Documents regarding the processing of NSA contracts

To Whom It May Concern:

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:

Policy memos, guidelines or manuals regarding 1) how the NSA administratively processes outside vendor contracts; and 2) the maintenance and updating of NSA contract databases.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

In the event that fees cannot be waived, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Heather Akers-Healy

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Nov. 15, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #75619.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Nov. 15, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #75619.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Nov. 15, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #75619.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Nov. 15, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #75619.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

This letter serves to clarify request number 75619 and appeal the determination that I do not qualify for a fee waiver.

To clarify my request, I am seeking documents that provide internal guidance to contracts administrators and records keepers at the NSA regarding the indexing and storage of NSA contracts. The DFARS documentation and the NSA website does not have this specific information, that I am able to find. Previous FOIA requests have been rejected because FOIA officers are unable to search for contracts by keyword or company name. I have been informed that contracts are frequently only able to be retrieved by their contract number. I would like procedural documentation from the NSA regarding this practice if it is available.

I am making this request in the public interest, and as a member of the news media. It would be helpful for the public to have this information so that we can better understand how the NSA oversees their contracts from specific contractors. It will also be of interest to the news media as a guide in making subsequent FOIA requests. To more fully address my request for a media or public interest waiver:

I am a trained paralegal with a background in legal research. I have established a project at MuckRock looking into the activities of the NSA and other intelligence agencies. Despite the short time I have been making and publishing requests through MuckRock, this project has garnered international media attention and was recently written up in Forbes. (http://www.forbes.com/sites/runasandvik/2013/11/26/illuminating-the-united-states-billion-dollar-intelligence-budget-project-spylighter-documents-surveillance-technology-used-by-the-nsa/) The Forbes article was covered in several other media outlets, and even reported in Spanish. (http://www.desdeabajo.info/actualidad/internacional/item/23165-spylighter-documenta-la-compra-de-tecnolog%C3%ADa-de-vigilancia-masiva-por-parte-de-la-nsa.html) I have an ongoing relationship with Runa Sandvik, a well-known journalist and technologist who wrote the article at Forbes.

I have also written at other media outlets about documents received from previous requests to the NSA (http://www.occupy.com/article/why-we-need-whistleblowers).

My first successful request to the NSA for contracts with Vupen was widely reported. There was significant interest in the fact that the NSA was purchasing exploits services from a foreign contractor. A few examples of press regarding that release are below:

Threatpost: http://threatpost.com/nsa-bought-exploit-service-from-vupen-contract-shows
Gawker: http://gawker.com/nsa-paid-french-hackers-for-software-exploits-1341604032
The Register: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/09/17/nsa_vupen/
Information Week: http://www.informationweek.com/security/government/nsa-contracted-with-zero-day-vendor-vupe/240161389
Computing: http://www.computing.co.uk/ctg/news/2295155/nsa-bought-zero-day-vulnerabilities-from-security-company-vupen
Slate:http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2013/09/17/nsa_paid_french_hacker_company_vupen_for_software_exploits.html
RT: http://rt.com/usa/nsa-vupen-exploit-hack-978/
Mashable: http://mashable.com/2013/09/17/nsa-french-hacking-tools-vupen/
The Hacker News: http://thehackernews.com/2013/09/nsa-bought-hacking-tools-from-vupen.html
The Daily Dot: http://www.dailydot.com/politics/nsa-malware-vupen/
Spiegel: http://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/netzpolitik/nsa-kauft-infos-ueber-sicherheitsluecken-von-vupen-a-922765.html

The information sought does contribute to the public understanding and is in the public interest. With the publishing of the Snowden materials and the surrounding media coverage, the past few months have demonstrated a significant increase in the public’s interest in the activities of the NSA and other intelligence agencies. Understanding how the NSA indexes and stores their contracts is a crucial step in shedding light on the contracting practices at the NSA.

Thank you for your time and consideration of this appeal.

Sincerely,

Heather Akers-Healy

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Nov. 15, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #75619.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Nov. 15, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #75619.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Nov. 15, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #75619.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Nov. 15, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #75619.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Nov. 15, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #75619.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Nov. 15, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #75619.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Nov. 15, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #75619.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Nov. 15, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #75619.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Nov. 15, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #75619.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Nov. 15, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #75619.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Nov. 15, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #75619.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Nov. 15, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #75619.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Nov. 15, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #75619.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Nov. 15, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #75619.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Nov. 15, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #75619.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Nov. 15, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #75619.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Nov. 15, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #75619.

Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.