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A source for mentioned Israeli spy tactics. I've never read that they focus solely on human intelligence

by Zhenya 13y ago

ForHackernews 13y ago
I'm sure they don't focus solely on human intelligence, but the stereotype (perhaps outdated) is that the US is great at signals intelligence, and crappy at human intelligence, and that the inverse is true of Israel. Reliable sources are hard to come by (for obvious reasons), but just as an example, see: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/world/middleeast/iran-intelligence-crisis-showed-difficulty-of-assessing-nuclear-data.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/world/middleeast/iran-inte... > For its spying efforts, Israel relies in part on an Iranian exile group that is labeled a terrorist organization by the United States, the Mujahedeen Khalq, or M.E.K., which is based in Iraq. The Israelis have also developed close ties in the semiautonomous region of Kurdistan in northern Iraq, and they are believed to use Kurdish agents who can move back and forth across the border into Iran. vs. > While the National Security Agency eavesdrops on telephone conversations of Iranian officials and conducts other forms of electronic surveillance, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency analyzes radar imagery and digital images of nuclear sites. Outside analysts believe high-tech drones prowl overhead; one came down late last year deep inside Iranian territory, though American officials said they lost control of it in Afghanistan. > Meanwhile, clandestine ground sensors, which can detect electromagnetic signals or radioactive emissions that could be linked to covert nuclear activity, are placed near suspect Iranian facilities. The United States also relies heavily on information gathered by inspectors with the International Atomic Energy Agency who visit some of Iran’s nuclear-related facilities. > But collecting independent human intelligence — recruiting spies — has been by far the most difficult task for American intelligence. Some operational lapses — and the lack of an embassy as a base of operations ever since the hostage crisis three decades ago — have frequently left the C.I.A. virtually blind on the ground in Iran, according to former intelligence officials.
- hershel 13y ago
  Could the it be that the u.s. decided to be focused on signals intelligence ,since they are so good at it, and it's very effective?
  - berkut 13y ago
    It has problems because it lacks context. With human int, you can get more understand of what the thinking and intentions are.

A source for mentioned Israeli spy tactics. I've never read that they focus solely on human intelligence

by Zhenya 13y ago

A source for mentioned Israeli spy tactics. I've never read that they focus solely on human intelligence

I'm sure they don't focus solely on human intelligence, but the stereotype (perhaps outdated) is that the US is great at signals intelligence, and crappy at human intelligence, and that the inverse is true of Israel. Reliable sources are hard to come by (for obvious reasons), but just as an example, see: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/world/middleeast/iran-intelligence-crisis-showed-difficulty-of-assessing-nuclear-data.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/world/middleeast/iran-inte... > For its spying efforts, Israel relies in part on an Iranian exile group that is labeled a terrorist organization by the United States, the Mujahedeen Khalq, or M.E.K., which is based in Iraq. The Israelis have also developed close ties in the semiautonomous region of Kurdistan in northern Iraq, and they are believed to use Kurdish agents who can move back and forth across the border into Iran. vs. > While the National Security Agency eavesdrops on telephone conversations of Iranian officials and conducts other forms of electronic surveillance, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency analyzes radar imagery and digital images of nuclear sites. Outside analysts believe high-tech drones prowl overhead; one came down late last year deep inside Iranian territory, though American officials said they lost control of it in Afghanistan. > Meanwhile, clandestine ground sensors, which can detect electromagnetic signals or radioactive emissions that could be linked to covert nuclear activity, are placed near suspect Iranian facilities. The United States also relies heavily on information gathered by inspectors with the International Atomic Energy Agency who visit some of Iran’s nuclear-related facilities. > But collecting independent human intelligence — recruiting spies — has been by far the most difficult task for American intelligence. Some operational lapses — and the lack of an embassy as a base of operations ever since the hostage crisis three decades ago — have frequently left the C.I.A. virtually blind on the ground in Iran, according to former intelligence officials.

hershel 13y ago
Could the it be that the u.s. decided to be focused on signals intelligence ,since they are so good at it, and it's very effective?
- berkut 13y ago
  It has problems because it lacks context. With human int, you can get more understand of what the thinking and intentions are.