Deep Dives Research Challenge- CIA Venture Capital Firm In-Q-Tel

         

         

---

Due to the ever increasing and exponentially rising influence of the information highway space we live in today’s society, I thought it would be important to take a ‘deep dive’ into how the Central Intelligence Agency, has had a direct and everlasting influence via the information technology industry. There is another reason as to why I specifically chose this topic to discuss, as I will touch on a little later in this article.

The CIA’s direct impact and manipulation, has been achieved by directly seed funding a web of Silicon Valley tech firm start-ups, via its privately held, taxpayer funded, not-for-profit corporation and venture capital firm In-Q-Tel, also known as IQT. Whilst this is no longer a ‘secret’ with all the disclosures that have taken place over recent years, the history In-Q-Tel itself, of how and why it was created, is generally lesser known to the general public, as most of the focus is concentrated towards the CIA and the individual Silicon Valley entities themselves.

---

Source

---

In-Q-Tel was originally founded in 1999 under the name of Peleus (publicly known as In-Q-It at the time). Its official mission, was to discover and fund these start-ups, as a way to fund the national security apparatus, to stay ahead of its ‘adversaries’ in the technological, informational and data collection arenas. By 2006, In-Q-Tel had ‘officially’ invested $150 million in capital in up to 90 different companies, specialising in software development, material sciences and infrastructure, amongst other areas of research.

Former CIA director George Tenet, justified the creation of this shadowy venture capital firm, under the pretext of data collection capabilities for National Security purposes, which was a precursor to the modern war on terror, that resulted in multiple theatres of war in the Middle East, on the basis of the 9-11 attacks.

Quoting from an article on the CIA’s website itself, on how In-Q-Tel was founded:

         

On 29 September 1999, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was treated to something different. In many of the nation’s leading newspapers and television news programs a story line had appeared that complimented the Agency for its creativity and openness. The media was drawn to a small corporation in Washington, DC that had just unveiled its existence and the hiring of its first CEO, Gilman Louie. Mr. Louie described the Corporation, called In-Q-It, as having been formed "...to ensure that the CIA remains at the cutting edge of information technology advances and capabilities." 1 With that statement the Agency launched a new era in how it obtains cutting edge technologies. In early January 2000, the name of the corporation was changed to In-Q-Tel.

         

The origins of the concept that has become In-Q-Tel are traceable to Dr. Ruth David, a former CIA Deputy Director for Science and Technology. She and her Deputy, Joanne Isham, were the first senior Agency officials to understand that the information revolution required the CIA to forge new partnerships with the private sector and design a proposal for radical change. The timing of the proposal was fortuitous. The Director of Central Intelligence (DCI), George Tenet, had just launched his Strategic Direction initiative that included technology as one of its areas for review. The study made a direct link between the Agency’s future technology investments and improving its information gathering and analysis capabilities.

         

By the summer of 1998, the Agency had assembled a few senior Agency staff employees with an entrepreneurial bent and empowered them to take Dr. David’s original concept and flesh it out. Aided by a consulting group and a law firm, they devoted the next four months to making the rounds in Silicon Valley and elsewhere, putting the concept through the wringer. Much of the time was spent listening. Many they met with were often critical of one aspect or another of the concept. But, whether they were venture capitalists, Chief Executive Officers (CEO), Chief Technical Officers (CTO) or congressmen and staffers, they all eagerly immersed themselves in spirited debates that enriched the Agency team and drove the concept in new directions.

         

By the end of 1998, the Agency team reached a point at which the concept seemed about right. Though it had changed considerably from that which had been proposed initially by Dr. David, it remained true to its core principles. It was time to hand the product of the Agency’s work over to someone in the private sector with the experience and passion necessary to start the Corporation. To the delight of the DCI and the Agency team, Mr. Norman Augustine, a former CEO of Lockheed-Martin and four-time recipient of the Department of Defences’ highest civilian award, the Distinguished Service Medal, accepted the challenge. By February 1999, the Corporation was established as a legal entity, and in March it received its first contract from the Agency. In-Q-Tel was in business, charged with accessing information technology (IT) expertise and technology wherever it exists and bringing it to bear on the information management challenges facing the Agency.

         

Click on the link below, to read the entire article, which includes the entire reasoning behind its creation according to the CIA (with a thick grain of salt).

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/intelligence-history/in-q-tel

---

Source

---

In layman’s terms, the CIA found an opportunistic way through In-Q-Tel and its seed firms, to infiltrate all facets of society and industry, under the guise of technological advancement for ‘National Security’ purposes. This justified an exponential increase in government budgets through the tax payer, cementing its dominant and continued existence well into the future. The other added benefit for the CIA, was the inclusion of backdoors and spyware, covertly embedded within corporate and government software packages, as well as everyday popular gadgets and home software sold all around the world, which can be used to spy on individuals, nation states, or to profile an entire population of citizens.

It was for your protection stupid!

The short clip below, does a great job of explaining the web created by these Government Agencies (including In-Q-Tel) and Silicon Valley. It also highlights some of the individuals involved in their creation and how data and information is collected on individuals through social media.

---

---

The CIA is quite shy about releasing any substantive documentation, through its FOIA search feature, when it comes to any specific details about In-Q-Tel (apart from its main PR puff piece quoted earlier).

There was however, some reference to In-Q-Tel, as well as other interesting pieces of information in the overall operations of the agency, and it’s internal agenda’s within a couple of semi-annual reports from the Office of Inspector General (OIG), who reports directly to the Director of Central Intelligence. The first was written by the then head of OIG, L. Britt Snider, one dated July-December 2000 (also announcing his resignation), and the second by an un-named acting head of the OIG, dated January-June 2001.

---

Source

---

Contained within the first report, are specific references to new and emerging threats (war on terror), after the diminished threat posed by the Soviet Union and the Cold War. He also directly and indirectly makes reference to, and makes a strong push for the success of In-Q-Tel and it’s seeding of tech firms to produce new forms of data and information collection, via new opportunities presented through technological advancement in traditional and online media. He also hints at using new propaganda techniques to manipulate information and continue support for the agency and its relevance into the new world of the information space. There is also a strong effort to garner wide support throughout the Agency as a whole, to divert as much funding as possible to these tech firms via In-Q-Tel, by using the justification of ‘cost cutting’ along with the added advantage of ‘more secrecy’.

Interestingly, approximately 12 months or so after this report was circulated within the offices of the CIA, we had the 9-11 attacks. With the added emphasis put on new and emerging threats, as well as the diminished threat posed by the Soviet Union contained within the report, it’s an important note to keep in mind, in the overall scheme of things.

https://ia801208.us.archive.org/25/items/ESTPUBDATESEMIANNUALREPORTDOC0001311476/%28EST%20PUB%20DATE%29%20SEMIANNUAL%20REPORT%20DOC_0001311476.pdf

In the second report, which is heavily redacted, there is specific mention of the way that funds would be diverted to In-Q-Tel. The WCF (Working Capital Fund) would be the avenue through which this ‘mission’ would be achieved, by advocating for improved efficiency and cost cutting exercises. This would justify the diversion of funds towards these entities, in a report conducted by the Agency’s in house auditors, to suit the very ‘recommendations’ that were made in a previous report from the office of OIG.

https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/DOC_0001344685.pdf

However interesting the information contained in those two OIG reports were, probably the most interesting document of all, was an FOIA request from Adam Sobieski, dated April 22, 2009. He expresses his strong dissatisfaction at the failure of obtaining any documentation and lack of transparency of what he calls a ‘quasi-corporate’ entity in In-Q-Tel, as well as the secrecy surrounding the entire operation, including accusations of illegal and unethical actions taken by the CIA and the aforementioned organisation.

After searching the CIA library, I could not find a response to his FOIA request, so it seems that his requests were most likely ignored or turned down.

---

Source

---

Going back to the other reason why I chose this topic, is the phenomenon which has been a huge topic of debate amongst partisan crowds, since Donald Trump took office as The President of the United States.

That phenomenon is ‘Q’, or better known as ‘Qanon’. For those that paid careful attention to the Wikipedia page of In-Q-Tel, its staring us all right in the face, right there in plain sight. The ‘Q’ in the naming of In-Q-Tel, is an intentional reference to the fictional James Bond character Q , who was the gadget master for MI6 in the Bond movies. It is also a reference to ‘Q-ships’ which were designed to act as a decoy. You can also find references to the Bond reference within these two articles on In-Q-Tel, here and here.

---

Source

---

This is all connected, and shows us that the entire Qanon story, is basically a fiction of the Intelligence agencies, created for deception purposes, to keep everyone divided. This divide is also used as a way to control the overall narrative in the information space with propaganda, designed to also appease or justify both sides of the left/right paradigm talking points.

This is how the Agency and its ‘Five Eyes’ partners, maintain their stranglehold on the information space to secure their ‘relevance’, as stated within the reports of the OIG itself. It really is a huge web of mass manipulation employing cyber and psychological warfare, whilst deliberately perpetuating deception upon society for their own self-interest and agenda's, through the creation and funding of entities such as In-Q-Tel, and the seed funding of its technological subsidiaries in Silicon Valley.

---

         
         

Other related links, for your own reading and research purposes.

https://www.corbettreport.com/how-big-brother-seeded-the-tech-revolution/

https://www.cia.gov/library/reports/archived-reports-1/ann_rpt_1999/dci_annual_report_99_18.html

https://www.cia.gov/news-information/speeches-testimony/2001/UNCLASWWT_02072001.html

https://www.cia.gov/library/reports/archived-reports-1/Ann_Rpt_2002/looking.html

https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol47no3/article06.html

https://www.cia.gov/about-cia/cia-museum/experience-the-collection/text-version/stories/cias-impact-on-technology.html

https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2014-featured-story-archive/the-cia-and-you-cia2019s-contributions-to-modern-technology.html

https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2015-featured-story-archive/cia-and-technology-interview-with-ds-t-cto.html

         
         

---

As always, have a great day and PEACE