How the US Sends Top Secret Information Around The World

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Video written by Ben Doyle
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[@RonnyBRL]

lol based on the audio quality you can totally tell he’s got a portable microphone and is totally recording this from his parents spare bedroom he’s visiting for the holidays.

[@justaguyfromreddit]

Naah, while he is doing jet lag or smth

[@enews5842]

He’s probably filming jet lag too

[@jacktion1546]

If you watched through to the end, you’d have seen the Nebula ad where he talks about Jet Lag The Game. If you watched Jet Lag The Game (which you should), you’d have seen him talking about recording and posting KZbin videos while traveling.

[@silverXnoise]

I want to see Jet Lag: The Game played by African and Asian nationals, it’d be a whole different experience as each episode may end with a contestant being placed on a watch list. It wouldn’t work for Crime Spree, because they’d just get arrested or shot halfway through the first episode.

[@drewkesslr]

okay so it’s not just me who noticed lol 😅

[@moonman239]

My guess as to why the details of SCIFs are not classified: 1) The government is extremely confident this information can't be used in a successful breach. Think of what it would take to breach an SCIF. My guess is, if you have the knowledge, willingness, and ability to actually break into this facility, chances are you're a foreign nation at war with us. 2) It gives outside researchers the ability to find flaws that the DoD's own security researchers don't see.

[@AR0ACE]

SCIFs are only as secure as the people in them. My dad used to use SCIFs to brief congressmen, and what do you know, hours after the briefing the info would be in the news (if the info was sufficiently juicy). So anyone who wants the info in a SCIF will go through the people who were in it, rather than the arduous task of compromising it some other way.

[@pxevo2418]

The biggest threat is always the people trusted to be there in the first place.

[@frankwhite8536]

you can make a scif all you want. but until is certified it's useless. you won't be getting any data anyway.

[@KeyboardWarrior101st]

Good points, I would add that it would also make sense to mislead a little. Hopefully you understand what I mean.

[@robertjarman3703]

Passwords that are complex, multi character, at least 16 characters long, like this one I just autogenerated: 1RA9P9x1#rt*6N4v, is nearly impossible for computers to crack, if all of your passwords were like that and you never wrote them down anywhere. Security protocols, when observed, are also highly effective at actually preventing espionage or leakage of information. The trouble with most security systems is the human element of them and our propensity for laziness or cheapness, often both simultaneously.

[@michaelwasiljov8633]

I feel old. I was a Yeoman in the navy in the early 90's and everything confidential and secret were sent registered mail and we had to use double envelopes and seal them with thick tape.

[@Patriot-bn9om]

It still can be sent via the mail.

[@real_dddf]

@@Patriot-bn9om I guess officially the USPS is deemed trustworthy but the new Russian immigrant mailman might not be as trustworthy as on paper...

[@Vkubin]

10 years ago we were sill fedex-ing secret HDDs

[@pkobalt]

As I understand, it's still OK to registered mail SECRET things if you want to.

[@inCawHoots]

Sent a small secret key by USPS and send documents of the parcel with it on a separate package.

[@bufordhighwater9872]

When I woke up today, I had no idea that I'd be reminded of so many hours explaining to lieutenants that their thumb drive no longer really belonged to them after they used it to upload a briefing they were supposed to type and email.

[@thestateofalaska]

You mean the 20 minute CBT they did when they commissioned didn't stick with them?? Impossible!

[@kevtheis]

"With all due respect, uhh, SIR..."

[@gino14]

People We put tape over the USB ports for a reason

[@Vexas345]

​@@thestateofalaska When they commissioned? If only they were so lucky. They'll do the module so much that it's just muscle memory. They'll have recurring nightmares about seeing their phone being stolen in an empty cafe, but being unable to stand up, because they know "He" is right behind them. Watching them. Scoring them. Judging them.

[@KeyboardWarrior101st]

We had a SCIF on our compound and the amount of security was crazy. It was behind 3 layers of armed dudes. The main gate, the gate onto our compound and then surrounded by T walls.

[@sirBrouwer]

all you need to get in is a clipboard, a clean high visibility vest and a pen.

[@ArtemisFowl01]

@@sirBrouwer I'm afraid it's not that simple. Might work in construction sites, not for this type of place.

[@CameronBed]

BAF?

[@sirBrouwer]

@@ArtemisFowl01 okay just add a keycard with your library card on it.

[@ArtemisFowl01]

@@sirBrouwer Still not that easy.

[@babygates]

2:58 This is not quite accurate. Only items with non-volatile (storage) memory can inherit classification if plugged into a classified information system. Things like dumb USB mice, analog headphones, cables, etc. are unable to store data after being unplugged and therefore do not inherit this classification. Your rock does not have volatile or non-volatile memory and therefore would not become classified. Edit: Also, during the classification process, a "declassify by " needs to be specified on the media so there is no burden to protect the classification "forever" Edit 2: Didn't expect this comment to blow up. For people who are interested, equipment manufactures publish a Certificate of Volatility which guarantees/proves any data written to the device cannot be stored after it is powered off. Equipment with this certificate can be plugged into a classified IS with no issues.

[@aaronmccullers384]

It is also worth mentioning that the government usually provides its own periphials for these things incase someone does try to plug in any items that can store data. It would not suprise me if they confiscate any object, even things that should be unable to store data, that get plugged into these networks under the assumption that they may have been modified to store data. Just speculation on my part though.

[@cjeam9199]

Chinese spies will start selling suspiciously cheap USB mice on Amazon in about 3 hours.

[@josephjones4293]

When i served in the army, i definitely had a classified headset for use in classified meeting roomz that was kept in a safe…

[@killaship]

@Santa Claus 🌲 spam, nobody wants to watch this

[@babygates]

@@josephjones4293 I work for a defense contractor and we typically make sets of systems where all items in a set have a matching serial number associated with that set. Typically, if a whole system goes under control then the peripherals would similarly stay with the set and be kept in the safe just for logistics. If the item (headset) was USB and stored equalizer presets or something then yes it would need to be under control, but if we're talking about dumb 3.5mm analog headphones then there is no requirement to classify it - it is likely just "secret" to stay with the other hardware

[@andie_pants]

The best part is being escorted into a SCIF. They turn on these red rotating beacon lights and the whole room full of people groans because everybody's got to interrupt their work and turn off their monitors. Good times.

[@neillthornton1149]

The "leper lights"... fun times.

[@damm41]

Is that actually true?

[@OtKH00]

@@damm41 Yes, if there is someone not cleared to be in the space the entire space cannot be used for work as the person is in the room. Hence, the very noticeable red light. People also have to be escorted at all time by someone who is cleared.

[@x--.]

Oh, this explains so much.

[@gino14]

​​@@damm41Even many SIPR spaces, like my watchfloor, have this. It's called "sanitizing".

[@roberteltze4850]

I once did some networking work in a building that had SIPRNET. We didn't touch it as we were only working on a less secure network. But the security around it was pretty cool. The cables were run through conduit that had lower air pressure inside so that if someone tried to tap into a cable in the middle it would detect the change in pressure and set off alarms.

[@someasiandude4797]

Imagine someone really fat went into the room, changed the pressure of the room, and set off alarms

[@richardmillhousenixon]

​@@someasiandude4797 what?

[@brandonmutton6840]

@@richardmillhousenixon you heard him.

[@foxxrider250r]

​@@someasiandude4797😂😂tf

[@markberman6708]

SIPR is baby level secret coms.

[@ayazamikanz5299]

Do you think the U.S. sends top secret bricks around the world too?

[@holyassbutts]

No way, they keep their bricks to themselves They ain't sharin' no brick

[@thecrazyinsanity]

@Correct the bot gained sentience

[@yoface938]

Of course but they’re made of gold

[@DarthAwar]

Yes with information etched in microsocpic pictographs with each brick only having a fraction of the full code it's called Brickdographics-7397.210

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

The bricks used to build the Pentagon are a closely-guarded government secret.

[@skywz]

I'd like to point out that the original military cipher was not actually a cipher, but instead a code, as codes are words represented in an obfuscated form, while ciphers are letters represented in an obfuscated form. Both of them can be referred to as encryption.

[@PrograError]

just like the Enigma Machine. "and hail ... bloody hilter" ~ Alan Turing, The Imitation Game

[@mrmimeisfunny]

I assume the reason the SCIF's specification is freely available is because. A. It requires contractors to build, and not all contractors can be trusted with Confidential information. B. It allows other world governments to find and fix security faults and also proves these facilities are legit. Considering "Security through obscurity" is considered bad practice. C. I can't think of a way to complete the rule of thirds. I guess it is just good for some non-governmental organizations. Same reason why GPS was made public.

[@real_dddf]

I don't think the US wants to help other governments build more secure facilities. Easier job for the CIA if there are known flaws in FSB data centers. Also it would only be better, not worse, to only give contractors the spec, as publicizing it exposes it to a greater superset of people and poses risk that is not less than if only contractors got it.

[@Alighierian]

Regarding the 'Security through obscurity'-bit: Whilst it's a bad idea as a primary defence, it can work just fine as a generic surface level thing. The actual defences obviously still have to come afterwards. Obscurity won't ever work against people who are actively looking, but you can compare it to parking your bicycle in the shed, versus leaving it out front. Fewer people actively thinking/coming across something, means fewer people who may fiddle with it/steal it, 'just because they felt like it'. A bit like the 'out of sight, out of mind'-principle, in that regard. Kinda like having a Generic Unlabelled Office Building #52644-A, instead of a super fancy one, with a "TOP SECRET FBI HEADQUARTERS - NO PEEKING"-sign out front.

[@aaroncarson]

It’s likely to be the same reason no digital security encryption algorithm is to be considered secure if it’s closed source. The best way to make anything secure is have the world try and break it and tell you when they do!

[@engineeringvision9507]

It's nothing special. It's a faraday cage with sound damping :s

[@SchemingGoldberg]

@@Alighierian No, security through obscurity is almost never a good idea. That's why all of the government cryptographic algorithms are completely 100% public. Why? Because it's far better for millions of people to scrutinize the algorithms for flaws, instead of just a handful of experts. The same is true for basically any security system: more people examining the system means they are more likely to find (and fix) the flaws. This is a well known phenomenon. Your examples are about protecting a specific physical item, not about protecting information (which is a completely different thing). Information works completely different than the physical world, you cannot use physical analogies for it.

[@alexanderbateman5581]

Just FYI people generally don't use the acronyms when referring to SCIFS and JWICS. It's said like "Skiff" and "Jay Wicks"

[@neillthornton1149]

This is the first time I have ever heard someone actually spell those out like that... It's always just skiff and Jay wicks. It was jarring to hear. HAI normally does good research, but it's pretty clear they didn't talk to someone who really uses this stuff and just summarized some articles online about it.

[@Mindcrackings]

@@neillthornton1149 to be fair, it'd be hard to find someone to talk to that works in one that'd tell you much anyway. My work has a SCIF but I don't have access to it and if you don't work there you have no idea what goes on

[@keiyakins]

@@Mindcrackings I mean, even things people would gladly talk your ear off about they don't ask... The grammar in the toki pona video was painfully bad.

[@neillthornton1149]

@@Mindcrackings there are plenty of people, myself included, who have deep technical knowledge in this world and would be glad to talk to people about things like this. You can talk about it without revealing anything that's classified.

[@Geerice]

@@Mindcrackings He'd just have to contact the nearest DoD public affairs office

[@Breigner01]

Quick correction about packet switching. It doesn't actually necessarily send packets across different paths, it just sends a packet on a free path so let's say the time one packet reached the next node, one packet has been sent then the 3rd packet could be sent on the same path as the first one.

[@texabot]

Audio is amazing as per usual! Keep up the good work guys

[@barrybrevik9178]

You could have also mentioned a few additional SCIF features, which applies to facilities located in the U.S.: o. Man Traps (that is what they call them.) Man traps are barriers that begin just above ceiling, and extend all the way up to the underside of the roof. In the horizontal, they run along the entire perimeter of the SCIF. The barriers are sometimes a solid wall, but are more often a steel grid; picture chain link fencing, but with much heavier material, and a tighter open space pattern. Sometimes the man trap material will also be embedded within the walls, ceiling, and floors. The purpose of this feature is pretty much contained in the name; you don't want outsiders dropping into your secure room from ceiling. o. Shielding. You talked about wall construction, and it should be mentioned that the entire room is shielded to prevent the escape of electromagnetic signals. This means that the walls and ceiling have a continuous surface of copper, or some other conductive material, which is usually a fine mesh, rather than solid material. The floor of the SCIF is usually elevated to allow the shielding material to run under the floor without interruption. In this case, the door is approached from outside by a small ramp. There is only one door, which is shielded in the same manner as the walls, except that there are a great number of flat "fingers" made from a conductive material that can be heat treated to have a spring temper, such as beryllium copper. These fingers run along all 4 edges of the door, and are connected electrically to the shielding inside the door. The door opening has a continuous piece of rubberized conductive material that is connected electrically with the wall shielding; picture the rubber around your refrigerator door, but with a wrapping of fine metal mesh. When the door is closed, the fingers on the door press up against the flexible material, thereby making the door a part of the wall, electrically. Access to the SCIF is usually controlled by a cipher lock. Because of the shielding, cell phones do not work inside the SCIF. If you need to communicate with anyone outside the SCIF, there is a "red line" available; yes the phone is often red in color. This is because all electronic data inside the SCIF is separated into "red" and "black"; the black data is the secret stuff. If black data needs to leave the SCIF, the data will be encrypted, and the data cable will be run through a shielded and armored conduit, which must be certified to reject X number of minutes of chainsaw/grinder attack, as well as fire; at least that was a requirement for one of SCIFs that I worked in. The SCIF is usually a self contained room inside a larger building, but obviously, the outer facility's air conditioning vents cannot be allowed to penetrate the protected barrier of the SCIF, so it can get hot in there. Usually, the SCIF will have its own isolated air conditioner. o. One must hold some level of government issued security clearance before one can enter a SCIF. If you have read this far, you probably noticed that the customer specification requirements for a SCIF can vary, depending on "how secret" the project needs to be. Usually, these rooms for government projects; the government will flow their requirements down to the subcontractor, who will flow them down to sub-subcontracors, if any. I am no expert on this topic, and there are more considerations for secure rooms than what I have written here. I did not realize that I had written so much until I went back to proof-read it, so I hope that I have not inadvertently bored the hell out of anyone who read this.

[@johnladuke6475]

Ah, but none of this will matter when I steal _the whole room_ with a helicopter!

[@FiendWS6]

I knew a guy who was working construction in a place with a SCIF room. Started to drill a hole in a wall into the man traps to run cable through, because nobody informed him he couldn't/shouldn't. Must have triggered something or somebody saw it. He and the guy who was helping him were questioned by some MPs for the next 5 to 6 hours while they I assume did a even more thorough background check than they had to do to get onto the base and get clearance to even work there. I always thought that story was hilarious because the guys who let them into the room next to the SCIF probably didn't mention it because the contractors had no need to know about it.

[@FlyingVolvo]

Wouldn't a air conditioner be considered a potential access point for siphoning information out of a SCIF since it would require a connection to outside the SCIF to move cooler air into the room? Any light you wish to share on that problem from a purely hypothetical point of view?

[@KingNothing1118]

@@FlyingVolvomy assumption was that it’d just be one of those things that’s like an insulated box of ice water with a fan on top, not like a whole unit that gets put into the wall.

[@PoppaPoutine]

@@FlyingVolvoIf the airconditioning unit is located outside the SCIF, the air can be ducted in through a honeycomb waveguide vent. It's essentially a metallic vent with a ton of tiny holes (hence the honeycomb name). This minimizes the RF and sound leakage through the room. You'd also want some sort of non-conductive collar between the vent and the duct to prevent conduction of RF radiation.

[@SeanA099]

Don’t forget the flashing purple lights to let people know if there are visitors so they don’t accidentally talk about something they’re not supposed to

[@byrondavison5516]

Because this is HAI, and pedantry is expected…we absolutely still distribute information on British warship movements. The difference now is that: 1. The British told us and 2. We are likely distributing the information to other British.

[@realINTERNETFRIEND]

They also use shortwave radio to send EMERGENCY ACTION MESSAGES to strategic military assets across the world!

[@PsRohrbaugh]

Skyking

[@paladinhill]

Wheedle - Wheedle - Wheedle... standby for SAC HQ msg....

[@kevtheis]

@@PsRohrbaugh Do not answer. DO NOT ANSWER!

[@kevtheis]

Not just that, but encrypted data and digital voice on HF are still widely used for military communications. Sure, SATCOM has gained a lot of use over the years, but HF will still (sometimes) get the job done if all else fails.

[@adaml2932]

I thought that was just for small not as developed countries like Cuba and some Eastern European

[@maltava4534]

This is great! And here I was thinking we stored these highly classified documents in the closet at Mar-a-Lago.

[@MurderMostFowl]

Only the most amazing most presidential most beautiful secure documents are chosen to be stored at Mar-a-Pago, believe me folks, I’ve seen them and no one has documents like these, it’s really tremendous.

[@User31129]

It's criminal this comment only has 25 likes even if it has only been two days

[@rayzerot]

Well played Maltava, well played.

[@dennisclang]

Or Biden's garage.

[@daniels.2720]

...& Hilary knew what ??

[@Ttarler]

Worth pointing out that most government agencies have separate classification systems that are analogous to DoD but don’t directly correspond (e.g. Energy, Treasury, etc.). Often the systems are compatible enough to inter-connect but occasionally it creates other issues since security vs. resIliency often DO differ between agencies.

[@johnforgosa3970]

So, that's not really the case, or if there are any of these separate classification systems, they are few and far between. The entirety of the U.S. Intelligence Community (to include the Dept of Energy's Office of Intelligence & Counterintelligence and the Dept of Treasury's Office of Intelligence & Analysis) utilize the same classification system as DoD.

[@hyperspeed1313]

Not separate classification systems, but single-site classified networks, with a limited number of terminals to access the broader SIPRNET or JWICS.

[@samcavanagh7993]

Fun fact due to the way that congressional laws trump executive orders, the DOE's classification system tends to override any other agency's when there's a conflict in the rules. One way this is evident is that the president, as commander in chief, can unilaterally declassify anything he wants anytime he wants EXCEPT if it has to do with nuclear secrets under the auspices of the DOE (see trump being an idiot). Another funny consequence is that US marshals are legally empowered to pursue and arrest people with federal warrants anywhere in the universe...except in nuclear power plants which are under sole jurisdiction of the DOE.

[@ssholum]

The only thing that I can bring to mind are designations for controlling the dissemination of Unclassified documents (i.e. For Official Use Only (FOUO)). This information is still Unclass, so if some legal process requested that information (like a FOIA request), there'd be no barrier to obtaining it, but its stuff the agency would rather its employees not post on social media. Previously, each agency had its own systems for how to label and treat this kind of information, but it caused confusion when sharing information between agencies. This practice has been standardized through the Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) specification, as mandated by EO13556. All Executive agencies are required to use the same standards for data Classification, as outlined in EO12356.

[@doujinflip]

Classifications are the same, but the networks that each bureau/agency uses to process that level may or may not allow for specific traffic depending on policies and how well the firewalls in between are built. For example a DoD SIPRNet user might be able to send email to the equivalent at State or Justice, but even with a fully built site account they might have to log into a Secret-level State/Justice workstation to get into the online sites in those networks because of blockages for DoD SIPR or outside the State/Justice Secret network altogether.

[@romulusnr]

Technically the public internet is packet switched as well. It's just that with the consolidation of backhaul providers, more stable connections, and modern routing logic, not to mention lack of redundant connections for most people, it's unlikely that your packets will go different routes. But they *could.*

[@frankiethefish73]

I was given a tour of a DOJ SCIF in the late 90's and here is what I remember. The door had a combination lock that randomized the number layout after each turn of the dial. All the computers had removeable hard drives that were kept in a safe within the SCIF. Also, the surrounding walls, floor and ceiling did form a faraday cage.

[@cameronrobertson640]

Now of days they just give you a badge and you have your own pasecode with it. The badge will determine what buildings you're allowed into and you just scan you badge and type in your pass code

[@richardmillhousenixon]

​@@cameronrobertson640The numbers do still randomize after each key press though, according to someone I know that worked for one of the contractors that builds SCIFs and the systems that go with them.

[@doujinflip]

Randomized number pad layouts are still a thing that the security team can set, such as for the room alarm that classified work spaces often have once past the door locks.

[@ThePopeofPoland1]

Always get a kick remembering someone from my shop was browsing FB on a SIPRNET approved computer when on a training exercise. Good times were had by all except him.

[@cardinal8200]

I love the fact that there are probably a lot of us officials closely inspecting this video to see if anything important was leaked or revealed

[@GeoffCostanza]

No need. Every PFC who ever worked in or near a SCIF is in the comments section, bragging about it by revealing everything they know.

[@SchemingGoldberg]

@@GeoffCostanza Reminds me of when soldiers leaked classified tank data to War Thunder in order to prove that War Thunder's tanks are inaccurate... this happened 3 times.

[@OtKH00]

Not really, most of the data you're going to hear is Unclassified, just generally only used for official purposes. So you're not generally going to hear people talking about it, but the data is out there a lot of the time if you want to find it. That being said people who work in these areas are generally nerdy internet dwellers, and as a result, often like these types of videos, and get curious what other people think. Hence as you can imagine, the comment section is filled with loads of people who work in SCIF's.

[@PrograError]

@@OtKH00 if you have that many people working in SCIFs, then nothing is really classified other than what is contained in such conversations... tho I wonder are there lots of "sexual relations" going on in these facilities, presuming the SCIFs are not too guarded as one might have thought... it's basically leak proof, but probably not sweat proof from what I heard in this comment section... (and the thereafter consequence of one...

[@neauxmad1048]

​@@OtKH00 I feel attacked 😂

[@smoothiedeluxe7422]

I want a Wendover episode on something related to this. This was fascinating.

[@philipramsden4975]

Great video. Accurate enough. I used to be a JWICS admin and worked in a SCIF for 5 years. Depending on the compartment, you could even essentially have a SCIF within a SCIF.

[@JJW83641]

Wtf

[@x--.]

SCIFception. I'd watch.

[@sterlingarcher7101]

Yup, I was read in to a SAP and it required a space that was accessible only by those that had same read-in and knowledge of the combination lock. Regular cleared had no access

[@mngo5505]

Interesting video, watched it twice. now it's once as interesting :)

[@nomore-constipation]

Holy Crap so my mom was a secret agent when I grew up? She liked hanging clothes outside in the air because she thought it was better than a dryer Think of all the messages she had outside that our neighborhood could have cracked!

[@clray123]

That might be why your neighbor visited your mom so often after making laundry whenever dad was not around, and then there seemed to be even more laundry after that.

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

Well, did she seem to be friends with men wearing powdered wigs?

[@nomore-constipation]

@@clray123 Thats why Mr Rogers was always over eh?

[@nomore-constipation]

@@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721 You give her too much credit. She wasn't hanging out with the high society gentleman lol

[@Idk-ys7rt]

I thought Sam said you will either end up in prison or shocked, then on replay realised he said shot. Now it makes sense.

[@baylinkdashyt]

Note that the 736 word dictionary was not a "cipher" -- which can be cracked -- but a "code", which is essentially impossible to crack without stealing the dictionary.

[@tiktokjourney8472]

That would be quite wrong. Assuming the code was never or infrequently updated, it would still be subject to frequency analysis and known plaintext attacks. As it was hundreds of years ago and on physical media, it was probably reasonably secure against that. However, it isn't anywhere near impossible. It simply would have required secretly intercepting and copying coded texts, and if the attacker could inject known text into the system, it would speed up the attack.

[@baylinkdashyt]

@@tiktokjourney8472 That is breaking the *use* of the code, which is a couple of extra layers on top of the code proper. My understanding is that it's 3 or 4 orders of magnitude harder to crack a code than a cipher, and goes up from there if the people using it are doing it correctly. At the very least, it's a big enough difference to warrant my commenting on it, even if you feel I've overstated the case.

[@thePronto]

Dude, they cracked Enigma by figuring out that the last few words in a German message were 'Heil Hitler'. The guys at NSA (etc.) could crack a code in microseconds.

[@ironicdivinemandatestan4262]

@@baylinkdashyt I assume it's jsut like decoding a foreign language, using what words are statistically more likely to appear.

[@tiktokjourney8472]

@@baylinkdashyt not really. A codebook isn't "hard to crack". It is simply a substitution cipher with fewer characters to analyze. It is mainly about obfuscation and brevity. It probably would have been harder to break at the time as it would have been difficult to gather enough cipher text for frequency analysis. The easier method would be a known plaintext attack, but that is difficult in ensuring your desired text is sent AND that you intercept it once encoded. That is probably the biggest difference between encryption prior to WWI and after. Prior to WWI, nothing was transmitted by radio waves, and rarely by telephone or telegram. You had to physically intercept the message which almost always alerted your opponent you had done so. Once radio became a primary method of communication, then you had to assume your opponent could intercept all your communications so it was much more important to design more robust ciphers. I believe someone mentioned Enigma. Engima was very advanced for its time, and its greatest weakness was operator error. Meanwhile, the US Navy had learned the value of padding at the beginning and ending of messages and thus you get "The world wonders".

[@eFxAstro]

There are also “CDS” (cross domain solutions). Allowing data to pass through different security domains (IE. secret, classified, or top secret).

[@ghostnetworkNL]

radiant mercury is a good example

[@eFxAstro]

@@ghostnetworkNL many different examples. V3CDS, Radiant Mercury, TNE, Etc.

[@pfcstuck]

Next video you can go even deeper and talk about the various CENTRIX systems. They are basically SIPRNET systems, but run between the U.S. a various foreign countries. There are also multiple SIPRNET systems operating within the U.S.; local ones dealing with classified information pertaining to a specific region or base and the "global" SIPRNET.

[@NotJimCarrey]

I had to scroll too far to find the name of the orange cable that I'd forgotten

[@PrograError]

well..at this point, it's just 3D chess of web of SIPRNET systems... each on a deeper level than last INB4 we have the SHIELD system

[@johndeltuvia7892]

The entire INTERNET, World Wide Web included, uses packet switching. That's the basis of the Internet Protocol (developed under a DOD contract in the mid '60s to make nuclear war survivable.)

[@Andrew-sv3ck]

I think the room specs aren’t classified because “build a soundproof box with white noise” is pretty much a given.

[@undivided_unified]

2:09 why I subbed ... f*ckin righteous !

[@chaseweeks2708]

SIPR is actually connected to the greater WWW. Each LAN is just connected to each other by a VPN, a very good VPN.

[@BrianB14471]

It's called HAIPE.

[@doujinflip]

That's all government crypto is really, just maintaining a very specifically configured VPN with tracked sets of (nowadays file downloaded) keys. Running on aluminum _bricks_ that are often 10~20 years old.

[@stargazer7644]

You're confusing the web with the Internet. They aren't the same thing. WWW is an application that rides the Internet.

[@michaelschlicker]

Why don't they just hide the information in bricks?

[@61rampy65]

Good idea. That way, Sam will never talk about them again. Oh, wait. Maybe that's a bad idea.

[@rayzerot]

They decided not to use bricks because they didn't want those bricks accidently used in the border wall with Mexico. You know- the one that's totally, seriously, I promise any day now, going to get built. And paid for by the Mexicans too /sarcasm and also Smh

[@robertjarman3703]

They do hide information in bricks. Kinda. It´s a weird way to create a dead drop. Not that safe, and they would normally use other techniques.

[@doujinflip]

Would the book-sized aluminum-cased VPN encryptors count as bricks? They definitely feel and act like bricks sometimes.

[@henrykent]

The audio quality makes it seem as if this video could've been totally written and spoken by AI

[@gustxo]

xd probably is

[@zachwichter6836]

Big fan of this channel and I know this is a totally random, barely related comment, but I knew the guy with glasses in the stock footage at 1:36. Joe DeCola was an absolutely fascinating man with a huge heart and an even huger laugh. He passed away in 2022 and is missed by so many people. It made me really emotional to see him so unexpectedly here.

[@4kChannel]

Was he an actor?

[@scottmaucher17]

I signed up for curiosity stream / nebula with your link !!!! I LOVE IT !!!!! Thanks for the amazing content, keep it up and have a fantastic start to 2023!

[@kamekofs_]

To be honest I'm kinda disappointed there is no Nord VPN sponsorship in this one, it would've been the perfect fit for the video

[@thePronto]

And no jokes about Trump's storage of secret information.

[@hyperspeed1313]

Me with popcorn noting how many people are outing themselves as having/had DoD security clearances.

[@annai157]

And you *believe* them?

[@rustyshackleford48]

I've been in the Army for nearly a decade now. We absolutely have not updated our methods for transmitting military secrets. We may have _changed_ the methods, but they aren't exactly _updated_

[@SubVet84]

Regarding Sipernet, I know from experience that if you plug in a memory stick into a computer on the network, and then plug it into your personal laptop, your laptop is now secret also. My coworker had personal pics on his laptop that he wanted to be the home screen on his government laptop. So without thinking he put them on his USB drive and downloaded them on his government laptop. He then continued to use the same device on his personal laptop. So without knowing it, he made his memory stick and personal laptop classified secret. So now his laptop had to be kept in a secure location (we were on a submarine on deployment. Every inch is secret until we pull into port, in which case he would need to lock it in a safe). He could no longer connect to the internet or download things off his laptop. I don’t remember what the resolution was. I think they had to wipe everything. Just like they wiped away his rank as a result.

[@JJ-sd4kb]

4:50 anyone else thought he was gonna say your computer and give a nord vpn ad?

[@DanielleWhite]

I think my favorite method was Cardan Grille or Mask Letters which the British used and the Americans didn't crack. A letter is written that contains two messages with the intended one only revealed when a cutout paper mask, sent separately, is placed over the letter.

[@PrograError]

lemon letter also works.

[@nullpro7435]

Enjoying the audio quality in this video

[@bradj977]

I like how Sam's videos are an excuse to expose things the US have swept under the rug

[@Tarkov.]

Am I the only person who feels like Sam's voice is heavily compressed, like I'm listening to him over shortwave, with a potato plugged into two tin cans?

[@guaymaster]

Ohhh I thought it was just me, I recently changed hardware so I wasn't sure if my sound drivers were installed correctly. Thanks for saying this.

[@Patriot-bn9om]

This is the very high level overview of one layer of military communications networks and security. The really important related item is security clearances and the "need to know". There is a complex process to obtain a clearance. And, just because you have a clearance doesn't mean you have a need to know, or a need to obtain login credentials for one of the networks or the ability to gain access to any of the classified facilities that have such computers and networks in operation. And, let's not forget these facilities and networks have physical crypto hardware that has to be loaded with the crypto keys each with a security classification, distributed and tracked from a central facility, that have to be loaded, updated, and destroyed at prescribed times, including emergency re-keying when a device or key is compromised, all administered by career personnel whose job is to manage crypto keys. It's false to believe that some ex-government official that still has a clearance can someone access classified material. They retain their clearance for many reason, one of which is so that they would still be able to answer questions in an investigation that may arise about the classified material they once accessed or possibly mis-handled.

[@harrikangur]

Sounds like a hassle. Easier to check some drawers in Mar-a-lago.

[@pam3476]

It may seem ridiculous that all media plugged in to SIPR devices must be classified (i.e. a USB rock), but it’s vital that only approved technology are allowed in closed spaces. One could imagine the consequences of connecting a computer mouse that had “additional functionality” unbeknownst to the user. Also I’m not sure if this is standard, but JWICS can be pronounced like “jay-wicks”

[@Geerice]

Jay-wicks is how all my intel friends say it

[@WyvernYT]

It makes sense, too. It might be worthwhile for some foreign intelligence agency to build a few thousand 'enhanced' mice, pack them up as legitimate merchandise, and reverse-shoplift them into office supply stores around Washington DC. For the project to pay off they'd only have to get lucky once...

[@ilajoie3]

I've used both NIPRNET and SIPRNET with credentials on both. I've never touched JWICS though

[@arkajitmaity5277]

Sure, "Ivan"

[@travisschneider3011]

A lot of people in the US Military have used the systems before, so not that uncommon.

[@ilajoie3]

@@arkajitmaity5277 Yep that's my name, and Travis is correct about the reason

[@PsRohrbaugh]

Hello this is China DM me please

[@davidwagenblast5717]

I've used JWICS, I'm just an IT guy though so I have never been issued PKI's or the credentials needed to actually access the information on the network

[@seanvinsick5271]

No one spells out the acronyms. They're pronounced SKIF and Jay Wicks. Classification criteria has a very specific definition and over classification is prohibited by law. The SCIF specs aren't classified for a couple of reasons: one, the information doesn't meet the standard; two, any construction worker or engineer would need a clearance for that level. It can take months to years to get all of it approved. Finally, classified information isn't just a clearance level. There are also compartments and releasabilities. You could have a TS, but you likely wouldn't be able to see anything because it's mostly segmented up into programs, which you need special clearances and access to.

[@danielcurry1695]

THIS! That drove me nuts and I'm surprised no one else mentioned it. I have NEVER heard JWICS spelled out.

[@seanvinsick5271]

@Daniel Curry it's like hearing nails on a chalkboard everytime

[@Bmoore011]

As an architect, that wall construction for the rooms is not actually that acoustically separated. You’d find better acoustic separation between two condos.

[@sarmion4382]

Maybe that's why the material is public. So everyone things these are the specifications while the room is actually made with even better techniques. ;D

[@2Fast4Mellow]

@@sarmion4382 It is not the materials per se that make the room secure. Attached to the wireframe is a high frequency shaker that constantly changes it frequencies. This makes it near impossible to listen in a conversation. It's also like a speaker that it dubbing the sound with random other words. Why words, because words have patterns and if you would just replace it by white noise, you can still looks for patterns in the noise. From what the contractor told me, if you would try to listen in, it's like a hundred different conversations are taken in the room. For windows they have a similar device that alters the frequency at which the lights are reflected. The reason why the specifications are available is so this SCIF's can be build by any contracted. Once a SCIF is completed, a certification process is required. Only when the SCIF passes that certification, a secure terminal is installed. Also the document in this video is only the abstract base specification. Many department have addendums to these specifications, some are public, others require a signed NDA. Most of these 'secure' specifications have visible and non-visible ways to find out who leaked a document. Leaking these documents is a very serious crime which starts with revoking your security clearance. For many people this means they can no longer perform their job, and because many similar jobs are require your to have or are able to acquire a security clearance, it is very hard to find new employment. It is even worse if you are the owner of company, because the credentials of the company are also revoked. Your behavior is at least investigated by the DHS and serious charges can be filed against you and usually handled by a FISA court. p.s. I'm on a secure network for a different department than the DOD.

[@itsexon2507]

in my experience with the armed forces, any “minor” infraction you do pertaining SIPRNET system’s will immediately get you into UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice) which is basically prison so yeah it was no joke

[@justincalvarez]

The USB rock thing is incorrect, the device cannot have volatile storage. In fact I KVM between all three systems with the same mouse, keyboard and monitor every day.

[@iammaxhailme]

Except your peripherals are plugged into the KVM, not the SIPR/JWICS terminals

[@justincalvarez]

@@iammaxhailme it’s literally a pass through via usb. Most peripherals (non-volatile storage) are authorized to be plugged directly into the computer/VDI & are swap-able from machine to machine. Unless you’re in a SAP-F (a more secure SCIF)..then every piece of equipment is destroyed as soon as it is removed from the space. Wireless mice are allowed on NIPR and SIPR outside of a SCIF. Wireless keyboards are never allowed. Local policies do shift a little with restrictions.

[@davidwagenblast5717]

@@justincalvarez A SNCO actually used a RGB keyboard in the SCIF (it had volatile storage for color settings) and the security manager just about had a stroke. It was a source of a lot of workplace drama, the keyboard had to be destroyed

[@justincalvarez]

@@davidwagenblast5717 lol I could see that happening. I wouldn’t use anything but GOVT equipment in any SCIF or SAP-F.

[@davidwagenblast5717]

@@justincalvarez It was acquired from government sources actually, made in America and all that. Just wasn't meant for a SCIF

[@rparl]

I recall a pseudo classification called UNCLASS EFTO. It was for unclassified material which was Encrypted For Transmission Only.

[@yournerdiness3135]

0:27 technically speaking, doing that isn't even encryption, just encoding, which can be easily broken through something called frequency analysis.

[@bluerazzbery]

@HaI I'm 25N, sipr nipr is my bread & butter. You missed the perfect oppurtunity to delve into the satelite network system that carries said classified information, Skynet. (yes the same network system name as in Terminator)

[@josephfield6903]

I swear half as interesting, wendover productions, and reallifelore are the same person

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

I'm pretty sure I once worked on assiting one of these type of connections being installed. I wasn't told a lot but I was informed it was for some sort of secure internet connection for receiving data in regard to government contracts worked on by the company we were working in. As this video continues, I realize this must be exactly what it was for.

[@FacterinoCommenterino]

Today's fact: Baked beans are actually not baked, but stewed.

[@notapplicable1483]

That’s a good fucking fact

[@CamcorderHomeVideos]

I love these types of comments! 👍🏻

[@andie_pants]

Dammit, you were supposed to keep that info on SIPRNET!

[@holyassbutts]

@@andie_pants Faaaaack! We're all dead! You hear mee?! DEAD! They comin for us!

[@rngesus8057]

wtf

[@vrclckd-zz3pv]

Regular internet uses packet switching too

[@krennic4438]

And that isn’t even close to how it works.

[@vrclckd-zz3pv]

@@krennic4438 More like Half as Researched, gotem

[@TheChivalricKnight]

JWICS is an acronym and is pronounced "jay-wicks", while SCIF is also an acronym and pronounced as "skiff." Just FYI.

[@joseville]

Just FYI, JFYI is also an acronym and it's pronounced "jjjffffyee".

[@buddyclem7328]

@@joseville Did you just make that up? If not, that's pretty cool, but I'm still not going to pronounce .gif with a soft G.

[@joseville]

@@buddyclem7328 gotta come clean JFYI, like FYI, is an initialism - i.e. it's pronounced by saying its individual letters (like CIA, FBI, NSA)

[@TheChivalricKnight]

@@joseville You only lasted an hour, gamer. You gotta COMMIT to the BIT.

[@rayzerot]

@@buddyclem7328 It's upsetting that some people still insist that gif is pronounced with a J. I mean it's an abbreviation for "Graphics interface format." Graphics. G. Graphics. Guh guh graphics Are all of those J pronunciation people trolling?

[@seagie382]

lmao before I looked at the comments I was like "my fucking airpod is doing that thing again goddamit" and reconnected it a bunch of times

[@cagedtigersteve]

Missed opportunity for a Mara Lago joke.

[@A.Filthy.Casual]

We just say those acronyms as "j-wicks" and "skiff"

[@csh8451]

Scifs are just room-sized headaches, especially when building them

[@elbowache]

Bruh, buy some acoustic room treatment with that Nebula I'm giving you.

[@jaredbennett9517]

You are so right about the USB drives. For this reason USB drives are banned from the nuclear plants I work for LMAO

[@OtKH00]

Look up Stuxnet and what happened to the Iranian centrifuge facility if you want to know why USB drives are banned where you work likely, lol.

[@PrograError]

@@OtKH00 i wonder how you'd update the programs then... intranet?

[@jaredbennett9517]

@@PrograError just now seeing this. Some portable media devices are approved but they have to be quarantined and thoroughly checked for two weeks before being allowed into the plant

[@joseville]

3:45 Is the Mar A Lago storage closet a sensitive compartment information facility?

[@thePronto]

According to 'the real President', yes. And when he is 'reinstated', the 'Pink House' will become the Executive Mansion. It's dual function as a Members Only club will make it more convenient (and more private) for all his corrupt friends to put their fingers on the scales of the US government.

[@Patriot-bn9om]

It may very well be. That hasn't been discussed in any of the news stories which are all written by people who have no clue about SCIF's, clearances, or the need to know. A facility could be as small as a single GSA approved safe for a particular classification.

[@joseville]

@@Patriot-bn9om Not even Trump has claimed this.

[@damm41]

This is a good question actually. It is an established fact that Donald trump had a SCIF installed at mar a lago because he would go there all the time. I’m not sure if that data was seized from the SCIF at mar a lago. If it was then Donald trump would be less likely to be charged. If it wasn’t stored in a SCIF then Donald trump should definitely be charged and convicted with mishandling classified information.

[@SchemingGoldberg]

@@damm41 Considering that Hillary wasn't charged or convicted despite her absurd mishandling of classified information (as proven by the e-mail leaks), I doubt anything will happen to Trump either.

[@fer3250]

Amazing how now they advertise curiosity stream as an add on to nebula, a few months ago it was the opposite..... and the episode is great

[@bredsheeran2897]

It sounds like Sam recorded this in a washing machine

[@michaelodonoghue7464]

The Australian Military had a courier system for transferring classified documents by hand from place to place and person to person. For many years I was one of these couriers.

[@4kChannel]

Is it true that Australia is run by a dingo who controls the prime minister?

[@michaelodonoghue7464]

@@4kChannel sometimes Australia has the Appearance of not being Run by anybody, so a Dingo might be an Improvement.

[@myquealer]

Where does the basment of Mar A Lago fit in with SCIFs?

[@thePronto]

It *is* a SCIF. Because Trump says so. And he's the President. Still.

[@2Fast4Mellow]

That was just an undisclosed archive room...

[@DrVictorVasconcelos]

I love how "computer code" being shown on videos like these are 90% of the time HTML, which isn't even a Turing-complete programming language (i.e., you can't do stuff you can do on other programming languages). It's one of the few languages you can't hack with.

[@ThunderChasers]

HTML is not a programming language in any way. It is a document markup language. But yes.

[@LaGuerre19]

"Pearls before swine" used to be a favorite phrase, but I'm updating it to "Rocks before SIPRNET"

[@louisnemzer6801]

Anyone feel the urge to build a DIY SCIF?

[@thelight3112]

You know you can get paid to sit in them.

[@majicdude88]

Being a former Intel guy in the Army, I can tell you that a lot of the info in this video is pretty outdated. A lot has changed since 2006 when this info was last accurate lol. Classified info is no longer dealt with nor transmitted in this way.

[@krennic4438]

Just being packet switched was never meant as a protection of the data. That part of the video was just plain wrong. The internet is packet switched.

[@cbrudder84]

your ads alone make me want to claw my eyes out despite the fact that you use my stock video all the time, and I am fucking handsome.

[@liquidcockatoo1655]

"How the US Sends Top Secret Information Around The World" --> By using some Discord servers, duh.

[@kaihatkeinenaccount]

I always forget that I have an Nebula account until Sam remebers me. I really miss the comments on Nebula.

[@DanAI17]

"Unfortunately we're no longer allowed to distribute information on British warships". Hmm, really?

[@austinsmith8584]

That Obama paddle boarding is about to be TOP SECRET

[@RichardPetron]

Lol I've never been in a SCIF where they were actually playing anything through the speakers

[@mdbizzarri]

You missed the point of putting the fear of god in people even on the NIPRNET, and they do it yearly through training.

[@joseville]

What do they do?

[@thePronto]

They clearly forgot Trump.

[@csh8451]

Death by PowerPoint every time someone remotely comes close to not following rules.

[@doujinflip]

​@@josevilleWe have a lovely 1~2 hour personal therapy session with Jeff.

[@TheBigestmack]

As a Long Islander, I'm beyond impressed he said "Setauket" correctly.

[@carlsoll]

4:24 Lol that’s how you Jam Radios 📻😄 You run so much energy through it that your the only one anyone can hear :P

[@raustaklass]

Yay a video written by Ben

[@Achmedsander]

Missed Thug Shaker Central

[@marcberm]

Given the subject matter, I was certain this one would be sponsored by a VPN company. 😀

[@ChristofferETJ]

Note: Jet Lag: the Game is also censored on Nebula. It's [BLEEPING] annoying, as it is anywhere else.

[@rickynelson8004]

did someone else find the sound was off or is it just my computer?

[@TheColorman]

why does the voice sound like it was generated by an ai

[@SirSmoke-a-Lot420]

I am disappointed, I thought this video was going to be about bricks.

[@jonjanson2]

I love Jet lag the game!

[@HighCharityYT]

We've got the 2016 mic back out lads

[@mrkingsudo]

This video feels mildly illegal to watch, and i absolutely love it lol.

[@siljeff2708]

Or you could just visit Palm Beach, FL!

[@joost00555]

I wanted to take advantage of your nebula deal, but credit cards arent as common in my country as they may be in the usa. A paypal option would be great

[@benfll]

Debit cards work too even if it just says credit card