Body of Secrets

Body of Secrets

Author: James Bamford

Publisher: Anchor

Published: 2007-12-18

Total Pages: 782

ISBN-13: 0307425053

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The National Security Agency is the world’s most powerful, most far-reaching espionage. Now with a new afterword describing the security lapses that preceded the attacks of September 11, 2001, Body of Secrets takes us to the inner sanctum of America’s spy world. In the follow-up to his bestselling Puzzle Palace, James Banford reveals the NSA’s hidden role in the most volatile world events of the past, and its desperate scramble to meet the frightening challenges of today and tomorrow. Here is a scrupulously documented account—much of which is based on unprecedented access to previously undisclosed documents—of the agency’s tireless hunt for intelligence on enemies and allies alike. Body of secrets is a riveting analysis of this most clandestine of agencies, a major work of history and investigative journalism. A New York Times Notable Book


Book Synopsis Body of Secrets by : James Bamford

Download or read book Body of Secrets written by James Bamford and published by Anchor. This book was released on 2007-12-18 with total page 782 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The National Security Agency is the world’s most powerful, most far-reaching espionage. Now with a new afterword describing the security lapses that preceded the attacks of September 11, 2001, Body of Secrets takes us to the inner sanctum of America’s spy world. In the follow-up to his bestselling Puzzle Palace, James Banford reveals the NSA’s hidden role in the most volatile world events of the past, and its desperate scramble to meet the frightening challenges of today and tomorrow. Here is a scrupulously documented account—much of which is based on unprecedented access to previously undisclosed documents—of the agency’s tireless hunt for intelligence on enemies and allies alike. Body of secrets is a riveting analysis of this most clandestine of agencies, a major work of history and investigative journalism. A New York Times Notable Book


NSA Secrets

NSA Secrets

Author: The Washington Post

Publisher: Diversion Books

Published: 2013-12-17

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 1626812128

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The Pulitzer Prize–winning investigation into surveillance abuses and the Edward Snowden case that brought them to light. The NSA's extensive surveillance program has led Americans to question threats to their privacy. As reported by the Washington Post, in their Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of whistleblower Edward Snowden's NSA leaks, NSA Secrets delves into the shadowy world of information gathering, exposing how data about you is being collected every day. From his earliest encrypted exchanges with reporters, Edward Snowden knew he was a man in danger. Sitting on a mountain of incriminating evidence about the NSA surveillance programs, Snowden was prepared to risk his freedom, and his very life, to let the world know about the perceived overreach of the NSA and the massive collection of personal information that was carried out in the name of national security by the U.S. government. The Washington Post’s complete coverage of the NSA spying scandal, which it helped break, is now collected in one place to give as comprehensive a view of the story as is known. From the first contact with Snowden to the latest revelations in worldwide cellphone tracking, the award-winning reporters at the Post have vigorously reported on the scope of the NSA’s surveillance. Snowden called the internet “a TV that watches you,” and accused the government of “abusing [it] in secret to extend their powers beyond what is necessary and appropriate.” Here, the secrets of those who tried in vain to remain in the shadows are revealed.


Book Synopsis NSA Secrets by : The Washington Post

Download or read book NSA Secrets written by The Washington Post and published by Diversion Books. This book was released on 2013-12-17 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Pulitzer Prize–winning investigation into surveillance abuses and the Edward Snowden case that brought them to light. The NSA's extensive surveillance program has led Americans to question threats to their privacy. As reported by the Washington Post, in their Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of whistleblower Edward Snowden's NSA leaks, NSA Secrets delves into the shadowy world of information gathering, exposing how data about you is being collected every day. From his earliest encrypted exchanges with reporters, Edward Snowden knew he was a man in danger. Sitting on a mountain of incriminating evidence about the NSA surveillance programs, Snowden was prepared to risk his freedom, and his very life, to let the world know about the perceived overreach of the NSA and the massive collection of personal information that was carried out in the name of national security by the U.S. government. The Washington Post’s complete coverage of the NSA spying scandal, which it helped break, is now collected in one place to give as comprehensive a view of the story as is known. From the first contact with Snowden to the latest revelations in worldwide cellphone tracking, the award-winning reporters at the Post have vigorously reported on the scope of the NSA’s surveillance. Snowden called the internet “a TV that watches you,” and accused the government of “abusing [it] in secret to extend their powers beyond what is necessary and appropriate.” Here, the secrets of those who tried in vain to remain in the shadows are revealed.


Deep State

Deep State

Author: Marc Ambinder

Publisher: Turner Publishing Company

Published: 2013-02-14

Total Pages: 297

ISBN-13: 1118235738

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There is a hidden country within the United States. It was formed from the astonishing number of secrets held by the government and the growing ranks of secret-keepers given charge over them. The government secrecy industry speaks in a private language of codes and acronyms, and follows an arcane set of rules and customs designed to perpetuate itself, repel penetration, and deflect oversight. It justifies itself with the assertion that the American values worth preserving are often best sustained by subterfuge and deception. Deep State, written by two of the country's most respected national security journalists, disassembles the secrecy apparatus of the United States and examines real-world trends that ought to trouble everyone from the most aggressive hawk to the fiercest civil libertarian. The book: - Provides the fullest account to date of the National Security Agency’s controversial surveillance program first spun up in the dark days after 9/11. - Examines President Obama's attempt to reconcile his instincts as a liberal with the realities of executive power, and his use of the state secrets doctrine. - Exposes how the public’s ubiquitous access to information has been the secrecy industry's toughest opponent to date, and provides a full account of how WikiLeaks and other “sunlight” organizations are changing the government's approach to handling sensitive information, for better and worse. - Explains how the increased exposure of secrets affects everything from Congressional budgets to Area 51, from SEAL Team Six and Delta Force to the FBI, CIA, and NSA. - Assesses whether the formal and informal mechanisms put in place to protect citizens from abuses by the American deep state work, and how they might be reformed.


Book Synopsis Deep State by : Marc Ambinder

Download or read book Deep State written by Marc Ambinder and published by Turner Publishing Company. This book was released on 2013-02-14 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is a hidden country within the United States. It was formed from the astonishing number of secrets held by the government and the growing ranks of secret-keepers given charge over them. The government secrecy industry speaks in a private language of codes and acronyms, and follows an arcane set of rules and customs designed to perpetuate itself, repel penetration, and deflect oversight. It justifies itself with the assertion that the American values worth preserving are often best sustained by subterfuge and deception. Deep State, written by two of the country's most respected national security journalists, disassembles the secrecy apparatus of the United States and examines real-world trends that ought to trouble everyone from the most aggressive hawk to the fiercest civil libertarian. The book: - Provides the fullest account to date of the National Security Agency’s controversial surveillance program first spun up in the dark days after 9/11. - Examines President Obama's attempt to reconcile his instincts as a liberal with the realities of executive power, and his use of the state secrets doctrine. - Exposes how the public’s ubiquitous access to information has been the secrecy industry's toughest opponent to date, and provides a full account of how WikiLeaks and other “sunlight” organizations are changing the government's approach to handling sensitive information, for better and worse. - Explains how the increased exposure of secrets affects everything from Congressional budgets to Area 51, from SEAL Team Six and Delta Force to the FBI, CIA, and NSA. - Assesses whether the formal and informal mechanisms put in place to protect citizens from abuses by the American deep state work, and how they might be reformed.


How America Lost Its Secrets

How America Lost Its Secrets

Author: Edward Jay Epstein

Publisher: Knopf

Published: 2017

Total Pages: 381

ISBN-13: 0451494563

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"After details of American government surveillance were published in 2013, Edward Snowden, formerly a subcontracted IT analyst for the NSA, became the center of an international controversy: was he a hero, traitor, whistleblower, spy? Was his theft legitimized by the nature of the information he exposed? When is it necessary for governmental transparency to give way to subterfuge? Edward Jay Epstein [examines] these and other questions, delving into both how our secrets were taken and the man who took them"--Amazon.com.


Book Synopsis How America Lost Its Secrets by : Edward Jay Epstein

Download or read book How America Lost Its Secrets written by Edward Jay Epstein and published by Knopf. This book was released on 2017 with total page 381 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "After details of American government surveillance were published in 2013, Edward Snowden, formerly a subcontracted IT analyst for the NSA, became the center of an international controversy: was he a hero, traitor, whistleblower, spy? Was his theft legitimized by the nature of the information he exposed? When is it necessary for governmental transparency to give way to subterfuge? Edward Jay Epstein [examines] these and other questions, delving into both how our secrets were taken and the man who took them"--Amazon.com.


The Shadow Factory

The Shadow Factory

Author: James Bamford

Publisher: Anchor

Published: 2009-07-14

Total Pages: 418

ISBN-13: 0307279391

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James Bamford has been the preeminent expert on the National Security Agency since his reporting revealed the agency’s existence in the 1980s. Now Bamford describes the transformation of the NSA since 9/11, as the agency increasingly turns its high-tech ears on the American public. The Shadow Factory reconstructs how the NSA missed a chance to thwart the 9/11 hijackers and details how this mistake has led to a heightening of domestic surveillance. In disturbing detail, Bamford describes exactly how every American’s data is being mined and what is being done with it. Any reader who thinks America’s liberties are being protected by Congress will be shocked and appalled at what is revealed here.


Book Synopsis The Shadow Factory by : James Bamford

Download or read book The Shadow Factory written by James Bamford and published by Anchor. This book was released on 2009-07-14 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: James Bamford has been the preeminent expert on the National Security Agency since his reporting revealed the agency’s existence in the 1980s. Now Bamford describes the transformation of the NSA since 9/11, as the agency increasingly turns its high-tech ears on the American public. The Shadow Factory reconstructs how the NSA missed a chance to thwart the 9/11 hijackers and details how this mistake has led to a heightening of domestic surveillance. In disturbing detail, Bamford describes exactly how every American’s data is being mined and what is being done with it. Any reader who thinks America’s liberties are being protected by Congress will be shocked and appalled at what is revealed here.


The Secret Sentry

The Secret Sentry

Author: Matthew M. Aid

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2010-06-08

Total Pages: 433

ISBN-13: 160819096X

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Presents a history of the agency, from its inception in 1945, to its role in the Cold War, to its controversial advisory position at the time of the Bush administration's search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, shortly before the invasion of 2003.


Book Synopsis The Secret Sentry by : Matthew M. Aid

Download or read book The Secret Sentry written by Matthew M. Aid and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2010-06-08 with total page 433 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presents a history of the agency, from its inception in 1945, to its role in the Cold War, to its controversial advisory position at the time of the Bush administration's search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, shortly before the invasion of 2003.


Permanent Record

Permanent Record

Author: Edward Snowden

Publisher: Metropolitan Books

Published: 2019-09-17

Total Pages: 298

ISBN-13: 1250237246

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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Edward Snowden, the man who risked everything to expose the US government’s system of mass surveillance, reveals for the first time the story of his life, including how he helped to build that system and what motivated him to try to bring it down. In 2013, twenty-nine-year-old Edward Snowden shocked the world when he broke with the American intelligence establishment and revealed that the United States government was secretly pursuing the means to collect every single phone call, text message, and email. The result would be an unprecedented system of mass surveillance with the ability to pry into the private lives of every person on earth. Six years later, Snowden reveals for the very first time how he helped to build this system and why he was moved to expose it. Spanning the bucolic Beltway suburbs of his childhood and the clandestine CIA and NSA postings of his adulthood, Permanent Record is the extraordinary account of a bright young man who grew up online—a man who became a spy, a whistleblower, and, in exile, the Internet’s conscience. Written with wit, grace, passion, and an unflinching candor, Permanent Record is a crucial memoir of our digital age and destined to be a classic.


Book Synopsis Permanent Record by : Edward Snowden

Download or read book Permanent Record written by Edward Snowden and published by Metropolitan Books. This book was released on 2019-09-17 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Edward Snowden, the man who risked everything to expose the US government’s system of mass surveillance, reveals for the first time the story of his life, including how he helped to build that system and what motivated him to try to bring it down. In 2013, twenty-nine-year-old Edward Snowden shocked the world when he broke with the American intelligence establishment and revealed that the United States government was secretly pursuing the means to collect every single phone call, text message, and email. The result would be an unprecedented system of mass surveillance with the ability to pry into the private lives of every person on earth. Six years later, Snowden reveals for the very first time how he helped to build this system and why he was moved to expose it. Spanning the bucolic Beltway suburbs of his childhood and the clandestine CIA and NSA postings of his adulthood, Permanent Record is the extraordinary account of a bright young man who grew up online—a man who became a spy, a whistleblower, and, in exile, the Internet’s conscience. Written with wit, grace, passion, and an unflinching candor, Permanent Record is a crucial memoir of our digital age and destined to be a classic.


Code Warriors

Code Warriors

Author: Stephen Budiansky

Publisher: Knopf

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 433

ISBN-13: 0385352662

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In Code Warriors, Stephen Budiansky--a longtime expert in cryptology--tells the fascinating story of how NSA came to be, from its roots in World War II through the fall of the Berlin Wall. Along the way, he guides us through the fascinating challenges faced by cryptanalysts, and how they broke some of the most complicated codes of the twentieth century. With access to new documents, Budiansky shows where the agency succeeded and failed during the Cold War, but his account also offers crucial perspective for assessing NSA today in the wake of the Edward Snowden revelations. Budiansky shows how NSA's obsession with recording every bit of data and decoding every signal is far from a new development; throughout its history the depth and breadth of the agency's reach has resulted in both remarkable successes and destructive failures.


Book Synopsis Code Warriors by : Stephen Budiansky

Download or read book Code Warriors written by Stephen Budiansky and published by Knopf. This book was released on 2016 with total page 433 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Code Warriors, Stephen Budiansky--a longtime expert in cryptology--tells the fascinating story of how NSA came to be, from its roots in World War II through the fall of the Berlin Wall. Along the way, he guides us through the fascinating challenges faced by cryptanalysts, and how they broke some of the most complicated codes of the twentieth century. With access to new documents, Budiansky shows where the agency succeeded and failed during the Cold War, but his account also offers crucial perspective for assessing NSA today in the wake of the Edward Snowden revelations. Budiansky shows how NSA's obsession with recording every bit of data and decoding every signal is far from a new development; throughout its history the depth and breadth of the agency's reach has resulted in both remarkable successes and destructive failures.


Top Secret America

Top Secret America

Author: Dana Priest

Publisher: Little, Brown

Published: 2011-09-06

Total Pages: 327

ISBN-13: 0316194042

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The top-secret world that the government created in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks has become so enormous, so unwieldy, and so secretive that no one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs or exactly how many agencies duplicate work being done elsewhere. The result is that the system put in place to keep the United States safe may be putting us in greater danger. In Top Secret America, award-winning reporters Dana Priest and William Arkin uncover the enormous size, shape, mission, and consequences of this invisible universe of over 1,300 government facilities in every state in America; nearly 2,000 outside companies used as contractors; and more than 850,000 people granted "Top Secret" security clearance. A landmark exposé of a new, secret "Fourth Branch" of American government, Top Secret America is a tour de force of investigative reporting-and a book sure to spark national and international alarm.


Book Synopsis Top Secret America by : Dana Priest

Download or read book Top Secret America written by Dana Priest and published by Little, Brown. This book was released on 2011-09-06 with total page 327 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The top-secret world that the government created in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks has become so enormous, so unwieldy, and so secretive that no one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs or exactly how many agencies duplicate work being done elsewhere. The result is that the system put in place to keep the United States safe may be putting us in greater danger. In Top Secret America, award-winning reporters Dana Priest and William Arkin uncover the enormous size, shape, mission, and consequences of this invisible universe of over 1,300 government facilities in every state in America; nearly 2,000 outside companies used as contractors; and more than 850,000 people granted "Top Secret" security clearance. A landmark exposé of a new, secret "Fourth Branch" of American government, Top Secret America is a tour de force of investigative reporting-and a book sure to spark national and international alarm.


NSA Secrets Declassified

NSA Secrets Declassified

Author: National Security Agency (NSA)

Publisher:

Published: 2018-03-11

Total Pages: 88

ISBN-13: 9781980536345

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Three important NSA publications provide unique information about cryptology and radio intelligence used in the fight against rumrunners during Prohibition, and African-American cryptologists. Contents: Listening to the Rumrunners: Radio Intelligence during Prohibition; Cryptology, Elizebeth Friedman and the United States Coast Guard Thwart the Rumrunners; The Invisible Cryptologists: African-Americans, World War II to 1956. Listening to the Rumrunners - Most Americans are aware of the era of lawlessness in this country that began with the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution in 1919. The institution of Prohibition brought with it major law enforcement problems, whose effects continue to be felt today. Few people, however, are aware of the major role played by communications intelligence in the enforcement of the Prohibition laws. The files of the United States Coast Guard (USCG) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), including the files of the Radio Division of the Department of Commerce, show that radio was used on a large scale in connection with rum-running activities. The radio operations of the rum-running organizations were, in fact, comparable in size, technical skill, and organization with the radio operation that would be conducted by enemy agents in World War II. Cryptology, Elizebeth Friedman and the United States Coast Guard Thwart the Rumrunners - On land, the task of enforcing Prohibition fell to several federal agencies, but on the high seas, the responsibility belonged to the United States Coast Guard (USCG). This new responsibility would severely tax the Coast Guard's resources. They would have to police 12,000 miles of U.S. coastline with a total of 4,140 personnel and 75 vessels, the majority of which were not designed for law enforcement operations. Despite the difficulties presented by the mission, the Coast Guard accepted the challenge. The service's attitude was best expressed in a 25 April 1924 letter by RADM Frederick C. Billard, the USCG Commandant at the time, "The Coast Guard.. .will not fail in its performance of this... task. You men are the last line of defense..." However, in order to prevail in this effort they would need ingenuity, perseverance, and "a new kind of detective work," namely the art and science of cryptology. The Invisible Cryptologists: African-Americans - During research on the early days of NSA, historians at the Center for Cryptologic History (CCH) learned of the employment of African-Americans at the Agency in the period after World War II. Occasionally, in informal conversations with former NSA seniors, the subject of minority history would come up, and CCH historians collected anecdotes about segregated offices in the early days. It became apparent that the employment of African-Americans came even earlier than previously thought. No information, however, confirmed any contribution by African-Americans during the world war. In early 1996, the History Center received as a donation a book of rather monotonous photographs of civilian employees at one of NSA's predecessors receiving citations for important contributions. Out of several hundred photographs, only two included African-Americans - an employee receiving an award from Colonel Preston Corderman and the same employee posing with his family. Although undated, the matrix of the photograph indicated it had been taken in 1945 or early 1946. This made it likely the person was receiving an award for wartime contributions. It therefore became a high priority in the History Center to investigate the story behind this photograph and learn the truth behind the unconnected anecdotes about African-Americans in the early days of the cryptologic organization.


Book Synopsis NSA Secrets Declassified by : National Security Agency (NSA)

Download or read book NSA Secrets Declassified written by National Security Agency (NSA) and published by . This book was released on 2018-03-11 with total page 88 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Three important NSA publications provide unique information about cryptology and radio intelligence used in the fight against rumrunners during Prohibition, and African-American cryptologists. Contents: Listening to the Rumrunners: Radio Intelligence during Prohibition; Cryptology, Elizebeth Friedman and the United States Coast Guard Thwart the Rumrunners; The Invisible Cryptologists: African-Americans, World War II to 1956. Listening to the Rumrunners - Most Americans are aware of the era of lawlessness in this country that began with the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution in 1919. The institution of Prohibition brought with it major law enforcement problems, whose effects continue to be felt today. Few people, however, are aware of the major role played by communications intelligence in the enforcement of the Prohibition laws. The files of the United States Coast Guard (USCG) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), including the files of the Radio Division of the Department of Commerce, show that radio was used on a large scale in connection with rum-running activities. The radio operations of the rum-running organizations were, in fact, comparable in size, technical skill, and organization with the radio operation that would be conducted by enemy agents in World War II. Cryptology, Elizebeth Friedman and the United States Coast Guard Thwart the Rumrunners - On land, the task of enforcing Prohibition fell to several federal agencies, but on the high seas, the responsibility belonged to the United States Coast Guard (USCG). This new responsibility would severely tax the Coast Guard's resources. They would have to police 12,000 miles of U.S. coastline with a total of 4,140 personnel and 75 vessels, the majority of which were not designed for law enforcement operations. Despite the difficulties presented by the mission, the Coast Guard accepted the challenge. The service's attitude was best expressed in a 25 April 1924 letter by RADM Frederick C. Billard, the USCG Commandant at the time, "The Coast Guard.. .will not fail in its performance of this... task. You men are the last line of defense..." However, in order to prevail in this effort they would need ingenuity, perseverance, and "a new kind of detective work," namely the art and science of cryptology. The Invisible Cryptologists: African-Americans - During research on the early days of NSA, historians at the Center for Cryptologic History (CCH) learned of the employment of African-Americans at the Agency in the period after World War II. Occasionally, in informal conversations with former NSA seniors, the subject of minority history would come up, and CCH historians collected anecdotes about segregated offices in the early days. It became apparent that the employment of African-Americans came even earlier than previously thought. No information, however, confirmed any contribution by African-Americans during the world war. In early 1996, the History Center received as a donation a book of rather monotonous photographs of civilian employees at one of NSA's predecessors receiving citations for important contributions. Out of several hundred photographs, only two included African-Americans - an employee receiving an award from Colonel Preston Corderman and the same employee posing with his family. Although undated, the matrix of the photograph indicated it had been taken in 1945 or early 1946. This made it likely the person was receiving an award for wartime contributions. It therefore became a high priority in the History Center to investigate the story behind this photograph and learn the truth behind the unconnected anecdotes about African-Americans in the early days of the cryptologic organization.