NSA Officers Sometimes Spy On Their Love Interests
If intelligence can be abused, it will be.
Siobhan Gorman writes in the WSJ:
WASHINGTON--National Security Agency officers on several occasions have channeled their agency's enormous eavesdropping power to spy on love interests, U.S. officials said.The practice isn't frequent -- one official estimated a handful of cases in the last decade -- but it's common enough to garner its own spycraft label: LOVEINT.
Spy agencies often refer to their various types of intelligence collection with the suffix of "INT," such as "SIGINT" for collecting signals intelligence, or communications; and "HUMINT" for human intelligence, or spying.
The "LOVEINT" examples constitute most episodes of willful misconduct by NSA employees, officials said.
And we trust them to say it "isn't frequent"? Helloo, gullibility!
From the article:
Well, isn't that reassuring? They aren't even trying to find these offenders and there are no programs in place to spy upon the spies. They just find about this when it comes time to renew the security clearance (which, I believe, is only done once every five years).
And remember, everyone, you don't even have to be dating someone from the NSA. You just have to have an NSA agent interested in you.
So if someone introduces themselves to you as an NSA agent, that's your cue to become as obnoxious as possible. Wouldn't want even a remote chance of them being interested in you. And don't give them a real name.
Patrick at August 24, 2013 12:31 AM
Exactly, Patrick. I was disturbed by that, too.
"Self-reported." They mean "dragged out of them in lie detector tests."
Amy Alkon at August 24, 2013 6:32 AM
I can't believe there isn't a "HATEINT" list as well. You attended a dinner party with Mr. Jones that rode down the Affordable Care Act or somehow made the NSA worker feel small.
They then go back and look Mr. Jones up and see what they can do to them.
Jim P. at August 24, 2013 7:01 AM
At this point, I think the ONLY safe thing to say to an NSA employee is: "Excuse me, I have a prior engagement." And get the hell out of there ASAP.
Timespike at August 24, 2013 7:21 AM
Creepy creeps gonna creep.
Yet I'm sure each one of them would claim to be a true American, keeping our liberties safe, no less than the latex-gloved child groper at the TSA checkpoint.
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at August 24, 2013 7:53 AM
Of course they are, and IRS employees are both reading and downloading the tax returns of people the administration wants to target politically.
When you are allowed to collect the data, there will be abuses.
Isab at August 24, 2013 10:34 AM
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