Squeaky Dolphin
{{Short description|Program developed by the British Government Communications Headquarters}}
Squeaky Dolphin is a program developed by the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), a British intelligence and security organization, to collect and analyze data from social media networks. The program was first revealed to the general public on NBC on 27 January 2014 based on documents previously leaked by Edward Snowden.{{cite news|url=http://investigations.nbcnews.com/_news/2014/01/27/22469304-snowden-docs-reveal-british-spies-snooped-on-youtube-and-facebook?lite|title=Snowden docs reveal British spies snooped on YouTube and Facebook|date=27 January 2014|publisher=NBC News|author1=Richard Esposito |author2=Matthew Cole |author3=Mark Schone |author4=Glenn Greenwald |accessdate=27 January 2014}}
Scope of surveillance
According to a document of the GCHQ dated August 2012, the program enables broad, real-time surveillance of the following items:
- YouTube video views{{cite web|last=Dignan|first=Larry|title=Snowden's Squeaky Dolphin leak: Brits spy on YouTube, Facebook behavior|url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/snowdens-squeaky-dolphin-leak-brits-spy-on-youtube-facebook-behavior/|publisher=ZDNet|access-date=28 January 2014|date=28 January 2014}}
- The Like button on Facebook. Facebook has since then encrypted the data.
- Blogspot/Blogger visits
- Twitter,{{cite web|last=Kelion |first=Leo |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25927844 |title=BBC News - Snowden leaks: GCHQ 'spied on Facebook and YouTube' |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |date=28 January 2014 |accessdate=30 January 2014}} which has however encrypted its communications since this presentation was made{{cite web|author=Matt Swider |url=http://www.techradar.com/news/internet/web/youtube-facebook-data-caught-up-in-uk-s-squeaky-dolphin-spy-program-1219229 |title=YouTube, Facebook data caught up in UK's 'Squeaky Dolphin' spy program | News |publisher=TechRadar |date= |accessdate=30 January 2014}}
The program can be supplemented with commercially available analytic software to determine which videos are popular among residents of specific cities. The dashboard software chosen was made by Splunk.{{cite web|url=http://www.pcpro.co.uk/blogs/2014/01/28/splunk-and-the-squeaky-dolphin-when-big-data-goes-rogue/ |title=Splunk and the Squeaky Dolphin: when Big Data goes rogue | PC Pro blog |publisher=Pcpro.co.uk |date=28 January 2014 |accessdate=30 January 2014}}
The presentation, which was originally shown to an NSA audience and was made public by the NBC, contains a note saying the program was "Not interested in individuals just broad trends!". However, "according to other Snowden documents" obtained by NBC, in 2010, "GCHQ exploited unencrypted data from Twitter to identify specific users around the world and target them with propaganda."
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20140129045211/http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/Sections/NEWS/snowden_youtube_nbc_document.pdf Slides released by NBC]
Category:National Security Agency