Global Security, Privacy, & Risk Management

“I can neither confirm nor deny”; NSA + Google = Glomar Response May 12, 2012

In a story on Foxnews it is revealed that a US Federal Appeals court has turned down a request under the Freedom of Information Act that would have forced the National Security Agency to disclose what, if any, relationship it has with Google and specifically a cyberattack against Google which originated in China.  According to the story: “The Electronic Privacy Information Center, which focuses on privacy and civil liberties, sought communications between Google and the NSA, which conducts worldwide electronic surveillance and protects the U.S. government from such spying. But the NSA refused to confirm or deny whether it had any relationship with Google. The NSA argued that doing so could make U.S. government information systems vulnerable to attack.”

Now for some history- In April 1968, the Soviet Union’s K129 nuclear submarine sank.  Seeing an opportunity to get some intelligence, the US CIA’s Special Activities Division came up with a plan known as Project Azorian.  Using Howard Hughes’ company as a front, they commissioned the Hughes Glomar Explorer.  Hughes claimed the ship was designed to extract minerals from the ocean floor.  The HGE was sent to pick up the remains of the submarine and return them to the US.  When the project came to light and the US Government was asked about the project, the response was: “I can neither confirm nor deny” the existence of such a project.  Thus was born the Glomar Response or Glomar Denial…