User:Anders Feder/sandbox/Pinwale

Pinwale is the code name for an NSA a collection and retrieval system for Digital Network Intelligence.

According to information obtained by The Guardian from Edward Snowden, Pinwale is part of a "multi-tiered system" designed to address the issue of the intelligence service "collecting so much internet data that it can be stored only for short periods of time." The system allows analysts to store "interesting" content in databases such as Pinwale, which is capable of storing material for up to five years.

The existence of the system was first revealed by an NSA analyst who was trained in its use during 2005.

However, according to Homeland Security Today, Pinwale has in it much more than email, it also contains other forms of Internet data, and other forms of digital communications as well. Its software has built-in protections against collecting from any of the Five Eyes members. Unlike its successor XKeyscore, targets for PINWALE have to be approved beforehand by the FISC.

A classified glossary document provided to operatives in the NSA's Special Source Operations division refers to two "partitions" of Pinwale, named "Sweet" and "Sour", respectively.