Edward Snowden Reveals NSAs MonsterMind Program

Edward Snowden is back once again with another chilling tale from the NSA, this time blowing the covers from their MonsterMind project, an automated cyber weapon located in the high desert near Bluffdale, Utah.

This tremendously powerful system sits atop the data flows into the National Security Agency’s Mission Data Repository, acting as a brute force approach to covert cyber warfare in one single program. The system scans vast amounts of electronic communications as they pass through the 247 acre facility. The system listens for cyber attacks and strikes back without warning or detection thanks to advanced bluffing techniques. The concerning factor here is not just how it scans this much data, but also how it automatically decides when and where to strike.

Much like the Stanley Kubrick film Doctor Strangelove, the misfire of one missile leads to an automatic strike back, resulting in all out nuclear war. This system is much the same, a dumb automation that strikes back blindly and with severe force (in digital terms). If other nations have a similar system in place or plan to in the near future, these systems could one day fight amongst themselves, bumping entire countries offline for god knows how long.

The real question is, do we need systems like this? Are they just out to defend sensitive NSA data, or do they genuinely protect the nation from severe digital attacks? That much remains to be seen, but I’m sure we won’t to wait long for further revelations from Mr Snowden.

Thank you Popsci for providing us with this information.

Image courtesy of Popsci.