The FBI, CIA, NSA and KGB

Discussion in 'Intelligence' started by Kari Sims, Mar 17, 2019.

  1. Kari Sims

    Kari Sims Member

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    I was listening to an audiobook about these agencies last week. What types of issues do these agencies attempt to resolve within society? Are they affiliated with the military, police department or act as independent agencies? What types of technologies and information systems do they use to identify issues and get data, information, case details and resolutions? How do they bug areas to spy?
     
  2. Mushroom

    Mushroom Well-Known Member

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    OK, to start with, the KGB is done. Toast. History.

    Translated as the Committee for State Security, it was responsible for security matters both internal and external to the USSR.

    In the US, it is handled by the FBI (which only deals with issues internal to the US), and the CIA (which only handles issues external to the US).

    The NSA is something completely different. The National Security Agency (often jokingly called "No Such Agency") was founded in 1952, but not officially acknowledged until 1975. In essence, they are out "Communications Police". They monitor various forms of electronic traffic (originally telegraph and telephone - now computer). Primarily this is done simply by watching where the traffic goes to and starts from.

    But in the last few decades it is believed that they have branched off and largely taken point on cyber warfare, both conducting and protecting against it. The NSA is largely believed to be the organization behind the STUXNET attack in Iran.

    But "bugging"? That is not really such a thing anymore. With modern digital mobile communications, bugging is pretty much an anachronism. The term is "monitoring" now, and literally it is simple to do. Almost anybody with basic understanding of computer networking knows that there is almost nothing really secure.

    Think your cell call is secure? You are literally talking into a radio, that any receiver can intercept. Think your data on the Internet is secure? There are tens of thousands of places between you typing and the message appearing here where the information can be captured. I remember installing a packet sniffer on my network a while back, and seeing the web sites that my neighbors were going to.

    And do not even get me started on cell phone spoofing and packet cloning.
     
  3. Kari Sims

    Kari Sims Member

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    Wow, thank you. Can you please give me a short excerpt on electronic bugging, phone spoofing and packet cloning??
     

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