Is This Who Runs Prism?

[kpete]

Is This Who Runs Prism?


I don’t see anyone out there with this theory, and TPM is my favorite news source, so here goes:

“PRISM” is the government’s name for a program that uses technology from Palantir. Palantir is a Silicon Valley start-up that’s now valued at well over $1B, that focuses on data analysis for the government. Here’s how Palantir describes themselves:

“We build software that allows organizations to make sense of massive amounts of disparate data. We solve the technical problems, so they can solve the human ones. Combating terrorism. Prosecuting crimes. Fighting fraud. Eliminating waste. From Silicon Valley to your doorstep, we deploy our data fusion platforms against the hardest problems we can find, wherever we are needed most.” http://www.palantir.com/what-we-do/

They’re generally not public about who their clients are, but their first client was famously the CIA, who is also an early investor.

With my theory in mind, re-read the denials from the tech companies in the WSJ (emphasis mine):

Apple: “We do not provide any government agency with direct access to our servers…”
Google: “… does not have a ‘back door’ for the government to access private user data…”
Facebook: “… not provide any government organization with direct access to Facebook servers…”
Yahoo: “We do not provide the government with direct access to our servers, systems, or network…”

These denials could all still be technically true if the government is accessing the data through a government contractor, such as Palantir, rather than having direct access.



I just did a quick Google search of “Palantir PRISM” to see if anyone else had this theory, and the top results were these pages:

https://docs.palantir.com/metropolisdev/prism-overview.html
https://docs.palantir.com/metropolisdev/prism-examples.html


http://editors.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2013/06/is_this_who_runs_prism.php


Later Update: Here’s a video of Alexander Karp, CEO of Palantir, describing what the company does …

http://editors.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2013/06/is_this_who_runs_prism.php



.........


Newly Revealed PRISM Snooping Makes Verizon Surveillance Look Like Kids' Stuff

The analysts use PRISM by keying in search terms supposedly designed to “produce at least 51 percent confidence in a target’s ‘foreignness’.” However, the Post notes, training materials for the program instruct new analysts to submit “accidentally collected” U.S. content for a quarterly report, “but it’s nothing to worry about.”

http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2013/06/06/nsa_prism_surveillance_private_data_from_google_microsoft_skype_apple_yahoo.html

[NYC_SKP]

1. Well, it's always been about plausible deniability and exploiting loopholes.

The question now is, will Congress take up the task of rectifying this, and will the executive branch chime in on the side of the people?

[snooper2]

2. He sounds like a cool guy to work for

Big data is not my field though...

I got a buddy that left last year to go work at TCS, they are all into Big Data. He'll find this interesting

[HipChick]

3. Prism is just a name for Data Mining Tools...Big Data

Almost all companies use something like to a certain extent...Data Warehousing - it is know by a thousand names...

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. Nice find......

thanks....

[Prism]

5. These threads are messing with me :/

Keep thinking i posted something outrageously offensive somewhere.

(My boyfriend runs me, btw)

[kentauros]

14. !!

Makes you wonder if they data-mine sites like this in order to name their various projects and operations

[GoneFishin]

6. I don't know about Palantir. But you are probably onto something regarding the use of contractors,

and the resulting plausible deniability it affords the Internet behemoths.

[woo me with science]

7. Yep. That wording sounded awfully careful to me.

What a load of bullshit we are being fed.

I remember threads about Palantir from some time ago, and I think you are generally on the right track here.

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. I remember those too

[suffragette]

11. They were part of that HBGary, BofA mess

Very interesting if they are connected to PRISM.

[BlueCheese]

9. I know a little bit about Palantir.

From what I gather, they make the tools, mostly frontend, that help visualize the data. Important, but not the key part.

Sort of like Microsoft Excel for your own finances. You wouldn't be able to organize your data without it, but it's kind of replaceable.

It's possible that Palantir does other things that I'm not aware of, but I would guess the sifting through the enormous amounts of data is done by other means, possibly one of these Big Data companies or internally.

[GeorgeGist]

10. Palantir derp

Palantir Intelligence integrates disparate data from disconnected data silos at massive scale for low-friction interaction with intelligence officers.

http://www.palantir.com/solutions/intelligence/

[Myrina]

12. "SeTek Astronomy"

... remember the movie Sneakers?

... what about Valerie Plame, she was a CIA agent but working abroad at some CIA front company as an 'accountant' or somesuch.

How many "companies" & "employees" like that do you think the CIA has running around the world?

Just because a company's web page says it does A, B or C doesn't mean that's all it does.
Especially not behind closed doors.

[kentauros]

15. "Too Many Secrets"

I can't remember the other anagram results, only that some were quite funny

So, what are the anagrams of Palantir?

[Recursion]

13. Isn't "Palantir" a trademark of the Tolkien estate? (nt)