Intel News Update

Book - Playing to The Edge.  Michael V. Hayden, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency has penned a book entitled Playing to the Edge: American Intelligence in the Age of Terror. Available on Amazon.com.

"The Spider" of the CIA. James Jesus Angleton earned the name of "The Spider". He is well-known for his witchhunts seeking traitors within the CIA. Read "My Lunch With 'The Spider' Who Nearly Wrecked the CIA", The Daily Beast, February 27, 2016.

New CIA Spy Thriller. We all love (most folks) love a good spy thriller. A new one is soon to be released (courtesy of Henry Crumpton - former CIA employee). Read more in "STX Developing Spy Thriller with Former CIA Agent Henry Crumpton", Variety.com, Feb 2016.

CIA Agents and "Digital Dust". It is tough being an operative right now if you are undercover for the agency. Most potential agency recruits have used social media (MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) and they need to cleanse these accounts up once hired. But then the accounts just can't disappear . . . nor can new ones be established without suspicion. Read more in "Why the CIA Likes, And Dislikes, Social Media", National Public Radio, February 24, 2016.

CIA's Ground Branch. Jack Murphy writes about the Central Intelligence Agency's paramilitary organization in "Ground Branch: The CIA's covert alternative to special operations", SOFREP, February 25, 2016.

OPM Official Retires. On Wednesday, February 24th, Donna Seymour - the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Chief Information Officer (CIO) was to testify before the U.S. House about the security breach by the Chinese on two databases that contained the security clearance information of millions of government workers (Yes, I received the infamous OPM letter as well). But . . . she retired two days before the hearing. Read more in "Official overseeing breached OPM computer systems retires ahead of House hearing", Stars and Stripes, February 23, 2016.

Private Email Servers - Don't Do It! "U.S. spy agencies have told Congress that Hillary Clinton's home computer server contained some emails that should have been treated as "top secret" because their wording matched sections of some of the government's most highly classified documents . . . " Not to worry . . . if the Chinese can't hack the Office of Personnel Management security clearance data base then what chance do they have of a private server in someones' home? Oh, that's right. The Chinese have my SF-86! Never mind. Read more in a news report by Reuters, February 24, 2016.

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