When you see people at the office using such Internet sites as Facebook and MySpace, you might suspect those workers are slacking off. But that’s not the case at the CIA, FBI and the National Security Agency, where bosses are encouraging their staffs to use a new social-networking site designed for the super-secret world of spying.
“It’s every bit Facebook and YouTube for spies, but it’s much, much more,” said Michael Wertheimer, assistant deputy director of national intelligence for analysis. The program is called A-Space, and it’s a social-networking site for analysts within the 16 U.S. intelligence agencies.
Instead of posting thoughts about the new Avenged Sevenfold album or Jessica Alba movie, CIA analysts could use A-Space to share information and opinion about al Qaeda movements in the Middle East or Russian naval maneuvers in the Black Sea.
The new A-Space site has been undergoing testing for months and launches officially for the nation’s entire intelligence community on September 22.
Of course, the material on A Space is highly classified, so it won’t be available for the public. Only intelligence personnel with the proper security clearance, and a reason to be examining particular information, can access the site.
What a chuckle. Maybe, this is just the world’s biggest honeypot? Maybe the intent is exactly what they say it is – and it gets to wring out hacking techniques at the same time?
Either road, every black or white hat hacker in the world will have a shot at it.
Interests: Soccer, Golf, water boarding, long walks on the beach in Cuba, finding clever ways to steal civil liberties, Hiking
People you would like to meet: Rihanna, Bin Laden, Castro, anyone on the no-fly list
The next thing you know it’ll be on the news that some 14yo kid from Russia hacked into this network.
Doesnt these CIA and FBI goosn have anything better to do than to spy on useless things. “Look man, i found a guy who post his nude pics with a cat on Facebook. Should we arrest him?”
Losers!
Some of the most hardened US Gov’t systems have been breached. In most cases the culprits are still unknown.
A honeypot or genuine system could be a bad idea for different reasons.
Since most of the so called stove-piping happens for reasons of inter/intra-agency competition this system doesn’t exactly address the problem. They aren’t just sour at each other, career advancement depends on protecting sources and information. Duh.
As long as the intelligence community functions as an extension of the political community it won’t function properly.
Just for curiosity, does anyone in America get worried that there are 16 different intelligence gathering agencies or is it one of those things where if do have concerns it is better not to discuss them less you end up on the no-fly list?
#5 I would be more worried if we just had one.
People who post anything about themselves or others on line can expect to find it in a government data base.
It is public information.
Give it time. Everybody is going to end up on the no fly list. That’s just the way lists like this work when there is not adaquate oversight.