Narus
Narus was an Israeli-founded network intelligence and surveillance software company whose deep packet inspection technology was used by the NSA, intelligence agencies, and telecom operators worldwide.
Visit WebsiteCompany Overview
Narus Inc. was a software company founded in 1997 in Israel by Ori Cohen (VP of Business and Technology Development at VDONet) and Stas Khirman. Originally focused on telecommunications billing and customer market intelligence, Narus pivoted after 9/11 toward network intelligence gathering software for governments worldwide.
Narus's deep packet inspection (DPI) technology captured and analyzed network traffic in real-time, providing semantic monitoring capabilities for surveillance and intelligence applications. The company's products were used by intelligence agencies, law enforcement, and telecommunications authorities in countries including the United States, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.
Notably, Narus supplied the software and hardware used at AT&T's wiretapping rooms, as disclosed by NSA whistleblowers Thomas Drake and Mark Klein. In 2004, Narus hired former Deputy Director of the NSA, William Crowell, as a director. Boeing acquired Narus in 2010, and it was subsequently sold to Symantec in 2015.
Dual-Use Assessment
Network intelligence technology serves defense/intelligence surveillance and commercial telecom analytics.
Key Technologies
- Deep packet inspection (DPI)
- Real-time network traffic analysis
- Semantic monitoring for surveillance
- Big data analytics for cybersecurity
- Carrier-grade network intelligence
Use Cases & Applications
- NSA and intelligence agency network surveillance
- Telecom operator traffic analysis
- Law enforcement communications monitoring
- National security network intelligence
- Content filtering and DPI for governments
Strategic Value to U.S.-Israel Alliance
Israeli-founded intelligence technology deployed by NSA and global intelligence agencies.
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