The FBI's private, encrypted backbone, DCSNet, connects 37 FBI field offices, according to some documents. Other documents suggest the network now extends to 52 field offices, including locations in Alaska and Puerto Rico. This enhanced image is based on black-and-white FBI documents.

Colored photo-illustration: Frank Rodriguez See related story: Point, Click ... Eavesdrop: How the FBI Wiretap Net Operates

DCS 3000 Network Map

The FBI's private, encrypted backbone, DCSNet, connects 37 FBI field offices, according to some documents. Other documents suggest the network now extends to 52 field offices, including locations in Alaska and Puerto Rico. This enhanced image is based on black-and-white FBI documents.

DCS-3000 Timeline

The growth of DCS-3000 from a temporary solution for getting call information from wireless networks is shown becoming a full-featured player in the FBI's growing surveillance architecture. This enhanced image is based on black-and-white FBI documents.

DCS Logo

An owl, an animal known for its exceptional vision dominates the logo of the Telecommunications Intercept and Collection Technology Unit, or TICTU, which developed the DCS-3000. This enhanced image is based on black-and-white FBI documents.

DCS Warrant Database

FBI employees with Top Secret clearances begin and end collection of call information from targets using a typical Windows program UI. Here, employees enter the court-order information, along with the case number and the start and stop times for the warrant. This enhanced image is based on black-and-white FBI documents.