The National Security Agency (NSA) is the latest federal government artery to begin pumping its clandestine information into the web 2.0 sphere, joining a highly secure social network that aims to mitigate national security risks and blunders by integrating digital intelligence of more than a dozen federal agencies.
The social network for intelligence experts, dubbed ‘A-Space' for ‘analyst-space,' is akin to a much more secure, sophisticated, and profession-oriented Facebook. The NSA is set to officially join the seven-month-old virtual playground for the country's most mysterious men and women sometime this month. Users can search databases, upload pictures and their contact information, post classified documents, and even intercept conversation threads between other senior analysts hoping to benefit from the synergy of expert opinions.
Unlike Facebook, though, only the nation's best spies, mathematicians, cryptologists, and counter-terrorism experts have been given access to the sensitive information on the network. Out of a total of 10,000 intelligence analysts who have top security clearances, only 7,000 pros from more than a dozen unique federal U.S. intelligence capacities will connect online.
Headed by the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), the intelligence community (IC) is made up of 17 agencies, bureaus, departments, and offices. Thanks to A-Space, the NSA can now work in collusion with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the Department of Homeland Security to crack the puzzle of America's most imminent threats.
A-Space is the most anticipated-and controversial-part of a greater project launched last May by the Department of Defense and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) who wanted to increase the compatibility of their computer systems to enhance national security.
"A-Space will provide an interactive work space for intelligence analysts to solve problems," said Dale Meyerrose, former Chief Information Officer of the ODNI, in a May 2008 press release. "We're working closely with our [Department of Defense] partners to ensure that A-Space offers agile access to the department and IC resources across the top-secret network."
Although the publically-stated reason for the creation of the network is collaboration, the nuanced impetus for A-Space most likely came as an embarrassed reaction to a notorious NSA blunder, where investigators never acted upon evidence intercepted in 1999 of two hijackers involved in 9/11. Similar 9/11 intelligence blunders were reported between the FBI and the CIA, two adversarial sister-agencies.
While increased communication to ensure cross-agency cohesion will be addressed by A-Space, some analysts are pointing out new security breaches the social network may pose. Critics of the synthesis of intelligence information are weary of the dire national security threats that abound if the system were cracked and looked at with a compromising set of eyes.
But Maj. Gen. John DeFreitas, chief of analysis for the NSA, told the Baltimore Sun earlier this month that the worries are unfounded.
"We had similar arguments when the police started using radios," DeFreitas said. "The fear was, criminals would listen in and stay ahead of the cops."
And most of the skeptics who argued the network went against the very integrity of secretive intelligence were relieved to find out that the network that unites thousands of Americans who are watching others-is being watched itself.
"It breaks every policy they have," Michael Wertheimer, the chief technology officer for the DNI and the most ardent supporter of the program told the Sun. "But the leadership gets it."
OhMyGov! gets it too: A-Space records everything that is typed, sent, and viewed on the network. So just like Facebook, your ‘wall' is being watched - only it's not just your ex watching now.
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