Word: intelink
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Dates: during 1995-1995
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...however, the CIA and other U.S. intelligence agencies have entered the cyberspace age--to the benefit of the White House and the demise of the pizza truck. Last December the CIA and the Pentagon began full operation of Intelink, a worldwide computer network that has borrowed much of its technology from Internet, the global network that links universities, research institutions, individuals and commercial computer services. An exclusive club, Intelink has 35 intelligence organizations feeding it and so far more than 3,000 users, all with secret or top-secret security clearances to tap into the system. More important, Intelink allows...
...results are a dramatic improvement over conditions just four years ago. During the Gulf War, for example, ground commanders lacked timely satellite photos to prepare for combat because the four computer systems handling the pictures couldn't talk to one another. Today Intelink users can punch up on their computers the most recent satellite photos, as well as thousands of pages of classified reports from various intelligence agencies. White House aides monitoring the Chechnya crisis were able to dial into Intelink for daily CIA updates on the civil war. Advisers confused about conflicting news reports on the fighting referred...
Insular intelligence agencies once resisted sharing their secrets not only with bureaucratic rivals but also with their customers in the White House, the State Department and the Pentagon. Now, says Intelink director Steve Schanzer, "agencies are competing with one another to get their products online" for fear of being ignored--and unappreciated--by the new viewing market...
Federal authorities have warned that hackers can penetrate the Internet's sophisticated security barriers to steal information from companies and universities. But CIA officials believe their own computer system and the new Intelink are practically invulnerable to invasion by outsiders. There will always be the threat of government officials with security clearance who decide to betray their country and download intelligence files. Yet terminals inside Langley are routinely audited for suspicious activity, such as an unusual number of log-ins after hours or repeated failures to have a password accepted, usually symptomatic of a hacker testing out a host...
...Intelink operates over the Pentagon's Defense Systems Network, which has its own lines or leases special lines from phone companies to send encrypted messages. To penetrate that system, a hacker would first have to wiretap a dsnet line, then break the sophisticated encryption of its messages, as well as steal another user's password to get past the main menu...