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NSA Can't Search Its Own Email

Posted by Unknown on from the apt-get-install-thinthread dept.

cycoj writes "The NSA says that there is no central method to search its own email. When asked in a Freedom of Information Act request for emails with the National Geographic Channel over a specific time period, the agency, which has been collecting and analyzing the data of hundreds of millions of Internet users, says it can only perform person-per-person searches on its own email."

12 of 165 comments (clear)

  1. big surprise by Sparticus789 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Perfect example of "do as I say, not as I do". But this isn't just a NSA problem, it is a government problem.

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    sudo make me a sandwich
    1. Re:big surprise by Sancho · · Score: 4, Insightful

      FOIA does not require that you make it easy to comply with FOIA requests. Nothing in there says you have to have globally searchable e-mail or document storage, in fact. And the costs to fulfill the request are paid by the requestor, not the agency. By using an archaic, difficult to use system, they can legitimately make the costs of fulfilling FOIA requests prohibitively high. Thus they follow the letter of the law, though not the spirit.

  2. NSA *Won't* Search Its Own Email by TWiTfan · · Score: 4, Insightful

    FTFY

    --
    The cow says "Moo." The dog says "Woof." The Timothy says "Thanks, valued customer. We appreciate your input."
    1. Re:NSA *Won't* Search Its Own Email by interkin3tic · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It's pretty shocking that after having been caught lying to congress about the program, they're STILL LYING ABOUT IT. They must not think much of us. I guess they've been reading all our e-mails, they probably know us pretty well and are right to think that we'll let it slide.

    2. Re:NSA *Won't* Search Its Own Email by TWiTfan · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Why wouldn't they continue to lie? Congress, the President, and the American public have made it abundantly clear that there will be no consequences for lying. So, why not?

      --
      The cow says "Moo." The dog says "Woof." The Timothy says "Thanks, valued customer. We appreciate your input."
  3. Right... by sjbe · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The NSA says that there is no central method to search its own email.

    [cough] Bullshit [/cough]

  4. Suuuuure by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    That's such a line of shit.

    It's not that they cannot search their emails. It's that they have chosen to not create a search mechanism, because they have found this excuse is accepted by the courts to deny information requests. They will use every trick available to them to avoid adhering to laws they don't like.

    Do you really believe anything they say?

  5. Re:sounds like they're running exchange by jongalbreath · · Score: 5, Insightful

    As an Exchange administrator, I can say that searching across an entire mail database is absolutely possible, and also very simple to do from the Management Shell. They're either lying, or just don't want to do it.

  6. And we accept this excuse? by gman003 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If I were in charge, and the agency responsible for technological espionage and information security told me they couldn't search through their own emails, I would fire them. Every single one of them. Bam. Agency dissolved, someone go think of a new TLA for the new agency. This is like a Navy that can't figure out how to dock a battleship, or a tax agency that doesn't know what all the valid exemptions are. Complete and utter incompetence.

    What's saddest is that this almost certainly isn't true. They've got these capabilities. They're just trying to hide something ("everything" qualifies as something, for their purposes). *Maybe* they're telling the truth, if they've got some custom, highly-encrypted system where emails can only be decrypted by the users. But that doesn't seem like the phrasing used here.

    What's saddest is that "we're completely fucking incompetent" is not just the excuse they went with, but that it actually works.

    1. Re:And we accept this excuse? by 1s44c · · Score: 4, Insightful

      If I were in charge, and the agency responsible for technological espionage and information security told me they couldn't search through their own emails, I would fire them. Every single one of them. Bam. Agency dissolved, someone go think of a new TLA for the new agency.

      Not an option. The NSA has a portfolio of affairs, abuses of power, criminal behavior, tax fraud, drug abuse, etc. on every member of the government. Nobody will oppose those who could end their career in a few keystrokes. ...Or maybe I'm just paranoid.

  7. Epic Fail by jebus187 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What a bunch of lying douches.

  8. NSA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    NSA doesn't fund their operations primarily with drug running anymore. Insider trading is the best source of funding. And they have all the information they need to do this.