THE BUMBLEHIVE
Author,Chuck Frank
72 Fusion Centers are an intricate nationwide web of shared data
collection, and set in place to snoop into our cellphones and e-mails
while local law enforcement and neighborhood spies feed that
confidential information to those powers at be. Don’t forget, it is
all for your own “security” so just relax. Relax? I thought that we
all had the right to feel secure in our own person or homes, however,
having a Fusion Center in Sacramento isn’t exactly making me feel all
that secure. No, I’m actually feeling the opposite for there is
something here that is telling me that our government isn’t quite
giving us the WHOLE truth about a lot of things. That is obvious. So
then, what do we have? We’ve got a lot more than just your friendly
neighborhood watch group looking after you, and for those of you who
didn’t know, there is a mega Data Center being built in Bluffdale, Utah
which is a, not so secret, NSA project, and it can house all of the
personal and PRIVATE INFORMATION of every person in the U.S. Well,
that’s just fine and dandy. The center is 1,000,000 square feet and is
code named the “BUMBLEHIVE.” As for the amount of information that can
be stored, it will have an astounding storage capacity of
1,000,000,000,000,000 gigabytes and it’s all for the “good” of the
nation. NSA is on a path towards building this first exaflop machine
(1 quintillion instructions per second) by 2018. Naturally, NSA denies
that they have any interest in “tracking” every citizen even though
they do have the capability of eaves dropping on every American.
Let’s reverse gears. Does anyone remember 9/11 when President Bush
said they were “only” eaves dropping on international calls, while all
along, warrantless domestic calls were in the mix? At that time the CEO
of Quest Communications said that he would not comply with warrantless
wiretaps. Presently, he is in prison for “insider trading.” Shall we
connect the dots? He is presumably the wealthiest person behind bars
in America. Here’s a footnote; The U.S. Government stopped doing
business with Quest after they refused to do warrantless wiretaps.
As for the ongoing surveillance that is happening today, in their
own words, NSA gives us a snapshot of their data collection efforts
which is for the “protection” of the nation.
“For security reasons, it is unrealistic to expect a complete list
of information we collect for our national citizen database. In the
spirit of openness and transparency however, here is a partial list:”
* internet searches * websites visited * e-mails sent and received *
social media activity (Facebook, Twitter, etc) * blogging activity
including posts read, written, and commented * videos watched and/or
uploaded online * photos viewed and/or uploaded online * music
downloads * mobile phone GPS-location data * mobile phone apps
downloaded * phone call records * text messages sent and received *
online purchases and auction transactions * bookstore receipts * credit
card/ debit card transactions * bank statements * cable television
shows watched and recorded * commuter toll records * parking receipts *
electronic bus and subway passes / Smartpasses * travel itineraries *
border crossings * surveillance cameras * medical information including
diagnoses and treatments * prescription drug purchases * guns and
ammunition sales * educational records * arrest records * driver
license information
George Orwell just rolled over in his grave.
Bumblehive
Bumblehive is the alleged code name for the NSA’s new multi-billion dollar spy center in Utah although the official name appears to be Stellar Wind. . It is the mother of all data collection. Bumblehive most likely is a spin off from this word. Who says the feds don’t have a sense of humor? Today is the reported day of some kind of ribbon cutting ceremony. Since there’s little info to be found on the ceremony, it must be assumed it’s a secret one and not many will get close enough to spy on the spies.
I’ve been trying to put myself in the shoes of the NSA to figure out what’s going on. If I had to hire contractors to do the most sensitive, most secretive jobs in the inner workings of the facility, who would I get? Well, that’s a no brainer. Of course it would be some shady companies with ties to Israel with a history of corruption and staffed with mostly unstable individuals. Backdoor men hanging the backdoor that leads straight to Tel Aviv. Why should we expect otherwise?
I’ve been trying to put myself in the shoes of the NSA to figure out what’s going on. If I had to hire contractors to do the most sensitive, most secretive jobs in the inner workings of the facility, who would I get? Well, that’s a no brainer. Of course it would be some shady companies with ties to Israel with a history of corruption and staffed with mostly unstable individuals. Backdoor men hanging the backdoor that leads straight to Tel Aviv. Why should we expect otherwise?
Submitted by From the Trenches on Fri, 05/31/2013 - 05:36
What we know about the NSA's secret data warehouse in Utah
Published June 13, 2013
Associated Press
The nation's new billion-dollar epicenter for fighting global cyberthreats sits just south of Salt Lake City, tucked away on a National Guard base at the foot of snow-capped mountains. The long, squat buildings span 1.5 million square feet, and are filled with super-powered computers designed to store massive amounts of information gathered secretly from phone calls and emails.
Two small, weathered signs in the sagebrush greet interlopers to this place with a stark warning: "Military reservation. No trespassing." But there is no visible marker bearing the facility's name and operator: The Utah Data Center, brought to you courtesy of the National Security Agency.
When it opens this fall, the facility will be the NSA's largest data storage center in the U.S. Just don't ask Utah officials, and certainly not the residents of tiny Bluffdale, just north of the new center, to tell you exactly what will go on inside. They either don't know, or aren't saying. And the NSA is famously tight-lipped.
"We know it's a spy center. But who are they spying on?" said Connie Robbins, an upholstery shop owner who lives in Bluffdale, a community of 8,000 some 25 miles south of Salt Lake City that is known for its rodeo and annual Old West Days.
The dearth of information has perpetuated a mystery that has spawned dozens of theories and a spoof website that even includes a phony code name for the facility: "Bumblehive," a play on Utah's nickname of the "Beehive State."
Last week's revelation that the NSA is collecting millions of U.S. phone records along with digital communications stored by nine major Internet providers illustrates how aggressively personal information is being congregated and analyzed -- and shines a brighter light on what will be going on in secret at the Utah facility, scheduled to open in October.
NSA officials say the center will play a key role in the nation's effort to protect national security networks, and allow U.S. authorities to monitor for potential cyberthreats. In an email, agency spokeswoman Vanee Vines said that "many unfounded allegations have been made about the planned activities" of the center.
"NSA would like to confirm, on the record, that the Utah Data Center is a state-of-the-art data facility designed to support the U.S. intelligence community's efforts to further strengthen and protect the nation. Its operations will be lawfully conducted in accordance with U.S. laws and policies," Vines wrote.
She provided no additional details, however.
'It's just a big file cabinet out in the Western area.'
- Richard "Dickie" George, who retired from the NSA in 2011 after 40 years
Richard "Dickie" George, who retired from the NSA in 2011 after 40 years, said the facility isn't nearly as interesting or mysterious as some think. He calls it little more than a giant storeroom. Inundated with increasing volumes of secretly taped phone calls, intercepted emails and poached records of online purchases, the NSA needed a mega-warehouse to put it all, he said.
"It's just a big file cabinet out in the Western area," said George, once a senior technical leader at the agency. "There is no spying going on there."
NSA agents elsewhere will comb through the data stored in Utah as the agency attempts to understand how terrorist groups operate and who plays what roles, George said. Emails, articles, websites and videos on the Internet may hold clues about such activities, he said.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/06/13/what-we3-know-utah-nsa-mega-data-warehouse/#ixzz2W7ffdreD
NSA leaker Edward Snowden reportedly tells Hong Kong newspaper US also hacking Hong Kong, China
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/06/13/nsa-leaker-gives-hong-kong-newspaper-interview-says-not-traitor/#ixzz2W7fs8ZhK
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/06/13/nsa-leaker-gives-hong-kong-newspaper-interview-says-not-traitor/#ixzz2W7fs8ZhK
Utah Data Center
Background
The Utah Data Center, code-named Bumblehive, is the first Intelligence Community Comprehensive National Cyber-security Initiative (IC CNCI) data center designed to support the Intelligence Community's efforts to monitor, strengthen and protect the nation. NSA is the executive agent for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and will be the lead agency at the center.
The steady rise in available computer power and the development of novel computer platforms will enable us to easily turn the huge volume of incoming data into an asset to be exploited, for the good of the nation.
The Utah Data Center is currently under construction and is expected to open in October 2013. Our 1.5 billion-dollar one million square-foot Bluffdale / Camp Williams facility will house a 100,000 sq-ft mission critical data center. The remaining 900,000 SF will be used for technical support and administrative space. Other supporting facilities include water treatment facilities, chiller plant, power substations, vehicle inspection facility, visitor control center, and sixty diesel-fueled emergency standby generators and fuel facility for a 3-day 100% power backup capability.
The steady rise in available computer power and the development of novel computer platforms will enable us to easily turn the huge volume of incoming data into an asset to be exploited, for the good of the nation.
The Utah Data Center is currently under construction and is expected to open in October 2013. Our 1.5 billion-dollar one million square-foot Bluffdale / Camp Williams facility will house a 100,000 sq-ft mission critical data center. The remaining 900,000 SF will be used for technical support and administrative space. Other supporting facilities include water treatment facilities, chiller plant, power substations, vehicle inspection facility, visitor control center, and sixty diesel-fueled emergency standby generators and fuel facility for a 3-day 100% power backup capability.
Utah Data Center Site Plan
The site plan below shows the location of the administration building, chiller plant, data halls, generators, fuel storage tanks, storage warehouse, power substations, visitor control center, and vehicle inspection facility. View the full-size Utah Data Center Site Plan
Utah Data Center Technical Specifications
Data Storage Capacity
The storage capacity of the Utah Data Center will be measured in "zettabytes". What exactly is a zettabyte? There are a thousand gigabytes in a terabyte; a thousand terabytes in a petabyte; a thousand petabytes in an exabyte; and a thousand exabytes in a zettabyte. Some of our employees like to refer to them as "alottabytes".
Learn more about the domestic surveillance data we plan to process and store in the Utah Data Center. Also, view our strategy for using the PRISM data collection program, nationwide intercept stations, and the "Boundless Informant" mapping tool to gather and track this data.
Learn more about the domestic surveillance data we plan to process and store in the Utah Data Center. Also, view our strategy for using the PRISM data collection program, nationwide intercept stations, and the "Boundless Informant" mapping tool to gather and track this data.
Code-Breaking Supercomputer Platform
In October 2012, the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory launched the Titan Supercomputer, which is capable of churning through more than 20,000 trillion calculations each second or 20 petaflops. (1 petaflop = 1 quadrillion instructions per second).
Our Target: 256-bit AES
The Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) algorithm is used worldwide to encrypt electronic data on hard drives, email systems, and web browsers. The AES 256-bit encryption key is the standard for top-secret US government communications. Computer experts have estimated it would take longer than the age of the universe to break the code using a trial-and-error brute force attack with today's computing technology.
In 2004, the NSA launched a plan to use the Multiprogram Research Facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee to build a classified supercomputer designed specifically for cryptanalysis targeting the AES algorithm. Recently, our classified NSA Oak Ridge facility made a stunning breakthrough that is leading us on a path towards building the first exaflop machine (1 quintillion instructions per second) by 2018. This will give us the capability to break the AES encryption key within an actionable time period and allow us to read and process stored encrypted domestic data as well as foreign diplomatic and military communications.
Visitor Control Center
In 2004, the NSA launched a plan to use the Multiprogram Research Facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee to build a classified supercomputer designed specifically for cryptanalysis targeting the AES algorithm. Recently, our classified NSA Oak Ridge facility made a stunning breakthrough that is leading us on a path towards building the first exaflop machine (1 quintillion instructions per second) by 2018. This will give us the capability to break the AES encryption key within an actionable time period and allow us to read and process stored encrypted domestic data as well as foreign diplomatic and military communications.
Visitor Control CenterConstruction Status
We're using a Critical Path Method (CPM) schedule to track the cost and resource data for over 26,000 activities. The project initially required over a million cubic yards of earthwork and nearly seven miles of new roadways. The massive twenty-building complex is being completed in three phases. The first phase was completed last Fall and includes the first of four data halls (Data Center Module DCM 1); the Administration Building; Data Center Loading and Storage; Chiller Plant #1 and storage tanks; Generator Plant #1 with fuel system storage; Visitor Control Center; Vehicle Cargo Inspection Facility; kennel; perimeter warehouse; and fire pump building.
The second phase, completed early in 2013 includes the second data hall (DCM 2) along with Generator Plant #2 with fuel system storage.
The final phase is scheduled to be completed by October 2013 and includes the remaining two data halls (DCM 3 and 4); Generator Plants 3 and 4 with fuel system storage; and Chiller Plant #2 and storage tanks. Because of the national security implications of an on-time opening of this critical facility, the NSA has already begun the installation of classified equipment in the first two data halls (DCM 1 and 2).
The second phase, completed early in 2013 includes the second data hall (DCM 2) along with Generator Plant #2 with fuel system storage.
The final phase is scheduled to be completed by October 2013 and includes the remaining two data halls (DCM 3 and 4); Generator Plants 3 and 4 with fuel system storage; and Chiller Plant #2 and storage tanks. Because of the national security implications of an on-time opening of this critical facility, the NSA has already begun the installation of classified equipment in the first two data halls (DCM 1 and 2).
Secret Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
We held a closed-press ribbon cutting ceremony and tour on May 30th, 2013 in celebration of the completion of the exterior building construction. We invited our most loyal partners at the local, state, and federal level who have had the vision and fortitude to enable us to build this powerful Intelligence Community data center "for the good of the Nation". We are on track to open in October!
FBI director defends surveillance programs, says 9/11 could have been prevented
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/06/13/fbi-director-to-undergo-questioning-by-house-panel/#ixzz2W7gj8wk6
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/06/13/fbi-director-to-undergo-questioning-by-house-panel/#ixzz2W7gj8wk6
Global Privacy Has Been Made Obsolete – Bumblehive
A massive new NSA data centre in Utah will begin collecting electronic information from citizens all around the world, regardless of the country they reside in.
The facility, code name “Bumblehive”, is 1.5-million-square-ft, has cost almost $2-billion and can store 1 trillion terabytes of information, creating the largest spy centre known to man.
The NSA plans to collect electronic information, everything from emails to cellphone records and even purchasing receipts from all over the world. They will store the information to identify threatening patterns, they claim.
So far, not one single country has moved to litigate against this level of domestic surveillance.
The data centre is able to capture all forms of communication, including the complete contents of private emails, cell phone calls and Internet searches, as well as all sorts of personal data trails—parking receipts, travel itineraries, bookstore purchases, and other digital “pocket litter”, though its precise purpose is secret.
Bumblehive will also use satellites, tap into undersea cables and pick up microwave links.
In 2012 Wired reported that the data centre is:
In essence, like a cloud, a digital cloud, so that agency employees, analysts from around the country at NSA headquarters and their listening posts in different parts of the U.S.—in Georgia, Texas, Hawaii and Colorado—can all access that information held in Bluffdale in that data center. And that’s pretty much a summary of what that data center is all about.
The NSA is much different from the CIA. First of all, it’s about three times the size. It costs far more. It’s tremendously more secret than the CIA. And what it does is very different. It’s focused on eavesdropping, on tapping into major communications links, on listening to what people around the world and, to some degree, in the United States say on telephones, email, communications . . . And NSA is really the most powerful intelligence agency, not only in the U.S., but in the world today.
A male Atlantic salmon is shown swimming in salt water.(CBC)
