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CIA Researching Automated IRC Spying

Posted by timothy on from the will-u-be-my-friend-lol-j/k dept.

Iphtashu Fitz writes "CNet News is reporting that the CIA has been quietly investing in research programs to automatically monitor Internet chat rooms. In a two year agreement with the National Science Foundation, CIA officials were involved with the selection of recipients for research grants to develop automated chat room monitors. Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute received $157,673 from the CIA and NSF for their proposal of 'a system to be deployed in the background of any chat room as a silent listener for eavesdropping ... The proposed system could aid the intelligence community to discover hidden communities and communication patterns in chat rooms without human intervention.' How soon until all IM conversations are monitored by Big Brother? The abstract of the proposal is available on the NFS website."

6 of 413 comments (clear)

  1. It wont really be any good... by Folmer · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Even if its able to spy on private chat rooms on major networks, they wont be able to spy on thoose who dont want to be spied on... Its relatively easy to set up your own IRC server, and control exactly who has axcess to it so the feds are left outside alone...

  2. Sample by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    > Join: NotWithCIA [notspying@user128a85b.cia.gov]
    <l33th4x0r> and i h4ck3d into the NSA and compiled gentoo on it
    <l33th4x0r> it was awesome
    <l33th4x0r> like a beowulf cluster of beowulf clusters
    <myPPburns> how long did that take?
    <l33th4x0r> like 2 days
    <myPPburns> no, I mean compiling Gentoo
    <l33th4x0r> yah, like 2 days
    <myPPburns> who is that new guy? NotWthCIA?
    <l33th4x0r> dunno, never seen him before
    <myPPburns> cool nick tho
    <myPPburns> I'm gonna go hack WoW l8r. make myself king orc!!!
    <l33th4x0r> yah, im gonna go post a letter from osama on drudge
    <l33th4x0r> watch the media fr33k out
    > Quit: NotWthCIA (OSAMA DETECTED! ALERT! ALERT!)

  3. Solution by PaintyThePirate · · Score: 5, Funny

    /mode +b #haxxor *!*@*.cia.gov

    --
    eclecti.cc
  4. Ahhh, IRC by k4_pacific · · Score: 5, Funny

    Where men are men,
    Women are men,
    13 year old girls are FBI agents,
    and that guy who never says anything is a CIA bot.

    --
    Unknown host pong.
  5. Not the government's fault by EM+Adams · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The only reason the government gets technology like this developed is intelligent people will do anything for their degree or grant money. Until we all stand together and refuse to help Americans spy on other Americans or any one else in the world our rights will continue to slowly errode because of people like the researchers at Rensellaer. Really, they are the ones who need to be punished by ostracizing them from the scientific community and their neighborhoods to make it clear that any one who accepts tax dollars to further the goals of Big Brother are not welcome in our hearts or minds as comrades.

    --
    Posthuman since 2001.
  6. don't worry by digid · · Score: 5, Funny

    * digid slaps CIA-bot around a bit with a large trout