Boundless Informant is a Secret NSA Tool to Data-Mine the World

The color scheme ranges from green (least subjected to surveillance) through yellow and orange to red (most surveillance). Note the '2007' date in the image relates to the document from which the interactive map derives its top secret classification, not to the map itself.

mashable.com - by Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai - June 8, 2013

The NSA has a tool that records and analyzes all the flow of data that the spy agency collects around the world. Think of it as a global data-mining software that details exactly how much intelligence, and of what type, has been collected from every country in the world. It's aptly called "Boundless Informant."

The tool's existence was revealed on Saturday by The Guardian, which obtained a series of top-secret documents that explain what Boundless Informant is and does.

"The tool allows users to select a country on a map and view the metadata volume and select details about the collections against that country," according to an NSA factsheet on the program.

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(SEE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION IN THE LINKS BELOW)

Boundless Informant: the NSA's secret tool to track global surveillance data
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/08/nsa-boundless-informant-global-datamining#

Boundless Informant: NSA explainer – full document text
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2013/jun/08/boundless-informant-nsa-full-text

Boundless Informant NSA data-mining tool – four key slides
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2013/jun/08/nsa-boundless-informant-data-mining-slides

Meet 'Boundless Informant,' the NSA's Secret Tool for Tracking Global Surveillance Data
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/06/meet-boundless-informant-the-nsas-secret-tool-for-tracking-global-surveillance-data/276686/

FBI, NSA said to be secretly mining data from nine U.S. tech giants
http://www.zdnet.com/fbi-nsa-said-to-be-secretly-mining-data-from-nine-u-s-tech-giants-7000016499/