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CIA, FBI Push Social Networking for Spies

Posted by Soulskill on from the because-spies-love-to-share dept.

node7 writes "The FBI, NSA, and CIA are jointly supporting a newly created 'MySpace' for the intelligence community. Named 'A-Space,' the site will contain highly classified material, so naturally, it won't be available to the public. From CNN: '[Michael Wertheimer, assistant deputy director of national intelligence for analysis] demonstrated the program to CNN to show how analysts will use it to collaborate. "One perfect example is if Osama bin Laden comes out with a new video. How is that video obtained? Where are the very sensitive secret sources we may have to put into a context that's not apparent to the rest of the world?" Wertheimer said. "In the past, whoever captured that video or captured information about the video kept it in-house. It's highly classified because it has so very short a shelf life. That information is considered critical to our understanding."'"

44 of 138 comments (clear)

  1. A-Space music video? by Narnie · · Score: 5, Funny

    Did I read that right? You can put Osama bin Laden's newest music video on your A-Space profile page?

    --
    greed@All_Evils:~#
    1. Re:A-Space music video? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      This won't be kept on a regular secure site on the open internet. This will be on the standard SIPRnet or on JWICS behind hardware and software encryption.

      Besides aside from curiosity this information won't mean much to anyone who isn't in that line of work.

  2. unfortunate or appropriate? by timmarhy · · Score: 2, Funny

    depending on your outlook "A"-space is asking for them to be the butt of a lot of jokes. pun intended

    --
    If you mod me down, I will become more powerful than you can imagine....
  3. Just Plain Wrong... by KGIII · · Score: 3, Funny

    MySpace is for kids who want to play the latest emo music and pointless clicky things. I can just imagine spies with anime icons.

    --
    "So long and thanks for all the fish."
    1. Re:Just Plain Wrong... by tenchiken · · Score: 2, Informative

      Clearly you have never met any intelligence analysts. More and more they tend to be younger geeks.

    2. Re:Just Plain Wrong... by KGIII · · Score: 3, Funny

      Of course I haven't met 'em. If I had then they would have had to kill me. Though I think one might be hiding in the tree out back.

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
    3. Re:Just Plain Wrong... by PsychoElf · · Score: 5, Funny

      No, thats just me. *waves*

    4. Re:Just Plain Wrong... by interstellar_donkey · · Score: 3, Funny

      Well, you know there's going to be spies who try to be friends with EVERYBODY, regardless of weather or not they know each other. Then the constant unsolicited friend requests from the CIA's latest emo-folk-rock band.

      Members of A-Space will have to deal with messages like "Are you the Agent Schwartz who graduated from black ops school in Langley back in '84? OMG it's been so long! What have you been up to?"

      Finally, you'll get generals commanding their subordinates to join their gang in Mob Wars so they can put the smack down on the mob run by some rival admirals.

      --
      The Internet is generally stupid
    5. Re:Just Plain Wrong... by Tubal-Cain · · Score: 4, Funny

      Get off of my WiFi!

    6. Re:Just Plain Wrong... by KGIII · · Score: 2, Funny

      I can see it now...

      AnimeFan: Oh hai! I joined today for the lulz.
      ColSanders: Tits or GTFO!
      AnimeFan: WTF?
      ColSanders: newfag is new
      AnimeFan: I am sitting at the desk right beside you.
      ColSanders: STFU n00b
      AnimeFan: You are a shitty boss.
      ColSanders: Yes but on the intarwebs no one knows I'm a cat

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
  4. Naming? by Kesch · · Score: 2, Funny

    Is there a logic behind the name? Do they mean A-Space as in "a space" as in "it's a space, somewhere, but we won't tell you where or whose it is."

    Or, do they mean a space for the A-Team.

    (Please say it's the second option)

    --
    If this signature is witty enough, maybe somebody will like me.
    1. Re:Naming? by Roane · · Score: 3, Informative

      A -> Analyst

  5. Hacker Target by Sparton · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Couldn't this become a huge target for hackers/terrorists/people with nothing better to do to try and find out classified secrets? Somehow I think that putting this sort of information on the web (and I don't care how you think you can lock it down) isn't a smart idea.

    1. Re:Hacker Target by Kelson · · Score: 2, Interesting

      It's not clear from the article whether it's actually on the web, or whether it's on a private network. I'd hope the latter.

      On another note, I can imagine some of the standard social networking tropes: "Current Music: Mission Impossible Theme."

    2. Re:Hacker Target by Skapare · · Score: 3, Informative

      It will be in a private restricted network operated by the government. You can't even send packets on that network without a top secret security clearance. Despite all the screwups of most of government, there are a few things they do right. And you will never come near it.

      --
      now we need to go OSS in diesel cars
    3. Re:Hacker Target by tenchiken · · Score: 4, Informative

      It would not be on the web - it would be on SIPRnet, the governments own secure IP network that (at least in theory) doesn't touch the public web.

      I expect that they will actually have multiple different systems. Top Secret really isn't all that secret. It's once you get to eyes only levels above that things are interesting.

    4. Re:Hacker Target by snl2587 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      This could also be a giant honeypot to try and catch intruders. Or not. Not like many of us will see this anyway (unless it all ends up on Wikileaks).

    5. Re:Hacker Target by Joe+The+Dragon · · Score: 3, Funny

      you can get in the just use the login Joshua but you need to find the phone # to get in.

    6. Re:Hacker Target by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I believe "it's a trap" is appropriate here.

      This isn't a tool for spies. It's a tool to catch morons.

      Lets apply the most basic logic... would the intelligence community announce anything of the sort to the public?

      Like the last dozen or so technological or organizational strides they announced.... but wait.... no.

    7. Re:Hacker Target by Nursie · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It's always cute when people have such faith in their government/military/intelligence institutions.

      In the real world, they do take a bit more care than most, but somebody will screw up sooner or later.

    8. Re:Hacker Target by IanHurst · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Yeah, leaks still happen. But the parent is basically right. Access to these systems in the real world tends to be limited to (1) people who really are supposed to get it or (2) people doing state-level espionage.

      If getting in was even a little easier than that, we'd have a lot more information than we do.

    9. Re:Hacker Target by KGIII · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Because nothing of that nature should ever be exposed to the public internet, should have no way to connect to the protocols that we even have available. I am all for keeping some information open but, as an example, I don't think we have an intrinsic right to get a copy of the latest and greatest fighter jet simply because we're tax paying citizens.

      I figure putting it on secure servers in a format that can't be accessed via any technology that we have available is the best/added layer way to ensure a greater level of security. I don't think it should use TCP/IP, I don't think it should even be readable in any format with any software (perhaps even hadware) that we have available to us as private citizens.

      I simply don't want the security of state secrets to be trivial, I want as great a chance as possible of preventing security incidents. Whilst some information should be available to any citizen who wants to know I would say that, if this project is actually effective and does what it is supposed to do, this information is not the kind that needs to be shared.

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
  6. James Bond in the 21st Century. by BitterOldGUy · · Score: 4, Funny
    Now, all he has to do is go to these sites and he can hook up with the hot Chinese and Russian spies.

    But, he'll have to be careful! You never know if the profile picture is faked and it's really Dr. Evil posting!!

    1. Re:James Bond in the 21st Century. by meta-monkey · · Score: 4, Funny

      If the hot Chinese "spy" says she's 14, James can be pretty sure it's really Chris Hansen.

      "Have a seat, Mr. Bond."

      --
      We don't have a state-run media we have a media-run state.
  7. Good idea? by ceoyoyo · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I was under the impression that the identity of the sources of information in the intelligence world were very carefully guarded to protect those sources. Even some of the information is often not distributed because it might give clues to the identity of the source.

    Myspace for spies doesn't sound like anything a self respecting (non-suicidal) spy would want anything to do with.

    Analysts, on the other hand, talking about things they see on TV, might love it.

    1. Re:Good idea? by tenchiken · · Score: 2, Informative

      99.9% of what intelligence agencies do is actually analyst, not spies. The covert(operations) side of the house is a completely different world from what I have read.

  8. Interesting by tenchiken · · Score: 2, Interesting

    They have been up to some interesting things. Sharing information really isn't the CIA or NSA's normal routine.This is a organization that still calls spies "collaborators" after all.

    I do know that they also have a Wiki system up for sharing information. It's going to make tracking down leaks much much harder, but it will help eliminate the kind of intellegence gotcha's that hurt us on 9/11. Some of the other restrictions - thoose in laws will still be a issue, but hopefully this well help address things.

    Don't look for the domestic groups to get too involved though - the chain of evidence rules would restrict them too much, which is a shame.
     

    1. Re:Interesting by kramer2718 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I am concerned about the civil liberties implications of this wiki (or whatever they're calling it). There is quite a great risk that information gathered for foreign intelligence purposes could be used against US citizens in unrelated investigations.

      This illustrates the biggest problem with the US intelligence agency/law enforecement: the schizophrenic nature of the FBI. The FBI has several mandates:

      1. Counter intelligence
      2. Pursuit of terrorists
      3. Pursuit of organized crime
      4. Pursuit of other serious federal crimes
      5. Assistance to local law enforcement agencies

      Because of the constitution, those roles have different civil liberties requirements. You have to get warrants to gather evidence to pursue crimes inside the US, but not to pursue terrorists abroad plotting to attack the US or other countries' spies trying to steal US military secrets.

      The 9/11 commission recommended breaking the FBI up into a federal law enforcement agency and a counter intelligence/counter terrorism agency. That way, the counter intelligence work would be hindered less by the trappings of domestic law enforcement and the domestic law enforcement would be less likely to violate the liberties of American citizens. The Bush Administration and Congress have ignored this suggestion.

      If the FBI were split--as it properly should be--then, I would have no problem with this A space. As it is, I have reservations.

      --
      http://yetanotherpoliticalrant.blogspot.com
    2. Re:Interesting by wronskyMan · · Score: 2, Insightful

      If all LE and intel agencies were granted access to the same wiki, info could flow from the LE to intel agencies just fine. LE agencies could also read the intel provided by the CIA, etc; however, if they attempted to introduce this in court, it would most likely not work because: 1. The information would still be classified. While the govt has taken measures to allow classified evidence to be introduced in criminal trials in the terror/espionage arena, getting clearances for the attorneys/jurors/etc and other logistics would most likely not make it profitable in the case of some drug dealer from Detroit. In addition, the LE agencies may face resistance from the intel side seeking to protect their sources - if they were reluctant previously to share with the FBI, they would be even less likely to want judges and lawyers to see it. 2. Defense lawyers are very good at finding holes in the chain of evidence; if the first link in the chain of a scanned invoice, for example, is "Agent Schmuckatelli printed it off a G-14 classified wiki", the goverment would be hard pressed to explain how it was obtained from the defendant.

      --
      --- You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you mad- Neal (not Cowboy) Boortz
    3. Re:Interesting by tenchiken · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Given that the information is classified, to do so would break federal law.

      I agree with your analysis, but can you imagine anything more scary to the tin foil crowd here?"

      US created agency for domestic spying" ZOMG, Bush is coming to eat you.

  9. meh by afxgrin · · Score: 2, Funny

    Bin Laden is going to kill himself in a few days. Probably on the 11th... and it most likely won't be a suicide bombing attempt. He's going to leave a long video or note to go with it. Don't know why I've been thinking this recently...

  10. What middle? by Skapare · · Score: 3, Funny

    What middle? It will be on an internal government network that is isolated from the internet. The "man in the middle" will be whatever agency is managing this (CIA? NSA? If I were to tell you I'd have to kill you).

    --
    now we need to go OSS in diesel cars
    1. Re:What middle? by Foobar+of+Borg · · Score: 3, Informative

      Just sit in the Pentagon parking lot with a wardriving kit and you will have no problem getting in.

      Ha, ha! Silly boy. You've obviously never been to the Pentagon. If you try this, within a few minutes a very nice gentleman with a very large automatic weapon will politely ask you what you are doing. And you had better be able to satisfactorily explain yourself.

      --
      Similar to the upcoming US election results
  11. Re:Applications? by Skapare · · Score: 4, Funny

    They should create a parallel site like Slashdot, called Spydot, where intelligence can be moderated (Score 5: Funny).

    --
    now we need to go OSS in diesel cars
  12. Social networking?? by Chineseyes · · Score: 5, Funny

    The KGB is a pirate become a pirate today.
    Aldrich Ames and the the CIA are now friends
    Robert Hanssen and The FBI are now friends
    Aldrich Ames and The KGB are now friends they found each other through the soviet consulate in Washington D.C.
    Robert Hanssen and The KGB are now friends they found each other through The GRU
    Robert Hanssen is sharing The FBI's secrets with The Espionage Application
    The FBI is wondering why his business is all in the streets.
    Aldrich Ames is going to Moscow!!!
    Aldrich Ames just got busted (Aspace Mobile)
    Robert Hanssen LOL @ Aldrich Ames, amateur
    Aldrich Ames has joined Allenwood Federal Correctional Complex
    Robert Hanssen is wondering what took the FBI so long (Aspace Mobile)

    --
    I think the invisible hand of the market has its middle finger extended

    --A wise old fart named SC0RN
  13. High Value Target or Honeypot by sehlat · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This will go one of two ways: it will either be the highest-value target for enemy spy agencies in history ("Your enemy's information, delivered" to paraphrase AT&T) or it will end up as a nothing-really-here honeypot.

    1. Re:High Value Target or Honeypot by unfasten · · Score: 2, Informative

      Or they'll have it on the same network as Intellipedia, their intelligence wiki for analysts. SIPRNet is designed specifically for classified information and never touches an unsecured network. If enemies are able to infiltrate that then we have much bigger problems.

      Intellipedia also has a less sensitive version out on the WWW, though I don't know how far they'd go with A-Space.

      Some more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellipedia

  14. Dumb dumb dumb by DreadfulGrape · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Not the idea itself, which, I suppose, is OK. Life tends to imitates fiction, anyway (esp. in tech).

    But why exactly is USA Spooks, Inc. publicizing this thing? Does not seem prudent to me....

    --
    sig has been sent away for a few small repairs...
  15. Re:Sensitive data over HTTP? Four words by Annymouse+Cowherd · · Score: 2, Informative

    Most government networks require employees to use encrypted VPNs. This includes government agencies that do work that is not confidential, e.g. the NIH. So the FBI and CIA most definitely use secure connections if not private connections for everything.

  16. A Space? by fishthegeek · · Score: 5, Funny

    Does this mean that 13 year old girls are going to pretend to be FBI agents now?

    --
    load "$",8,1
  17. Re:Applications? by freakdiablo · · Score: 2, Insightful

    How do you know they don't? They could have some interspy network/blog where theres news on the latest terrorist threats, wars, conspiracy, etc.

  18. Image,image,image by Ostracus · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Probably because...let's face it. The intelligence community has an image problem. 9/11 and other incidents made them look like dinosaurs. They need to convince people that they're changing, and for the better. Both internally as well as externally.

    --
    Shai Schticks:"You don't make peace with friends, you make peace with enemies"
  19. Wikileaks by linhares · · Score: 2, Funny

    is offering to mirror the site, for free!

  20. Honeypot by Weaselmancer · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Maybe it's just because I'm a sick bastard, but I'd leave a single access point open to this network on the internet. Protect the living hell out of it, so only the leet could get in. And then make it a honeypot, not connecting to anything real.

    But instead hosting video of alien autopsies, fake Apollo moon landing movie sets, documents about how the CIA shot JFK, letters from the Bavarian Illuminati ordering the war in Iraq...stuff like that.

    --
    Weaselmancer
    rediculous.