NSA Delayed Installing 'Anti-Leak' Software At Site Where Snowden Worked Because Of 'Insufficient Bandwidth'

from the because-reasons dept

Fri, Oct 18th 2013 2:04pm — Mike Masnick

Reuters is reporting that the NSA apparently had "delayed installing" the "most up-to-date anti-leak software" at the site in Hawaii where Ed Snowden was based:

The purpose of the software, which in the NSA's case is made by a division of Raytheon Co, is to block so-called "insider threats" - a response to an order by President Barack Obama to tighten up access controls for classified information in the wake of the leak of hundreds of thousands of Pentagon and State Department documents by an Army private to WikiLeaks website in 2010.

The main reason the software had not been installed at the NSA's Hawaii facility by the time Snowden took up his assignment there was that it had insufficient bandwidth to comfortably install it and ensure its effective operation, according to one of the officials.

It's unclear from this reporting if "insufficient bandwidth" means, literally, insufficient network bandwidth, or insufficient time for local sysadmins to get to this project. If it's the former, then, huh? That makes no sense. There's no way they had insufficient network bandwidth, or if they did, then the NSA has some serious problems. If it's the latter, then, what? Good thing the NSA is now getting rid of 90% of its sys admins, huh?

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Filed Under: anti-leak software, bandwidth, ed snowden, nsa, sys admins

12 Comments

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blaktron (profile), 18 Oct 2013 @ 2:08pm

If I had to guess it was in a project pipeline for a subcontractor to implement. Generally 'lack of bandwidth' in official gov-speak means 'we never got around to it because other more important stuff kept coming up, but we will soon, we promise!'
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Anonymous Coward, 18 Oct 2013 @ 2:10pm

After working with a three-letter agency in far flung places (Guam, Cuba, Japan), this actually isn't surprising. DLP software can require a significant amount of persistent bandwidth based on the configuration.
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- Anonymous Coward, 18 Oct 2013 @ 2:12pm
  
  Re:
  When they say insufficient bandwidth, they mean it in the technical sense. There simply aren't a lot of secure circuits to the islands where they operate.
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  - Chronno S. Trigger (profile), 18 Oct 2013 @ 3:01pm
    
    Re: Re:
    They could have pulled a Google and used UPS.
    
    UPS, the highest bandwidth network known to man.
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Anonymous Coward, 18 Oct 2013 @ 2:12pm

Yes we wouldn't want those "insiders" to expose government criminal behavior. Lets throw some millions at it so we can make sure no one sees.

They must be covering up soooo much more stuff. I bet the most criminal most unconstitutional stuff they have done we have yet to even see.

Seeing as oversight is non-existent anywhere else or they just get lied to we will need the noble insider whistle blowers to be our oversight.
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Nick (profile), 18 Oct 2013 @ 2:16pm

One man's insider threat is another man's whistle blower.
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Anonymous Coward, 18 Oct 2013 @ 2:21pm

I wonder if Snowden had any say if the new software got installed or not
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- Bergman (profile), 19 Oct 2013 @ 3:09am
  
  Re:
  Going by his actions in the past (CIA, etc), he was probably reprimanded for suggesting they needed it.
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Anonymous Coward, 18 Oct 2013 @ 2:50pm

Patriots are Threats!
The Tree of Liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of Patriots and Tyrants.

Do not forget, it is very possible for our own government to become the tyrants.

The tree is dying.
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Anonymous Coward, 18 Oct 2013 @ 3:26pm

I guess they didn't have enough network bandwidth due to all that material that was already being sucked through by snowden :)
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the answer man, 18 Oct 2013 @ 3:46pm

bandwidth
Bandwidth is a common IT term which has two meanings. The standard bandwidth in regards to throughput or speed.
The other being the ability to handle additional work or "bandwidth" - in this case the NSA is saying they didn't have enough people/resources to make it a priority.
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- Anonymous Coward, 18 Oct 2013 @ 8:38pm
  
  Re: bandwidth
  It is almost as if they have a sudden shortage of system administrators or something due to an idiotic knee-jerk reaction or something.
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