DYNAMIC PAGE -- HIGHEST POSSIBLE CLASSIFICATION IS
TOP SECRET // SI / TK // REL TO USA AUS CAN GBR NZL
(U//FOUO) First COMSAT Advisory Board Proves Its Point (repost)
FROM: LT
USN, S3312
Run Date: 05/26/2004
FROM: LT
USN, S3312
(S//SI) Did you know that collection of foreign communications satellites (FORNSAT) is the
source of over 30 percent of NSA and U.S. Field reporting? How about the fact that 46 percent of
arms proliferation reporting, 30 percent of counter narcotics reporting, and 29 percent of
counterterrorism reporting originate from FORNSAT accesses?
(S//SI) Making all of this possible is the cooperation of our Second Party Partners - Great
Britain, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. To maintian this level of success the 5-eyes
FORNSAT community used to plan ahead and tackle the toughest challenges together at the
Joint COMSAT Planning Review Board (JCPRB) and the COMSAT Planning Forum (CPF). These
two planning bodies have now been combined into one--the COMSAT Advisory Board (CAB).
(S//SI) Focused on long-range planning that will ensure continued successes, the CAB is the
first step toward establishing the Global Network Forum (GNF) which is to be inaugurated next
month. The CAB will inform the GNF about issues specific to 5-eyes FORNSAT programs, i.e.
access planning, architecture & engineering, and SIGINT development.
(S//SI) The premier meeting of the CAB, held on 6 and 7 May 2004 at NSA Headquarters, was
chaired by
Technical Director for FORNSAT. Attendance included delegations
from NSA and all 2nd party FORNSAT partners. Following the opening remarks by
Chief of Radio Frequency Operations, the participants dove right into challenging issues unique
to FORNSAT:
a 5-eyes division-of-effort to modernize the FORNSAT architecture,
access and collection of mobile satellite services,
development of automated survey tools, and
advancement of the 5-eyes environmental knowledge base.
(S//SI) Each topic was introduced with a short briefing. The participants actively engaged in
discussion, sought consensus whenever necessary and made difficult decisions as one body. The
format proved to be an excellent model to achieve the CAB goals of:
increasing collaboration among FORNSAT partners,
making decisions on issues affecting the FORNSAT community within the next 18
months, and
coalescing FORNSAT's voice as one of the many accesses that make up the global
network.
(S//SI) We would like to thank participants from the 2nd party organizations, Field Sites, and
the following supporters at NSAW: Link Access Programs, Radio Frequency Operations,
Cryptologic Exploitation Services, Office of Target Pursuit, and System Integration & Operations.
Noteworthy was the participation of the following Delegation Heads:
National Security
Agency (NSA), Graham Bird, Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ)
,
Communications Security Establishment (CSE),
Defence Signals Directorate
(DSD), and Chris Farrow, Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB).
(U//FOUO) For specific information regarding the agenda, attendees, and reference material,
please visit our web page
(U) The next CAB is scheduled for November 2004. Location has not yet been determined.
"(U//FOUO) SIDtoday articles may not be republished or reposted outside NSANet
without the consent of S0121 (DL sid_comms)."
DYNAMIC PAGE -- HIGHEST POSSIBLE CLASSIFICATION IS
TOP SECRET // SI / TK // REL TO USA AUS CAN GBR NZL
DERIVED FROM: NSA/CSSM 1-52, DATED 08 JAN 2007 DECLASSIFY ON: 20320108