israeli spy companies: verint and narus i - coat.ncf.cacoat.ncf.ca/p4c/66/spy.pdf · 44 press for...

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Spring 2012 (Issue # 66) Press for Conversion! 43 ism specialist and military-intelligence officer who served 19 years in Turkey, Italy, Germany, and Spain. He notes that Israel “always features prominently” in the FBI’s annual report, “Foreign Eco- nomic Collection and Industrial Espio- nage.” Its 2005 report, he says, stated: “‘Israel has an active program to gather proprietary information within the US. These collection ac- tivities are primarily directed at ob- taining information on military sys- tems and advanced computing ap- plications that can be used in Isra- el’s sizable armaments industry.’ It adds that Israel recruits spies, uses electronic methods, and carries out computer intrusion to gain the infor- mation. “In 1996…the Pentagon’s De- fense Investigative Service warned [US] defense contractors that Israel had ‘espionage intentions and capa- bilities’ here [in the US] and was ag- gressively trying to steal military and intelligence secrets. It also cited a security threat posed by individuals who have ‘strong ethnic ties’ to Is- rael, stating that ‘Placing Israeli na- tionals in key industries … is a tech- nique utilized with great success.’” Giraldi says that when the Gen- eral Accounting Office (GAO), the in- vestigative arm of Congress, researched spying against US arms industries in 1996, it said Israel “conducts the most aggressive espionage operation against the US of any U.S. ally.” The GAO also reported that “Israeli citizens residing in the U.S. had stolen sensitive technology to manufacture artillery gun tubes, ob- tained classified plans for a recon- naissance system, and passed sensi- tive aerospace designs to unauthor- ized users. An Israeli company was caught monitoring a Department of Defense telecommunications system to obtain classified information.” Another ex-CIA officer who ex- pressed grave concerns about Israel’s spying is Robert David Steele. He said “Israeli penetration of the entire US tel- ecommunications system means that NSA’s warrantless wiretapping actually means Israeli warrantless wiretapping.” Jane’s Intelligence Group re- ported in 2004 that Israeli intelligence agencies “have been spying on the U.S. and running clandestine operations since Israel was established.” In 2008, Harry Brandon, a former FBI deputy director of counter- intelligence told Congressional Quar- terly (CQ) magazine that “the Israelis are interested in commercial as much as military secrets.” CQ surmised that “One effective espionage tool is form- ing joint partnerships with U.S. comp- anies to supply software and other tech- nology products to U.S. government agencies.” This is precisely what Ver- int and Narus have done so effectively. But, as Bamford points out, Ver- int and Narus haven’t just bugged “vir- tually the entire American telecom sys- tem,” these “two firms…have also wired much of the planet…. Never be- fore in history have so few people wiretapped so many.” Isr Isr Isr Isr Israeli Sp aeli Sp aeli Sp aeli Sp aeli Spy Companies: y Companies: y Companies: y Companies: y Companies: V V V erint and Narus erint and Narus erint and Narus erint and Narus erint and Narus Verint and Narus ha erint and Narus ha erint and Narus ha erint and Narus ha erint and Narus have bugged “virtually the e bugged “virtually the e bugged “virtually the e bugged “virtually the e bugged “virtually the entir entir entir entir entire American telecom s e American telecom s e American telecom s e American telecom s e American telecom system,” and stem,” and stem,” and stem,” and stem,” and “wir “wir “wir “wir “wired much o ed much o ed much o ed much o ed much of the planet…. Ne f the planet…. Ne f the planet…. Ne f the planet…. Ne f the planet…. Never er er er er bef bef bef bef befor or or or ore in hist e in hist e in hist e in hist e in history ha ory ha ory ha ory ha ory have so fe e so fe e so fe e so fe e so few people w people w people w people w people wir wir wir wir wiret et et et etapped so man apped so man apped so man apped so man apped so many.” .” .” .” .” “[T]he gr “[T]he gr “[T]he gr “[T]he gr “[T]he greatest potential beneficiaries eatest potential beneficiaries eatest potential beneficiaries eatest potential beneficiaries eatest potential beneficiaries of this marriage betw f this marriage betw f this marriage betw f this marriage betw f this marriage between the Isr een the Isr een the Isr een the Isr een the Israeli aeli aeli aeli aeli ea ea ea ea eavesdr esdr esdr esdr esdropper opper opper opper oppers and America’ s and America’ s and America’ s and America’ s and America’s incr s incr s incr s incr s increasingly easingly easingly easingly easingly centr centr centr centr centraliz aliz aliz aliz alized telecom grid, ar ed telecom grid, ar ed telecom grid, ar ed telecom grid, ar ed telecom grid, are Isr Isr Isr Isr Israel’ ael’ ael’ ael’ ael’s intelligence agencies s intelligence agencies s intelligence agencies s intelligence agencies s intelligence agencies.” .” .” .” .” James Bamf James Bamf James Bamf James Bamf James Bamfor or or or ord, author o d, author o d, author o d, author o d, author of The Shado The Shado The Shado The Shado The Shado w F w F w F w F w F act act act act act ory ory ory ory ory By Richard Sanders I n the mid-2000s, two Israeli spy companies (Narus and Verint) were caught in the centre of a huge scan- dal involving the wiretapping of virtu- ally all US phone and internet mes- sages. Their mass surveillance services were used by America’s two largest tel- ecom companies, AT&T and Verizon. (See AT&T pp.7-8, and Verizon in ta- ble, “CPP Investments,” p.53.) These telecom giants, which to- gether control 80% of the US market, were turning over all of their custom- ers’ internet communications and phone call records to the US National Secu- rity Agency (NSA). On hundreds of oc- casions, these data transfers were done without legal warrants or court orders. This warrantless wiretapping operation was a gargantuan task requiring the col- lection, analysis and transfer of data re- lating to billions of messages per day. To accomplish this, AT&T employed the services of an Israeli spy firm called Narus, while Verizon used a different Israeli spy company, Verint Systems. The technologies of both Ver- int and Narus have also been absorbed into the spy products of other compa- nies. For example, Amdocs has inte- grated Narus software into its products, while Verisign has incorporated sys- tems from both Verint and Narus into its “NetDiscovery” service. (See Am- docs, pp.5-6, and Verisign in table “CPP Investments,” p.53.) James Bamford, a former ABC News director and journalist who has researched intelligence agencies for three decades, has reported that: “Verint and Narus are super-intru- sive conducting mass surveillance on both international and domestic [US] communications 24/7. What is especially troubling, but little known, is that both companies have extensive ties to a foreign country, Israel, as well as links to that coun- try’s intelligence service a service with a long history of aggressive spying against the U.S.” A glimpse into this “long his- tory” of Israeli intelligence agencies targeting the US is discussed by Philip Giraldi, a former CIA counter-terror-

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Spring 2012 (Issue # 66) Press for Conversion! 43

ism specialist and military-intelligenceofficer who served 19 years in Turkey,Italy, Germany, and Spain. He notes thatIsrael “always features prominently” inthe FBI’s annual report, “Foreign Eco-nomic Collection and Industrial Espio-nage.” Its 2005 report, he says, stated:

“‘Israel has an active program togather proprietary informationwithin the US. These collection ac-tivities are primarily directed at ob-taining information on military sys-tems and advanced computing ap-plications that can be used in Isra-el’s sizable armaments industry.’ Itadds that Israel recruits spies, useselectronic methods, and carries outcomputer intrusion to gain the infor-mation.

“In 1996…the Pentagon’s De-fense Investigative Service warned[US] defense contractors that Israelhad ‘espionage intentions and capa-

bilities’ here [in the US] and was ag-gressively trying to steal military andintelligence secrets. It also cited asecurity threat posed by individualswho have ‘strong ethnic ties’ to Is-rael, stating that ‘Placing Israeli na-tionals in key industries … is a tech-nique utilized with great success.’”

Giraldi says that when the Gen-eral Accounting Office (GAO), the in-vestigative arm of Congress, researchedspying against US arms industries in1996, it said Israel “conducts the mostaggressive espionage operation againstthe US of any U.S. ally.” The GAOalso reported that

“Israeli citizens residing in the U.S.

had stolen sensitive technology tomanufacture artillery gun tubes, ob-tained classified plans for a recon-naissance system, and passed sensi-tive aerospace designs to unauthor-ized users. An Israeli company wascaught monitoring a Department ofDefense telecommunications systemto obtain classified information.”

Another ex-CIA officer who ex-pressed grave concerns about Israel’sspying is Robert David Steele. He said“Israeli penetration of the entire US tel-ecommunications system means thatNSA’s warrantless wiretapping actuallymeans Israeli warrantless wiretapping.”

Jane’s Intelligence Group re-ported in 2004 that Israeli intelligenceagencies “have been spying on the U.S.and running clandestine operationssince Israel was established.”

In 2008, Harry Brandon, aformer FBI deputy director of counter-

intelligence told Congressional Quar-terly (CQ) magazine that “the Israelisare interested in commercial as muchas military secrets.” CQ surmised that“One effective espionage tool is form-ing joint partnerships with U.S. comp-anies to supply software and other tech-nology products to U.S. governmentagencies.” This is precisely what Ver-int and Narus have done so effectively.

But, as Bamford points out, Ver-int and Narus haven’t just bugged “vir-tually the entire American telecom sys-tem,” these “two firms…have alsowired much of the planet…. Never be-fore in history have so few peoplewiretapped so many.”

IsrIsrIsrIsrIsraeli Spaeli Spaeli Spaeli Spaeli Spy Companies: y Companies: y Companies: y Companies: y Companies: VVVVVerint and Naruserint and Naruserint and Naruserint and Naruserint and Narus

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entirentirentirentirentire American telecom se American telecom se American telecom se American telecom se American telecom syyyyystem,” andstem,” andstem,” andstem,” andstem,” and

“wir“wir“wir“wir“wired much oed much oed much oed much oed much of the planet…. Nef the planet…. Nef the planet…. Nef the planet…. Nef the planet…. Nevvvvvererererer

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wirwirwirwirwiretetetetetapped so manapped so manapped so manapped so manapped so manyyyyy.”.”.”.”.”

“[T]he gr“[T]he gr“[T]he gr“[T]he gr“[T]he greatest potential beneficiarieseatest potential beneficiarieseatest potential beneficiarieseatest potential beneficiarieseatest potential beneficiaries

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eaeaeaeaeavvvvvesdresdresdresdresdropperopperopperopperoppers and America’s and America’s and America’s and America’s and America’s incrs incrs incrs incrs increasinglyeasinglyeasinglyeasinglyeasingly

centrcentrcentrcentrcentralizalizalizalizalized telecom grid, ared telecom grid, ared telecom grid, ared telecom grid, ared telecom grid, areeeee

IsrIsrIsrIsrIsrael’ael’ael’ael’ael’s intelligence agenciess intelligence agenciess intelligence agenciess intelligence agenciess intelligence agencies.”.”.”.”.”

James BamfJames BamfJames BamfJames BamfJames Bamfororororord, author od, author od, author od, author od, author offfffThe ShadoThe ShadoThe ShadoThe ShadoThe Shadow Fw Fw Fw Fw Factactactactactoryoryoryoryory

By Richard Sanders

In the mid-2000s, two Israeli spycompanies (Narus and Verint) werecaught in the centre of a huge scan-

dal involving the wiretapping of virtu-ally all US phone and internet mes-sages. Their mass surveillance serviceswere used by America’s two largest tel-ecom companies, AT&T and Verizon.(See AT&T pp.7-8, and Verizon in ta-ble, “CPP Investments,” p.53.)

These telecom giants, which to-gether control 80% of the US market,were turning over all of their custom-ers’ internet communications and phonecall records to the US National Secu-rity Agency (NSA). On hundreds of oc-casions, these data transfers were donewithout legal warrants or court orders.This warrantless wiretapping operationwas a gargantuan task requiring the col-lection, analysis and transfer of data re-lating to billions of messages per day.To accomplish this, AT&T employedthe services of an Israeli spy firm calledNarus, while Verizon used a differentIsraeli spy company, Verint Systems.

The technologies of both Ver-int and Narus have also been absorbedinto the spy products of other compa-nies. For example, Amdocs has inte-grated Narus software into its products,while Verisign has incorporated sys-tems from both Verint and Narus intoits “NetDiscovery” service. (See Am-docs, pp.5-6, and Verisign in table “CPPInvestments,” p.53.)

James Bamford, a former ABCNews director and journalist who hasresearched intelligence agencies forthree decades, has reported that:

“Verint and Narus are super-intru-sive – conducting mass surveillanceon both international and domestic[US] communications 24/7. What isespecially troubling, but littleknown, is that both companies haveextensive ties to a foreign country,Israel, as well as links to that coun-try’s intelligence service – a servicewith a long history of aggressivespying against the U.S.”

A glimpse into this “long his-tory” of Israeli intelligence agenciestargeting the US is discussed by PhilipGiraldi, a former CIA counter-terror-

Press for Conversion! (Issue # 66) Spring 201244

VVVVVerint Syerint Syerint Syerint Syerint Systems Incstems Incstems Incstems Incstems Inc.....Verint is a subsidiary of ComverseTechnology which is “the world’s lead-ing provider of …communications in-tercept and analysis” technology.Founded in Israel and with half its em-ployees based there, Verint’s parentcompany has attracted its fair share ofpeople from Israel’s military and intel-ligence communities.

A search of the Business Newswebsite finds the “Executive Profiles”of about twenty key Comverse peoplewho had worked for Israel’s military.Of these, at least six were in Israeli in-telligence. For example, Alon Geva was“an officer at the elite Intelligence unitof the Israeli Defense Forces,” YoavShaked “started his career as an officerin the Israeli Defense Force [IDF] In-telligence Corps,” Chaim Bechor“served as a technical officer in the In-telligence Corps of the IDF,” UriKolodny “served over 4 years in …Is-raeli Intelligence,” Alon J. Bender wasthe “Senior Security Technology con-sultant on several Israeli governmentprojects (Prime Minister’s Office, IDFand Secret Intelligence), and NoamLivnat “served four and a half years inthe Israeli Defense Forces’ prestigiousIntelligence Corps ‘Talpiyot’ project.”

Originally called ComverseInfosys, Verint makes electronic sys-tems to monitor, collect and analysevoice, email and video communica-tions. In reference to Verint’s role inthis trade, Bamford notes that by 2004:

“a large percentage of America’s –and the world’s – voice and datacommunications were passingthrough wiretaps built, installed, andmaintained by a small, secretive Is-raeli company run by former Israelimilitary and intelligence officers.”

Verint says its customers include“85 percent of the Fortune 100.” Theyuse the company’s products, Verintsays, “to improve enterprise perform-ance and make the world a safer place.”Although secretive about its clients, theVerint website divulges a few. Among

them are several corporate giants thatsupport Israel’s military, namely, Cisco,Hewlett Packard (HP), Honeywell, Sie-mens and EMC. (See p.19, p.36 andpp.39-40. For Siemens and EMC, seetable, “CPP Investments,” p.53.)

But besides serving big busi-ness, Verint also sells spyware to “lawenforcement, national security, intelli-gence, and other government agen-cies.” Its technology was used by UStelecom giant Verizon to fulfil the masssurveillance requests – legal and oth-erwise – from the NSA. “[T]he great-est potential beneficiaries of this mar-riage between the Israeli eavesdroppersand America’s increasingly centralizedtelecom grid,” says Bamford, “are Is-rael’s intelligence agencies.”

Besides the US, Verint’s othermajor government clients includeMexico, Vietnam, Australia and theNetherlands. Government users in thetwo latter countries have raised grave

concerns about the security of Verint’sproducts and particularly their remotecontrol from Israel. For instance,Christopher Ketcham reported that:

“In November 2002, sources in theDutch counterintelligence commu-nity began airing what they claimedwas ‘strong evidence that the Israelisecret service has uncontrolled ac-cess to confidential tapping datacollected by the Dutch police andintelligence services.’”

In 2003, a Dutch technologymagazine, c’t, ran an article, “DutchTapping Room not Kosher.” It said“[a]ll tapping equipment of the Dutchintelligence services and half the tap-ping equipment of the national policeforce…is insecure and is leaking infor-

mation to Israel.” The leaky technol-ogy was T2S2 tapware “delivered to the[Dutch] government in the last fewyears by the Israeli company Verint.”

In 2004, Verint’s mass surveil-lance systems were called “a lemon”in the Australian media and a parlia-mentary committee monitoring the gov-ernment’s Corruption and Crime Com-mission (CCC) summoned Verint ex-ecutives to a “closed session.” Thecommittee told Verint that they had“some issues” with the “data intercep-tion” systems being used by “at leastsix different law enforcement agenciesacross Australia.” The MPs said their“issues” with Verint included that it“can access data from overseas but theCCC seems restricted in its ability toaccess data.” Verint’s Tel Aviv-basedrepresentative confirmed: “We some-times operate by remote access.”

Bamford has called it “unnerv-ing” “that Verint can automatically ac-cess the mega-terabytes of stored andreal-time data secretly and remotelyfrom anywhere, including Israel.”

Verint’s board of directors hasalways included former military and in-telligence officers from the US and Is-rael. The most infamous of these isJacob “Kobi” Alexander, an Israeli en-trepreneur who cofounded both Com-verse and its off-shoot, Verint. Alexan-der is a former Israeli intelligence of-ficer who chaired Verint’s board fromits creation in 1994 until 2006, whenhe was indicted in the US on 36 chargesof conspiracy, fraud and money laun-dering. Leaving the boards of Verintand Comverse, Alexander evaded USprosecution by going to Israel. Placedon the FBI’s “Most Wanted List,”Verint’s disgraced cofounder was even-tually arrested (and held very briefly)

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laundering.laundering.laundering.laundering.laundering.

Spring 2012 (Issue # 66) Press for Conversion! 45

in Namibia, where he is still fightingextradition. Despite this, Alexander’scurrent “Executive Profile” on BusinessWeek’s website says he has been a Com-verse “Advisor” “since May 1, 2006.”

Another former Verint boardmember with a Israeli intelligencebackground is Ronen Nir. Before join-ing Verint’s board, and becoming vicepresident of its Analytics and Commu-nications Solutions Division, Nir served13 years in “the Israeli Defense Forces’elite Intelligence unit.” Nir remains aLieutenant Colonel in Israel’smilitary reserve forces.

Other Verint directorshave links to US intelligenceagencies and the military in-dustrial complex. For exam-ple, US Lieutenant GeneralKenneth Minihan joinedVerint’s board in 2002. Sincethe Vietnam war, this 30-yearveteran of the US Air Forceheld many top military intel-ligence postings. His careerculminated in leading the De-fense Intelligence Agency(1995-1996), the National Se-curity Agency and the CentralSecurity Service (1996-1999).

Two other US military veteranson Verint’s board are Larry Myers andVictor De Marines. Both have long-standing links to MITRE Corp., whichprovides computer security for the USmilitary and intelligence agencies. DeMarines managed MITRE’s Center forIntegrated Intelligence Systems andoversaw its Intelligence and ElectronicWarfare Systems. While managing MI-TRE’s office in Bangkok, Thailand(1967-1969), he “helped coordinateMITRE’s support for [US] Air Forcesystems ...on support operations.” De-Marines still serves on an advisorygroup for the National ReconnaissanceOffice, a US intelligence agency thatoperates the CIA’s spy satellites.

Dan Bodner, who has beenVerint’s president and CEO since 1994,was an army engineer in Israel’s De-fense Forces. Another Verint director,Meir Sperling, held executive positionsin two Israeli telecom companies,Tadiran and ECI, which both serve po-lice and military agencies around theworld, including Israel’s armed forces.

Verint’s ties to Israel’s govern-

ment are personified in Carmel Vernia,who started at Comverse in 1984 andwas its Chief Operating Officer be-tween 1994 and 2000. He became thefirst Verint CEO in 1999 but was soonappointed by Israel’s government to be-come the Ministry of Industry andTrade’s Chief Scientist. His responsi-bilities included overseeing the annualdistribution of about US$450 millionin R&D grants to Israel high-techcompanies, including Comverse.

A 2001 Comverse document

states that “we continue to receive sig-nificant benefits through reimburse-ment of up to 50% of qualified researchand development expenditures”through a “grant program administeredby the Office of the Chief Scientist ofthe Ministry of Industry and Trade.”

After leaving his post as Isra-el’s Chief Scientist in 2002, Vernia be-came a director of PerSay, an Israelicompany that spun off from Verint in2000. It received early funding fromPoalim Investments, a subsidiary ofBank Hapoalim. (See pp.10-11.) Per-Say’s speaker recognition technologyincludes voice biometrics systems thatsearch for and identify individualspeakers within the vast sea of inter-cepted phone calls. Bamford notes that

“PerSay is an example of how closeand interconnected these companiesare with Israel’s intelligence com-munity – a factor of great concernconsidering how much of their bug-ging equipment is now secretly hard-wired into the American telecommu-nications system.”

Bamford goes on to say thatPerSay’s board included Arik Nir,

“a former senior official in Shin Bet,Israel’s internal security service. Niris also the managing director of Per-Say’s financial backer, Athlone Glo-bal Security, which counts formerMossad chief Ephraim Halevy on itsadvisory board.”

Business Week’s website showsthat Halevy also sits on the board ofIsrael’s Makhteshim Agan, an explo-sives-making subsidiary of one of Is-rael’s largest holding companies, theDiscount Investment Corp. (See p.25.)

In writing about Ver-int and PerSay, Bamfordhas noted that“With remote access to

the internal and interna-tional voice and data com-munications of over onehundred countries aroundthe world, including theUnited States, Verint’sheadquarters in Tel Avivhas a capacity rivaledonly by NSA’s, if notgreater, especially whencoupled with PerSay’svoice-mining capability.” In 2004, Verint paid

US$35 million for the “government sur-veillance business” of Israel’s ECtelLtd. Verint said this would give it “ad-ditional communications interceptioncapabilities for the mass collection andanalysis of voice and data communica-tions.”

Yair Cohen, became ECtel’schair in 2006. For the five previousyears, Cohen led Israel’s equivalent ofthe US National Security Agency. Busi-ness Week’s online biography says “asBrigadier General of the special unit8200, the central military intelligenceunit of the Israeli Defense Force,”Cohen was responsible for “develop-ing state-of-the-art technology and oneof the largest, most complex technol-ogy organizations in Israel.” Cohenwas also a director of IDB Group,which controls Discount InvestmentCorp., and Vice President of one of itsprized holdings, Elron Electronics.

In 2011, Verint acquired an Is-raeli firm called Rontal ApplicationsLtd. which provides governments andbusinesses with “physical security in-formation management solutions.” Theboard of this Verint subsidiary has in-

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Press for Conversion! (Issue # 66) Spring 201246

cluded Israeli Major General AmiramLevin. During his 35-year military ca-reer, he was the deputy director of Is-rael’s foreign intelligence agency, theMossad (1998-2000).

Business News online saysLevin held “senior command positionsin Special Ops and in the Tank Corps –culminating in the post of Israel’sNorthern Front Commander.” He had“weapon system development duties”and led “strategic weapon developmenttask-forces comprising of military de-signers & major Israeli defense contrac-tors.” Levin also Commanded “SayeretMatkal,” Israel’s “elite intelligence andcounter-terrorism commando unit.”

Upon leaving the military, Levinentered the private sector and joined theboards of several Israeli companiesserving the country’s military and in-telligence agencies. Besides servingwith Verint’s subsidiary, Rontal, Levinalso joined the advisory board of Sus-pect Detection Systems (SDS) Ltd.This Israeli company says its “anti-ter-ror and anti-crime technology ...detectsthe hidden ‘hostile intent’ of assailants-before they commit their intendedacts.” The SDS website says Levin“brings with him extensive supportfrom his many years of experience ininterrogation and counter-terrorism.”Levin also serves on the advisory boardof an Israeli “homeland security” com-pany called Camero Inc. which suppliespolice and special forces with technol-ogy that sees through walls.

Narus IncNarus IncNarus IncNarus IncNarus Inc.....The name Narus is aptly derived fromthe Latin word “gnarus” for “all know-ing.” Calling itself “the leader in real-time traffic intelligence for the protec-tion and management of large [Inter-net Protocol] IP networks,” Narusmakes “Semantic Traffic Analysis”software, which “captures comprehen-sive customer usage data.” It alsomakes “Deep Packet Inspection” sys-tems for “tracking and targeting” emailand mobile-phone communications.

In 2005, computer engineerMark Klein blew the whistle on AT&T,where he had worked for 22 years.Klein then became central to a class-action lawsuit by the Electronic Fron-tier Foundation. The lawsuit exposedevidence that AT&T had transferredvast amounts of data to the NSA usinga Narus supercomputer called the STA6400. Klein testified that:

“In 2003 AT&T built ‘secret rooms’hidden deep in the bowels of its cen-tral offices in various cities, hous-ing computer gear for a governmentspy operation which taps into thecompany’s popular WorldNet serv-ice and the entire Internet. These in-stallations enable the government tolook at every individual message onthe Internet and analyze exactlywhat people are doing.”

The law suit ended in 2009when the US government granted ret-roactive immunity to itself and the tel-ecom companies for their roles in thewarrantless wiretapping operations.

Narus systems are also used bypolice and intelligence agencies aroundthe world, as well as by huge internetcompanies that hand over their custom-er’s data to these agencies. Narus saysits systems can “immediately detect,analyze, mitigate and target any un-wanted, unwarranted or malicious traf-fic.” However, deciding exactly whatconstitutes “unwanted” internet trafficis a matter for Narus’ customers to de-cide. This is troubling because besidessupplying its wares to the largest tel-ecom providers in the US, Narus sys-tems for monitoring, analyzing and con-trolling people’s everyday use of theinternet are also employed by telecom

authorities in Egypt, Pakistan, Libya,Saudi Arabia, China and elsewhere.

So, for example, when wide-spread calls for democracy and an endto state-sponsored torture and terrorwere fuelling the “Arab Spring” pro-tests in Egypt, Narus systems were usedto close down much of the internetthere. In this way, Egypt’s US-backedmilitary dictatorship benefited fromNarus, an Israeli spy company.

Narus, says the Israeli newspa-per Haaretz, “was founded in 1997 byDr Ori Cohen, Stas Khirman and fourother guys in Israel.” Its initial fund-ing came from an Israeli venture capi-tal fund, Walden Ventures, which hasalso funded Israeli “homeland security”firms like Camero.

Before starting Narus, its keyfounders had all worked for VDOnet,an Israeli firm that pioneered internetvideo streaming. Khirman, who wasNarus’ Chief Technical Officer, beganhis high-tech career at Israel AerospaceIndustries. (See “State-owned IsraeliWar Industries,” pp.48.) He and otherNarus cofounders, have since gone towork for other Israeli high-tech firms.For example, Oren Ariel became thegeneral manager and director of Hew-lett-Packard (HP) Labs Israel, whoseparent company is a major Israel mili-tary contractor. (See HP, pp.36-37.)

Narus has extremely close con-nections to US military and spy agen-cies. William Crowell, who has beenon Narus’ board since 2004, was deputy

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Spring 2012 (Issue # 66) Press for Conversion! 47

director of operations before becomingdeputy director of the NSA between1994 and 1997. Since 2007, Crowellhas chaired the Senior Advisory Groupfor the US Director of National Intelli-gence, who is the principal advisor onintelligence matters to the US Presi-dent, the National Security Council andthe Homeland Security Council.

Another Narus board member isPeter Kersten a “decorated MarineCorps veteran with combat duty inKuwait and Somalia.” Before joiningNarus he “managed high-level relation-ships” between military contractors, theNSA and the Pentagon. Illustrating thevalue placed by Narus on good rela-tions with US military and intelligenceagencies, Kersten is now the its vicepresident of US Federal Sales.

Further demonstrating this com-pany’s integration into theUS-led, global military-in-dustrial complex, is Boe-ing’s purchased of Narus in2010. With US$30.9 billionin military revenues, Boeingis the world’s fourth largestwar industry, and the pre-miere manufacturer of war-planes.

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Christopher Ketcham, “An Israeli Trojan Horse:How Israeli Backdoor Technology Penetrated theU.S. Government’s Telecom System and Com-promised National Security,” CounterPunch,September 27, 2008.www.counterpunch.org/ketcham09272008.html

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Alon Gevainvesting.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=430653

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Victor Demarineswww.walkersresearch.com/profilePages/Show_Executive_Title/Executive_detail.asp?id=10002658400019

Dan Bodnerinvesting.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=263013

Meir Sperlinginvesting.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=268012

Customer Solutionswww.tadirantele.com/tadiran-telecom/customers/government.aspx

IDF Military contractor awarded record $800million deal with BT, July 9, 2010.

www.inminds.com/article.php?id=10445

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Carmel Verniainvesting.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=5646682

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Yiar Coheninvesting.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=25333492

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May-2009+PRN 20090511

SDS Teamwww.suspectdetection.com/team.html

Marc Perelman, “Debate FlaresOver Israel’s Access to AmericanSecrets,” Jewish Daily Forward,October 23, 2008.www.forward.com/articles/14433/

Naruse n . w i k i p e d i a . o rg / w i k i / N a r u s _(company)

Mark Klein, “AT&T Deploys Gov-ernment Spy Gear on WorldNetNetwork,” January 16, 2004.scriptkitchen.com/att_klein_wired.pdf

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America, 2008.www.grossolatos.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/The-Shadow-Factory.pdf

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Ori Cohenwww.linkedin.com/pub/ori-cohen/0/16/708

Stas Khirmanwww.linkedin.com/in/khirman

Oren Arielil.linkedin.com/in/oariel

William P. Crowellinvesting.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=347467

Peter Kersteninvesting.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=22783275

Big Brother“Gnarus”

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