ShadowDragon
{{short description|Internet surveillance tool}}
{{use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{use American English|date=June 2025}}
{{distinguish|Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon}}
{{infobox software
|name=ShadowDragon
|released={{start date and age|2016}}
|author=Daniel Clemens
}}
ShadowDragon is an internet surveillance (OSINT) tool used by law enforcement.
Its founder and CEO is Daniel Clemens. It was founded in 2016 as a spinoff of his Packet Ninjas security consulting company.{{Cite web |title=Packet Ninjas Announces the Formation of ShadowDragon To License Cyber Intelligence Investigative Tools |last=Ninjas |first=Packet |work=prnewswire.com |date=17 February 2016 |access-date=24 March 2025 |url= https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/packet-ninjas-announces-the-formation-of-shadowdragon-to-license-cyber-intelligence-investigative-tools-300221551.html |quote="Today organizations are struggling to identify, understand and stop the malicious actors and threats targeting them. We have been asked frequently by our customers if they could purchase the tools we use to investigate and analyze these threats," said Daniel Clemens, President and CEO of Packet Ninjas. "In order to meet this demand, we spent 2015 packaging our tools for sale under a separate company we named ShadowDragon." }}
Their SocialNet product was launched in 2009 and collects data from over 200 sources,{{Cite web |title=The 200+ Sites an ICE Surveillance Contractor is Monitoring |author=Joseph Cox |work=404 Media |date=12 March 2025 |access-date=24 March 2025 |url= https://www.404media.co/the-200-sites-an-ice-surveillance-contractor-is-monitoring/}} including BabyCenter, BlackPlanet, Bodybuilding.com, FetLife, Fortnite, PornHub, Telegram, and Tinder, which allows law enforcement to find open source intelligence on targets. It is connected through the Maltego platform. It links a person's accounts between sites and creates a social network graph.{{Cite web |title=ShadowDragon SocialNet Transforms for Maltego |author= |work=maltego.com |date= |access-date=24 March 2025 |url= https://www.maltego.com/transform-hub/socialnet/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119221437/https://www.maltego.com/transform-hub/socialnet/|archive-date=19 January 2021}}
ShadowDragon's OIMonitor product alerts law enforcement based on predictions of behavior and relationships.{{Cite web |title=ShadowDragon: Inside the Social Media Surveillance Software That Can Watch Your Every Move |last=Kwet |first=Michael |work=The Intercept |date=21 September 2021 |access-date=24 March 2025 |url= https://theintercept.com/2021/09/21/surveillance-social-media-police-microsoft-shadowdragon-kaseware/}}
Users
- Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, including Homeland Security Investigations's Office of Intelligence, Criminal Analysis & Production Division, Cyber Crime Division, and International Intelligence Unit
- Australian Signals Directorate{{cite web|url=https://www.tenders.gov.au/Cn/Show/d853d798-d458-4cd0-b24c-dd167a1b7171|title=Contract Notice View - CN4003708|date=18 September 2023}}
- Department of Home Affairs (Australia)
- Massachusetts State Police and city police departments in the state, partly funded through Project Safe Neighborhoods{{Cite web |title=ShadowDragon: Mass. Police Get New Social Media Monitoring Tool |author=Ryan Kath |author2=Jim Haddadin |work=NBC Boston |date=7 July 2021 |access-date=24 March 2025 |url= https://www.nbcboston.com/investigations/shadowdragon-mass-police-get-new-social-media-monitoring-tool/2424128/}}
- Iowa's Polk County Sheriff's Office, initially funded through Operation Underground Railroad{{Cite web |title=Polk County Sheriff launches internet surveillance |last=Clayworth |first=Jason |work=Axios |date=17 April 2024 |access-date=24 March 2025 |url= https://www.axios.com/local/des-moines/2024/04/17/surveillance-social-media-sheriff-polk-shadowdragon}}{{cite web|title=Polk County using online surveillance software that critics say could be privacy overreach|last=Barreda|first=Virginia|work=Des Moines Register|date=14 May 2024|url=https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/local/des-moines-polk-county/2024/05/14/polk-county-buys-online-surveillance-tool-shadowdragon-to-help-solve-crimes-human-trafficking/73529399007/}}
- Michigan State Police, through Kaseware
Reception
Eva Galperin of the Electronic Frontier Foundation said there were privacy concerns, including the risk of discussions of pregnancy in an environment where abortions are prosecuted.
Jeramie D. Scott of the Electronic Privacy Information Center stated "This type of mass surveillance, which is available to the government and other entities, creates a chilling effect on online activities."{{Cite web |title=Inside ShadowDragon, The Tool That Lets ICE Monitor Pregnancy Tracking Sites and Fortnite Players |author=Joseph Cox |work=404 Media |date=18 September 2023 |access-date=24 March 2025 |url= https://www.404media.co/inside-shadowdragon-ice-babycenter-pregnancy-fortnite-black-planet/}}
Samantha Floreani of Digital Rights Watch said it is "exceptionally invasive, generally operates without people’s knowledge, [and] is potentially inaccurate".{{Cite web |title=Australian spies are surveilling PornHub, Fortnite and Tinder |last=Wilson |first=Cam |work=Crikey |date=26 October 2023 |access-date=24 March 2025 |url= https://www.crikey.com.au/2023/10/26/australian-signals-directorate-contract-digital-surveillance/}}
Kade Crockford of the American Civil Liberties Union said "People shouldn’t be afraid to voice their political opinions or speak out against the police themselves because they fear the police are watching them".
Arisha Hatch of Color of Change said tools are "often introduced under the false premise that they are public safety and accountability tools. In reality, they endanger Black and marginalized communities".
The Mozilla Foundation requested major companies block the ShadowDragon scraper, including Amazon, Apple, Discord, Facebook, Google, Nextdoor, OnlyFans, YouTube and others. Many of these companies said the scraping violates their terms of service.{{Cite web |title=Mozilla Foundation Calls on Tech Industry to Block ICE Contractor |author=Joseph Cox |work=404 Media |date=24 March 2024 |access-date=24 March 2025 |url= https://www.404media.co/mozilla-foundation-calls-on-tech-industry-to-block-ice-contractor/}}{{cite web|title=Tell Etsy, Reddit, Tinder & Duolingo: Stop Feeding Surveillance Tech|url=https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/campaigns/no-data-for-surveillance-tech/|date=24 March 2025|author=|work=Mozilla}}