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Secrecy and Security News

Newer News: September 2008

August 2008

• Report says China offered widespread help on nukes by Dan Vergano, USA Today, August 29. "China gave Pakistan the blueprint for an atomic bomb, testing the finished product in 1990, and unveiled a sophisticated nuclear weapons complex to visiting U.S. scientists in the last decade, report former weapons lab officials."
• Report: Google Aiding Governments After Concerns With 'Earth' Program, by Derek Kravitz, Washington Post Investigations, August 27. "Google has been increasingly helpful to U.S. and foreign intelligence services in taking down images from its Google Earth program when concerns arise about the possibility that terrorists could make use of the pictures for planning attacks, according to a government report prepared by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence."
• NASA Security Badge Poses Safety Risk by Thomas Claburn, Information Week, August 27. "The badge's metal clasps, if installed backwards, will become a projectile when the badge is opened creating a potential eye injury hazard."
• Nations Respond To Google Earth Threat by Thomas Claburn, Information Week, August 26. "From banning Google Earth to simply ignoring the mapping service, countries are working to deal with potential security violations arising from the images Google makes available online."
• NASA/JPL Suspends Use of HSPD-12 Badge Holder, notice to all JPL personnel, August 22. "The current issue with the badge holder is the possibility of the badge holder becoming a Foreign Object Damage (FOD) hazard to flight hardware, or a projectile hazard under certain circumstances."
• DNI, Attorney General Oppose Free Flow of Information Act (pdf), letter to Congress, August 22. "We oppose this bill because it will undermine our ability to protect intelligence sources and methods and could seriously impede national security investigations. Indeed, this bill only encourages and facilitates further degradation of the tools used to protect the nation."
• Anthrax case raises concerns about highly secure programs by Gregg Carlstrom, Federal Times, August 19. "Bruce Ivins, the biologist suspected of sending anthrax-laced letters to politicians and journalists in 2001, began showing signs of mental illness as far back as 2000 -- but he was allowed to access sensitive research facilities until as recently as last year."
• CRS report says US could use clout to help Taiwan by Charles Snyder, Taipei Times, August 9. "It was released in Washington on Thursday by Secrecy News, an Internet organization that fights government secrecy, on the eve of the Beijing Olympic Games. Under CRS rules, its reports are not supposed to be circulated publicly."
• DIA's new mission adds to intel arsenal by Pamela Hess, Associated Press, August 5. "The Defense Intelligence Agency, long a home for intelligence analysis, is joining the spy vs. spy game. DIA joins just three other military organizations authorized to carry out offensive counterintelligence operations."

Older News: July 2008

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