Oracle started as a CIA project (2014) • Hacker News Board

Re: Oracle started as a CIA project (2014)

#41

Post by idiotsecant » Thu, Aug 25, 2022, 7:10 PM UTC

createdapril24 wrote: post #4

mikece wrote: post #2

Through In-Q-Tel, the CIA invested in a LOT of companies who were aiming to solve the problems they had. Google was another very early investment by In-Q-Tel on behalf of the NSA because Google's stated goal -- to collect, organize, and make sense of all of the world's data -- overlaps with what the NSA's goal is (and it's possible that Google might come up with better ideas and tech for doing it than the NSA's brain…

Note the "problems they had" aren't necessarily "they needed a better database technology". Oracle's mission is to have all bits of data in the world processed or stored on an Oracle system (source: I worked for Oracle, this was the internal mission statement). Oracle collects: 1. Who is staying in which hotels and in which rooms 2. Who is eating at which restaurants and going to which entertainment facilities 3. Who…

Are you suggesting the CIA has ways to exfiltrate data from Oracle databases assisted by Oracle but without knowledge or consent of the user? That would be a pretty big deal.

If not, what are you saying?

Re: Oracle started as a CIA project (2014)

#42

Post by hodgesrm » Thu, Aug 25, 2022, 7:11 PM UTC

pkaye wrote: post #25

mikece wrote: post #2

Through In-Q-Tel, the CIA invested in a LOT of companies who were aiming to solve the problems they had. Google was another very early investment by In-Q-Tel on behalf of the NSA because Google's stated goal -- to collect, organize, and make sense of all of the world's data -- overlaps with what the NSA's goal is (and it's possible that Google might come up with better ideas and tech for doing it than the NSA's brain…

From the above link, In-Q-Tel was involved in Keyhole, which was acquired by Google. Can you show a source that In-Q-Tel directly invested in Google earlier? > In-Q-Tel sold 5,636 shares of Google, worth over $2.2 million, on November 15, 2005.[10] The shares were a result of Google's acquisition of Keyhole, Inc, the CIA-funded satellite mapping software now known as Google Earth.[11]

Interesting. "Key Hole" is the code name for the KH-11 reconnaissance satellite. [0] I never made the connection between the names.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KH-11_KENNEN

Re: Oracle started as a CIA project (2014)

#43

Post by hodgesrm » Thu, Aug 25, 2022, 7:17 PM UTC

mikece wrote: post #2

Through In-Q-Tel, the CIA invested in a LOT of companies who were aiming to solve the problems they had. Google was another very early investment by In-Q-Tel on behalf of the NSA because Google's stated goal -- to collect, organize, and make sense of all of the world's data -- overlaps with what the NSA's goal is (and it's possible that Google might come up with better ideas and tech for doing it than the NSA's brain…

The US military spends a lot of its treasure managing data, so it's not surprising that they would fund database companies to do it better. I got my start in databases while serving in the US Air Force in the early 1980s. Oracle would have been quite interesting for us, had we known about it.

It's not much different from how military funding drove advancement of aircraft or integrated circuits.

Re: Oracle started as a CIA project (2014)

#44

Post by atemerev » Thu, Aug 25, 2022, 7:18 PM UTC

mistrial9 wrote: post #34

atemerev wrote: post #3

So did Google Earth. The Internet itself was funded by ARPA, a DoD agency. I think it is a good thing: the military will always be doing military research, but at least in the US its fruits often become available to the public.

no substantiation.. I think the wikipedia article addresses this ? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Earth#History

Yes, it does: “Keyhole was soon contacted by the Central Intelligence Agency's venture capital firm, In-Q-Tel,[11] and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency,[12] for use with defense mapping databases, which gave Keyhole a much-needed cash infusion.[9]”

I have thought that this fact is a common knowledge.

Re: Oracle started as a CIA project (2014)

#45

Post by Maursault » Thu, Aug 25, 2022, 7:24 PM UTC

50208 wrote: post #5

Quoted post unavailable.

Admittedly, your point, which I'm assuming is a jokey quip, is somewhat lost on me.

Not for nothing, the entire concept of "welfare queen" is both unsupportable and provably false right wing propaganda, and, strictly speaking, fundamentally racist. I have to assume you were unaware.

Re: Oracle started as a CIA project (2014)

#46

Post by trasz » Thu, Aug 25, 2022, 7:30 PM UTC

mikece wrote: post #2

Through In-Q-Tel, the CIA invested in a LOT of companies who were aiming to solve the problems they had. Google was another very early investment by In-Q-Tel on behalf of the NSA because Google's stated goal -- to collect, organize, and make sense of all of the world's data -- overlaps with what the NSA's goal is (and it's possible that Google might come up with better ideas and tech for doing it than the NSA's brain…

Same for investments by Chinese intelligence agencies. Right?

Re: Oracle started as a CIA project (2014)

#47

Post by itronitron » Thu, Aug 25, 2022, 7:35 PM UTC

createdapril24 wrote: post #4

mikece wrote: post #2

Through In-Q-Tel, the CIA invested in a LOT of companies who were aiming to solve the problems they had. Google was another very early investment by In-Q-Tel on behalf of the NSA because Google's stated goal -- to collect, organize, and make sense of all of the world's data -- overlaps with what the NSA's goal is (and it's possible that Google might come up with better ideas and tech for doing it than the NSA's brain…

Note the "problems they had" aren't necessarily "they needed a better database technology". Oracle's mission is to have all bits of data in the world processed or stored on an Oracle system (source: I worked for Oracle, this was the internal mission statement). Oracle collects: 1. Who is staying in which hotels and in which rooms 2. Who is eating at which restaurants and going to which entertainment facilities 3. Who…

No actually, the problems they had are just that the US intelligence community needed relational databases. Keep in mind that this preceded the internet and online hotel bookings.

Re: Oracle started as a CIA project (2014)

#48

Post by solarkraft » Thu, Aug 25, 2022, 7:36 PM UTC

> I guess I shouldn't be surprised that Vox didn't highlight Oracle's CIA origins or its never-ending relationship with governments at all levels.

The reason is missing: There's a high likelihood that it was a sponsored article, at least inofficially. Some journalists love to write nice stories about companies - pre-dictated by those companies.

I don't have any specific insight here, but Vox aiming to be a "modern" media company seems to be an especially good candidate for such marketing.

Re: Oracle started as a CIA project (2014)

#49

Post by agumonkey » Thu, Aug 25, 2022, 7:37 PM UTC

If only Oracle put as much effort into their stock management

Re: Oracle started as a CIA project (2014)

#50

Post by itronitron » Thu, Aug 25, 2022, 7:44 PM UTC

jongjong wrote: post #11

US startups seem to have it so easy compared to companies in other parts of the world. It seems they may have been getting a little extra help from government agencies. I'm starting to realize how difficult it is to compete in the tech sector without government assistance. I thought it was a free market, but it's looking increasingly like a giant clusterfuck of government intervention. It looks nothing like a free ma…

If your startup's mission is at all related to data science, data collection, et al. then the presence of larger companies in the space will not be a barrier to finding a government sponsor. There is so much going on in the space, empires being built and bridges burned that there will always be opportunity for new entrants.