Comments on: If the CIA can change how it operates, so can you http://www.informl.com/2008/09/08/if-the-cia-can-change-how-it-operates-so-can-you/ from Jay Cross and Internet Time Group Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:02:33 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Jay Cross http://www.informl.com/2008/09/08/if-the-cia-can-change-how-it-operates-so-can-you/comment-page-1/#comment-1209 Jay Cross Mon, 08 Sep 2008 23:54:09 +0000 http://informl.com/?p=1277#comment-1209 Whoa, Stephen. Unlock all the secrets? Isn't that like showing all your cards in poker? I'm a proponent of openness but also a believer in the use of surprise, especially when the other guys play with different rules. Whoa, Stephen. Unlock all the secrets? Isn’t that like showing all your cards in poker? I’m a proponent of openness but also a believer in the use of surprise, especially when the other guys play with different rules.

]]> By: Stephen Downes http://www.informl.com/2008/09/08/if-the-cia-can-change-how-it-operates-so-can-you/comment-page-1/#comment-1208 Stephen Downes Mon, 08 Sep 2008 21:52:08 +0000 http://informl.com/?p=1277#comment-1208 If the CIA really wanted to share, they'd open up their internal documents to everyone. But military and intelligence services are still built around a core practice of secrecy. That's a weakness. It means that, if the secrecy is breached, they are vulnerable. To be effective in the future, these agencies will have to be able to function effectively even if core secrets are shared. It's also a weakness because of the overhead it requires. It is not easy to keep secrets - you have to screen your staff and encrypt your data and a whole lot more. That costs a lot. The company - or military - that can operate fully in the open, will have a tactical and strategic advantage over the company that must keep secrets. If the CIA really wanted to share, they’d open up their internal documents to everyone.

But military and intelligence services are still built around a core practice of secrecy.

That’s a weakness. It means that, if the secrecy is breached, they are vulnerable. To be effective in the future, these agencies will have to be able to function effectively even if core secrets are shared.

It’s also a weakness because of the overhead it requires. It is not easy to keep secrets – you have to screen your staff and encrypt your data and a whole lot more. That costs a lot.

The company – or military – that can operate fully in the open, will have a tactical and strategic advantage over the company that must keep secrets.

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