3 ms·

Context: It’s published there as of 1997 but it’s about CIA spying technology used in 1963, 57 years ago!

by acqq 6y ago

elliekelly 6y ago
I recently watched Enemy of the State which came out in 1999 and the level of technology and spying was really surprising to me. I wonder how many people at the time thought the government’s ability was overstated for the movie. Also kind of crazy they were using “terrorism” as a guise for invading our privacy even before 9/11.
- acqq 6y ago
  The Hollywood films almost by rule distort the real details, but some scripts do manage to pass the general idea. Never trust the Hollywood details but if you are interested in any topic, search the books (or the news articles) that did the research based on the primary sources. If you're interested in the history of older "spying" technology (as in NSA) see the books of James Bamford. Or, more recently, search for coverage of what is known due to Snowden. Some details emerge much later, e.g. about the quality of the pictures achievable from the satellites in sixties (i.e. more than 50 years ago): https://www.wired.com/2014/04/lost-lunar-photos-recovered-by-great-feats-of-hackerdom-developed-at-a-mcdonalds/ https://www.wired.com/2014/04/lost-lunar-photos-recovered-by... For CIA topics there are also some very good researched books. I'd say, the truth is much more fascinating than the movies.
- mulmen 6y ago
  9/11 was not the first terrorist attack against the United States. It wasn’t even the first terrorist attack on the WTC.
- mjevans 6y ago
  Also a good film, Sneakers from the early 90s. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105435/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105435/
- Miraste 6y ago
  Enemy of the State was overstated at the time. It resembles 21st century spying programs so closely because the US government used the movie as a blueprint to develop those programs: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-01792-5 https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-01792-5

Context: It’s published there as of 1997 but it’s about CIA spying technology used in 1963, 57 years ago!

by acqq 6y ago

Context: It’s published there as of 1997 but it’s about CIA spying technology used in 1963, 57 years ago!

I recently watched Enemy of the State which came out in 1999 and the level of technology and spying was really surprising to me. I wonder how many people at the time thought the government’s ability was overstated for the movie. Also kind of crazy they were using “terrorism” as a guise for invading our privacy even before 9/11.

acqq 6y ago
The Hollywood films almost by rule distort the real details, but some scripts do manage to pass the general idea. Never trust the Hollywood details but if you are interested in any topic, search the books (or the news articles) that did the research based on the primary sources. If you're interested in the history of older "spying" technology (as in NSA) see the books of James Bamford. Or, more recently, search for coverage of what is known due to Snowden. Some details emerge much later, e.g. about the quality of the pictures achievable from the satellites in sixties (i.e. more than 50 years ago): https://www.wired.com/2014/04/lost-lunar-photos-recovered-by-great-feats-of-hackerdom-developed-at-a-mcdonalds/ https://www.wired.com/2014/04/lost-lunar-photos-recovered-by... For CIA topics there are also some very good researched books. I'd say, the truth is much more fascinating than the movies.
mulmen 6y ago
9/11 was not the first terrorist attack against the United States. It wasn’t even the first terrorist attack on the WTC.
mjevans 6y ago
Also a good film, Sneakers from the early 90s. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105435/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105435/
Miraste 6y ago
Enemy of the State was overstated at the time. It resembles 21st century spying programs so closely because the US government used the movie as a blueprint to develop those programs: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-01792-5 https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-01792-5