{"id":36137,"date":"2016-04-18T19:29:23","date_gmt":"2016-04-18T23:29:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=36137"},"modified":"2016-04-19T09:51:06","modified_gmt":"2016-04-19T13:51:06","slug":"the-cia-is-investing-in-firms-that-mine-your-tweets-and-instagram-photos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=36137","title":{"rendered":"THE CIA IS INVESTING IN FIRMS THAT MINE YOUR TWEETS AND INSTAGRAM PHOTOS"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lee Fang
\n<\/a>The Intercept<\/p>\n

SOFT ROBOTS THAT<\/u> can grasp delicate objects, computer algorithms designed to spot an \u201cinsider threat,\u201d and artificial intelligence that will sift through large data sets \u2014 these are just a few of the technologies being pursued by companies with investment from In-Q-Tel, the CIA\u2019s venture capital firm, according to a document<\/a> obtained by The Intercept.<\/em><\/p>\n

Yet among the 38 previously undisclosed companies receiving In-Q-Tel funding, the research focus that stands out is social media mining and surveillance; the portfolio document lists several tech companies pursuing work in this area, including Dataminr, Geofeedia, PATHAR, and TransVoyant.<\/p>\n

\"Investmentprocess-1000x402\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

In-Q-Tel\u2019s investment process.<\/p>\n

Screen grab from In-Q-Tel\u2019s website.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Those four firms, which\u00a0provide unique tools to mine data from platforms such as\u00a0Twitter,\u00a0presented at a February \u201cCEO Summit\u201d in San Jose sponsored by the fund,\u00a0along with other In-Q-Tel portfolio companies.<\/p>\n

The investments appear to reflect the CIA\u2019s increasing focus on monitoring social media.\u00a0Last September, David Cohen, the CIA\u2019s second-highest ranking official, spoke at length at Cornell University about a litany ofchallenges<\/a> stemming from the new media landscape. The Islamic State\u2019s \u201csophisticated use of Twitter and other social media platforms is a perfect example of the malign use of these technologies,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Social media also offers a wealth of potential intelligence; Cohen noted that Twitter messages from the Islamic State, sometimes called ISIL, have provided useful information. \u201cISIL\u2019s tweets and other social media messages publicizing their activities often produce information that, especially in the aggregate, provides real intelligence value,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The latest round of In-Q-Tel investments comes as the CIA has\u00a0revamped its outreach to Silicon Valley, establishing<\/a> a new wing, the\u00a0Directorate of Digital Innovation, which is tasked with developing and deploying cutting-edge solutions by directly engaging the private sector. The directorate is working closely with In-Q-Tel to integrate the latest technology into agency-wide intelligence capabilities.<\/p>\n

\"dataminr-1000x522\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Dataminr directly licenses a stream of data from Twitter to spot trends and detect emerging threats.<\/p>\n

Screen grab from Dataminr\u2019s website.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Dataminr directly licenses a stream of data from Twitter to visualize<\/a> and quickly spot trends on behalf of law enforcement agencies and hedge funds, among other clients.<\/p>\n

\"geofeddia-1000x512\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Geofeedia collects geotagged social media messages to monitor breaking news events in real time.<\/p>\n

Screen grab from Geofeedia\u2019s website.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Geofeedia specializes<\/a> in collecting geotagged social media messages, from platforms such as Twitter and Instagram, to monitor breaking news events in real time. The company, which counts dozens of local law enforcement agencies as clients, markets<\/a> its ability to track activist protests on behalf of both corporate interests and police departments.<\/p>\n

\"pathar-1000x545\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

PATHAR mines social media to determine networks of association.<\/p>\n

Screen grab from PATHAR\u2019s website.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

PATHAR\u2019s product, Dunami, is used<\/a> by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to \u201cmine Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other social media to determine networks of association, centers of influence and potential signs of radicalization,\u201d according to an investigation by Reveal<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"transvoyant-1000x720\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

TransVoyant analyzes data points to deliver insights and predictions about global events.<\/p>\n

Screen grab from TransVoyant\u2019s website.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

TransVoyant, founded by former Lockheed Martin Vice President Dennis Groseclose, provides a similar service by analyzing multiple data points for so-called decision-makers. The firm touts its ability to monitor Twitter to spot \u201cgang incidents\u201d and threats to journalists. A team from TransVoyant has worked with the U.S. military in Afghanistan to integrate data from\u00a0satellites, radar, reconnaissance aircraft, and drones.<\/p>\n

Dataminr, Geofeedia, and PATHAR\u00a0did not respond to repeated requests for comment.\u00a0Heather Crotty, the director of marketing at TransVoyant, acknowledged an investment from In-Q-Tel, but could not discuss the scope of the relationship. In-Q-Tel \u201cdoes not disclose the financial terms of its investments,\u201d Crotty said.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Carrie A. Sessine, the vice president for external affairs at\u00a0<\/span>In-Q-Tel, also declined an interview because the fund<\/span> \u201cdoes not participate in media interviews or opportunities.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the last decade, In-Q-Tel has made a number of public investments in companies that specialize in scanning large sets of online data. In 2009, the fund partnered with Visible Technologies, which specializes in reputation management over the internet by identifying the influence of \u201cpositive\u201d and \u201cnegative\u201d authors on a range of platforms for a given subject. And six years ago, In-Q-Tel formed<\/a>\u00a0partnerships with NetBase, another social media analysis firm that touts its ability to scan \u201cbillions of sources in public and private online information,\u201d and Recorded Future, a firm that monitors the web to predict events<\/a> in the future.<\/p>\n

Unpublicized In-Q-Tel Portfolio Companies<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Company<\/td>\nDescription<\/td>\nContract<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Aquifi<\/a><\/td>\n3D vision software solutions<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Beartooth<\/a><\/td>\nDecentralized mobile network<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
CliQr<\/a><\/td>\nHybrid cloud management platform<\/td>\nContract<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
CloudPassage<\/a><\/td>\nOn-demand, automated infrastructure security<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Databricks<\/a><\/td>\nCloud-hosted big data analytics and processing platform<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dataminr<\/a><\/td>\nSituational awareness and analysis at the speed of social media<\/td>\nContract<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Docker<\/a><\/td>\nOpen platform to build, ship, and run distributed applications<\/td>\nContract<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Echodyne<\/a><\/td>\nNext-generation electronically scanning radar systems<\/td>\nContract<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Epiq Solutions<\/a><\/td>\nSoftware-defined radio platforms and applications<\/td>\nContract<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Geofeedia<\/a><\/td>\nLocation-based social media monitoring platform<\/td>\nContract<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
goTenna<\/a><\/td>\nAlternate network for off-grid smartphone communications<\/td>\nContract<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Headspin<\/a><\/td>\nNetwork-focused approach to improving mobile application performance<\/td>\nContract<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Interset<\/a><\/td>\nInside threat detection using analytics, machine learning, and big data<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Keyssa<\/a><\/td>\nFast, simple, and secure contactless data transfer<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kymeta<\/a><\/td>\nAntenna technology for broadband satellite communications<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lookout<\/a><\/td>\nCloud-based mobile cybersecurity<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mapbox<\/a><\/td>\nDesign and publish visual, data-rich maps<\/td>\nContract<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mesosphere<\/a><\/td>\nNext-generation scale, efficiency, and automation in a physical or cloud-based data center<\/td>\nContract<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nervana<\/a><\/td>\nNext-generation machine learning platform<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Orbital Insight<\/a><\/td>\nSatellite imagery processing and data science at scale<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Orion Labs<\/a><\/td>\nWearable device and real-time voice communications platform<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Parallel Wireless<\/a><\/td>\nLTE radio access nodes and software stack for small cell deployment<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PATHAR<\/a><\/td>\nChannel-specific social media analytics platform<\/td>\nContract<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pneubotics<\/a><\/td>\nMobile material handling solutions to automate tasks<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PsiKick<\/a><\/td>\nRedefined ultra-low power wireless sensor solutions<\/td>\nContract<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PubNub<\/a><\/td>\nBuild and scale real-time apps<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rocket Lab<\/a><\/td>\nLaunch provider for small satellites<\/td>\nContract<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Skincential Sciences<\/a><\/td>\nNovel materials for biological sample collection<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Soft Robotics<\/a><\/td>\nSoft robotics actuators and systems<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sonatype<\/a><\/td>\nSoftware supply chain automation and security<\/td>\nContract<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Spaceflight Industries<\/a><\/td>\nSmall satellite launch, network, and imagery provider<\/td>\nContract<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Threatstream<\/a><\/td>\nLeading enterprise-class threat intelligence platform<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Timbr.io<\/a><\/td>\nAccessible code-driven analysis platform<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Transient Electronics<\/a><\/td>\nDissolvable semiconductor technology<\/td>\nContract<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
TransVoyant<\/a><\/td>\nLive predictive intelligence platform<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
TRX Systems<\/a><\/td>\n3D indoor location and mapping solutions<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Voltaiq<\/a><\/td>\nSaaS platform for advanced battery analysis<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Zoomdata<\/a><\/td>\nBig data exploration, visualization, and analytics platform<\/td>\nContract<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

Bruce Lund, a senior member of In-Q-Tel\u2019s technical staff, noted in a 2012\u00a0paper<\/a> that \u201cmonitoring social media\u201d is increasingly essential for government agencies seeking to keep track of \u201cerupting political movements, crises, epidemics, and disasters, not to mention general global trends.\u201d<\/p>\n

The recent\u00a0wave\u00a0of\u00a0investments in social media-related companies suggests the CIA\u00a0has accelerated the drive to make collection of user-generated online\u00a0data a priority. Alongside its investments in start-ups, In-Q-Tel has also developed a special technology laboratory in Silicon Valley, called Lab41, to provide tools for the intelligence community to connect the dots<\/a>\u00a0in large sets of data.<\/p>\n

In February, Lab41 published<\/a> an article exploring the ways in which a Twitter user\u2019s location could be predicted with a degree of certainty through the location of the user\u2019s friends. On Github, an open source website\u00a0for developers, Lab41\u00a0currently has a project<\/a> to ascertain the \u201cfeasibility of using architectures such as Convolutional and Recurrent Neural Networks to classify the positive, negative, or neutral sentiment of Twitter messages towards a specific topic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Collecting intelligence on foreign adversaries has potential benefits for counterterrorism, but such CIA-supported surveillance technology is also used for domestic law enforcement and by the private sector to spy on activist groups.<\/p>\n

Palantir, one of In-Q-Tel\u2019s earliest investments in the social media analytics realm, was exposed in 2011 by the hacker group LulzSec to be innegotiation<\/a> for a proposal to track labor union activists and other critics of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the largest business lobbying group in Washington. The company, now celebrated as a \u201ctech unicorn\u201d \u2014 a term for start-ups that reach over $1 billion in valuation \u2014 distanced itself from the plan after it was exposed in a cache of leaked emails from the now-defunct firm HBGary Federal.<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Cover of the document<\/a> obtained by The Intercept.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Yet other In-Q-Tel-backed companies are now openly embracing the practice. Geofeedia, for instance,\u00a0promotes\u00a0its research into Greenpeace\u00a0activists<\/a>, student demonstrations<\/a>, minimum wage advocates<\/a>, and other<\/a> political movements.\u00a0Police departments in Oakland, Chicago, Detroit, and other major municipalities havecontracted<\/a> with Geofeedia, as well as private firms such as the Mall of America and McDonald\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Lee Guthman, an executive at Geofeedia, told<\/a>\u00a0reporter John Knefel that his company could predict the potential for violence at Black Lives Matter protests just by using the location and sentiment of tweets. Guthman said the technology could gauge sentiment by attaching\u00a0\u201cpositive and negative points\u201d to certain phrases, while measuring \u201cproximity of words to certain words.\u201d<\/p>\n

Privacy advocates, however, have expressed concern about these\u00a0sorts of automated judgments.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you have private companies deciding which algorithms get you a so-called threat score, or make you a person of interest, there\u2019s obviously room for targeting people based on viewpoints or even unlawfully targeting people based on race or religion,\u201d said\u00a0Lee Rowland, a senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union.<\/p>\n

She added that there is a dangerous trend toward government relying on tech companies to \u201cbuild massive dossiers on people\u201d using \u201cnothing but constitutionally protected speech.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related:<\/em>
\nCIA\u2019s Venture Capital Arm Is Funding Skin Care Products That Collect DNA<\/a><\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

The CIA Is Investing in Firms That Mine Your Tweets and Instagram Photos<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n