US Gov't Training: "Political dissent = a 'terrorist' security threat"

[99th_Monkey]

This is precisely why I feel this whole sorry assed "terrorist" meme is a well-engineered hoax
to implement a 1%er coup d'tat in broad daylight, using OUR tax dollars to enslave us under the
thumb of a draconian 100%-saturation Surveillance & Security State.

~~~~ * ~~~~ * ~~~~ * ~~~~ * ~~~~ * ~~~~ * ~~~~ * ~~~~ *

Govt Training Game Marks Political Dissent as 'High Threat'
CyberAwareness Challenge prepares millions of federal employees for peer-policing of 'suspicious' coworkers
August 8, 2013 * Common Dreams * Lauren McCauley, staff writer

How does the government hope to spot the next Edward Snowden? And how can federal employees pitch in to spot the 'threat'? Thanks to a video game dubbed the "CyberAwareness Challenge" created by private contractor Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), federal employees can be trained in the fine arts of password creation, social networking security and stealth peer-policing among coworkers.

(snip)

The game, which is reportedly given to a "wide range of federal employees," takes new hires through a series of tests during which they are challenged to make the "secure" decision. In round three, participants are asked to assess the threat levels posed by their coworkers.

In one instance, the game warns federal workers that they should consider a hypothetical Indian-American woman named Hema a "high threat" because she frequently visits family abroad, has money troubles and "speaks openly of unhappiness with U.S. foreign policy."

In response to these 'indicators,' particularly the note regarding political dissatisfaction, Federation of American Scientists government secrecy expert Steve Aftergood told Huffington Post, "It is not a threat indicator. It could apply to most members of Congress, if not to most Americans. By presenting the matter this way, the slide suggests that overt dissent is a security concern. That is an error."

(snip)

The game was produced in October 2012—one month before the Obama administration finalized its "Stasi-like" Insider Threat policy, revealed last month by McClatchy who reported at the time:

In an initiative aimed at rooting out future leakers and other security violators, President Barack Obama has ordered federal employees to report suspicious actions of their colleagues based on behavioral profiling techniques that are not scientifically proven to work, according to experts and government documents.

The techniques are a key pillar of the Insider Threat Program, an unprecedented government-wide crackdown under which millions of federal bureaucrats and contractors must watch out for “high-risk persons or behaviors” among co-workers. Those who fail to report them could face penalties, including criminal charges.

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/08/08-5

[kestrel91316]

1. Linky, please.....

[truedelphi]

2. Your OP is very instructive as to why

The material leaked by Manning and Snowden is so important.

[99th_Monkey]

3. Thanks

that was my hope.

such 'interesting times' we live in, huh?

[liberal_at_heart]

4. I don't like to idealizie or hero worship, but those who are willing to risk it all and

expose the government when they are doing something wrong are very brave. I hope there will always be those willing to do so whatever the consequences may be.