Assessing the Leakers: Criminals or Heroes?

David Cole, expanding on his recent piece in The New York Review of Books, considers the perpetrators of the major intelligence leaks currently dominating the headlines: Edward Snowden, Bradley (now Chelsea) Manning, and Julian Assange. Cole reviews the actions and avowed motivations of these individuals—noting their similarities and differences—while subjecting each situation to legal analysis.… Continue reading Assessing the Leakers: Criminals or Heroes?

A Proposal to Reduce Government Overclassification of Information Related to National Security

Lin explores the phenomenon of overclassification in American society and proposes a classification cost metric in order to create serious economic incentives to reduce classification. The metric would provide decision makers with a way to judge the relative importance of different classified documents and allow officials to classify documents on a more objective scale. The… Continue reading A Proposal to Reduce Government Overclassification of Information Related to National Security

Big Data Before and After Snowden

The author reflects on a symposium panel discussion on “Swimming in the Ocean of Big Data: National Security in the Age of Unlimited Information” that occurred before the Snowden disclosures. He analyzes the panel discussion in context of the time at which it occurred and compares it to what has become known since June 2013.… Continue reading Big Data Before and After Snowden