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CIA and Gen Z

washingtonian.com

71–80 of 131 posts

Re: CIA and Gen Z

#71
post #25

" When you pull up to the CIA headquarters in Langley, you have to shout your Social Security number out the window into a speaker, like when you’re ordering fries at a drive-through. Much like the Union that the Agency was formed to protect, the system, it seems, could be more perfect. " True story: I went to a job interview on Redstone Arsenal which meant I needed to get a vehicle pass. The recruiter sent me an ema…

Unless this recently change it is also standard practice in the military to write your SSN on your checks and show your SSN which is on your military ID to anyone at the BX/PX. We had to say our SSN every time visiting the chow hall.

Up until like 2013, the front of a CAC card also had the owner's social security number (either in plaintext or as a barcode that could be read by a litany of phone apps)

Re: CIA and Gen Z

#72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anecdotally my kids have their social media profiles set to "private" and don't have any motivation to make them public. In fact, most of their friends with a few exceptions have the same setup. They also regularly "wash" their profiles because they're kids and are constantly redefining themselves to their peers. Good luck finding any of that in a public archive.

Gen Z/Gen Alpha grew up in a world with social media being already established and so they are aware of the pitfalls. Millenials are screwed because they starting using social media before fully understanding the ramifications(because most people did not know how this was going to play out in the early days).

Myspace and similar sites from that era disappeared pretty nicely, though.

Re: CIA and Gen Z

#73
post #25

" When you pull up to the CIA headquarters in Langley, you have to shout your Social Security number out the window into a speaker, like when you’re ordering fries at a drive-through. Much like the Union that the Agency was formed to protect, the system, it seems, could be more perfect. " True story: I went to a job interview on Redstone Arsenal which meant I needed to get a vehicle pass. The recruiter sent me an ema…

Unless this recently change it is also standard practice in the military to write your SSN on your checks and show your SSN which is on your military ID to anyone at the BX/PX. We had to say our SSN every time visiting the chow hall.

Things have changed. We received a "Department of Defense ID Number" at some point to use wherever SSNs were previously used on paperwork, computer systems, etc. Even ID tags ("dog tags") now have your DoD ID Number printed on them instead of your SSN. Any document with SSNs must be encrypted in transit and stored/processed only by systems with special accreditation and access controls for Personally Identifiable Information (PII).

With that said, most of us gave up worrying about our SSN a long time ago. It definitely was printed everywhere and used for everything for a long time. And then the Office of Personnel Management breach happened in 2014-2015...

Re: CIA and Gen Z

#74
post #6

On Gen Z CIA recruits having pre-existing social media presences: > They’re shrewd enough either to be circumspect users of social media from the start or to review (and delete) old problematic tweets and posts. Is this particularly effective, though? Most social media sites have been scraped to hell and back - surely there's archives of the old problematic stuff. It must be tough working in counterintelligence these…

I wonder when will Hollywood make a movie where they hire someone explicitly not social media just because that's the most perfect cover for an undercover position. An then they make a fake social media presence to cover the un-tracks.

Re: CIA and Gen Z

#75
post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

SSN is current the _defacto_, unplanned, person ID and somehow also password. I agree this is insane. A National ID, that is designed to more strongly prove ID and also designed to be used as a secure form of Authentication for Authorization services... THAT is what I'd really love politicians to approve. I'm currently in the process of upgrading my enhanced ID drivers license to a Passport (done) and then applying f…

Until there are laws putting a stop to the ongoing abuse of the current identification system by commercial surveillance (ala GDPR), a stronger identification system is a non-starter.

My ask is much smaller. Any document that the law requires you to carry has to be free of cost to the person and it must be convenient to get (or get again if lost or stolen).

That means both the first issue and subsequent issues need to always be free of cost. If I need to visit some office to get it, such office must be at least as ubiquitous as a United States Postal Service office, and ideally more open hours, not less. I don't think there is either the will or the budget to do this.

This will be a very expensive continuous undertaking, not a one time expensive. My personal opinion is this money should go toward medicare for all. I strongly dislike means testing (medicaid?) or age testing (medicare). I'm sure people can find better use for the money it will take to fund a national ID.

Re: CIA and Gen Z

#76

Social media could be a perfect cover: An Instagram "model" who travels the world hooking up with rich guys who will pay for her trips. Am I being sarcastic or serious?

But seen another way: Hookers are, in my mind, the epitome of suspects of spying… I suppose a third of the world is driven by pillow discussions, whether actual spying, just influence, mere affinity, or rape accusations to get rid of a political person.

Do you remember that recent HN post from high-profile escort? She built detailed dossiers on the johns as a matter of course, supposedly for screening.

Re: CIA and Gen Z

#77
post #6

On Gen Z CIA recruits having pre-existing social media presences: > They’re shrewd enough either to be circumspect users of social media from the start or to review (and delete) old problematic tweets and posts. Is this particularly effective, though? Most social media sites have been scraped to hell and back - surely there's archives of the old problematic stuff. It must be tough working in counterintelligence these…

And I guess these days a black face picture is enough to threaten the future of any US based person

Re: CIA and Gen Z

#78
post #74
post #6

On Gen Z CIA recruits having pre-existing social media presences: > They’re shrewd enough either to be circumspect users of social media from the start or to review (and delete) old problematic tweets and posts. Is this particularly effective, though? Most social media sites have been scraped to hell and back - surely there's archives of the old problematic stuff. It must be tough working in counterintelligence these…

I wonder when will Hollywood make a movie where they hire someone explicitly not social media just because that's the most perfect cover for an undercover position. An then they make a fake social media presence to cover the un-tracks.

You can’t backdate the fake stories in the snapshots of social medias websites that foreign agencies have taken.

Between that and face recognition I just can’t see how you can create a fake identity these days.

Re: CIA and Gen Z

#80

Social media could be a perfect cover: An Instagram "model" who travels the world hooking up with rich guys who will pay for her trips. Am I being sarcastic or serious?

The CIA has at least tried this in the modern times with 99.9% probability. They try everything, and this is a low-risk high-gain setup.
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