Dead Drop: February 22

THE ZOUNDS OF SILENCE: There were lots of reports of “surprise and indignation” (the definition of the word “zounds” BTW) coming out of the just-completed annual Munich Security Conference. Among the interesting stories – speechwriter malfeasance where Vice President Pence’s staff gave him a line to read in his remarks expressing greetings from the President of the United States. Pence then paused expecting applause but  was met with stony silence from the crowd.  And then there was the knee-slapper from Iranian Foreign Minister, Javad Zarif, who responded to a question by saying he is “a human rights professor” so don’t lecture him on his country’s abuses. The Cipher Brief talked with two seasoned non-U.S. intelligence professionals who were at the conference to get their take.  One took special note of the fact that while a lot of the press coverage was about tensions between the U.S. and Europe, the Conference was attended by the largest ever Congressional delegation, Congressmen and Congresswomen determined to display their commitment to the Transatlantic Alliance. Another top non-U.S. intelligence pro told us that in addition to multilateralism, artificial intelligence was a big topic of discussion and how it will be a challenge to all of our countries and could create a bigger gap between democracies which will want to protect privacy and countries like Russia and China which operate without any rules.

BECAUSE THE NAME WORKED SO WELL FOR CIA:  Business Insider says that Apple has an army of contractors who perform secret missions for the tech firm at undisclosed locations Apple refers to as “black sites” – the name the CIA used to describe its hidden locations where suspected terrorists were subjected to harsh interrogations. Apple’s contractors are unhappy with their second-class status complaining that they aren’t allowed to use the company’s gym or free food cafeteria.  That’s one difference between them and the Agency’s black sites.  We understand terrorists like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed were allowed to work out – and got their meals free.  Beyond that though, the Silicon Valley workforce probably would not be willing to swap places.