I am not surprised by this,
and I definitely feel that my tax-dollars have been very poorly spent.
NSA's perception of its mission appears to be that it needs to
weaken the security of our communications infrastructure so that it can
eavesdrop into everything, vacuum-up a copy of it and store it away forever.
However, a principal portion of its mission
should be to
strengthen that infrastructure, even in the civilian sector, even though this superficially appears to weaken NSA's ability to carry out what it now perceives to be "its core mission."
The
civilian sector also needs the strongest possible communications security – and, security practices – that it can possibly obtain, and the unique capabilities of the NSA (and other clandestine agencies) is needed to help achieve that. And here's why I think that this is so:
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Me:
"National Security™" is a holistic mission, not merely a military one or a military-support one. The scope and breadth of 'what it is NSA's mission to protect' is far, far larger than the agency's present perception of its own charter appears to now include. When NSA works to weaken security, and/or permits known defects to continue to exist, it acts in a way that is contrary to (and damaging to) that holistic mission-statement, and the Public Interest. The unique capability, viewpoint, and expertise of the NSA ... for which said Public pays vast amounts of its money every year ... is needed to accomplish that true mission on behalf of the civilian sector."
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That's what I think. And, I think it quite strongly.
