The Stratfor Scandal?

News that Stratfor, the "private intelligence service," has been whacked by Anonymous has brought the former organization and its reputation into sharp focus. The fact that Stratfor hadn't bothered to fulfill one of the lowest requirements of cybernetic security -- encrypting sensitive client data -- is one of the most damaging things that can be said about any company in the digital age, much less an "international security organization." This intrusion went quite a bit farther than most -- the Guy Fawkes boys actually managed to extract funds (a reported $500,000 worth) from Stratfor's clients (whom the company insists on calling "members"), which they then gave to charities. The humiliation here is total, and Stratfor will be lucky to survive.

But should it? Stratfor (Strategic Forecasting, Inc.) has achieved a middling reputation among people who don't know any better as the go-to organization for intelligence and analysis on just about anything. There's rarely a topic in the news that the organization doesn't sound off on, either through its own website or in the form of published "reports." (Stratfor also used to be quoted quite a bit by legacy news organizations, though that seems to have died down in recent years.)

There's certainly a place for a professionally run and seriously intentioned private intelligence service in the U.S. But Stratfor isn't it. Much as I hate to say it, this is a case where the Anons have done us all a favor.


Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/01/the_stratfor_scandal.h...