you gotta have a chat with the UM scheduler. This is really brutal. Earlier this morning, in what appears to be a dead thread, I asked "Who the Maize, Black and Blue playing today?" Lookee here, my teevee says its Oregon! First the West Virginia, er I mean Appalachian State Mountaineers, now a Pac 10 team. My, my; any predictions?

[Albert Fall]

Bushies spying on the "community of interest" is in perfect keeping with their known habits.

The Plame outing was clearly, at the time, aimed not only at Plame but even more at any potential dissidents within the adminstration who might consider talking out of school.

In fact, I think the Plame outing was, by its outrageousness, exactly the example the Busies wanted to use to show they were in control and would crush anyone who crossed them.

Spying on the "community of interest" to identify leakers is the same M.O.

[Annie]

Is or has anyone created a lexicon of all of the civil rights infractions and Constitutional attacks language and terms? It would be incredibly useful to be able to see the historical and chronological progression of the introduction of these terms, who used them first, how they were disseminated and integrated into mainstream and public conversation and what role, if any, that the traditional media had in promoting and disseminating them. FWIW, the blogosphere's reaction, use and awareness of them would also be extremely interesting. Dissertation, anyone?

[bmaz]

As scummy and distasteful as it is, and it really is, the mining and mapping activity by the comms is probably quite legal as long as it is done for legitimate commercial purposes. The comms don't come under the penumbra of the 4th Amendment as long as they are doing it on their own for said legitimate commercial purposes; however, if done in conjucntion with, or on behalf of, the government, they do. The government is subject to the Constitutional restraints whether partnered with the comms, or simply seizing their previously collected data. My point here is the liability/immunity issue. Whatever the comms were doing, and are doing, on their own as far as mining and mapping; they probably don't have any liability exposure for, and if they do, that is their problem not the government's and there is no need nor basis for immunity for this conduct.

As to whatever information and/or assistance the comms gave the government pursuant to a warrant or other valid judicial process, the comms are already "immunized" for. As to whatever information and assistance that the comms gave to the government pursuant to government demand and certified by the Administration as legal and necessary for national security, for the life of me, I cannot see how the government will not have to indemnify and defend the comms for. The bottom line is, as I have been saying for a while, there simply is no giant exposure of the comms that necessitates a granting of immunity, prospective, retroactive or otherwise. The Bush Administration is bellowing this canard merely to prevent citizens from having a pathway to the truth of what they have done, and to shield themselves from criminal culpability. This is absolute bullshit, and nobody should give them the time of day on this issue.

[emptywheel]

Oh, bmaz, I assume Lloyd Carr's career is over. Pity, too. He was a good college coach.

[joanneleon]

From the article:
"The community of interest data sought by the F.B.I. is central to a data-mining technique intelligence officials call link analysis. Since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, American counterterrorism officials have turned more frequently to the technique, using communications patterns and other data to identify suspects who may not have any other known links to extremists."

Well, all I can say is, Kevin Bacon had better watch his back.

But seriously, I'm surprised the "no fly" list was only numbered at 80K or whatever that ridiculous number was. They have got to be absolutely buried in data when doing analysis like this. The only thing that gives me any kind of peace of mind is knowing how the sheer volume of data they're dealing with is nature's best protection.

The thing that worries me most is wondering what their definition of "extremist" is, given all the press by idiots like O'Reilly about dkos and the blogosphere.

[bmaz]

In Lloyd Carr's defense, he seems like a decent chap (but so would Atilla the Hun compared to Schembechler) and, at 1 win and 3 losses, his winning percentage in the Rose Bowl is clearly superior to Schembechler's. And what with Notre Dame up next, at least you have a break in the schedule for a week. 32-7. Ouch.

[Lon Tooth]

I don't doubt this particular revelation merely scratches the surface of the data mining crimes committed by the deputy dogs of this administration. I don't doubt, for example, that any one who has ever posted over at Kos has been surveilled, or those (like myself) who have left comments over the years have likewise fallen under the scrutiny of the unscrupulous. The democratic presidential aspirants should be called on to pledge that the wrongdoing will be fully exposed, whoever may assume the office.

[masaccio]

This link analysis is apparently used by banks to detect fraud. Under the Bank Secrecy Act, the Anti-Money Laundering Act, and several provisions of the USA Patriot Act, money-handlers, including banks and brokers, are required to be able to detect a whole bunch of transactions which give rise to the requirement to file a Suspicious Activity Report. Ostensibly this is supposed to locate terrorist financing and money-laundering. Interestingly, this obligation does not give rise to obligations to bank customers or others who might be harmed by the activity. In fact, it is illegal even to inquire as to whether a bank filed an SAR. On the other hand, failure to implement the systems and operate them effectively permits the regulators to impose walloping fines. I know of one case in which a bank paid $40 million in fines.

I took a look at the software analysts notebook, referred to in the Lichtblau article. There is a fascinating demo on the site. I have a case where it might be fun to have it. I might add that private firms have much more complex programs than this one, usually highly specialized. Ask yourself this: how does Amazon decide what to put on the front page when you log on?

[masaccio]

The case I mentioned with the fine involved a Ponzi scheme. It is a really interesting question whether the bank would have had exposure for letting the Ponzi scheme continue if, as I think, it actually knew that its customer was committing a blatant fraud.

[bmaz]

massacio - That is a cool little demo; and I'll bet it just scatches the surface of what programs like this can really do. Your example of what Amazon does in relation to it's targeted approach to you when you interact with them is exactly the kind of thing I was referring to above as legitimate commercial activity. The two that crossed my mind when I said that were actually Double Click and Google, but same principle; and while we may not like it, it is everywhere out in the business world and is just the price of business in the electronic age regrettably. Again though, the telcomms and othe comms DO NOT need immuniztion, they are not in trouble; it is the Administration that is desperate for cover.

[cboldt]

-- it is the Administration that is desperate for cover --

To wit, it is asking for a legislative solution for past action, when it has a solution of its own.

The president can dispose of the cases with a pardon. No need to admit or deny wrongdoing, just say "they followed my orders, and if those were illegal, tough, the actors are pardoned." That finally disposes of all the past, and puts the onus for the action right where it belongs, with the executive.

[Mauimom]

In Lloyd Carr's defense, he seems like a decent chap (but so would Atilla the Hun compared to Schembechler) and, at 1 win and 3 losses, his winning percentage in the Rose Bowl is clearly superior to Schembechler's. And what with Notre Dame up next, at least you have a break in the schedule for a week. 32-7. Ouch.

Those of us from the Pac-10 who're tired of being patted on the head and told we "don't play 'real' football" are gratified by today's results.

Been trying to switch over to the ND-Penn State game, but can't tear myself away from what's about to be the THIRD overtime in the Texas A&M-Fresno State game.

Frankly, I don't think ND's gonna be much of an opponent next week. Boy, Penn State's Derrick Williams is really looking good today.

[bmaz]

cboldt - That is a good point. But, and I am looking for words to say this without coming across as mean and demeaning to Bush, and I just can't; Bush is always the tough decider guy until the rubber meets the road and you really got to be a man. He never has been, and he never will be. His record, from the backyard football games where he would change rules so it didn't look like he was losing, straight through till the present is literally perfectly consistent. Not to mention that such an act would diminish his abilities to "refresh the ole coffers" as he cravenly looks forward to (leaving aside the question of who the hell is going to pay all this money for a man that doesn't have much to say on his own and literally can't speak for shit). Lastly, that would be the last nail in the coffin leaving him exposed for post-presidency ciminal exposure. No, he'll fight for the cover of immunization and, thanks to the similarly craven irresponsibility of my party, he will undoubtedly get it. Profiles In Courage, like the Geneva Conventions, are but a mere quaint anachronism in this country.

Mauimom - Heh heh. That is exactly right; and for any out there that think I am pimping EW a bit hard on UM football; well, I am. EW is not a lifer Big Blue that I am aware of; but darn it, she is there now, and as Mauimom points out, this is a decades long deal with Pac 10 lifers. In the 60s when I was a kid, all you would hear about all year was freaking Michigan, Ohio State and Notre Dame; yet every time there would be a big game, especially a Rose Bowl, they invariably got their ass handed to them. Repeat and rinse every year; no respect for the west no matter what our teams did. We're still a little testy out here. It was especially sweet in years when a 10-1 or 11-0 Michigan or Ohio State team, already celebrating their pending National Championship, would come on out to Pasadena to play some 8-3 or 7-4 freak winner of the Pac 10(Pac 8 back then) such as Stanford or UCLA; and then go home to the midwest after a total drubbing (for example the 1971 Rose Bowl where Jim Plunkett absolutely killed the undefeated cocky Woody Hayes and Ohio State).

[prostratedragon]

Given all that you say, why are you all so testy out there?

[TheGris]

I wonder how much of this data ended up getting fed to Cheney and Rove by, cough.. complete accident. Any political operative would want to mine communications data to coordinate voter targeting -- both for getting out the vote and vote suppression. You could even mine keywords in email and phone conversations to determine targets.

It's also a no-brainer that Cheney and his thugs would want this data to target political opponents in and outside of the administration.

If the Democrats continue their spineless ways, it makes me wonder what Cheney has on them.

[bmaz]

Prostratedragon - Until this Bush guy came along, life was pretty carefree out here in the land of surf and sand. Had to find something to get worked up about; so we gathered a chip on the shoulder on the football bit...

[masaccio]

For what it's worth, bmaz, I seem to recall that after the questionable Notre Dame loss to USC in 1964, it was many years before USC was able to beat the Irish. Of course, we weren't going t0 bowl games then.

[bmaz]

masaccio - The Irish did have a good string for a while there; but there was a big blip you forgot, i.e. 1967 when OJ ran wild on the Irish. I won't bring up 1972 and 1974 when Anthony Davis scored what seemed like 90 touchdowns on Notre Dame. I think it was only 10 or 11, but it is hard in my advanced age to remember him touching the ball without hitting the end zone. I should point out though that, as a lifelong ASU Sun Devil fan, ever since we joined the formerly Pac 8, most of the year I hate USC.

[sojourner]

OK... If you have to discuss football, please talk about REAL football! I am second generation LSU, and both of my daughters graduated from there. As I sit here writing, LSU is stomping on Virginia Tech... ;-)

I have not been real active on the boards this last week or two, but I just have to throw this one out to think about:

How in the hell can our 'lustrious president declare this surge to be successful ("We're kickin' ass!), when he never stopped to figure out from the beginning what success would look like? I remember how shocked I was to find out that there was no plan in place for what happened after we defeated Saddam's forces. That also meant that there was no forethought whatsoever to what we really wanted to achieve.

I have had enough of these dickheads, and their sick ideas about democracy in Iraq. It ain't gonna happen because they didn't know what they wanted in the first place... except that it gave them a good excuse to declare that we are at war, and could get away with spying on the citizenry in the name of "protecting" us from terrorism.

[sojourner]

Oh, a little humor to pass on...

I was listening to CBS Radio News last night on the way home from work, and got a good laugh -- and I am certain I remember correctly how this was phrase:

"Even though her husband is half a world away, Laura Bush has a pain in her neck and will undergo surgery to relieve the pressure..."

Poor phrasing, perhaps?

[bmaz]

Is she going to get rid of the pain in the ass too?

[sojourner]

"Oh, does she have hemorrhoids, too?" he asked innocently...

[dead last]

Impeachment is too good for these crooks!!! I think they deserve crucifixion!

[emptywheel]

Nope, I'm not a lifer in the Big 10. I only had season tix for one season, even--though it did happen to be a Nat Championship sharing season.

Maybe that's their problem.