C5IS is the most widely read source of information on surveillance technologies for law enforcement, government agencies, military intelligence, communications companies and technology leaders who together safeguard national security and protect the public from criminals and terrorists. The publication reflects the expertise of the intelligence, law enforcement and public policy communities on surveillance and is followed by members in over 130 nations — from Washington, D.C. to London, Paris, Beijing, Moscow, Rome, Madrid, Berlin, Tokyo, Lahore, Delhi, Abu Dhabi, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City, Seoul and thousands of places in between. Like Lhasa and Reunion.
Clearly we have struck a chord with an important audience seeking reliable, up-to-date information on a vital but long neglected subject: electronic intelligence or ELINT.
Our objective: To ensure informed decisions on and eliminate guesswork from the process of purchasing electronic surveillance solutions. And to provide timely news and information on the industry and public policy you will find nowhere else.
NOTE: This is not “splash and dash” coverage typical of media sites. Our in-depth reports can range up to 4,000 words on topics that span the full universe of ELINT, as well as COMINT and SIGINT: surveillance malware, mobile location, lawful intercept, social media monitoring, deep Web/dark Web, special military applications, artificial intelligence, and many more. We examine the key technology players, and also provide insights on customers in law enforcement and the Intelligence Community.
In fact, C5IS is not “media” in the traditional sense, at all. We are an information resource for the electronic surveillance community – period.
Given the diverse technologies available to meet the surveillance requirements of law enforcement, intelligence agencies and the military, and the hundreds of vendors who provide these technologies, C5IS serves a unique audience and their needs: parties that need independent, unbiased reviews of technology solutions that by definition often remain veiled in secrecy. We also keep solutions providers up to speed on what their clients most need to perform the jobs of nation security and law enforcement.
To our knowledge, there is no other publication dedicated exclusively to this topic from the standpoint of the industry and its customers. There is nothing else like it in the world. In that regard, C5IS fills an important gap.
The Mission
Electronic surveillance is a multi-billion dollar global industry that spans little-known companies whose names, by intent, rarely if ever enter the public domain — as well as consumer technology giants whose involvement in law enforcement/intelligence is hidden from view. Given the veil surrounding this marketplace, it is possible that many agencies purchase technologies without knowing the full array of choices at hand — or the difference in performance and benefits of each. We feel you should know all your options.
C5IS strives to deliver what we believe you need most: all the information essential to reviewing and selecting the surveillance solutions that best suit the purposes of your organization. While the topic is broad, its parameters are narrow. On occasion we venture into video surveillance, cybersecurity and cyberwarfare. But our primary focus is ELINT/SIGINT/COMINT.
Our mission is to provide guidance on the technologies that law enforcement and intelligence need to do their jobs. To ensure that our work reaches these audiences — and only these audiences — membership in C5IS is restricted to: those that purchase or provide electronic surveillance technology solutions; policymakers with oversight on laws governing surveillance; and members of the legal profession who advise communications companies on compliance requirements of CALEA and FISA, and are involved in the review and implementation of court orders and subpoenas for lawful intercept.
Reliable Because We’re Independent
C5IS is independent and beholden to no one other than our members.
What you read here will always be fact-based, fair, unbiased — and available only to those individuals and organizations that pass our strict requirements for joining this exclusive community.
Our only source of income: membership. We do not accept advertising, sponsorships or contributions.
We safeguard the identity of members and will never disclose their identity. We neither buy nor sell lists.
Why Our Work Matters
The use of advanced electronic technologies to gather intelligence and evidence for the purpose of tracking and apprehending individuals and groups that pose a threat to national security has grown exponentially in recent years — as have the sophistication and variety of the technologies themselves. From the early days of the simple “wiretap,” commercially available technologies have grown to include:
- Advances in Lawful Intercept: active and passive devices within public communications networks that, upon activation by court order, subpoena or in “exigent circumstances,” can trace and trap circuit-switched, VoIP, Internet, cloud and mobile communications data and content on wireless CDMA, GSM and WiFi networks.
- Geo-Location Data: devices that use GPS, SS7 and other technologies to precisely pinpoint a target’s physical location.
- Analytics: technologies that leverage Deep Packet Inspection, Biometrics and other advanced analytics capabilities to reveal content, trending, the identity of suspects and affiliates, across multiple languages, including instances where a suspect uses different languages across different modes of communication.
- Zero-Day Intervention: technologies with the power to intercept and take control of a target’s device — PC, tablet or smartphone — bypassing anti-virus and anti-spyware, monitor all communications data and content, observe the target via video, and even alter content as it is downloaded to a device.
- Biometrics: algorithm-based services that can single out a target’s voice from millions of callers and identify him or her by means as accurate as a fingerprint, and facial recognition technologies that provide a precise composite of his/her “mugshot.”
- Social Media Monitoring: cloud-based solutions that track and identify targets, affiliates and trends on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest and dozens of other social media vehicles.
- Military-Grade Surveillance: Custom solutions for that provide geo-location, analytics, intrusive intervention, social media monitoring, satellite communications and/or other capabilities specifically designed to meet the strategic and tactical intelligence gathering needs of the military.
Think of C5IS as your guide to the players and plays in these fields, and on fast-emerging developments in technology.