The Feds are watching -- badly - Page 5
The FBI's modern snoop program is racist, xenophobic, misdirected, dangerous -- and really, really stupid
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Muslims, the Internet -- what isn't the government spying on?
Some of the documents are individual files and summaries of individual files, and many note that the person (often someone who was convicted, so the name isn't redacted in the documents) was "detected via the Internet." Some examples: "Mohamad Osman Mohamud, detected via the Internet, discussing Jihad plans" and "Hosam Smadi, detected via the Internet: online chats." Both men were 19 when they were convicted of crimes.
These men — and the many more who have not been accused of any criminal activity but are likely under surveillance or investigation by OCEs — could have been "detected via the Internet" in a variety of ways, according to German.
"It could be that the chats were open source, or that an informant was in the chat room, or a person participating simply turned them over to the FBI, none of which would require any legal process," German explained.
"It could also be monitored under FISA [ the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] or traditional criminal wiretaps, which would require court warrants (secret ones under FISA). Finally, the stored chat logs retained on third party servers could have been obtained with Patriot Act Section 215 orders, or what's called a "D" order under the Stored Communications Act (if held for over 180 days)," German detailed in an email.
So what kind of speech are OCEs looking out for to peg potential terrorist threats? The Extremism Online presentation has a list of "major themes and language used in online extremist writings," which includes Islam-related terms such as "Caliphate, Al-Ansar, Al-Rafidah, Mushrik, and Munafiq" as well as the Arabic words "Akhi, Uhkti, Ameen, Du'aa, Shari'ah, and Iman" (brother, sister, amen, prayer, Islamic law, and faith.) Other words the agents are told to look out for: "crusaders, hypocrites, dogs and pigs," and any discussion of "occupation of Muslim lands."
The FBI can really get into your business if agents confiscate your possessions. Personal computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices, according to the documents, are routinely checked out at Regional Computer Forensics Labs.
The nearest one to San Francisco is in Menlo Park, where employees brag of having investigated thousands of pieces of data.
Law enforcement routinely confiscates property after arrests, and if local cops are involved with the FBI through the Joint Terrorism Task Forces or other partnerships, they may very well send the belongings of those arrested to be checked out at a local RCFL. But there are other ways the FBI can obtain your electronics.
"Certainly the FBI has the authority to obtain computers and other devices with search warrants, either traditional search warrants where the individual is given notice or expedited warrants where the person isn't aware," German told the Guardian, noting that the second type of warrant is the preferred method, for obvious reasons, when the Feds plan to search a confiscated computer.
"The FBI also works with immigrations and customs enforcement, so laptops and other devices seized at the border the FBI can gain access to. There are myriad ways they can get them."
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