Intellipedia

Intellipedia was created to share information on some of the difficult subjects facing U.S. intelligence and to bring cutting-edge technology into its youthful workforce.{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2006-11-02-intellipedia_x.htm |title=Over 3,600 intelligence professionals tapping into Intellipedia |work=USA Today |agency=Associated Press |first=Katherine |last=Shrader |date=2006-02-11 |access-date=2008-10-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090124171839/http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2006-11-02-intellipedia_x.htm |archive-date=2009-01-24 |url-status=live }} It also allows information to be assembled and reviewed by a variety of sources and agencies, to address concerns that pre-war intelligence did not include robust dissenting opinions on Iraq's alleged weapons programs.[http://www.smartbrief.com/alchemy/servlet/encodeServlet?issueid=53427FBF-AE22-4442-B244-C4E7C872397A&lmid=archives "Data from spies now assembled wiki-style"], Los Angeles Times, November 1, 2006 A number of projects are under way to explore the use of the Intellipedia for the creation of traditional Intelligence Community products. In the summer of 2006, Intellipedia was the main collaboration tool in constructing a National Intelligence Estimate on Nigeria.Bruce Finley, [http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_4216851 "Intelligence Fixes Floated at Conference," Denver Post, 08/22/2006] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080110034844/http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_4216851 |date=2008-01-10 }}

Intellipedia was at least partially inspired by a paper written for the Galileo Award (an essay competition set up by the CIA and later taken over by the DNI), which encouraged any employee at any intelligence agency to submit new ideas to improve information sharing. The first essay selected was by Calvin Andrus, chief technology officer of the Center for Mission Innovation at the CIA, entitled "The Wiki and the Blog: Toward a Complex Adaptive Intelligence Community".{{Cite magazine |last=Dreyfuss |first=Emily |title=The Wikipedia for Spies—And Where It Goes From Here |url=https://www.wired.com/2017/03/intellipedia-wikipedia-spies-much/ |access-date=2024-03-14 |magazine=Wired |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028}} Andrus' essay argued that the power of the Internet had come from the boom in self-publishing, and noted how the open-door policy of Wikipedia allowed it to cover new subjects quickly.D. Calvin Andrus, Ph.D. Office of Application Services, Central Intelligence Agency. [http://www.acadac.net/wiki/images/a/af/SSRN-id755904.pdf The wiki and the blog: Toward a complex adaptive intelligence community], Studies in Intelligence, Volume 49, Number 3, September 2005. Published on the Web as, {{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol49no3/html_files/Wik_and_%20Blog_7.htm |title=The wiki and the blog: Toward a complex adaptive intelligence community |author=D. Calvin Andrus |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency Center for the Study of Intelligence |access-date=2008-05-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080514083409/https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol49no3/html_files/Wik_and_%20Blog_7.htm |archive-date=2008-05-14 |url-status=dead}}{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/03/magazine/03intelligence.html |title=Open-Source Spying |author=Clive Thompson |work=The New York Times Magazine |date=2006-12-03 |access-date=2007-11-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101009002519/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/03/magazine/03intelligence.html |archive-date=2010-10-09 |url-status=live }}

The original version was developed in beta form in late 2004 by technologists at the Defense Intelligence Agency, adapting MediaWiki open-source software for deployment on the DIA-managed JWICS SCI network. In 2005 DIA officials arranged to transfer the software and content to community-wide management under ODNI auspices, to increase the system's utility and comprehensiveness.[https://www.pcworld.com/article/129328/article.html "US Government Agency Embraces Web 2.0"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201002022844/https://www.pcworld.com/article/129328/article.html |date=2020-10-02 }}, PCWorld, February 23, 2007 Richard A. Russell, Deputy Assistant Director of National Intelligence for Information Sharing Customer Outreach (ISCO) said it was created so "analysts in different agencies that work X or Y can go in and see what other people are doing on subject X or Y and add in their two cents worth or documents that they have. What we are after here is 'decision superiority', not 'information superiority'. We have to get inside the decision cycle of the enemy. We have to be able to discover what they are doing and respond to it effectively."

In September 2007, after sixteen months of being available across the entire community, it was noted by officials that the top-secret version of Intellipedia alone (hosted on JWICS) has 29,255 articles, with an average of 114 new articles and more than 6,000 edits to articles added each workday.{{cite news|first=Scott|last=Shane|title=Logged In and Sharing Gossip, Er, Intelligence|date=September 2, 2007|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/02/weekinreview/02shane.html|access-date=February 22, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412083543/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/02/weekinreview/02shane.html|archive-date=April 12, 2016|url-status=live}}

As of April 2009, the overall Intellipedia project hosted 900,000 pages edited by 100,000 users, with 5,000 page edits per day.{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1890084,00.html |title=Wikipedia for Spies: The CIA Discovers Web 2.0 |magazine=Time |date=2009-04-08 |access-date=2009-04-09 |first=Massimo |last=Calabresi |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090409202718/http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1890084,00.html |archive-date=2009-04-09 |url-status=dead }} As of January 2014, Intellipedia contained around 269,000 articlesKaven Waddel. [https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/03/the-governments-secret-wiki-for-intelligence/518508/?google_editors_picks=true The Government’s Secret Wiki for Intelligence: Analysts reportedly tucked classified information about Russian hacking inside Intellipedia for safekeeping], {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170305193806/https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/03/the-governments-secret-wiki-for-intelligence/518508/?google_editors_picks=true |date=2017-03-05 }} The Atlantic, March 3, 2017. with the Top Secret Intellipedia counting 113,000 content pages with 255,000 users.{{cite web|last=Smathers|first=Jason|url=https://www.muckrock.com/foi/united-states-of-america-10/intellipedia-usage-statistics-10058/|title=FOIA request for Intellipedia usage statistics|date=9 January 2014 |publisher=MuckRock|access-date=10 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413125455/https://www.muckrock.com/foi/united-states-of-america-10/intellipedia-usage-statistics-10058/|archive-date=13 April 2014|url-status=live}}

During the last weeks of the Obama administration, a large amount of information about the investigation into Russian election interference was dumped on the site. It was hoped that the site would prevent information on the topic to be "swept under a rug" by the incoming Trump administration and serve as "breadcrumbs" for congressional investigators.{{Cite web |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/03/the-governments-secret-wiki-for-intelligence/518508/ |title=The Government's Secret Wiki for Intelligence |date=3 March 2017 |access-date=2019-07-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190715115530/https://amp.theatlantic.com/amp/article/518508/ |archive-date=2019-07-15 |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/01/us/politics/obama-trump-russia-election-hacking.html |title=Obama Administration Rushed to Preserve Intelligence of Russian Election Hacking |newspaper=The New York Times |date=2 March 2017 |access-date=2019-07-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170303043643/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/01/us/politics/obama-trump-russia-election-hacking.html |archive-date=2017-03-03 |url-status=live |last1=Rosenberg |first1=Matthew |last2=Goldman |first2=Adam |last3=Schmidt |first3=Michael S. }}

A 2017 two-part Wired series on Intellipedia and next steps reported that, after 10 years of usage, Intellipedia helped the IC get caught up to Web 2.0 but never reformed how official reports were created like National Intelligence Estimates. An official version of Intellipedia, called the Living Intelligence System, was created after the fact and focused on collaboratively writing official reports. It failed to catch on because each agency has a different process for writing official classified reports.[https://www.wired.com/2017/03/intellipedia-wikipedia-spies-much/ The Wikipedia for Spies and Where It Goes From Here] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170521025239/https://www.wired.com/2017/03/intellipedia-wikipedia-spies-much/ |date=2017-05-21 }}, Wired, March 2017 Based on the lessons learned from Intellipedia and the Living Intelligence System, a pilot program within the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency created the Tearline apps focused on writing official collaborative reports in the less bureaucratic space of unclassified content.[https://www.wired.com/2017/04/american-spies-now-smartphone-app/ American Spies Now Have Their Own Smartphone App] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170405124819/https://www.wired.com/2017/04/american-spies-now-smartphone-app/ |date=2017-04-05 }}, Wired, April 2017

In 2006, some{{Who|date=November 2023}} were concerned that individual intelligence agencies would create their own wikis, draining ideas and input from Intellipedia.{{cite web|url=http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2006/11/intellipedia.html#comment-25336444|title=Intellipedia - Marginal REVOLUTION|date=2 November 2006|access-date=30 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911010313/http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2006/11/intellipedia.html#comment-25336444|archive-date=11 September 2016|url-status=live}} Sean Dennehy, a CIA official involved in integrating the system into the intelligence fabric, said disseminating material to the widest possible audience of analysts was key to avoiding mistakes. He said analysts from multiple agencies had used the network to post frequent updates on recent events, including the July 2006 North Korean missile test and the October 2006 crash of a small plane into a New York City apartment building.{{cite web|url=http://esenai.com/blog/intellipedia/people/michael_wertheimer/|title=Intellipedia Roundtable Discussion|website=esenai.com|access-date=2007-10-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929122447/http://esenai.com/blog/intellipedia/people/michael_wertheimer/|archive-date=2007-09-29|url-status=live}}

Some view Intellipedia as risky because it allows more information to be viewed and shared,{{cite web|url=http://esenai.com/blog/intellipedia/|title=U.S. intelligence unveils spy version of Wikipedia|website=esenai.com|access-date=2007-10-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061106180512/http://esenai.com/blog/intellipedia/|archive-date=2006-11-06|url-status=dead}} but according to Michael Wertheimer, McConnell's assistant deputy director for analysis, it is worth the risk. The project was greeted initially with "a lot of resistance," said Wertheimer, because it runs counter to past practice which sought to limit the pooling of information.{{cite web|url=http://www.metimes.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20061103-075107-4557r|title=US spies create their own 'Wiki' intelligence|website=metimes.com|access-date=2007-10-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929095358/http://www.metimes.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20061103-075107-4557r|archive-date=2007-09-29|url-status=dead}} He said there are risks in everything everyone does: "the key is risk management, not risk avoidance." Some encouragement has been necessary to spur contributions from the traditional intelligence community. However, he said the system appeals to the new generation of intelligence analysts because "this is how they like to work" and "it's a new way of thinking."

File:Intellipedia2008.png page on Intellipedia]]

Thomas Fingar, Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Analysis, cited the successful use of Intellipedia to develop an article on how Iraqi insurgents were using chlorine in improvised explosive devices, noting, "They developed it in a couple of days interacting in Intellipedia,"..."No bureaucracy, no mother-may-I, no convening meetings. They did it and it came out pretty good. That's going to continue to grow."[http://defensenews.com/story.php?F=2733832&C=america "U.S. Intel Agencies Modernize Info Sharing", DefenseNews.com, May 7, 2007]{{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}[http://www.dni.gov/speeches/20070905_speech.pdf 2007 Analytic Transformation Symposium] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114090705/http://www.dni.gov/speeches/20070905_speech.pdf |date=2009-01-14 }}, 6 September 2007, p. 13

In a September 10, 2007, testimony before the United States Congress, Michael McConnell, Director of National Intelligence, cited the increasing use of Intellipedia among analysts and its ability to help experts pool their knowledge, form virtual teams, and make assessments.[http://dni.gov/testimonies/20070910_testimony.pdf Michael McConnell. "Confronting the Terrorist Threat to the Homeland: Six Years after 9/11] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071006202145/http://www.dni.gov/testimonies/20070910_testimony.pdf |date=2007-10-06 }}", Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, September 10, 2007

Analyzing Intelligence: Origins, Obstacles, and Innovations, a 2008 book by several experts in the field of intelligence analysis, cited Intellipedia as evidence of the changing nature of analysis.Roger George, James Bruce, et al., Analyzing Intelligence: Origins, Obstacles, and Innovations, Georgetown University Press, April 2008

Eric Haseltine, former ODNI Associate Director for Science and Technology said that "It's hard to overstate what [Burke and Dennehy] did. They made a major transformation overnight with no money after other programs failed to achieve these results with millions of dollars in funding." Haseltine said intelligence analysts had "reacted 'more quickly and more intelligently' to potential terrorist threats than they would have without Intellipedia".

File:Intellipedia shovel.jpg

The wiki provides so much flexibility that several offices throughout the community are using it to maintain and transfer knowledge on daily operations and events.Executive Biz, [http://www.executivebiz.com/newsletter-executives-detail.php?who=jwilson Executive Spotlight with Jesse Wilson]{{Dead link|date=August 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, October 11, 2007 Anyone with access to read it has permission to create and edit articles after registering and acquiring an account with Intelink. Since Intellipedia is intended to be a platform for harmonizing the various points of view of the agencies and analysts of the Intelligence Community, Intellipedia does not enforce a neutral point of view policy.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/03/magazine/03intelligence.html?ex=1322802000&en=46027e63d79046ce&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss|title=Open-Source Spying|work=New York Times Magazine|date=December 2006|access-date=2006-12-03|first=Clive|last=Thompson|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061206005835/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/03/magazine/03intelligence.html?ex=1322802000&en=46027e63d79046ce&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss|archive-date=2006-12-06|url-status=live}} Instead, viewpoints are attributed to the agencies, offices, and individuals participating, with the hope that a consensus view will emerge. Intellipedia also contains non-encyclopedic content including meeting notes and items of internal, administrative interest. Deputy DNI Thomas Fingar made a comparison to eBay, where the reliability of sellers is rated by buyers. He said:

Intellipedia. It's been written up. It's the Wikipedia on a classified network, with one very important difference: it's not anonymous. We want people to establish a reputation. If you're really good, we want people to know you're good. If you're making contributions, we want that known. If you're an idiot, we want that known too.{{cite web|url=http://www.cfr.org/publication/15754/intelligence_reform_rush_transcript_federal_news_service.html|title=Intelligence Reform [Rush Transcript; Federal News Service]|access-date=30 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110128173738/http://www.cfr.org/publication/15754/intelligence_reform_rush_transcript_federal_news_service.html|archive-date=28 January 2011|url-status=dead}}{{cite news |first=Mazzetti |last=Mark |title=Intelligence Chief Announces Renewed Plan for Overhaul |date=April 12, 2007 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/12/washington/12intel.html |access-date=February 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151230055444/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/12/washington/12intel.html |archive-date=December 30, 2015 |url-status=live }}

During 2006–2007, Intellipedia editors awarded symbolic shovels to users to distinguish Wiki gardening and to encourage others in the community to contribute. A template with a picture of the limited-edition shovel (actually a trowel), was created to place on user pages for Intellipedians to show their gardening status. The handle bears the imprint: "I dig Intellipedia! It's wiki wiki, Baby." The idea was inspired by the barnstar,{{cite web |url=http://www.eekim.com/blog/2006/09/27/intellipediashovel |title=EEK Speaks |work=Eugene Eric Kim's Blog |access-date=2006-11-01 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120731004201/http://www.eekim.com/blog/2006/09/27/intellipediashovel |archive-date=2012-07-31 |url-status=dead }} which is used on both Wikipedia and MeatballWiki for similar purposes. The shovels have since been replaced with a mug bearing the tag line, "Intellipedia: it's what we know".

Different agencies have experimented with other ways of encouraging participation. For example, at the CIA, managers have held contests for best pages with prizes such as free dinners.{{cite web |url=http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9096658&pageNumber=1 |title=CIA, Pfizer, Wachovia and Sony execs suggest options for adopting Web 2.0 |author=Heather Havenstein |publisher=Computerworld |access-date=2009-02-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080618084222/http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9096658&pageNumber=1 |archive-date=2008-06-18 |url-status=dead }}

Chris Rasmussen, knowledge management officer at the Defense Department's National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), argues that "gimmicks" like the Intellipedia shovel, posters, and handbills, encourage people to use Web 2.0 tools like Intellipedia and are effective low-tech solutions to promote their use. Also, Rasmussen argues that "social software–based contributions should be written in an employee's performance plan"."[http://www.fcw.com/print/13_16/news/102750-1.html Government taps the power of us: Officials turn to blogs and wikis to share information and achieve goals] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071222191320/http://www.fcw.com/print/13_16/news/102750-1.html |date=2007-12-22 }}", Federal Computer Week, May 21, 2007

Several agencies in the Intelligence community, particularly the CIA and NGA,{{cite web|url=http://blog.executivebiz.com/web20-adoption-in-large-enterprises/|title=Web2.0 Adoption in Large Enterprises|date=6 September 2008|access-date=30 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090525031636/http://blog.executivebiz.com/web20-adoption-in-large-enterprises|archive-date=25 May 2009|url-status=live}} have developed training programs to provide time to integrate social software tools into analysts' daily work habits. These classes focus on the use of Intellipedia to capture and manage knowledge, but they also incorporate the use of the other social software tools. These include blogs, RSS, and social bookmarking. The courses stress immersion in the tools and instructors encourage participants to work on a specific project in Intellipedia. The courses also expose participants to social media technologies on the Internet.[http://www.federalnewsradio.com/?sid=1286296&nid=250 Radio interview] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520001232/http://www.federalnewsradio.com/?sid=1286296&nid=250 |date=2011-05-20 }} that highlights Intelligence Community social software training programs, Federal News Radio, November 5, 2007[http://www.executivebiz.com/newsletter-executives-detail.php?who=sdennehy Executive Spotlight Interview with Sean Dennehy] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206042130/http://www.executivebiz.com/newsletter-executives-detail.php?who=sdennehy |date=2008-12-06 }}, ExecutiveBiz, December 5, 2007[http://www.executivebiz.com/newsletter-executives-detail.php?who=crasmussen Executive Spotlight Interview] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204094209/http://www.executivebiz.com/newsletter-executives-detail.php?who=crasmussen |date=2008-12-04 }} with Chris Rasmussen, ExecutiveBiz, October 25, 2007

In 2009, Don Burke and Sean P. Dennehy, two early users of Intellipedia, were awarded with the "Homeland Security Service to America Medal" by the Partnership for Public Service. The award noted that they "Promoted information sharing across the intelligence community through the development and implementation of Intellipedia, a Wikipedia-like clearinghouse of intelligence expertise."{{cite web |url=http://servicetoamericamedals.org/honorees/view_profile.php?profile=215 |title=2009 'Service to America Medal Recipients' |access-date=2010-01-05 |publisher=Service to America Medals |date=2009-09-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151024183338/http://servicetoamericamedals.org/honorees/view_profile.php?profile=215 |archive-date=2015-10-24 |url-status=dead }}

• A-Space
• Bureaupedia—the FBI's online encyclopedia
• Classified website
• Diplopedia
• DoDTechipedia
• Intellipublia

{{Reflist|35em}}

• Frank Ahrens. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/03/AR2006110302015.html "A Wikipedia of secrets"], The Washington Post, November 5, 2006.
• D. Calvin Andrus, Ph.D. Office of Application Services, Central Intelligence Agency. [https://ssrn.com/abstract=755904 The wiki and the blog: Toward a complex adaptive intelligence community], Studies in Intelligence, Volume 49, Number 3, September 2005.
• Cody Burke. [http://epublications.bond.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1010&context=cewces_papers Freeing knowledge, telling secrets: Open source intelligence and development] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817134042/http://epublications.bond.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1010&context=cewces_papers |date=2016-08-17 }}, CEWCES Research Papers, Bond University, May 2007.
• Matthew S. Burton. [https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol49no3/html_files/Intelligence_Networking_6.htm Connecting the Virtual Dots: How the Web Can Relieve Our Information Glut and Get Us Talking to Each Other] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070711150055/https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol49no3/html_files/Intelligence_Networking_6.htm |date=2007-07-11 }}, Studies in Intelligence, Vol 49, Number 3, September 2005.
• Gianluigi Cesta. [http://gnosis.aisi.gov.it/Gnosis/Rivista10.nsf/ServNavigE/7 The Intellipedia experiment or rather, shared secrets], Gnosis (Italian Intelligence magazine of AISI), No. 1, 2007.
• Wilson P. Dizard III. [https://gcn.com/articles/2006/09/22/spy-agencies-adapt-social-software-federated-search-tools.aspx Spy agencies adapt social software, federated search tools], Government Computer News, September 25, 2006.
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20170305195934/http://uk.reuters.com/article/tech-internet-intelligence-dc-idUKN0123738920061031 "U.S. intelligence unveils spy version of Wikipedia"], Reuters, October 31, 2006.
• Scott Shane. [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/02/weekinreview/02shane.html Logged In and Sharing Gossip, er, Intelligence], The New York Times, September 2, 2007.

{{Commonscatinline}}

• [https://www.intelink.gov/wiki Official Intellipedia website] (may require an [https://www.intelink.gov/passport/servlet/PassportLogin Intelink Passport account])
• [http://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/intellipedia-entries/# Declassified Intellipedia Entries] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20170305032038/http://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/intellipedia-entries/# Archive])

{{United States intelligence agencies}}

Category:2006 establishments in the United States

Category:Enterprise wikis

Category:Internet properties established in 2006

Category:MediaWiki sites of the United States government

Category:Open-source intelligence

Category:United States intelligence agencies

Category:Academic works about intelligence analysis