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Former NSA Chief Warned Against Selling NSA Secrets
An anonymous reader writes Former NSA Chief General Keith Alexander has apparently started his own cybersecurity consulting firm, IronNet Cybersecurity, and approached the banking industry pitching his company's suite of services. Word from Wired indicates that his services cost $1 million per month with a special discount asking price of $600,000 per month. Congressman Alan Grayson (D-FL) expressed concern about General Alexander's activities to the banking industry, stating, "I question how Mr. Alexander can provide any of the services he is offering unless he discloses or misuses classified information, including extremely sensitive sources and methods....Without the classified information he acquired in his former position, he literally would have nothing to offer to you." (PDF) The congressman from the House of Representatives reminds the bankers (and General Alexander, should he be listening) that selling top secret information is a federal offense.
I don't know if I'd brag about my tenure there in the context of selling security consulting.
.. 600k? .. I'll take two, because that's how we roll with government spending.
The whole Snowden affair demonstrated that they still managed some epic fails.
But sure
THe banking industry is probably wanting a step up in security, while the NSA under Alexander had horrible internal security. Alexander's forte seems to be using brute force to break the security of others, not actually keeping an organization secure.
This is my signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
So the poor general can't participate in the usual dance of former Washington insiders who use cronyism and connections to enrich themselves after 'serving' in government?
There should be a name for that... like 401(c)... where c stands for crony capitalism.
http://www.masturbateforpeace.com/
"Without the classified information he acquired in his former position, he literally would have nothing to offer to you."
Oh brother. A former work colleague saying "You'd be nothing without us!"
It's not like a person exists outside of their job, or can ever learn new things, right?
Snowden didn't reveal NSA secrets for his personal profit.
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
he'll give it to you for free .. you can put up the $1 Million towards wikileaks as donation ..
This smacks of the same crap Id is trying to pull off on Carmack (http://popcultureblog.dallasnews.com/2014/05/zenimax-and-id-software-have-filed-a-lawsuit-against-oculus-vr-and-dallas-based-john-carmack-is-in-the-middle.html/). Apparently employers think they own any knowledge an employee gains while on the job. Sure, secrets are secrets. But is *everything* they learned on the job is a secret?
So Snowden's real crime was not selling his secrets?
^^^
OWS
He needs to hire people who have the skills and experience addressing specific vulnerabilities. Ideally those people got that outside of TS work. He is the rainmaker that opens doors.
I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.
One day soon, "Congressman Alan Grayson (D-FL)" will be a lobbyist. Welcome to revolving-door government, Congressman.
Am I confused, or is this the same amoral sack of shit who lied to Congress with a straight face about NSA activities???
protocals. They need to adhere to the Federal Enterprise Architecture Data Reference Model.
The congressman from the House of Representatives reminds the bankers (and Edward Snowden, should he be listening) that selling top secret information is a federal offense.
FTFY.
Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
Beatuful client secrets you have there, a shame if something were to happen to them.
And we all know Keith commands 7 figure fees from bankers because of his cybersecurity savvy. Yeah. Right. That's it.
Dunno why he always reminds me of the Agent Richard Gill character from Hackers (1) I'm WHAT?!
You're a boner, Keith. Snowden sends his regards.
Cant convict snowden of anything is alexander is profiting from those same secrets.
protocals. They need to adhere to the Federal Enterprise Architecture Data Reference Model.
That is obviously misnamed, Data and Reference need to be reversed, so it's the "Federal Enterprise Architecture Reference Data Model", or to shorten it the "FEAR Data Model".
On how guilty the ones accusing you of treason actually are, IMHO.
Who do you think is the traitor here, Snowden?
I certainly don't think so, and neither do a bunch of other people. We all get to vote this fall. :)
I realize all the good jobs are in the Govt; around here they get handed down from generation to generation, lol.
That doesn't make me any more supportive of the whole Gestapo-ization of America; I think that's a bad thing, personally.
Truth isn't Truth - Guliani
That's all he's worth...
The disparity between the example Jesus set, and what the word "Christian" has come to mean, is huge.
All his talk of providing for the poor and being morally upstanding is dwarfed by the business of giving your money to the church in order to secure a desirable afterlife.
Jesus spent most of his time challenging the hypocritical religious establishment of his day. Perhaps that is an example more Christians ought to be following?
It is ok if a government official sells state secrets, or gives preferential treatment to industry for money. This is the reason why they get high power government jobs n the first place. Look at the FCC, for instance. Their chairman is directly owned by industry. It is only plebs like Snowden that get prosecuted.
I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust
I could buy some needy obstetrician a malpractice policy for that amount.
Saw this guy speak earlier this week. Old fool hasn't retired, he stood up on stage trying to convince everyone that NSA are the good guys and are doing exactly what they were told to do by the courts so it's ok and now Sonwden leaks have lead directly to the terrorism in Africa.
So what? So is perjury. Or warrantless collection of call records and content. Or colluding with foreign nations' secret services in order to help each other breaking the laws of either land. Or sabotage of critical infrastructure (which counts, according to the U.S.' reconning, as terrorism), including the national security.
Does that congressman really believe that Alexander would care a flying shit about committing yet another felony, in particular if the price for his treason is right?
Why? He's from my hometown (Syracuse N.Y.) - & hopefully, he's learned how to do things BETTER this round!
* I honestly believe he *may* have just been following orders, & that HE might have been the ONLY somewhat honest guy with morals & decency there @ the NSA... his 'flunkies/stooges' beneath him though? They're the ones that outright FUCKED UP, scanning ex-girlfriends & ex-wives + worst of ALL, getting caught (not exactly 'top marks' that, considering they're supposed to be 'expert' @ covert ops & what-not!).
The reason I state that? He's military... those guys FOLLOW ORDERS, it's how they roll/what they do, even the top brass field-grade officers like him (they answer to "the man"...).
Still - what they were doing? It's too much POWER for anyone & too much temptation to abuse, ala "absolute power, corrupting absolutely"... & personally? I think since the house voted for defunding them, THEY know it's going to be used ESPECIALLY vs. those that "live on face/appearances/image" the most - politicians themselves!
I.E.-> Want them to "dance to your tune"? Be a SHAME to let your wife KNOW you're 'boppin'' your secretary Senator/Congressman, etc.!
For the "ROI" in terms of what was invested in that system (PRISM) as well? Give me a break - saying they stopped 54++ terrorist activities?? From what I read, it was only 1 (if that)... no, it was DESIGNED for abuse & blackmail imo, mostly (& not by those operating it like him, but those HE answered to).
APK
P.S.=> I mean, put it THIS way: I'm 50 yrs. of age, those of you MY age or near to it (past your 20's when you're "hormone driven solely" in other words), learn that women are enough to give an aspirin a headache, & you LEARN (sometimes the HARD way) to control that in yourself... you've always got it in you, wanting chicks, but you learn to let go when you should, & not to "force the issue" OR make it the "center of your life" too... thus, I am certain from that perspective? He's NOT the type that 'scanned ex's' as I noted the younger FOOLS there being caught doing... probably never entered his mind & offended his morals + ethics (it would me & would have since my 30's, not so much my 20's though - then my "little head" did a LOT of my thinking, & it's true of most males imo + experience before you're older/more mature) - however, the fools getting caught doing that f'd it up for ALL of the NSA, including him... apk
Hmmm. The Director of the NSA might encounter all sorts of information about the Big Money Boys that they would rather not be known generally. Would that information necessarily be classified? But whether or not it is, being paid NOT to disclose it would surely not be a violation of security. Wall Streeters might regard a million a month mighty cheap insurance...
Starships were meant to fly, Hands up and touch the sky - Nicky Minaj
This venture, it seems to me, is just a way to legitimize the payback for services he has already rendered while he was at the NSA. His 'clients' already know who they are, and they will expect to get nothing more concrete for their million per month than his continuing influence (or perhaps silence) in certain matters.
It seems to me that the entire purpose of any secret government agency is to benefit the secret government agency.
Michael Moore is a self-taught movie maker. His movie about U.S. government corruption in secret agencies, Fahrenheit 9/11, made $222,446,882. It's not like extreme U.S. government corruption is unknown.
There is a HUGE conflict of interest, and the U.S. government seems to have no influential methods of dealing with conflicts of interest. If there is security, people who work for the NSA are less likely to be promoted, and may lose their jobs. That is a powerful reason for NSA employees and management, and other secret U.S. government agencies, to create more insecurity. Since they work entirely in secret, no one can stop them.
U.S. government policies allow many secret agencies. I find it odd that news stories assume that, other than doing things that almost no citizens want, the secret agencies are otherwise well-managed. Numerous examples show that they aren't. For example, Edward Snowden, an employee of an NSA sub-contractor, was able to walk away with all the data.
To me, it is also odd that news stories assume that the NSA works to improve security of the U.S. and U.S. citizens. For example, the book House of Bush, House of Saud explains that the Bush and Cheney families worked for the Saudis, who paid them billions for their help. The U.S. taxpayer paid for the arms, military presence, and violence that supposedly was free security for the Saudi government, but actually was, as Saudi acquaintances I met in a gym said long before the 9/11 attack, Saudi government oppression of the Saudi people.
Why does the NSA record phone calls? Is it because learning about some of those calls makes money for someone in control? Investment information, perhaps?
The U.S. government's war in Iraq is now being called a "mistake". For example, Hans Blix: Iraq War was a terrible mistake and violation of U.N. charter. It wasn't a "mistake", other articles say, it was deliberate deception. For example, Stop Calling the Iraq War a 'Mistake'.
NSA = No Sales for America. The NSA is a powerful advertisement that anything complicated made by a U.S. manufacturer may have intentional defects or surveillance methods.
Where did he conduct perjury? I don't think he did. He LIED plenty but that is not a crime. Contempt of Congress etc? Well, something they seem to love to do is to NOT swear in these officials "out of respect" so while you may testify to congress under oath and they may require you to do so, these people are allowed to skip the disrespectful procedure. (Besides they feel there are legitimate public lies these officials have to make from time to time... which they could simply decline or put it off for the private session... which again, they probably don't do under oath.)
Democracy Now! - uncensored, anti-establishment news
only the exact demarcation of its extent. If I know the NSA has a secret underground mole robot tapping in to buried data lines, I'm not giving away a national secret if I tell my client, "Y'know, lets run our data lines on phone poles," so long as I don't tell them exactly why I like that idea.
The difference between Manning and this prick is that this prick is making a profit out of selling the secrets.
It's a sad statement of affairs that such an upstanding, patriotic, former political appointee needs to be warned.
Still - that was THEIR war, not mine, & the Germans (for germans in germany) did WELL beneath Hitler (there's no arguing with that, as he kept his promises to his people with jobs (yes, for war-machine mechanization creation etc.) & even everyone having a car "the people's wagon", Volkswagon)... it's not MY place to tell them how to live... in fact, it's not anybody else's business to tell another man or people how to live in their own home or land (as long as they can hold it - which ALWAYS goes back to the "ultimate diplomat" by which all laws are enforced by - the fist/gun or threat of pain legal or otherwise... hell of a statement about mankind, eh?).
Still: I am BIT biased since General Alexander is from my hometown (best folks on earth imo, & I've been ALL OVER this mudball in my time...) - we don't produce assholes here. The rest of us do NOT allow it, generally... hate to say it, but if you're an 'a-hole' around here? You get your ass kicked, till you "reform", or leave...
APK
P.S.=> However, I *may* be a bit naive too - as well as less than totally informed (as I got sick of reading about this lunacy, & only know what you read earlier - & yes, I am a taxpayer, so I don't like seeing such a poor ROI for what I felt is a system that is NOT what we're told it was for)... so, if anyone has anything they can enlighten me with? I'll listen... feel free to do so here albeit with documented FACTS only please, not just personal bias... apk
So the Congress believes there's no art or science to computer security besides classified information? This is like saying that any soldier who ever went on a classified mission can never market to an employer that he has military experience. This is ludicrous.
This is a passive aggressive show of support for Snowden.
Knowledge is a state secret,
political privilege is good to be sold,
Corporations are now the undead People
and We the People are the new damn dirty apes.
I *may* be "slightly off" here, however, the last time a General tried to "cross the powers that be" was Douglas MacArthur (he wanted to a-bomb the Russian borders iirc, so they would not pose a threat in the future) - he was terminated for it. The example was set that way, for others into the future...
So, thus - I *severely* doubt K. Alexander pulled ANYTHING minus orders to do so, after that.
* He's just the "fall guy" (just like Oliver North was - except Mr. North opened up & returned fire, telling it HOW IT REALLY WAS, & that he was TOLD to do what he did by his "superiors", who were *anything* but that...)!
K. Alexander's just taking the beating for it, while the TRUE RINGMASTER behind it all cowers behind the curtain, laughing... "Abres Los Ojos" buddy - that's HOW it all works in the world of political bullshit.
APK
P.S.=> No, people can *try* to put it ALL onto Keith Alexander (& no - again, I don't agree with even the PRINCIPLE behind PRISM... far from it) - but anyone with an ounce of sense realizes he's just the man taking the beating for it is all...
... apk