science

RAMPART-A

RAMPART-A is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand RAMPART-A rather than just read about it. In short: RAMPART-A is the code name for global mass surveillance and world-wide signals intelligence partnership program led by the United States National Security Agency (NSA). The aim of the program is to "gain access to high-capacity international fiber-optic cables that transit at major congestion points around the world".

Key takeaways

RAMPART-A belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect RAMPART-A to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of RAMPART-A from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

RAMPART-A is the code name for global mass surveillance and world-wide signals intelligence partnership program led by the United States National Security Agency (NSA). The aim of the program is to "gain access to high-capacity international fiber-optic cables that transit at major congestion points around the world". NSA is working with secret cooperation with the partner countries, which are hosting U.S. equipment and providing access to the fiber-optic cables. In 2013 the program had "access to over 3 terabits per second of data streaming world-wide and encompasses all communication technologies such as voice, fax, telex, modem, email internet chat, virtual private network (VPN), voice over IP (VoIP), and voice call records" and there were total of 37 partner countries including 17 European Union member states. There are two conditions on the partnership between the NSA and the partner country for making an agreement. The first one is that the partner countries will not use the NSA's technology to collect any data on U.S. citizens. The second one is that the NSA will not use the access it has been granted in the partner countries to collect data on the host countries' citizens. Although these conditions have exceptions, NSA doesn't state which those exceptions are. According to Edward Snowden, these agreements between the NSA and its partner countries are vague and are easily circumvented. The program was publicly revealed in June 2014, by the Danish newspaper Dagbladet Information and by The Intercept. Revelation of the program was based on as part of the leaks by the former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. According to a NSA's classified intelligence briefing in 2010, RAMPART-A was used across all NSA Analysis and Production lines, and in the previous year (2009), over 9000 intelligence reports were written based solely on the RAMPART-A data. The program cost about $170 million between 2011 and 2013. The program started in 1992. XKeyscore is implemented in the program's architecture.

Partners The partner countries are divided into two groups by their cooperation level, "Second" and "Third". For the host partner country, U.S. provides processing and analysis tools and equipment, which means that the partner countries are able to use the NSA's tools for processing and analysing the data that flows in and out of their country. It's likely that not every partner country has RAMPART-A site(s); in 2013 NSA had set up at least 13 RAMPART-A sites, nine of which were in active state. Three of the largest sites, AZUREPHOENIX, SPINNERET and MOONLIGHTPATH gathers traffic from some 70 different cables or networks. Second level (partners of the Five Eyes) partner countries:

Australia Canada New Zealand United Kingdom Third level partner countries:

Algeria Austria Belgium Croatia Czech Republic Denmark Ethiopia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary India Israel Italy Japan Jordan South Korea Macedonia Netherlands Norway Pakistan Poland Romania Saudi Arabia Singapore Spain Sweden Taiwan Thailand Tunisia Turkey United Arab Emirates

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with RAMPART-A

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what RAMPART-A claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to RAMPART-A before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about RAMPART-A ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of RAMPART-A

In research: RAMPART-A appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses RAMPART-A in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: RAMPART-A is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics American secret government programs, Intelligence agency programmes revealed by Edward Snowden, Mass surveillance, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for RAMPART-A outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study RAMPART-A in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what RAMPART-A means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain RAMPART-A out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is RAMPART-A in simple terms?

Why does RAMPART-A matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study RAMPART-A?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on RAMPART-A.