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New Report On NSA Released Today

Posted by kdawson on from the some-of-the-secrets-some-of-the-time dept.

daveschroeder writes "George Washington University has today released a three-volume history of NSA activities during the Cold War (major highlights). Written by agency historian Thomas R. Johnson, the 1,000-page report, 'Cryptology During the Cold War, 1945-1989,' details some of the agency's successes and failures, its conflict with other intelligence agencies, and the questionable legal ground on which early American cryptologists worked. The report remained classified for years, until Johnson mentioned it to Matthew Aid, an intelligence historian, at an intelligence conference. Two years later, an abstract and the three current volumes of the report are now available (PDF) from GWU and the National Security Archive. Aid, author of the forthcoming history 'The Secret Sentry: The Top Secret History of the National Security Agency,' says Johnson's study shows 'refreshing openness and honesty, acknowledging both the NSA's impressive successes and abject failures during the Cold War.' A fourth volume remains classified. Johnson says in an audio interview: 'If you are performing an operation that violates a statute like FISA, it's going to come out. It always comes out.'" And reader sampas zooms in on a section in Document 6 about the growth of NSA's IT: their first Cray purchase in 1976, the growth of circuits between facilities, and internal feuds over centralized IT development vs. programmers-in-departments. "A young systems engineer named [redacted] was urging NSA to look at some technology that had been developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). In 1969 DARPA had developed a computer internetting system called ARPANET... NSA quickly adopted the DARPA solution. The project was called platform."

15 of 81 comments (clear)

  1. On an unrelated note... by Killer+Orca · · Score: 5, Funny

    everyone who clicks the links will become a person of interest to the NSA.

    1. Re:On an unrelated note... by AKAImBatman · · Score: 5, Funny

      Having done quite a bit of research on nuclear everything (from power generation to weapons to propulsion) and then openly sharing that information with others, I'm sure I'm already a person of interest. So if you don't mind, I'll just go ahead and click away! ;-)

      P.S. Gun-type bombs are easy. All you need is a critical mass of U235-- err... never mind. I seem to have guests. I'll get back to you...

      --
      Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
    2. Re:On an unrelated note... by X0563511 · · Score: 2, Funny

      I'm sure I'm marked as well. Oh well, I always do enjoy crapping up the Signal:Noise.

      --
      For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
    3. Re:On an unrelated note... by oodaloop · · Score: 1, Funny

      I work in the intelligence community, and I can assure that most people here don't even know what /. is, let alone do they monitor what a bunch of geeks talk abou...what's that? Whoooooosh? Dammit.

      --
      Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.
    4. Re:On an unrelated note... by AKAImBatman · · Score: 3, Funny

      The joke was that I was interrupted before I could tell you that you need to use that mass to create two equally sized hemispheres of U235. Fix one against a solid wall (e.g. the inside of a steel casing would do) and position the other a short distance away. (Preferably on some sort of guides that force it to face the other hemisphere. Again, steel casing is a good idea here.) Pack explosives behind the loose hemisphere. The explosives will thrust the loose hemisphere toward the fixed hemisphere, hopefully with enough force to compact the U235 and cause a super-critical reaction.

      If you manage a super-critical reaction, then *BOOM*. If you fail at it, then no boom today. Boom tomorrow. Always boom tomorrow.

      --
      Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
    5. Re:On an unrelated note... by danieltdp · · Score: 3, Funny

      Could you all please look at this red light?

      --
      -- dnl
    6. Re:On an unrelated note... by AKAImBatman · · Score: 2, Funny

      Oh, come on! A little neutron radiation never hurt anybody! ... Much. ... Okay, so it slowly turned them into swiss cheese. Not to mention the gamma ray burst after they accidentally set the hemispheres too close to each other. *cough* But that's beside the point! :-P

      Joking aside, I'd say the problem is even deeper than proper handling. Once it's all processed for you, shaped, and clad in a protective carton or sheath for transport, U235 is relatively harmless. It's the processing that will kill you. Processing uranium into yellow cake, then converting it into uranium hexafluoride for enrichment, then finally shaping an enriched quantity of U235 is a rather difficult process that's just asking for accidents to happen.

      Of course, I've always had a soft spot for the TXT file floating around that describes how to enrich uranium in your backyard with little more than a bucket. Perfect (and humorous) example of what NOT to do when processing uranium. ;-)

      --
      Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
  2. [Redacted] by Phrogman · · Score: 5, Funny

    [Redacted]

    --
    "The first time I got drunk, I got married. The second time I bought a chimpanzee, after that I stayed sober" Arian Seid
    1. Re:[Redacted] by socz · · Score: 2, Funny

      yah imagine if people knew the names of MS windows programmers... they'd be tied up somewhere in nor cal forced to fix things the users didn't like!

      "We'll see how well you'll do with a blue screen of death in front of YOU"

      --
      My abilities are only limited by my imagination
    2. Re:[Redacted] by nsaspook · · Score: 2, Funny

      "Are there any NSA spooks out there who can shed some light on this?"

      NO.

      --
      In GOD we trust, all others we monitor.
  3. Writes its own limerick, really. by Net0ps · · Score: 5, Funny

    A young systems engineer named [redacted]
    Was urging the NSA to look at some [redacted]
        He [redacted] the [redacted],
        so they [redacted] in [redacted],
    and [redacted] the [redacted] in [CLASSIFIED DUE TO MATTERS OF NATIONAL SECURITY].

    1. Re:Writes its own limerick, really. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Oo! I know! It's a mad lib!

      A young systems engineer named Tom Bombadill
      Was urging the NSA to look at some cheese.
          He climbed the coffee cup
          so they extinguished in nail-clipper
      and fricasseed the business card in area 51.

  4. How about by Corpuscavernosa · · Score: 3, Funny

    a 3 volume history of NSA activities 2000-2008? Those would have to be much larger volumes I'm guessing.

    --
    We figured out a long time ago that it's easier to elect seven judges than to elect 132 legislators.
  5. Biggest Failure?? by hemp · · Score: 2, Funny

    In the lead-up to the Cuban Missile Crisis, NSA and military spies missed the Soviets transferring a battery of offensive missiles to Cuba. That "marked the most significant failure" by government eavesdroppers to warn national leaders since World War II, Mr. Johnson wrote.

    I guess 9/11 won't be included until Volumn 4 due out in 2058.

    --
    Skip ------ See the latest from http://www.anArchyFortWorth.com
  6. Re:Some interesting highlights... by n1ckml007 · · Score: 2, Funny

    The cake is a [Redacted]