Narus Inc.

Last updated
Narus Inc.
Company typeSubsidiary
Industry Software
Founded1997
Defunct2014
Headquarters,
Number of locations
United States, India
ProductsOriginally a company focused on telecommunications billing and customer market intelligence. After 2001 the company pivoted towards providing network intelligence gathering software to governments around the world.

Narus Inc. was a software company and vendor of big data analytics for cybersecurity.

Contents

History

In 1997, Ori Cohen, Vice President of Business and Technology Development for VDONet, founded Narus with Stas Khirman in Israel. [1] Presently, they are employed with Deutsche Telekom AG and are not members of Narus' executive team. [2] [3] In 2010, Narus became a subsidiary of Boeing, located in Sunnyvale, California. [4] In 2015, Narus was sold to Symantec. [5] [6]

Management

In 2004, Narus employed former Deputy Director of the National Security Agency, William Crowell as a director. [7]

Narus software

Narus software primarily captures various computer network traffic in real-time and analyzes results. [8] [9]

Before 9/11 Narus built carrier-grade tools to analyze IP network traffic for billing purposes, to prevent what Narus called "revenue leakage". Post-9/11 Narus added more "semantic monitoring abilities" for surveillance.

Mobile

Narus provided Telecom Egypt with deep packet inspection equipment, a content-filtering technology that allows network managers to inspect, track and target content from users of the Internet and mobile phones, as it passes through routers. The national telecommunications authorities of both Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are global Narus customers. [10]

Controversies

AT&T wiretapping room

Narus supplied the software and hardware used at AT&T wiretapping rooms, according to whistleblowers Thomas Drake, [11] and Mark Klein. [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Security Agency</span> U.S. signals intelligence organization

The National Security Agency (NSA) is an intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collection, and processing of information and data for foreign intelligence and counterintelligence purposes, specializing in a discipline known as signals intelligence (SIGINT). The NSA is also tasked with the protection of U.S. communications networks and information systems. The NSA relies on a variety of measures to accomplish its mission, the majority of which are clandestine. The NSA has roughly 32,000 employees.

Wiretapping, also known as wire tapping or telephone tapping, is the monitoring of telephone and Internet-based conversations by a third party, often by covert means. The wire tap received its name because, historically, the monitoring connection was an actual electrical tap on an analog telephone or telegraph line. Legal wiretapping by a government agency is also called lawful interception. Passive wiretapping monitors or records the traffic, while active wiretapping alters or otherwise affects it.

Computer and network surveillance is the monitoring of computer activity and data stored locally on a computer or data being transferred over computer networks such as the Internet. This monitoring is often carried out covertly and may be completed by governments, corporations, criminal organizations, or individuals. It may or may not be legal and may or may not require authorization from a court or other independent government agencies. Computer and network surveillance programs are widespread today and almost all Internet traffic can be monitored.

The Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), also known as the "Digital Telephony Act," is a United States wiretapping law passed in 1994, during the presidency of Bill Clinton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carnivore (software)</span> Electronic communication monitor used by the FBI

Carnivore, later renamed DCS1000, was a system implemented by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that was designed to monitor email and electronic communications. It used a customizable packet sniffer that could monitor all of a target user's Internet traffic. Carnivore was implemented in October 1997. By 2005 it had been replaced with improved commercial software.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allot Ltd.</span>

Allot Ltd., formerly Allot Communications, is an Israeli high-tech company that develops telecommunications software. The company is headquartered in Hod Hasharon, Israel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NSA warrantless surveillance (2001–2007)</span> Part of Terrorist Surveillance Program

NSA warrantless surveillance — also commonly referred to as "warrantless-wiretapping" or "-wiretaps" — was the surveillance of persons within the United States, including U.S. citizens, during the collection of notionally foreign intelligence by the National Security Agency (NSA) as part of the Terrorist Surveillance Program. In late 2001, the NSA was authorized to monitor, without obtaining a FISA warrant, phone calls, Internet activities, text messages and other forms of communication involving any party believed by the NSA to be outside the U.S., even if the other end of the communication lays within the U.S.

<i>Hepting v. AT&T</i>

Hepting v. AT&T, 439 F.Supp.2d 974, was a class action lawsuit argued before the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, filed by Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) on behalf of customers of the telecommunications company AT&T. The plaintiffs alleged that AT&T permitted and assisted the National Security Agency (NSA) in unlawfully monitoring the personal communications of American citizens, including AT&T customers, whose communications were routed through AT&T's network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Room 641A</span> Telecommunication interception facility

Room 641A is a telecommunication interception facility operated by AT&T for the U.S. National Security Agency, as part of its warrantless surveillance program as authorized by the Patriot Act. The facility commenced operations in 2003 and its purpose was publicly revealed by AT&T technician Mark Klein in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stellar Wind</span> Warrantless surveillance program of the NSA in the United States

"Stellar Wind" was the code name of a warrantless surveillance program begun under the George W. Bush administration's President's Surveillance Program (PSP). The National Security Agency (NSA) program was approved by President Bush shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks and was revealed by Thomas Tamm to The New York Times in 2004. Stellar Wind was a prelude to new legal structures that allowed President Bush and President Barack Obama to reproduce each of those programs and expand their reach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trailblazer Project</span>

Trailblazer was a United States National Security Agency (NSA) program intended to develop a capability to analyze data carried on communications networks like the Internet. It was intended to track entities using communication methods such as cell phones and e-mail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Utah Data Center</span> NSA data storage facility

The Utah Data Center (UDC), also known as the Intelligence Community Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative Data Center, is a data storage facility for the United States Intelligence Community that is designed to store data estimated to be on the order of exabytes or larger. Its purpose is to support the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative (CNCI), though its precise mission is classified. The National Security Agency (NSA) leads operations at the facility as the executive agent for the Director of National Intelligence. It is located at Camp Williams near Bluffdale, Utah, between Utah Lake and Great Salt Lake and was completed in May 2014 at a cost of $1.5 billion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mass surveillance in the United States</span>

The practice of mass surveillance in the United States dates back to wartime monitoring and censorship of international communications from, to, or which passed through the United States. After the First and Second World Wars, mass surveillance continued throughout the Cold War period, via programs such as the Black Chamber and Project SHAMROCK. The formation and growth of federal law-enforcement and intelligence agencies such as the FBI, CIA, and NSA institutionalized surveillance used to also silence political dissent, as evidenced by COINTELPRO projects which targeted various organizations and individuals. During the Civil Rights Movement era, many individuals put under surveillance orders were first labelled as integrationists, then deemed subversive, and sometimes suspected to be supportive of the communist model of the United States' rival at the time, the Soviet Union. Other targeted individuals and groups included Native American activists, African American and Chicano liberation movement activists, and anti-war protesters.

The mass surveillance industry is a multibillion-dollar industry that has undergone phenomenal growth since 2001. According to data provided by The Wall Street Journal, the retail market for surveillance tools has grown from "nearly zero" in 2001 to about US$5 billion in 2011. The size of the video surveillance market rose to US$13.5 billion in 2012 and is expected to reach US$39 billion by 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upstream collection</span> Term used by the National Security Agency (NSA) of the United States

Upstream collection is a term used by the National Security Agency (NSA) of the United States for intercepting telephone and Internet traffic from the Internet backbone, meaning major Internet cables and switches, both domestic and foreign. Besides the Upstream collection, NSA also gathers information from Internet communications through arrangements with Internet companies under the program codenamed PRISM. Both the Upstream programs and PRISM are part of the Special Source Operations (SSO) division, which is responsible for collection in cooperation with corporate partners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Data Intercept Technology Unit</span> US FBI special unit

The Data Intercept Technology Unit is a unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the United States, which is responsible for intercepting telephone calls and e-mail messages of terrorists and foreign intelligence targets inside the US. It is not known when DITU was established, but the unit already existed in 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Global surveillance whistleblowers</span>

Global surveillance whistleblowers are whistleblowers who provided public knowledge of global surveillance.

Regin is a sophisticated malware and hacking toolkit used by United States' National Security Agency (NSA) and its British counterpart, the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). It was first publicly revealed by Kaspersky Lab, Symantec, and The Intercept in November 2014. The malware targets specific users of Microsoft Windows-based computers and has been linked to the US intelligence-gathering agency NSA and its British counterpart, the GCHQ. The Intercept provided samples of Regin for download, including malware discovered at a Belgian telecommunications provider, Belgacom. Kaspersky Lab says it first became aware of Regin in spring 2012, but some of the earliest samples date from 2003. Among computers infected worldwide by Regin, 28 percent were in Russia, 24 percent in Saudi Arabia, 9 percent each in Mexico and Ireland, and 5 percent in each of India, Afghanistan, Iran, Belgium, Austria, and Pakistan.

This is a list of cybersecurity information technology. Cybersecurity is security as it is applied to information technology. This includes all technology that stores, manipulates, or moves data, such as computers, data networks, and all devices connected to or included in networks, such as routers and switches. All information technology devices and facilities need to be secured against intrusion, unauthorized use, and vandalism. Additionally, the users of information technology should be protected from theft of assets, extortion, identity theft, loss of privacy and confidentiality of personal information, malicious mischief, damage to equipment, business process compromise, and the general activity of cybercriminals. The public should be protected against acts of cyberterrorism, such as the compromise or loss of the electric power grid.

References

  1. "Ori Cohen: Executive Profile & Biography". Bloomberg Businessweek . Archived from the original on October 15, 2012. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  2. "Executive Team | Narus". Archived from the original on 2013-08-06. Retrieved 2013-09-06.
  3. Fogel, Raphael (11 July 2006). "Ori Cohen, private eye". Haaretz . Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  4. "Boeing buying cybersecurity firm Narus". Bloomberg Businessweek . St. Louis. Associated Press. 8 July 2010. Archived from the original on 1 May 2011. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  5. "Symantec Acquires Boeing's Cybersecurity Unit in a Bid to Boost Big Data Capabilities". Forbes. Retrieved 2016-03-28.
  6. "Symantec Inks Deal with Boeing's Narus Security Division - Analyst Blog". Yahoo Finance. 2015-01-15. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  7. "Narus Appoints Former Deputy Director of the National Security Agency To Its Board of Directors". Archived from the original on February 6, 2005. Retrieved 2017-09-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  8. "Boeing: Narus". Boeing. Archived from the original on September 2, 2011. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  9. "Narus Networks Private Limited: Private Company Information". Bloomberg Businessweek . Archived from the original on October 15, 2012. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  10. "One U.S. Corporation's Role in Egypt's Brutal Crackdown". HuffPost . 2011-01-28.
  11. "Drake declaration in support of plaintiffs' motion". Electronic Frontier Foundation. 2012-07-02.
  12. What was the Israeli involvement in collecting U.S. communications intel for NSA? The Marker, Haaretz, The Associated Press and Reuters, Jun. 8, 2013 at http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.528529 .retrieved on 7-18-13