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NSA Targeting Domestic Computer Systems
The NSA was originally supposed to handle foreign intelligence, and leave the domestic spying to other agencies, but Presto Vivace writes with this bit from CNET: "'The National Security Agency's Perfect Citizen program hunts for vulnerabilities in 'large-scale' utilities, including power grid and gas pipeline controllers, new documents from EPIC show.' 'Perfect Citizen?' Who thinks up these names?"
"The program is scheduled to continue through at least September 2014," says the article.
'Perfect Citizen?' Who thinks up these names?"
Answer in subject line.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
People seem to forget that Intelligence gathering is only part of NSA's mission.
They are also tasked with ensuring the security of the nations computers, cryptosystems and more recently critical infrastructure. But people will believe what they want to believe, so any more when people ask me if stuff in Enemy of the State is accurate I tell them 100%. They're not likely to believe that no, it could actually take weeks-months to get reliable intel data and it's usually generated by some analyst that's 17-25 years old sitting in some windowless building with a crappy computer.
>hunts for vulnerabilities in 'large-scale' utilities
It's not like they're spying wholesale on American citizens...wait, they're already doing that, too.
I think the whole foreign/domestic spy division is pretty much gone at this point. Not saying it's right, just the reality.
That's our life, the big wheel of shit. - The Fat Man, Blue Tango Salvage
The NSA is tasked with collecting intelligence from foreign sources as well as securing US government information systems from attack. As the private entities listed are components of our nation's critical infrastructure, keeping them secure is probably a good idea. I wouldn't wait for Siemens and its ilk to step up to this task.
Its probably not a perfect separation of government, private industry, domestic and foreign intelligence tasks. But since the NSA has the expertise, I say let them help out. Its not like operating utilities and other infrastructure companies isn't already subject to extra regulation and oversight. Its just a shame the SEC/CFTC doesn't keep as close an eye on our banks.
Have gnu, will travel.
"By your actions, sir, you are risking the future of the human race!" "To guarantee the American way of life... I'm willing to take that risk." ~Spies Like Us
Good-bye
That's not what its charter says, which restricts it to "foreign intelligence or counterintelligence" and prohibits the NSA "acquiring information concerning the domestic activities of United States persons".
10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
Up to 9/11 the FBI was the domestic counterpart to the CIA. After 9/11 all lines got blurred.
The FBI never had the power of the CIA. The CIA can do clandestine ops while the FBI does not have the authority to do clandestine ops without the specific and expressed permission granted by the President. This is a major difference.
Domestic clandestine operations are operations which can be said to not exist at all. The CIA for example could run a clandestine CIA operation which does something clearly illegal such as hack a bunch of websites and then claim the terrorists did it. I'm not saying this sort of false flag is something the CIA would do, usually the FBI would do something like that but it's a possible example of a clandestine operation. The civilian government would believe criminals or cyber-terrorists did it.
With the homeland security monolith growing into a huge machine that consumes cash and excretes bullshit and the FBI and CIA so dysfunctional and jealous that the FBI managed to depose the head of the CIA on "moral" grounds it actually makes sense to pass things over to a bunch that look like they actually work for a living, no matter what their current responsibilities are.