A-space: Facebook for spies

Fascinating article in the NYT this AM about A-space, described as Facebook for spies. “We see the Internet passing us in the fast lane,” said Mike Wertheimer, of the office of the Director of National Intelligence, who is overseeing the introduction of A-Space. “We’re playing a little catch-up.”

A-space will be introduced in December and join Intellipedia, the spooks’ Wikipedia, where intelligence officers from all 16 American spy agencies pool their knowledge. Sixteen months after its creation, officials say, the top-secret version of Intellipedia has 29,255 articles, with an average of 114 new articles and more than 4,800 edits to articles added each workday.

“The “A” stands for “analyst,” and where Facebook users swap snapshots, homework tips and gossip, intelligence analysts will be able to compare notes on satellite photos of North Korean nuclear sites, Iraqi insurgents and Chinese missiles.”

Goal is to avoid another 9/11-style fiasco caused by the turf wars that cause America’s 100,000 (!) intelligence workers to keep data away from competing agencies. The U.S. employs 100K intelligence people?  Yikes…