New Media and the CIA

I found the article that appeared in WIRED yesterday very interesting and relevant to class members, as it was reported that the entire Intelligence Community (IC) is investing in a technology company that promises to help monitor social networking sites. The CIA has apparently recognized the importance of "staying current" with new media trends.

In the "post-op" of 9-11, intelligence officials recognized how much the 9-11 attackers relied on email, chat rooms and other "modern" tools to coordinate and communicate. When you take this lesson into account, it is almost surprising that the IC has not taken steps earlier (or at least ones that we know about)!