With so much reliance on high-tech communication, this article offers you a low-tech alternative to sending mail the CIA way- Desiree
Today, tech nerds are obsessed with high-tech encryption. But if you ever send snail mail, you might want to take a tip from America’s intelligence community. The CIA sends out letters that are secured with a specific type of tamper-proof tape—think of it like low-tech encryption—and we now know exactly what kind the CIA uses.
When you file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with a federal agency, they’ll often send you physical letters in the mail. When I got my first response letter from the CIA, I was a little surprised to see some old-fashioned, anti-spy tech on the back of the envelope. As you can see from the photos above and below, there’s no way to open the envelope without making it clear you’ve been messing with it. Comparatively, the FOIA response letters I get from an agency like the FBI are not only lacking any additional security, they’re sometimes hardly even sealed to begin with.
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With so much reliance on high-tech communication, this article offers you a low-tech alternative to sending mail the CIA way- Desiree
Today, tech nerds are obsessed with high-tech encryption. But if you ever send snail mail, you might want to take a tip from America’s intelligence community. The CIA sends out letters that are secured with a specific type of tamper-proof tape—think of it like low-tech encryption—and we now know exactly what kind the CIA uses.
When you file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with a federal agency, they’ll often send you physical letters in the mail. When I got my first response letter from the CIA, I was a little surprised to see some old-fashioned, anti-spy tech on the back of the envelope. As you can see from the photos above and below, there’s no way to open the envelope without making it clear you’ve been messing with it. Comparatively, the FOIA response letters I get from an agency like the FBI are not only lacking any additional security, they’re sometimes hardly even sealed to begin with.
Read More- Gizmodo’s Paleofuture blog
Image courtesy of Gizmodo’s Paleofuture blog
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