The Digital Collection System Network (DCSNet) is the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

(FBI)'s

point-and-click Point and click are the actions of a computer user moving a pointer to a certain location on a screen (''pointing'') and then pressing a button on a mouse, usually the left button (''click''), or other pointing device. An example of point and ...

surveillance system that can perform instant wiretaps on almost any telecommunications device in the US. It allows access to

cellphone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whi ...

landline A landline (land line, land-line, main line, home phone, fixed-line, and wireline) is a telephone connection that uses metal wires or optical fiber telephone line for transmission, as distinguished from a mobile cellular network, which uses ...

, SMS communications anywhere in the US from a point-and-click interface. It runs on a fiber-optic backbone that is separate from the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

. It is intended to increase agent productivity through workflow modeling, allowing for the routing of intercepts for translation or analysis with only a few clicks. The DCSNet real-time

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can be des ...

data intercept has the capability to record, review and playback intercepted material in real-time. The DCSNet systems operate on a virtual private network parallel to the public Internet, with services provided at least for some time by the Sprint peerless IP network. Much of the information available on this system has come from the results of

Freedom of Information Act Freedom of Information Act may refer to the following legislations in different jurisdictions which mandate the national government to disclose certain data to the general public upon request: * Freedom of Information Act 1982, the Australian act * ...

(FOIA) requests made by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).

Components

It is composed of at least three classified software components that run on the

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for ser ...

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also i ...

—DCS3000, DCS5000, DCS6000.

DCS-1000

DCS-3000

DCS-3000 and "Red Hook" were first mentioned publicly in a March 2006 report from the

United States Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for the Department of Justice (DOJ) is responsible for conducting nearly all of the investigations of DOJ employees and programs. The office has several hundred employees, reporting to the Inspector Gener ...

on the implementation of the

Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act The Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), also known as the "Digital Telephony Act," is a United States wiretapping law passed in 1994, during the presidency of Bill Clinton (Pub. L. No. 103-414, 108 Stat. 4279, codified at 47 ...

(CALEA). The report described Red Hook as "a system to collect voice and data calls and then process and display the intercepted information in the absence of a CALEA solution." and it described DCS-3000 "as an interim solution to intercept personal communications services delivered via emerging digital technologies used by wireless carriers in advance of any CALEA solutions being deployed." Citing the OIG report, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed an FOIA request later that year in order to obtain more information about the two programs. When the FBI did not respond with more information, the EFF sued, and in May 2007 obtained a court order to release documents concerning the programs. On August 29, 2007, ''

Wired ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San ...

'' magazine published an article on these systems, citing the EFF documents. The DCS-3000 collects information associated with dialed and incoming numbers like traditional trap-and-trace and

pen register A pen register, or dialed number recorder (DNR), is an electronic device that records all numbers called from a particular telephone line. The term has come to include any device or program that performs similar functions to an original pen regi ...

s. The article named "Red Hook" as the client for DCS-3000. ''Wired'' reported that the DCS-3000 cost $320 per number targeted, and that the software is maintained by

Booz Allen Hamilton Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation (informally Booz Allen) is the parent of Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., an American management and information technology consulting firm, headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in Greater Washington, D.C., with 8 ...

DCS-5000

The DCS-5000 is a system used by the FBI unit responsible for

counter-intelligence Counterintelligence is an activity aimed at protecting an agency's intelligence program from an opposition's intelligence service. It includes gathering information and conducting activities to prevent espionage, sabotage, assassinations or ot ...

to target suspected spies, alleged terrorists, and others with wiretaps.

DCS-6000

The DCS-6000 (a.k.a. "Digital Storm") captures the content of phone calls and

text messages Text messaging, or texting, is the act of composing and sending electronic messages, typically consisting of alphabetic and numeric characters, between two or more users of mobile devices, desktops/ laptops, or another type of compatible comput ...

for analysis. Once the data has been captured, it is indexed and prioritized using the Electronic Surveillance Data Management System (ELSUR).

References