Tom Drake

Look, I had already blown the whistle on an earlier program, at the time, the most expensive automated data processing system at NSA called Minstrel. Anytime you bring up Minstrel at NSA, probably not as much now because most of the principals have gone or are dead, it was super embarrassing. At the time, it was incredibly expensive. You're talking 1985, it was awarded, right, for almost 200.

Look, I had already blown the whistle on an earlier program, at the time, the most expensive automated data processing system at NSA called Minstrel. Anytime you bring up Minstrel at NSA, probably not as much now because most of the principals have gone or are dead, it was super embarrassing. At the time, it was incredibly expensive. You're talking 1985, it was awarded, right, for almost 200.

Look, I had already blown the whistle on an earlier program, at the time, the most expensive automated data processing system at NSA called Minstrel. Anytime you bring up Minstrel at NSA, probably not as much now because most of the principals have gone or are dead, it was super embarrassing. At the time, it was incredibly expensive. You're talking 1985, it was awarded, right, for almost 200.

We're talking almost $200 million. That's a ton of money for an IT system. They bought a bunch of hardware, right, at inflated prices, and then it never delivered. They ultimately spent about $250 million on it by the time they were finished. The same core people that were on menstrual got another bite at the apple. under Trailblazer, but way bigger. Way bigger.

We're talking almost $200 million. That's a ton of money for an IT system. They bought a bunch of hardware, right, at inflated prices, and then it never delivered. They ultimately spent about $250 million on it by the time they were finished. The same core people that were on menstrual got another bite at the apple. under Trailblazer, but way bigger. Way bigger.

We're talking almost $200 million. That's a ton of money for an IT system. They bought a bunch of hardware, right, at inflated prices, and then it never delivered. They ultimately spent about $250 million on it by the time they were finished. The same core people that were on menstrual got another bite at the apple. under Trailblazer, but way bigger. Way bigger.

But this is going to catapult NSA because they were under a huge pressure. You're falling behind, becoming less relevant. You're going deaf. Right. Literally. Bringing all this data back can't make sense of it. Or you're getting to know more and more, and this is sort of a twist here about what I'm going to say, knowing no more about less and less. So it becomes your myopia, right?

But this is going to catapult NSA because they were under a huge pressure. You're falling behind, becoming less relevant. You're going deaf. Right. Literally. Bringing all this data back can't make sense of it. Or you're getting to know more and more, and this is sort of a twist here about what I'm going to say, knowing no more about less and less. So it becomes your myopia, right?

But this is going to catapult NSA because they were under a huge pressure. You're falling behind, becoming less relevant. You're going deaf. Right. Literally. Bringing all this data back can't make sense of it. Or you're getting to know more and more, and this is sort of a twist here about what I'm going to say, knowing no more about less and less. So it becomes your myopia, right?

Get incredibly narrow. Because there's all this stuff that's just like on, as they would say, it's on the cutting room floor in some database, obscure database somewhere. How do I know its value? How do... This problem was solved. Now, I was part of that because what I was doing was advanced analysis.

Get incredibly narrow. Because there's all this stuff that's just like on, as they would say, it's on the cutting room floor in some database, obscure database somewhere. How do I know its value? How do... This problem was solved. Now, I was part of that because what I was doing was advanced analysis.

Get incredibly narrow. Because there's all this stuff that's just like on, as they would say, it's on the cutting room floor in some database, obscure database somewhere. How do I know its value? How do... This problem was solved. Now, I was part of that because what I was doing was advanced analysis.

On the technical side, I was analyzing software and how it was being developed, how it was being designed and developed and deployed. So we're talking soup to nuts, full, you call it life cycle, okay, including maintenance, O&M, operations and maintenance. where a lot of the contractors knew they would get even more money just because they could just milk it, milk it, milk it.

On the technical side, I was analyzing software and how it was being developed, how it was being designed and developed and deployed. So we're talking soup to nuts, full, you call it life cycle, okay, including maintenance, O&M, operations and maintenance. where a lot of the contractors knew they would get even more money just because they could just milk it, milk it, milk it.

On the technical side, I was analyzing software and how it was being developed, how it was being designed and developed and deployed. So we're talking soup to nuts, full, you call it life cycle, okay, including maintenance, O&M, operations and maintenance. where a lot of the contractors knew they would get even more money just because they could just milk it, milk it, milk it.

We used to joke about that at Booz, which is we'll milk it. And if we can't, if we can't get them to milk it, we'll just repackage it and sell it to some other government agency and milk it some more. So I developed, I developed using very advanced script technology at the time, okay?

We used to joke about that at Booz, which is we'll milk it. And if we can't, if we can't get them to milk it, we'll just repackage it and sell it to some other government agency and milk it some more. So I developed, I developed using very advanced script technology at the time, okay?

We used to joke about that at Booz, which is we'll milk it. And if we can't, if we can't get them to milk it, we'll just repackage it and sell it to some other government agency and milk it some more. So I developed, I developed using very advanced script technology at the time, okay?

Because guess where I had been when I was on another contract, when I was before Minstrel, I was in the AI, this is early, early, this is just part of my background. I was part of an AI department in this government contract office in the late, late 1989, summer, fall of 89. Really? Yes. Expert Systems Machine Learning. And who was developing this? This was GTE. It doesn't exist anymore. GTE?

Because guess where I had been when I was on another contract, when I was before Minstrel, I was in the AI, this is early, early, this is just part of my background. I was part of an AI department in this government contract office in the late, late 1989, summer, fall of 89. Really? Yes. Expert Systems Machine Learning. And who was developing this? This was GTE. It doesn't exist anymore. GTE?