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Guest Post: 'Using Digital Surveillance to Combat COVID-19: What the 9/11 Era Can (And Cannot) Teach US'

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From the Background: "Much has been written [...] about the use of mobile phones for the purpose of achieving faster and more comprehensive contact tracing. The idea has gained traction following the introduction of such measures in South Korea, Singapore, and elsewhere. [...] We still know relatively little about how this virus operates, and we have yet to employ testing at a scale that would help such tech-based solutions succeed. Nor will a mobile app or similar software eliminate the important, painstaking work of traditional contact tracing and other measures like social distancing. In other words, we need to be sober in our expectations.[...] If we are thinking of adopting some form of surveillance, particularly one that might involve government (whether through the limited collection of anonymized data or through more invasive measures like mandating the use of apps or using electronic surveillance for quarantine enforcement), we are not working from a blank slate. We have been learning in real time for the last two decades."

Duke University. Center on Law, Ethics, and National Security

Dunlap, Charles J., 1950-; Stansbury, Shane

2020-05-09
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA): An Overview [March 10, 2020]

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From the Introduction: "Congress enacted the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) in 1978. FISA provides a statutory framework for government agencies to obtain authorization to gather foreign intelligence by means of (1) electronic surveillance, (2) physical searches, (3) pen registers and trap and trace devices (which record or decode dialing, routing, addressing, or signaling information), or (4) the production of business records and other tangible things. Agencies typically request authorization for such activities from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), a specialized court created by FISA to act as a neutral arbiter of agency requests for FISA orders."

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Lobert, Joshua T.

2020-03-10
Technical Guidelines for Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response in the WHO African Region: Booklet Four: Sections 8 and 9

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"This booklet comprises the following sections of the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response Technical Guidelines: Section 8: Monitor, evaluate, supervise and provide feedback to improve surveillance and response; and Section 9: Electronic Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (eIDSR[).]"

World Health Organization

2019-03
MMWR: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, February 22, 2019

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The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Series is prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). [It] is the agency's primary vehicle for scientific publication of timely, reliable, authoritative, accurate, objective, and useful public health information and recommendations. This issue of MMWR contains the following: "Campylobacteriosis Outbreak Associated with Contaminated Municipal Water Supply -- Nebraska, 2017"; "Public Health Emergency Risk Communication and Social Media Reactions to an Errant Warning of a Ballistic Missile Threat -- Hawaii, January 2018"; "Leveraging Existing Birth Defects Surveillance Infrastructure to Build Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Surveillance Systems -- Illinois, New Mexico, and Vermont, 2015-2016"; "Notes from the Field: Lead and Cadmium Exposure in Electronic Recyclers - Two States, 2015 and 2017"; "Notes from the Field: Enteroinvasive Escherichia coli Outbreak Associated with a Potluck Party - North Carolina, June-July 2018"; "Notes from the Field: Human 'Brucella abortus' RB51 Infections Caused by Consumption of Unpasteurized Domestic Dairy Products -- United States, 2017-2019"; and "QuickStats: Death Rates Attributed to Excessive Cold or Hypothermia Among Persons Aged ≥15 Years, by Urbanization Level§ and Age Group -- National Vital Statistics System, 2015-2017." Notifiable Diseases and Mortality Tables from this issue can be accessed at the following link [http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/index2019.html]

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)

2019-02-22
Occupational Health and the Service Member

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From the Preface: "Support for uniformed members is only one side of military occupational medicine. The other side is support for the military industrial base, which provides the warfighters with the equipment and supplies needed to complete their missions. [...] This volume contains essential information for the healthcare teams supporting the industrial base workforce. This volume of the Textbooks of Military Medicine, published in hardcopy and electronic formats, will be a valuable reference for providers who need to address unique hazards on military installations and during deployments, as well as the occupational hazards in our military industrial base. [...] The US Navy and Air Force occupational health programs have been included in this update. Additionally, the content has been significantly expanded to cover a wide range of topics, including beryllium, aerospace medicine, undersea medicine, diving and the physiology of divining, ergonomics, ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, respiratory protection, workers' compensation programs, deployment surveillance, and biomonitoring."

Borden Institute (U.S.); United States. Department of the Army. Office of the Surgeon General; US Army Medical Department Center and School

Mallon, Timothy M.

2019
HPSCI Memorandum Sparks Debate Over FISA Application Requirements [February 14, 2018]

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"The recent disclosure by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) of a declassified memorandum written by HPSCI majority staff has sparked a renewed conversation about the government's longstanding authority to conduct electronic surveillance on U.S. citizens pursuant to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA), as amended. [...] A central factual question that appears to be disputed by the competing memoranda is the degree to which information potentially undermining the FISA application's reliability was omitted from the application. Although CRS is not in a position to answer that factual question, this Sidebar endeavors to explain the legal requirements regarding the government's obligation to include countervailing information in FISA applications."

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Liu, Edward C.

2018-02-14
Congress Considers Reform to Queries of FISA Information as Reauthorization Deadline Approaches [January 8, 2018]

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"Title VII of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) is currently scheduled to sunset on January 19, 2018. Of the expiring provisions, Section 702, which authorizes 'programmatic' surveillance of non-U.S. persons while they are outside of the United States, has received the greatest amount of attention, possibly because Section 702 provides the Attorney General (AG) and Director of National Intelligence (DNI) more leeway to authorize surveillance than other FISA provisions. Generally, before the AG and DNI may authorize electronic surveillance under Title VII, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) must issue an order finding, inter alia, that probable cause exists to believe that the target of the proposed surveillance is a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power. Pursuant to Section 702, however, the AG, in consultation with the DNI, develop targeting and minimization procedures to identify targets and acquire communications, which they submit to the FISC for approval. The AG and DNI also certify to the FISC that surveillance of a target will comply with Section 702, including the proposed targeting and minimization procedures."

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Liu, Edward C.

2018-01-08
MMWR: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, December 15, 2017

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The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Series is prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). [It] is the agency's primary vehicle for scientific publication of timely, reliable, authoritative, accurate, objective, and useful public health information and recommendations. This issue of MMWR contains the following: "State Laws Regarding Indoor Public Use, Retail Sales, and Prices of Electronic Cigarettes--U.S. States, Guam, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands, September 30, 2017"; "Health and Development at Age 19-24 Months of 19 Children Who Were Born with Microcephaly and Laboratory Evidence of Congenital Zika Virus Infection During the 2015 Zika Virus Outbreak -- Brazil, 2017"; "Large Outbreak of Neisseria meningitidis Serogroup C -- Nigeria, December 2016-June 2017"; "Introduction of Inactivated Poliovirus Vaccine and Impact on Vaccine-Associated Paralytic Poliomyelitis -- Beijing, China, 2014-2016"; "Notes from the Field: Tuberculosis Control Activities After Hurricane Harvey -- Texas, 2017"; "Notes from the Field: Monitoring Out-of-State Patients During a Hurricane Response Using Syndromic Surveillance -- Tennessee, 2017"; "Announcement: Community Preventive Services Task Force Findings for Mobile Phone Applications Used Within Health Care Systems for Self-Management of Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes"; "Notice to Readers: Change in MMWR Announcements"; "Quickstats: Percentage of Visits by Patients Aged ≥18 Years to Office-Based Physicians Made by Patients with ≥2 Selected Diagnosed Chronic Conditions, by Physician Specialty Category and Patient Age Group -- National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, 2015"; and "Notifiable Diseases and Mortality Tables."

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)

2017-12-15
MMWR: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, July 21, 2017

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The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Series is prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). [It] is the agency's primary vehicle for scientific publication of timely, reliable, authoritative, accurate, objective, and useful public health information and recommendations. This issue of MMWR contains the following articles: "Racial and Ethnic Differences in Homicides of Adult Women and the Role of Intimate Partner Violence -- United States, 2003-2014"; "Surveillance for Silicosis Deaths Among Persons Aged 15-44 Years -- United States, 1999-2015"; "Progress Toward Measles Elimination -- Bangladesh, 2000-2016"; "Notes from the Field: Cluster of Acute Flaccid Myelitis in Five Pediatric Patients -- Maricopa County, Arizona, 2016"; "Notes from the Field: Cronobacter sakazakii Infection Associated with Feeding Extrinsically Contaminated Expressed Human Milk to a Premature Infant -- Pennsylvania, 2016"; "Notes from the Field: Hospital Contact Investigation for a Patient Who Developed a Zoster Vaccine-Related Rash -- Maryland, February 2015"; "Announcement: Community Preventive Services Task Force Recommendations for Multicomponent Interventions to Increase Breast, Cervical, and Colorectal Cancer Screening"; "Erratum: Vol. 66, No. 23"; and "QuickStats: Percentage of Office-Based Primary Care Physicians Accepting New Patients, by Source of Payment Accepted -- National Electronic Health Records Survey, 2015." Notifiable Diseases and Mortality Tables from this issue can be accessed at the following link [https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/index2017.html]

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)

2017-07-21
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate: S. 190: Power and Security Systems (PASS) Act

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This is a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) cost estimate for S. 190: Power and Security Systems (PASS) Act . From the document: "The Department of Energy (DOE) sets energy efficiency standards for external power supplies (EPS), which convert power drawn from a wall outlet into lower voltage power that can be used directly by certain electronic devices. Under current law, EPS designed to provide power to some types of alarms and surveillance systems for security or safety are exempt from such standards until July 1, 2017. S. 190 would permanently exclude such EPS from those standards and authorize the Secretary of Energy to treat some or all of those devices as a separate product class. CBO estimates that enacting S. 190 would have no significant effect on the federal budget. Based on information from DOE, we expect that any change in the agency's costs to regulate or establish standards for technologies affected by the bill (which would be subject to appropriation) would be insignificant in any year. Enacting S. 190 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO estimates that enacting S. 190 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028. S. 190 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments."

United States. Congressional Budget Office

2017-04-20
Chinese Military Reform in the Age of Xi Jinping: Drivers, Challenges, and Implications

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"Chinas Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) has embarked on its most wide-ranging and ambitious restructuring since 1949, including major changes to most of its key organizations: The general departments were disbanded, new Central Military Commission (CMC) departments created, and a new ground force headquarters established; Seven military regions were restructured into five theater commands aligned against regional threats. Commanders will be able to develop joint force packages from army, navy, air force, and conventional missile units within their theaters; PLA service headquarters are transitioning to an exclusive focus on organize, train, and equip missions and will no longer have a primary role in conducting operations. However, the PLA is still figuring out how the new relationships among the CMC, services, and theaters will work in practice; The restructuring will also reduce the size of the PLA by 300,000 soldiers, cutting the ground forces and increasing the size of the navy and air force. The restructuring reflects the desire to strengthen PLA joint operations capabilities on land, at sea, in the air, and in the space and cyber domains; The centerpiece of the reforms is a new joint command and control structure with nodes at the CMC and theater levels that will coordinate China's responses to regional crises and conduct preparations for wartime operations; A Strategic Support Force has been established to provide command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance support to commanders and will oversee space, cyber, and electronic warfare activities. A Joint Logistics Support Force will provide logistics support to units within the theaters; The creation of a joint command system complements other recent changes supporting joint operations including joint training, logistics, and doctrinal development."

National Defense University. Institute for National Strategic Studies; Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs (National Defense University)

Wuthnow, Joel; Saunders, Phillip C. (Phillip Charles), 1966-

2017-03
FISA Amendments Act: Reauthorizing America's vi tal National Security Authority and Protecting Privacy and Civil Liberties, Hearing Before the Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. Senate, One Hundred Fifteenth Congress, First Session, June 27, 2017

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This testimony compilation is from the June 27, 2017 hearing, "The FISA [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] Amendments Act: Reauthorizing America's Vital National Security Authority and Protecting Privacy and Civil Liberties," before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary. From the opening statement of Chuck Grassley: "This Committee last held an oversight hearing on Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act in May 2016. Since then, the drumbeat of terror attacks against the United States and our allies has continued. A month after our hearing, a terrorist attacked an Orlando nightclub, killing 50 and wounding 53. That same month, a terrorist detonated pipe bombs in New Jersey and New York, injuring about 30. Last month, Great Britain suffered its worst terror attack in over a decade. A suicide bomber killed 22 and seriously injured many more at a concert in Manchester. Many of the dead and wounded were children and young people.These attacks underscore that the first responsibility of government is to ensure that those who protect us every day have the tools to keep us safe. And these tools must adapt to the technological landscape and the evolving security threats we face. But at the same time, of course, the rights and liberties enshrined in our Constitution are fixed. They require our constant vigilance to maintain. Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act, which provides the government the authority to collect the electronic communications of foreigners located outside the United States with the compelled assistance of American companies, sits at the intersection of these responsibilities." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Stuart J. Evans, Carl Ghattas, Bradley Booker, Paul F. Morris, Matthew G. Olsen, Adam I. Klein, Elizabeth Goitein, and Elisebeth B. Collins.

United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary

2017
ITL Bulletin: Making Email Trustworthy (October 2016)

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"Email is a core application of computer networking and has been since the early days of Internet development. In those early days, networking was a collegial, research-oriented enterprise. Security was not a consideration. The past forty years have seen diversity in applications deployed on the Internet, and worldwide adoption of email by research organizations, governments, militaries, businesses, and individuals. At the same time, there has been an associated increase in Internet-based criminal and nuisance threats. The Internet's underlying core email protocol, Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP), was adopted in 1982 and is still deployed and operated today. However, this protocol is susceptible to a wide range of attacks, including man-in-the-middle content modification and content surveillance. The basic standards have been modified and augmented over the years with adaptations that mitigate some of these threats. With spoofing protection, integrity protection, encryption and authentication, properly implemented email systems can be regarded as sufficiently secure for government, financial, and medical communications. […] The major goal of the document is to provide guidelines on how to combat possible threats before a user opens an email. This guidance applies to federal IT [information technology] systems and will also be useful for other organizations, including small and medium-sized businesses."

National Institute of Standards and Technology (U.S.); Information Technology Laboratory (National Institute of Standards and Technology). Computer Security Division

Rose, Scott; Feldman, Larry; Witte, Greg

2016-10
Encryption and Evolving Technology: Implications for U.S. Law Enforcement Investigations [February 18, 2016]

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"Because modern-day criminals are constantly developing new tools and techniques to facilitate their illicit activities, law enforcement is challenged with leveraging its tools and authorities to keep pace. For instance, interconnectivity and technological innovation have not only fostered international business and communication, they have also helped criminals carry out their operations. At times, these same technological advances have presented unique hurdles for law enforcement and officials charged with combating malicious actors. Technology as a barrier for law enforcement is by no means a new issue in U.S. policing. In the 1990s, for instance, there were concerns about digital and wireless communications potentially hampering law enforcement in carrying out court-authorized surveillance. To help combat these challenges, Congress passed the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA; P.L. 103-414), which among other things, required telecommunications carriers to assist law enforcement in executing authorized electronic surveillance."

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Finklea, Kristin M.

2016-02-18
Review of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Activities Under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Amendments Act of 2008, September 2012, Re-released with Some Previously Redacted Information Unredacted

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"The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 Amendments Act of 2008 (FAA) was signed into law on July 10, 2008. [...] The FAA followed earlier efforts to enhance the nation's ability to gather signals intelligence in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. In October 2001, the President authorized a highly classified program, known as the President's Surveillance Program, to conduct electronic surveillance of certain communications into and out of the United States without seeking orders from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA Court).

United States. Department of Justice. Office of the Inspector General

2016-01
Air & Space Power Journal (Vol. 29, Issue 6)

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The following titles are featured in this edition of Air & Space Power Journal: "An Airman's Story," by John E. Hyten; "A Call to Action," by Daniel Moomey; "Purposeful Development of the Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance for Space Cadre," by Mitchell R. Overton; "Space-Policy Education Contexts and Constraints, Content and Methodology," by Dwight Rauhala; "How to make Disaggregation Work," by Peter Wegner, Thomas C. Adang, Maureen Rhemann; "Personnel Recovery in Space," by Mari Manifold; "Preparing for the Cyber Battleground of the Future," by Chris Babcock; "Defending Our Satellites: The Need for Electronic Warfare Education and Training," by E. Lincoln Bonner; and "Developing Tomorrow's Space War Fighter: The Argument for Contracting Out Satellite Operations," by Sean C. Temple.

Air University (U.S.). Press

2015-11
Encryption and Evolving Technology: Implications for U.S. Law Enforcement Investigations [September 8, 2015]

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"Because modern-day criminals are constantly developing new tools and techniques to facilitate their illicit activities, law enforcement is challenged with leveraging its tools and authorities to keep pace. For instance, interconnectivity and technological innovation have not only fostered international business and communication, they have also helped criminals carry out their operations. At times, these same technological advances have presented unique hurdles for law enforcement and officials charged with combating malicious actors. Technology as a barrier for law enforcement is by no means a new issue in U.S. policing. In the 1990s, for instance, there were concerns about digital and wireless communications potentially hampering law enforcement in carrying out court-authorized surveillance. To help combat these challenges, Congress passed the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA; P.L. 103-414), which among other things, required telecommunications carriers to assist law enforcement in executing authorized electronic surveillance. The technology boundary has received renewed attention as companies have implemented advanced security for their products--particularly their mobile devices. In some cases, enhanced encryption measures have been put in place resulting in the fact that companies such as Apple and Google cannot unlock devices for anyone under any circumstances, not even law enforcement. Law enforcement has concerns over certain technological changes, and there are fears that officials may be unable to keep pace with technological advances and conduct electronic surveillance if they cannot access certain information."

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Finklea, Kristin M.

2015-09-08
Personal Electronic Devices and the ISR Data Explosion: The Impact of Cyber Cameras on the Intelligence Community

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"How can the Intelligence Community (IC) utilize personal electronic devices, specifically cameras and posted images, for intelligence including access to denied areas; how feasible is this collection tool to operationalize; how do analysts analyze an overwhelming volume of data; and what are the implications legally and ethically? As new technology that allows the exploitation of personal electronic devices becomes more integrated into the IC, more powerful analytic tools must be developed to assist the intelligence analyst manage the overwhelming amount of data in order to provide any useful analytic value. This paper will examine the intelligence value of wireless data sources and cyber cameras mounted on personal devices, security and maintenance systems, and photo trawling the internet. It will also look at the legal and ethical issues of employing such a collection strategy in the realm of national security then the feasibility of integrating and processing collected data into finished intelligence in an ever expanding world more data being collected than can be processed. This paper is divided into three sections each focusing on technology and the problems associated with the exploitable nature of personal electronic devices, mainly devices with camera. The first section examines the domestic surveillance camera and privacy issues of electronic devices and technology within the realm of the criminal justice system in the United States. The second section examines how electronic devices can be utilized as covert collection platforms outside the United States to gather useful information for the intelligence community. The third section looks at the processing, exploitation, and dissemination problems the intelligence community faces with the vast amount of international information collected."

Air University (U.S.). Air Command and Staff College

Ratanamalay, Richard S.

2015-06
Government Collection of Private Information: Background and Issues Related to the USA PATRIOT Act Reauthorization in Brief [May 19, 2015]

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"This is an abbreviated version of an earlier report, CRS Report R40980, 'Government Collection of Private Information: Background and Issues Related to the USA PATRIOT Act Reauthorization'. Both discuss the legal background associated with the sunset of various provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act and of subsequent related legislation, although neither report seeks to track contemporary legislative developments. Congress enacted the USA PATRIOT Act soon after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The most controversial sections of the act facilitate the federal government's collection of more information, from a greater number of sources, than had previously been authorized in criminal or foreign intelligence investigations. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), and the national security letter (NSL) statutes were all bolstered. With the changes came greater access to records showing an individual's spending and communication patterns as well as increased authority to intercept email and telephone conversations and to search homes and businesses. […] Subsequent legislation made most of these changes permanent. However, a number of authorities affecting the collection of foreign intelligence information are still temporary. For example, subsequent legislation set June 1, 2015, as the expiration date for three such provisions (the lone wolf, roving wiretap, and business record sections of FISA). Additionally, provisions added by the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, relating to the use of foreign intelligence tools to target individuals while they are reasonably believed to be abroad, will expire on December 31, 2017."

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Liu, Edward C.; Doyle, Charles

2015-05-19
MMWR: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, May 1, 2015

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The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Series is prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). [It] is the agency's primary vehicle for scientific publication of timely, reliable, authoritative, accurate, objective, and useful public health information and recommendations. This issue of MMWR contains the following articles: "Outbreak of Human Pneumonic Plague with Dog-to-Human and Possible Human-to-Human Transmission -- Colorado, June-July 2014"; "Laboratory-Acquired Vaccinia Virus Infection in a Recently Immunized Person -- Massachusetts, 2013"; "Using Electronic Clinical Quality Measure Reporting for Public Health Surveillance"; and "Community Outbreak of HIV Infection Linked to Injection Drug Use of Oxymorphone -- Indiana, 2015". Notifiable Diseases and Mortality Tables from this issue can be accessed at the following link: [http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/index2015.html]

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)

2015-05-01
Sex Trafficking: Proposals in the 114th Congress to Amend Federal Criminal Law [April 29, 2015]

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"Existing federal law outlaws sex trafficking and provides a variety of mechanisms to prevent it and to assist its victims. Members have offered a number of proposals during the 114th Congress to bolster those efforts. Several clarify, expand, or supplement existing federal criminal law. For instance, Senator Cornyn's S. 178, which passed the Senate, and Representative Poe's H.R. 181, which passed the House, would confirm that federal commercial sex trafficking prohibitions apply to the customers of such enterprises. The bills would also constrict the defense of those who engage in illicit sexual activities with children. Both bills would afford state and federal law enforcement officials greater access to court-supervised electronic surveillance in sex trafficking cases. Both would also expand victims' statutory rights and remove stringent limits on appellate enforcement of those rights. S. 178, along with Senator Kirk's S. 572 and Representative Wagner's H.R. 285, would bring culpable advertisers within the reach of the federal law which proscribes commercial sex trafficking."

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Doyle, Charles

2015-04-29
Applications Made to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court During Calendar Year 2014

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"This report is submitted pursuant to sections 107 and 502 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 19878 (the 'Act'), as amended, 50 U.S.C. section 1801 et seq., and section 118 of USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005, Pub. L. No. 109-177 (2006). In accordance with those provisions, this report provides information regarding all applications made by the Government during calendar year 2014 for authority to conduct electronic surveillance for foreign intelligence purposes under the Act, all applications made by the Government during calendar year 2014 for access to certain business records (including the production of tangible things) for foreign intelligence purposes, and certain requests made by the Federal Bureau of Investigation pursuant to national security letter authorities. In addition, while not required to do so by statute, the Government is providing information concerning the number of applications made during calendar year 2014 for authority to conduct physical searches for foreign intelligence purposes."

United States. Department of Justice. Office of Legislative Affairs

2015-04-20
Medical and Public Health Preparedness and Response: Are We Ready for Future Threats? Hearing Before the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, U.S. Senate, One Hundred Fourteenth Congress, First Session, February 26, 2015

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This is a testimony compilation from the February 26, 2015 "Medical and Public Health Preparedness and Response: Are We Ready for Future Threats?" held before the Senate Committee on Hearing Before the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. From the testimony of Stephen Redd: "State and local public health agencies are the lead entities in public health preparedness and response. CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] provides ongoing technical assistance and, if requested, will provide on-theground personnel to assist with a state's response effort. For example, CDC personnel are providing laboratory capacity and communications support to California public health agencies in response to the current measles outbreak. Investments in preparedness since 2001 have greatly increased the Nation's public health preparedness for all hazards. One of the lessons learned as a result of responding to the 9/11 and anthrax attacks was that state and local health departments lacked critical capabilities needed to mount an emergency response, and the Nation's public health system also was unable to provide essential public health services during an emergency. Health departments lacked laboratory networks, electronic disease surveillance systems, risk communication networks, and emergency operations centers."

United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

2015-02-26
National Security Letters: Proposals in the 113th Congress [January 22, 2015]

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"A National Security Letter (NSL) is roughly comparable to an administrative subpoena. Various intelligence agencies use NSLs to demand certain customer information from communications providers, financial institutions, and consumer credit reporting agencies under the Right to Financial Privacy Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the National Security Act, and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. Congress weighed several NSL amendments during the 113th Congress. The House passed one, H.R. 3361. The Senate failed to provide the three-fifths vote necessary for cloture on another, S. 2685. Yet in the end, the 113th Congress adjourned without enacting any of the proposed NSL amendments. […] As an additional oversight tool, S. 1215 and S. 1599 would have returned all but two of the NSL statutes to their pre-USA PATRIOT Act [Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001] form, effective June 1, 2015. The exceptions would have been the National Security Act NSL statute, which evokes few privacy concerns, and the sweeping, USA PATRIOT Act-born, Fair Credit Reporting Act NSL statute, which the bills would have repealed. This report reprints the text of the five NSL statutes as they now appear and as they appeared prior to amendment by the USA PATRIOT Act (to which form they would have been returned under S. 1125 and H.R. 1805). Related reports include CRS [Congressional Research Service] Report R40138, Amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Extended Until June 1, 2015, by Edward C. Liu, and CRS Report RL33320, National Security Letters in Foreign Intelligence Investigations: Legal Background, by Charles Doyle."

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Doyle, Charles

2015-01-22
Viral Hepatitis Surveillance - United States, 2015

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"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS) receives viral hepatitis case reports electronically each week from state and territorial health departments in the United States (U.S.) via CDC's National Electronic Telecommunications System for Surveillance (NETSS), a computerized public health surveillance system. The surveillance system accepts case reports of acute and chronic infections from all states and the District of Columbia, though not all jurisdictions report their data. In 2015, a total of 48 states submitted reports of acute hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, 40 submitted reports of acute hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, 40 submitted reports of chronic HBV infection, and 40 submitted reports of chronic HCV infection. Most persons infected with viral hepatitis are asymptomatic and so are not identified or reported. In 2011, CDC developed a statistical method to account for cases that were neither diagnosed nor reported in estimating the actual number of new (acute) cases of hepatitis A virus (HAV), HBV, and HCV infections from the number of cases reported for each disease; estimates in this report were derived using this method. Since estimates before 2011 were obtained using a different, unpublished method, they cannot be compared with those since 2011. This Summary describes estimated trends during 2011- 2015 and reported cases of acute HAV, HBV, and HCV infections in 2015."

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)

2015
MMWR: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, December 12, 2014

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The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Series is prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). [It] is the agency's primary vehicle for scientific publication of timely, reliable, authoritative, accurate, objective, and useful public health information and recommendations. This issue of MMWR contains the following: "State Laws Prohibiting Sales to Minors and Indoor Use of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems -- United States, November 2014"; "Estimated Influenza Illnesses and Hospitalizations Averted by Vaccination -- United States, 2013-14 Influenza Season"; "Incidence of Sickle Cell Trait -- United States, 2010"; "Global Invasive Bacterial Vaccine-Preventable Diseases Surveillance -- 2008-2014"; "Airport Exit and Entry Screening for Ebola -- August-November 10, 2014"; "Ebola Virus Disease in Health Care Workers -- Sierra Leone, 2014"; "Rapid Assessment of Ebola Infection Prevention and Control Needs -- Six Districts, Sierra Leone, October 2014"; "Clinical Inquiries Regarding Ebola Virus Disease Received by CDC -- United States, July 9-November 15, 2014"; "Announcement: Updated Recommendations for HIV Prevention with Adults and Adolescents with HIV in the United States"; "Errata: Vol. 63, No. 48"; "Errata: Vol. 63, No. RR-5"; and "QuickStats: Average Annual Rate of Emergency Department Visits for Bipolar Disorder Among Persons Aged ≥15 Years, by Age Group -- National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, United States, 2010-2011". Notifiable Diseases and Mortality Tables from this issue can be accessed at the following link [http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/index2014.html]

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)

2014-03-21
MMWR: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, October 17, 2014

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The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Series is prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). [It] is the agency's primary vehicle for scientific publication of timely, reliable, authoritative, accurate, objective, and useful public health information and recommendations. This issue of MMWR contains the following: "Vaccination Coverage Among Children in Kindergarten -- United States, 2013-14 School Year"; "Increases in Smoking Cessation Interventions After a Feedback and Improvement Initiative Using Electronic Health Records -- 19 Community Health Centers, New York City, October 2010-March 2012"; "Cluster of Ebola Cases Among Liberian and U.S. Health Care Workers in an Ebola Treatment Unit and Adjacent Hospital -- Liberia, 2014"; "Developing an Incident Management System to Support Ebola Response -- Liberia, July-August 2014"; "Surveillance and Preparedness for Ebola Virus Disease -- New York City, 2014"; "Notes from the Field: Increase in Gonorrhea Cases in Counties Associated with American Indian Reservations -- Montana, January 2012-August 2014"; "Announcement: National Teen Driver Safety Week -- October 19-25, 2014"; "Erratum: Vol. 63, No. 40"; and "QuickStats: Age-Adjusted Rates of Death from Fire or Flames, by State -- National Vital Statistics System, United States, 2007-2011". Notifiable Diseases and Mortality Tables from this issue can be accessed at the following link [http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/index2014.html]

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)

2014-06-03
Impeccable Timing: The Political Efficiency of PRC-U.S. Surveillance Confrontations

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From the thesis abstract: "This thesis investigates several potential drivers of surveillance confrontations involving United States' assets on the People's Republic of China's [PRC] maritime periphery, by exploring encounters such as the April 2001 EP-3 [Electronic Patrol] and the March 2009 USNS [United States Naval Ship] Impeccable (T-AGOS-23) incidents. The evidence herein suggests that the 2001 and 2009 confrontations were most likely driven by issue elevation, in which the PRC's maritime forces were given the charge to opportunistically challenge U.S. maritime surveillance operations during periods of enhanced political efficiency. These encounters were likely part of broad efforts to elevate maritime sovereignty and surveillance issues during periods in which U.S. surveillance norms were perceived to be most vulnerable to political challenge. Potential secondary drivers of the PRC's behavior are also woven through this assessment. From this conclusion, future vulnerability periods may reappear, in which there is an increased probability that a similar broad pattern of surveillance confrontations will resurface. This work concludes by assessing current PRC-U.S. maritime trends and providing recommendations in support of a comprehensive plan that spans the strategic, operational, and tactical levels. This adaptive effort may mitigate future surveillance confrontations, their escalation, and conflict, to protect U.S. military, diplomatic, and national interests."

Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)

Harbaugh, Jon D.

2014-06
Reform of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC): Selection of Judges [May 7, 2014]

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"In the past year, the decisions and functions of the courts established under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) have received much public attention. FISA established two courts--the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) and the FISA Court of Review-- which have jurisdiction to review government applications to conduct electronic surveillance for foreign intelligence purposes. Various proposals have been introduced in Congress to amend the law that authorizes such surveillance and to change the internal practices and procedures of the courts. This report focuses on those proposals that would amend the process for selecting the judges who serve on the FISC and FISA Court of Review. […] To understand the potential legal issues implicated by these proposals, this report first briefly reviews the constitutional method for appointing federal judges. The report also surveys the process of 'designation,' an alternative method used by Congress that allows current federal judges to serve temporarily on another federal court without undergoing a separate constitutional appointment. Lastly, the report explores how a reviewing court might evaluate the constitutionality of these proposals that would shift the authority to select FISA judges away from the Chief Justice alone, and vest it in other officials within the judicial, executive, and legislative branches."

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Chu, Vivian S.

2014-05-07
FISA Annual Report to Congress for 2013

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"This report provides information regarding all applications made by the Government during calendar year 2013 for authority to conduct electronic surveillance for foreign intelligence purposes under the Act, all applications made by the Government during calendar year 2013 for access to certain business records (including the production of tangible things) for foreign intelligence purposes, and certain requests made by the Federal Bureau of Investigation pursuant to national security letter authorities."

United States. Department of Justice. Office of the Attorney General

2014-04-30

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