The CIA's Reckless Breach of Trust • Hacker News Board

Re: The CIA's Reckless Breach of Trust

#11

Post by sliverstorm » Fri, Aug 01, 2014, 6:41 PM UTC

kyllo wrote: post #2

No surprises here, of course this is what happens when you create an agency whose mission is to lie, decieve, and break the law, and then give it limited oversight and almost unlimited funding. The CIA's entire history is just one scandal after another.

Of course, a mission like the CIA's does not exactly lend itself to strong oversight.

The issues of which you speak, seem like inherent challenges to making effective yet responsible intelligence organizations, rather than just garden variety stupid choices.

Re: The CIA's Reckless Breach of Trust

#12

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Aug 01, 2014, 6:46 PM UTC

dickinurass wrote: post #7

It's hilarious, if anyone else was caught infiltrating senate computers .. but the CIA f'n seriously they were trying to interfere with a torture investigation .. ridiculous where are the repercussions what country am I living in?

[deleted]

Re: The CIA's Reckless Breach of Trust

#13

Post by dmix » Fri, Aug 01, 2014, 6:48 PM UTC

higherpurpose wrote: post #9

How come nobody in the media is calling this treason ? We're talking about a government agency hacking and spying on the US Senate. This is like a Will Smith movie plot about the government "bad guys". "Improper access"? Are you kidding me? I guess Manning was a fool for not "apologizing" for his "improper access". That would've definitely saved him. What's worse is that even after Feinstein accused them of hacking a…

Well, technically it wasn't hacking or unauthorized computer access since the CIA originally set up the secure network:

http://blog.erratasec.com/2014/07/no-cia-didnt-spy-on-other-...

Nonetheless this is a complete moral failure and power-abuse that is equally worthy of punishment. They were monitoring use of the network, then attempting to classify new information as it was being analyzed.

Re: The CIA's Reckless Breach of Trust

#14

Post by jkestner » Fri, Aug 01, 2014, 6:49 PM UTC

jobu wrote: post #10

"The committee has been working since 2009 on a comprehensive history of the agency’s antiterror program during the George W. Bush administration" That makes it sound like the investigation is politically motivated, which I find disappointing. It seems highly likely that some of those practices continued under Obama, and if there's any hint of political leaning in an investigation like this then most people will just…

Agreed that it will seem politically motivated, but if it actually sees the light of day, the report will beg questions of how these practices have been stopped by the current administration. Hopefully that leads to bipartisan reform, and not a bunch of shouting and precedent-building.

Re: The CIA's Reckless Breach of Trust

#15

Post by krapp » Fri, Aug 01, 2014, 6:51 PM UTC

higherpurpose wrote: post #9

How come nobody in the media is calling this treason ? We're talking about a government agency hacking and spying on the US Senate. This is like a Will Smith movie plot about the government "bad guys". "Improper access"? Are you kidding me? I guess Manning was a fool for not "apologizing" for his "improper access". That would've definitely saved him. What's worse is that even after Feinstein accused them of hacking a…

It's not the media's purpose to declare something treason - doing so would make them look like partisan hacks.

Re: The CIA's Reckless Breach of Trust

#16

Post by opendais » Fri, Aug 01, 2014, 6:51 PM UTC

jobu wrote: post #10

"The committee has been working since 2009 on a comprehensive history of the agency’s antiterror program during the George W. Bush administration" That makes it sound like the investigation is politically motivated, which I find disappointing. It seems highly likely that some of those practices continued under Obama, and if there's any hint of political leaning in an investigation like this then most people will just…

> That makes it sound like the investigation is politically motivated, which I find disappointing.

All congressional investigations are political motivated. That said, who cares if it helps the truth comes out?

The mere fact that the CIA was willing to pull BS like this on their overseers: "The CIA, though, spied on what the staffers did on the system. This allowed the CIA to manipulate investigation. When the staffers found some particularly juicy bit of information, the CIA was able to yank it from the system and re-classify it so that the staffers couldn't use it. Before the final report was ready, the CIA was already able to set the political machine in motion to defend itself from the report." http://blog.erratasec.com/2014/07/no-cia-didnt-spy-on-other-...

Personally, I'm glad they did that if only so the general public is aware of the kind of BS the CIA pulls.

Re: The CIA's Reckless Breach of Trust

#17

Post by secstate » Fri, Aug 01, 2014, 7:00 PM UTC

Well, I wrote my congressmen. What else can we possibly do? This is, however, a fucking travesty of justice. How can you possibly be caught committing a crime and have the higher-ups formally apologize, and say they wont do it again?

This is high treason against the United States Senate. What the hell is wrong with this country? I feel like the US is one big democratic tease, pretending to be a bastion of free thought and high ideals. When in reality it's no different than any other relatively peaceful, horribly corrupt government that has ever existed.

Reading a history of the Roman Republic and eventual Empire recently, I have a suspicion we're headed down pretty much the same path, simply with better access to current information. That could change everything. But it probably wont change anything.

Re: The CIA's Reckless Breach of Trust

#18

Post by jseip » Fri, Aug 01, 2014, 7:03 PM UTC

Pardon Snowden Now.

Re: The CIA's Reckless Breach of Trust

#19

Post by forgotAgain » Fri, Aug 01, 2014, 7:05 PM UTC

So we know from recent history that the US Justice Department thinks accessing a computer network without authorization is worth 35 years in prison.

I was going to pose the question what the over / under line would be on charges for those members of the CIA who did this but then I realized that it would be a silly question. When it comes to the US Government the corollary of too big to fail is too powerful to jail.

Re: The CIA's Reckless Breach of Trust

#20

Post by mullingitover » Fri, Aug 01, 2014, 7:07 PM UTC

jobu wrote: post #10

"The committee has been working since 2009 on a comprehensive history of the agency’s antiterror program during the George W. Bush administration" That makes it sound like the investigation is politically motivated, which I find disappointing. It seems highly likely that some of those practices continued under Obama, and if there's any hint of political leaning in an investigation like this then most people will just…

> That makes it sound like the investigation is politically motivated, which I find disappointing.

No, what's politically motivated was that the chain of command that authorized and enacted torture was never prosecuted. This is not just a simple violation, but a Grave Breach as defined in the Geneva Conventions. In an effort to avoid what would be an inevitable partisan shitstorm, the heinous acts committed by the CIA and authorized explicitly by the White House were whitewashed. This report was the only thing that remained in the arsenal to hold these perpetrators accountable, and the CIA was actively attempting to thwart its work.