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LinkedIn Used To Create Database of 27,000 US Intelligence Personnel

Posted by samzenpus on from the running-the-numbers dept.

An anonymous reader writes: A new group, Transparency Toolkit, has mined LinkedIn to reveal and analyze the resumes of over 27,000 people in the U.S. intelligence community. In the process, Transparency Toolkit said it found previously unknown secret codewords and references to surveillance technologies and projects. "'Transparency Toolkit uses open data to watch the watchers and hold the powerful to account,' the group's website says. 'We build free software to collect and analyze open data from a variety of sources. Then we work with investigative journalists and human rights organizations to turn that into useful, actionable knowledge. Currently, our primary focuses are investigating surveillance and human rights abuses.'"

4 of 82 comments (clear)

  1. I recall this technique during the Snowden leaks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    e.g. you search for one of the tools Snowden refers to, and it leads to CVs with those skills on it, which mentions others:

    https://www.linkedin.com/pub/jason-miller/39/741/a49

    "Skilled in the use of several Intelligence tools and resources: ANCHORY, AMHS, NUCLEON, TRAFFICTHIEF, ARCMAP, SIGNAV, COASTLINE, DISHFIRE, FASTSCOPE, OCTAVE/CONTRAOCTAVE, PINWALE, UTT, WEBCANDID, MICHIGAN, PLUS, ASSOCIATION, MAINWAY, FASCIA, OCTSKYWARD, INTELINK, METRICS, BANYAN, MARINA"

    I bet Monster.com would be a real gold mine for similar info.

  2. Now do the same for Russian & NK? by Viol8 · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Or maybe draw up a list of Islamic militants and post it. Oh, they won't? Why is that then? A bit scared of what might happen? Boo hoo.

    Typical 21st century armchair warriors, pick on easy targets and make it look like you're a hero Sticking It To The Man when you know you're really living in a comfy democracy where nothing particularly bad is going to happen to you. Try doing the same in various other countries around the world and see how long it is before someone kicks down your door at 3am and your family never see you again.

    1. Re:Now do the same for Russian & NK? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Maybe they don't care? Maybe the Islamic militant nor the russian or north korean guys have no influence over what happens in their daily life and the US intelligence community does? Hell, how fucking many Islamic militants can you find on linkedIn?

      I can accept that my neighbors car runs worse than mine, doesn't mean I shouldn't take care of mine until it runs like my neighbors.

    2. Re:Now do the same for Russian & NK? by Jack+Griffin · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Or maybe draw up a list of Islamic militants and post it. Oh, they won't? Why is that then? A bit scared of what might happen? Boo hoo.

      Typical 21st century armchair warriors, pick on easy targets and make it look like you're a hero Sticking It To The Man when you know you're really living in a comfy democracy where nothing particularly bad is going to happen to you. Try doing the same in various other countries around the world and see how long it is before someone kicks down your door at 3am and your family never see you again.

      Yet here you are, in your armchair picking safe fights with people on a harmless Internet forum. Bravo.