OAKSTAR is a secret internet surveillance program of the
National Security Agency
The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collecti ...
(NSA) of the United States. It was disclosed in 2013 as part of the leaks by former NSA contractor
Edward Snowden
Edward Joseph Snowden (born June 21, 1983) is an American and naturalized Russian former computer intelligence consultant who leaked highly classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA) in 2013, when he was an employee and su ...
.
OAKSTAR is an umbrella program involving surveillance of telecommunications. It falls under the category of "
Upstream collection
Upstream collection is a term used by the National Security Agency (NSA) of the United States for intercepting telephone and Internet traffic from the Internet backbone, meaning major Internet cables and switches, both domestic and foreign. Beside ...
", meaning that data is pulled directly from fiber-optic cables and top-level communications infrastructure.
Upstream collection programs allow access to very high volumes of data, and most of the pre-selection is done by the providers themselves, before the data is passed on to the NSA.
The FY 2013 budget for OAKSTAR was $9.41 million.
OAKSTAR consists of the following
SIGAD
A SIGINT Activity Designator (or SIGAD) identifies a signals intelligence (SIGINT) line of collection activity associated with a signals collection station, such as a base or a ship. For example, the SIGAD for Menwith Hill in the UK is USD1000. S ...
s:
''Note: SIGADs not otherwise designated are presumed to operate under the legal authority of Section 702 of the
FISA Amendments Act (FAA)''
Glossary
*DNI: Digital Network Intelligence
*DNR: Dial Number Recognition
[
*MARINA: An NSA Database of Internet metadata]
*Timing advances: no explanation has been provided in the source material.
*Transit Authority: A legal authority that states communications that transit the United States are collectible, provided that both endpoints are foreign.
Media Relating to OAKSTAR and Upstream Collection
File:International Cables- Crop.jpg, Upstream: Map of International Cables
File:Transit authority (3) -crop.jpg, Upstream: Transit Authority
File:Transit authority map -Crop.jpg, Upstream: Map of Transit Authority
File:Unique aspects-crop.jpg, Upstream: Unique Aspects
File:Corporate Portfolio (3) -Crop.jpg, Upstream: Corporate Portfolio
File:US-3206 MONKEYROCKET -Crop.jpg, OAKSTAR: MONKEYROCKET SIGAD
File:US-3217 SHIFTINGSHADOW-crop.jpg, OAKSTSAR: SHIFTINGSHADOW SIGAD
File:US-3230 ORANGECRUSH -crop.jpg, OAKSTAR: ORANGECRUSH SIGAD
File:US-3247 YACHTSHOP - crop.jpg, OAKSTAR: YACHTSHOP SIGAD
File:SilverZephyr.jpg, OAKSTAR:SILVERZEPHYR SIGAD
References
{{Reflist
Intelligence agency programmes revealed by Edward Snowden
National Security Agency operations
Mass surveillance