Last week, it was revealed that the National Security Agency (NSA) could see 75% of internet traffic. While that's a pretty scary statistic, it seems there are even more alarming numbers.
A 178-page, leaked by Edward Snowden , revealed that the National Intelligence Program( NIP)managed to raise approximately $52.6 billion in 2013.
While the US government has faced criticism for its annual spending on intelligence agencies since 2007, the “black budget” is much higher than expected and raises questions about where the money is being spent. The report also details the successes, failures and goals of the 16 spy agencies, budget allocations, re-prioritizing failed programs, target management funding and “enhancing counterintelligence.”.
To put the U.S. intelligence budget into perspective, it's higher than the GDP of 100 countries, according to the International Monetary Fund. It's also worth noting that the National Security Agency received about half of that money.
39% of the budget has been spent on achieving strategic espionage objectives involving countries such as Pakistan, China and North Korea.
James Clapper, director of national intelligence, says that it has become imperative to emphasize security and intelligence gathering since 9/11.
"The United States has made a considerable investment in the Intelligence Community since the terror attacks of 9/11, a time which includes wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Arab Spring, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction technology, and asymmetric threats in such areas as cyber warfare"
Let's see how important it is to the US government according to the Washington Post newspaper
The CIA’s spending has seen a huge increase, $14.7 billion in funding for 2013 alone. That’s a far cry from estimates and is nearly 50 percent more than the National Security Agency (NSA), which conducts wiretapping and has long been considered the behemoth of the spy community.
The CIA and NSA have embarked on a new aggressive effort to hack foreign computer networks, steal information, or sabotage enemy systems. The budget refers to these actions as “offensive cyber operations.”
The NSA is scheduled to investigate at least 4,000 potential insider threats in 2013, cases in which the agency suspects sensitive information is at risk from its own. Budget documents show that the U.S. intelligence community has sought to enhance its ability to detect what it calls “anomalous behavior” in personnel who have access to top-secret material.
U.S. intelligence agencies are interested in enemies as well as friends. Pakistan, China, Russia, Iran, Cuba and Israel are all targets.
Counterterrorism Programs employ one in four members of the intelligence workforce and represent one-third of total spending.
For more information, the Washington Post spoke with US officials and, after their consent, published 17 pages, which you can see here.
