Background on In-Q-Tel: http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,,00.html Photo of their chief strategist: http://www.mccullagh.org/image/950-16/christopher-tucker.html -Declan ********* SECRECY NEWS from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy August 10, 2001 [...] IN-Q-TEL LOOKS PROMISING -- BUT CIA NEEDS WORK In-Q-Tel, the venture capital enterprise established by the CIA in 1999 to facilitate the introduction of new technologies into the aging intelligence bureaucracy, is off to a promising start, according to a new assessment by a group of corporate executives. But the CIA is ill-equipped to take advantage of its contributions. "In-Q-Tel has achieved significant early progress," the report by Business Executives for National Security (BENS) stated. "To date, In-Q-Tel has reviewed hundreds of business plans, made more than a dozen investments, brought five technologies and services to the Agency for use or demonstration, and has implemented three pilots since its charter was signed in July 1999. By private sector standards, this represents a noteworthy accomplishment and the start of a good track record." At the same time, however, "the CIA has been unprepared ... to integrate the solutions In-Q-Tel delivers." A host of technological, security and other barriers the authors found at the CIA pose fundamental challenges to the In-Q-Tel initiative. "The Report of the Independent Panel on the CIA In-Q-Tel Venture," released on August 7, may be found on the BENS web site here: http://www.bens.org/highlights_InQTel.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. To subscribe, visit http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------
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