[privacy] Costly NSA Initiative Has a Shaky Takeoff

["Fergie" <fergdawg () netzero net>]

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Via The Baltimore Sun.

[snip]

An expensive National Security Agency initiative to search the world's
communication networks for security threats is hitting early but
significant snags, prompting intelligence officials and lawmakers to raise
questions about its funding and its future.

Dubbed "Turbulence," the NSA's ambitious effort is part bloodhound and part
attack dog. It attempts to continuously troll cyberspace to sniff out
threats from terrorists and others, then rapidly tip off analysts who can
mobilize defenses. With the potential to be a powerful anti-terror weapon,
it has become NSA Director Lt. Gen. Keith B. Alexander's top priority.

With annual costs approaching $500 million, Turbulence is so secret that
its existence has never been revealed publicly. Inside the agency,
Turbulence's most sensitive activities are sequestered behind passwords
known to few.

Turbulence also appears to be aptly named. Delays, technical problems and
what critics call a vague game plan have sparked rising skepticism inside
the agency and in Congress. Even Alexander has been growing increasingly
impatient, former NSA officials said.

[snip]

More:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/bal-te.turbulence11feb11,0,555
5978.story

- - ferg

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--
"Fergie", a.k.a. Paul Ferguson
 Engineering Architecture for the Internet
 fergdawg(at)netzero.net
 ferg's tech blog: http://fergdawg.blogspot.com/

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