Top NASA scientist busted for leaking satellite intel | Hacker News Reader

Top NASA scientist busted for leaking satellite intel

theregister.co.uk

15 pointsCaptainMorgan11 comments

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Why would you risk execution to deliver US military intel to Israel? That's like smuggling sand to the beach.

Human intel shops have a nice acronym for that: M.I.C.E. Money, Ideals, Coercion, Ego

Money: You pay them.

Ideals: Appeal to their ideals. Say in this case, protecting the Jewish state.

Coercion: Blackmail

Ego: Make a powerless bureaucrat feel important on a historical scale.

Top three countries that spy on the US:

1) Israel

2) China

3) France

France higher on the list than Russia?

Much of the French spying is economic espionage. Russia doesn't have the money it did during the cold war. But they are very good at getting information from humans. The KGB was easily the best functioning body of the Soviet government. Which is why they essentially run the Russian government today.

Hmm, I wonder how that statistic was made. My first thought is, wouldn't that probably be the top three countries caught spying on the US?

He seems to have been quite receptive to M with more than a little E thrown in, to the extent that receiving M from a (probably non-Mossad but there is no proving that) Israeli source convinced his E that he was really a Highly Sought After Secret Agent.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/10/20/nasa_security/

Mr. International Espionage was apparently a really cheap date: $9,000 for "... information classified as both top secret and secret, on U.S. satellites, early warning systems, means of defense or retaliation against large-scale attack, communications intelligence information, and major elements of defense strategy".

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/19/stewart-nozette-pic...

>(probably non-Mossad but there is no proving that)

Did you read the article? It was an FBI sting - no Israeli involvement. In fact, from your HuffPo link:

>The complaint does not allege that the government of Israel or anyone acting on its behalf violated U.S. law.

"execution"? I doubt that but life in prison is more likely.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treason

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_in_the_Unite...

Interesting articles. I don't know if they apply or not. :)

Edit: ah, you're probably right, there hasn't been an execution for a non-homicide since 1964.

Obviously I don't know the details of the sting operation, but shouldn't it be the default to assume someone approaching you about selling classified information is an FBI agent, unless very convincingly demonstrated otherwise?

Would this qualify as entrapment?

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