In his 2019 autobiography, Edward Snowden shared some details from his time working at the CIA. One of these details was the process by which the CIA can pull up your information on the internet without leaving an identifying trail. They set up a process called a “nonattributable research system”.
This is a computer system that spoofs the origin of the request. The CIA would establish a fake business cover, often in the job search or personnel services industry. This would include registering a business and a physical address or PO box, and setting up a domain, website and server in that company’s name. They would then connect this server to the CIA network to allow requests to be sent in the fake company’s name. So, as far as the internet is concerned, that request for your information came from a little-known staffing firm, and not from a letter agency.
Some take-aways from this information for Targeted Individuals would be to be mindful of what you publish publicly on social media. Sharing personal details and photos online makes them visible to anyone, including the intelligence community. This also provides some background as to why internet logs do not show direct traffic from letter agencies.
References:
Snowden, E. J. (2019). Permanent record. Metropolitan Books/Henry Holt And Company.
image is creative commons public domain. source: https://picryl.com/media/application-request-pen-industry-craft-37493d
Follow @TargetedTechTlk
