The day of David Paeterus’ resignation, FOIA requests were
submitted to various intelligence agencies seeking their records regarding his
decision. The National Security Agency
was the first to response with a “no records response. In addition to claiming
to have zero records regarding the matter, the National Security Agency went on record to explain
that having such records is not within the scope of their mission which “are
set at the highest level of government”.
Titanium Tibia
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Saturday, November 10, 2012
The 2013 Center for Cryptologic History Calendar
Yesterday, I posted a copy of the Center for Cryptologic History’s official 2012 calendar. Today, I post the print-version of the
official 2013 Center for Cryptologic History’s. With regard to historical
tidbits, trivia, and factoids, there is almost complete overlap between the
2012 and 2013 calendars. However, the 2013 calendar has an entirely new set of
pictures.
It seems that David Kahn has been promoted to “noted
cryptologic historian” for the 2013 calendar year. This promotion further serves as evidence of domestication
of David Kahn. In the 1960s, Kahn wrote Code Breakers and defied demands by the
NSA to redact information from his book by secreting away the footnotes to the
information the NSA demanded be removed.
Now, the NSA owns his private collection and calls him a “noted
cryptologic historian’.
2013 CCH Calender
Thursday, November 8, 2012
The 2012 Center for Cryptologic History Calendar
It seems a little late in the year for a 2012 calendar to be of much use, however the Center for Cryptologic History's 2012 calendar will be good for years to come. The calendar is filled with rare pictures about the NSA and is positively brimming with historical facts relating to the NSA, SIGINT, COMINT, and Cryptologic history to list just a few topics.
2012 CCH Calendar
Presidential Transition 2001: NSA Briefs a New Administration
Released in response to a FOIA request, Presidential Transition 2001: NSA Briefs a New
Administration is a history of the National Security Agency’s decision to
brief- for the first time- the president-elect on the Agency, its operations,
and related matters. Twenty-three pages
in length, it is well-written, easy read with minimum redactions that provides
both a- complete- as- possible- picture of the events in question and numerous
amusing nuggets of fact. Other than some excessive background information on
the electoral process, this work is with major issue.
Among the factoids learned in this work is the fact that
Harry S Truman allowed Dwight D. Eisenhower access to SIGINT intelligence
during the intelligence briefing that occurred in 1952 campaign but not his own
party’s nominee due to Eisenhower’s prior use of COMINT/SIGINT during the
Second World War; George Bush’s enthusiasm for NSA briefings. His request:
“Great stuff! Keep it coming,” resulted in over 200 “serialized briefings”
being given to his transition; and Hubert Humphrey’s 1967
visit to the NSA was the first by a vice president and the last until Dick
Cheney arrived in 2001.
Monday, October 1, 2012
NSA Releases Cryptologic Quarterly Index
In response to a FOIA request, the National Security Agency has
released an index of its Cryptologic Quarterly articles from the 1980s through
2010. Covering topics from "Applied Wavelet Analysis to the Zimmerman
Telegram, the index provides a glimpse into the academic and intellectual
activities of the NSA staff.
The index, alphabetized by title has largely been declassified and
there minimum redactions to titles or the keyword index with only a small
percentage of the titles withheld in their entirety. The NSA, however, invoked
the b(3) exemption so most of the authors are unknown. Those authors whose
identities were revealed are mostly associated with the Center for Cryptologic
History though some were written by prominent NSA figures such as Frank B.
Rowlett, Howard H. Campaigne, and former DIRNSA William Studeman.
Cryptologic Quarterly Article List
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