List of DHS Social Media Monitoring Keywords

[PrisonerOfHope]

Dept. of Homeland Security Forced to Release List of Keywords Used to Monitor Social Networking Sites


If you are thinking about tweeting about clouds, pork, exercise or even Mexico, think again. Doing so may result in a closer look by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

In a story appearing earlier today on the U.K’s Daily Mail website, it was reported that the DHS has been forced to release a list of keywords and phrases it uses to monitor various social networking sites. The list provides a glimpse into what DHS describes as “signs of terrorist or other threats against the U.S.”

The list was posted by the Electronic Privacy Information Center who filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act, before suing to obtain the release of the documents. The documents were part of the department’s 2011 ’Analyst’s Desktop Binder‘ used by workers at their National Operations Center which instructs workers to identify ‘media reports that reflect adversely on DHS and response activities’.

The information sheds new light on how government analysts are instructed to patrol the internet searching for domestic and external threats. The Daily Mail’s article noted the Electronic Privacy Information Center wrote a letter to the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counter-terrorism and Intelligence, describing it’s choice of words as ‘broad, vague and ambiguous’.

What wasn’t disclosed is how the agency actually gains access to the various search engines and social networks to monitor the specified keywords. My guess is the DHS has a “special arrangement” with companies like Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Yahoo and Twitter to gain secure direct API access. This type of access would allow it to use distributed cloud technologies to monitor the daily flow of social media and search activity in something close to real time.

I would love to learn more about the technologies used to accomplish this type of social / web monitoring. The applications for monitoring trends and social statics are fascinating when applied to other industry sectors. Given the extent of the monitoring, I’m sure this post itself is now coming up on the DHS radar, so please feel free to leave a comment with any insights.

(Update 1: Reading through the Desktop Binder, I discovered the DHS Twitter account is @dhsnocmmc1 and DHS appears to be using tweetdeck to monitor the various keywords. See Page 38 – Also interesting to note they seem to be using a Mac Mini as a server, and no password vaults. All Passwords appear to be shared in a plain text word document.)

(Update 2: On page 37, DHS instructs analysts to accept invalid SSL certificates forever without verification. Although invalid SSL warnings often appear in benign situations, they can also signal a man-in-the-middle attack. Not a good practice for the security conscience. Thanks to @obra on twitter for the tip.)







www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2150281/REVEALED-Hundreds-words-avoid-using-online-dont-want-government-spying-you.html#ixzz1w1SkH6gY

www.forbes.com/sites/reuvencohen/2012/05/26/department-of-homeland-security-forced-to-release-list-of-keywords-used-to-monitor-social-networking-sites/2/

www.scribd.com/doc/82701103/Analyst-Desktop-Binder-REDACTED

[J.J.Gibbs]

cnbc.com
Warden of jail where Jeffrey Epstein killed himself reassigned, two guards placed on leave on orders of Attorney General William Barr
Dan Mangan,Kevin Breuninger


The warden of the federal jail in New York City where wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein killed himself was replaced Tuesday on orders of Attorney General William Barr pending investigations into the incident, the Justice Department said.

The U.S. Bureau of Prisons also placed two staffers at the Metropolitan Correctional Center who had been assigned to Epstein’s cell unit on administrative leave as probes into the death of the accused child sex trafficker continue.

“Additional actions may be taken as the circumstances warrant,” said Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec.

Lamine N’Diaye is being replaced at MCC by acting warden James Petrucci, who had been warden of the federal prison in Otisville, New York.

N’Diaye has been transferred to the Bureau of Prison’s Northeast Regional Office. He had been warden at MCC since May 2018.

A lawyer for Epstein, who was a former friend of Presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

The Bureau of Prisons also did not respond for a request for comment.

The death of Epstein on Saturday morning infuriated Barr, members of Congress, Epstein’s defense lawyers and attorneys for women who have claimed they were sexually abused as underage girls by Epstein at his properties in Manhattan and Palm Beach, Florida.

The FBI and the inspector general of the Justice Department now are investigating the incident.


Epstein, who sources have said hanged himself, was being held without bail in a section of the MCC known as the Special Housing Unit, or SHU.

The unit is used for high-profile prisoners who are at risk of violence from the general population, as well as for inmates who are a threat to others.

Last month, weeks after being arrested on sex trafficking charges, Epstein was found semiconscious in his cell, with marks on his neck.

He then was placed on suicide watch — but for some reason was taken off that watch less than a week later.

Barr said Monday that his department had learned of “serious irregularities” in the MCC, and vowed that “there will be accountability” in the wake of Epstein’s suicide.

“I was appalled, and indeed the whole department was, and frankly angry, to learn of the MCC’s failure to adequately secure this prisoner,” Barr said.

Later Monday, The New York Times reported that one of the two people who had been guarding Epstein was “not a full-fledged correctional officer,” and neither of the two guards “had checked on Epstein for several hours before he was discovered.”

Epstein, 66, had pleaded not guilty in the case, and was being held in the MCC without bail.

Justice Department spokeswoman Kupec, in a prepared statement said: “Today, the Attorney General directed the Bureau of Prisons to temporarily assign the warden at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York to the Bureau’s Northeast Regional Office pending the outcome of the FBI and OIG investigations into the apparent suicide of Jeffrey Epstein, a former MCC inmate.”

“FCI Otisville Warden James Petrucci has been named Acting Warden of the MCC New York. The Bureau of Prisons also placed on administrative leave two MCC staff assigned to Mr. Epstein’s unit pending the outcome of the investigations,” Kupec said. “Additional actions may be taken as the circumstances warrant.”

A representative for the Otisville Federal Correctional Institution did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on the DOJ’s statement.

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