September
11, 2008: Like many American
corporations, the U.S. intelligence establishment has been nearly as quick to
adapt new information based technologies. Last year, the U.S. government bought
search software from Google (basically the same stuff used to run the popular Google search engine) for internal
networks. The government has also brought in Wikipedia software, and now is
installing a classified MySpace as well.
The CIA, NSA
and Department of Defense use these internal networks for closed (cut off from
the Internet) systems that hold classified information, and allow espionage and
intelligence personnel to more quickly find, and share, information. The data
is generally displayed in formats familiar (and basically identical to) to what
Internet users use. Thus intelligence and military personnel (with the right
security clearances) can use and update classified data without any additional
training.
Over the last decade, the Pentagon and
intelligence agencies found that Google search and the Wikipedia formats are increasingly
popular with their staff and analysts. Thus using Google, MySpace and wiki type
software was the easiest way to build a more efficient data storage and
retrieval system. The only downside is that the data is only available at
buildings wired to use the special networks,
and hooked up to a cabled (not wireless) network. The internal Google and
Wikipedia are already in use, and the internal MySpace (relabeled "A
Space") goes live on September 22nd, and will be available to personnel
from all sixteen U.S. intelligence agencies (including the CIA, NSA, FBI, DIA
and so on.)
The
intelligence community realizes that these new tools create more powerful ways
to handle data among large number of people. It's a major advantage that the
leadership of these intel organizations realized this and acted on it.
