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(TS//SI//REL) F6, NSA Texas, and Yakima Research Station
Collaborate on Venezuela Survey
FROM:
Technical Director, SIGDEV Texas and
Chief, YRS Operations Division (F921)
Run Date: 11/03/2006
(U//FOUO) This article is the first in a series of four that will
illustrate the value of collaboration amongst the SIGINT
Development Community. It demonstrates SSG's (SIGINT
Development Strategy and Governance) guidance to leverage
expertise wherever it exists to address our toughest SIGDEV
challenges.
(TS//SI//REL) The challenges were clear: Obtain valuable signals
intelligence against one of the recently added targets to the
Strategic Mission List -- Venezuela. Yakima Research Station (YRS)
had been collecting FORNSAT signals for years against this
emerging target but the large regional satellite beams visible from
YRS had been examined and re-examined in the search for
Venezuelan communications with only moderately successful
results. Many more FORNSAT signals were available in the form of
smaller spot beams that transmitted down to earth in limited areas,
none visible from YRS. Since the signals weren't going to come to
the collectors, the collectors would have to go to the signals. The
Special Collection Service (F6), NSA Texas and YRS made the
decision to move the point of collection into an area with visibility
into these spot beams.
(S//SI//REL) While remote surveys had been done before, they
generally suffered from long analytic lag times and a lack of
flexibility for target pursuit. The solution to this was to perform
collection at the front-end and remote the data back to waiting
CONUS teams for in-depth SIGDEV analysis and target tipping on
the fly.
(TS//SI//REL) Each organization brought a crucial element to the
table: F6 had the requisite geographical access and antenna, and
NSA Texas and YRS had the analytic and processing capability
against the Venezuelan target. To reduce the lag time, NSA-T
SIGDEV and YRS formed a joint analytic team at YRS. As a YRS
analyst sent to the F6 location (US-966Q) sampled more than 400
signals over the course of three weeks, the analytic team
systematically combed through the data, characterizing the targets
and networks seen on the signals. Targets of potential interest
found during the initial phase of the survey were tipped back to
both NSA-T and NSA-W production analysts who, in turn, provided
immediate feedback. The quick analytic turnaround resulted in two
dozen carriers being re-sampled in response to TOPI requests.
(C) Coordinating the efforts of widely dispersed players in this
survey and communicating the results to a large, diverse customer
set was no small job. The team made extensive use of the
Extended SIGINT Enterprise Corporate Server (ESECS) to track
progress and share findings both during and after the survey.
(TS//SI//REL) The results speak for themselves. The survey
SERIES:
(U) SIGDEV Collaboration
1. F6, NSA Texas, and
Yakima Research
Station Collaborate
on Venezuela Survey
2. New Iranian NERA
Satlink Identified
3. Giving Answers,
Keeping Secrets
4. A Success Story, In
Which the MSOC
Takes On a Pakistani
GSM Network
uncovered dozens of links carrying traffic for Venezuelan targets of
interest and additional new collection requirements were levied.
Based on the team's findings, one TOPI offered that this was
"...the best survey ever." With the lessons learned from this
survey, a second three-week survey was performed to analyze
more spot and regional beams that had the potential to serve
Venezuela. Once again, F6, NSA-T and YRS collaborated via the
use of ESECS.
(S//SI//REL) Perhaps one of the greatest accomplishments of the
survey was that it provided one new model for analytic
collaboration. With the relatively low financial cost of a handful of
TDYs, analysts from across the NSA enterprise worked together to
maximize resources and find previously unavailable sources of
intelligence against this high-priority target.
"(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