Keith Alexander’s Cyber Circle Jerk Gets Worse

As I noted earlier today, last year Keith Alexander’s CyberCommand forces got their asses handed to them by civilians in a cyber war game.

“They were pretty much obliterated,” said one Capitol Hill staffer who attended the exercise. “The active-duty team didn’t even know how they’d been attacked.”

Nevertheless, here is one of the things he told Ken Dilanian in his second “exclusive” interview attempting to explain why he should get rich in the private sector capitalizing on 9 years of fear-mongering about cyber.

“If I retired from the Army as a brain surgeon, wouldn’t it be OK for me to go into private practice and make money doing brain surgery?” he asked. “I’m a cyber guy. Can’t I go to work and do cyber stuff?”

Alexander’s story has changed a bit since his last attempt  to explain himself, to Shane Harris. The number of patents he’ll get expanded from 9 to 10.

His firm is developing as many as 10 patents, he said, and has secured contracts with three clients he declines to name.

And he claims — after apparently not challenging the underlying $1 million a month claim to Harris — that his rates were always overblown.

Reports of his firm charging $1 million a month for consulting services are not accurate, he said, though he declined to disclose his firm’s fees.

“That number was inflated from the beginning,” he said.

But that’s not the best bit. In addition to revolving door shadow regulator Promontory Financial Group (which goes unmentioned in both stories) and the Chertoff Group, Dilanian reveals who gave Alexander the advise he could get rich off serving the last 9 years in a top national security position: Someone who spent those same years in a top national security position.

Lawyers at NSA and his private lawyers— including former FBI Director Robert Mueller, now with the Wilmer Hale law firm in Washington — have told him he is on firm legal footing, Alexander said.

These exclusives are all well and nice, but both of them ignore the reports about Alexander serving as the lead to set up a public-private partnership between the banksters and the national security state to infringe our privacy in order to keep the banks safe (heck neither mentions his known contract with SIFMA).

Until exclusives actually ask Alexander about the known thrust of this program, they’re going to help his credibility no more than the exclusives with the same journalists explaining NSA spying did.

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7 replies
  1. P J Evans says:

    I really hope he gets his ass handed to him, and I suspect his legal foundation isn’t nearly as sturdy as he says he’s been told.

  2. greengiant says:

    Anyone associated with Promontory including all their customers has a lower level of integrity than anyone described by Charles Dickens.

  3. TarheelDem says:

    Do the bankers know that he ran the gang that couldn’t conduct a cyberwar exercise and win?

    So Mueller is giving out grifting advice. That’s a nice grift in itself. I remember political folks who started politics in the 1920s who would describe that relationship as “incestuous”. Not sure there is an effectively perjorative term these days that could create dishonor for a guy like Alexander; we know he’s incapable of experiencing shame.

    • wallace says:

      quote”Not sure there is an effectively perjorative term these days that could create dishonor for a guy like Alexander; we know he’s incapable of experiencing shame.

      Well, given Keith Alexander’s ex CyberCommand forces got their asses handed to them by civilians in a cyber war game, I’d submit they need to buy Capt. Kirks “patented” software supported services..and THEN see if they get their asses handed to them. If so, I’d also submit Mr. Cybersnot might just experience shame for the first time. Then again, it seems to me this would be a perfect way for Alexander to “prove” his services are what he says they are.

      However, after reading the article on the test, given Alexander was head honcho over CyberCommand, it appears that Alexander’s so called “experience”, notwithstanding NSA’s abilities, might not be up to snuff like we’ve been led to believe. I mean if “civilians” can kick CyberCommand’s ass, how bout China?

  4. overthrow-r1b says:

    It’s extremely offensive.
    He should be cowering under his bed praying 24 hours a day for the rest of his life or on death row awaiting a “accidently” blotched execution.
    The world hopes that he will pay severely for every breath he takes into his “cybersecurity venture”.
    Absolutely hideous, they openly steal billions of dollars and this nut’s prancing around making highly questionable business deals right in front of everybody. Unbelievable.

    Empire’s rarely lasted long and it’s likely the u.s. wont last until his death so he’ll be caught by his throat and he has allot of paying to do. They used infinite and limitless torture on thousands of people so we’ll see what he gets.

  5. RUKidding says:

    I don’t really know for sure, but if some brain surgeon didn’t practice brain surgery for over 9 years – while serving, for ex, a Surgeon Gen for USA – I don’t think I’d want to have him or her do my brain surgery ASAP once s/he leaves govt service. I mean: lack of practice for starters. Plus Alexander uses a false equivalency anyway.

    Thanks for continuing to highlight what a phoney POS Alexander is. No surprise but fun news that he got his “cyber” ass handed to him by some civilians.

    If he remains “in business,” I’ll be surprised, but clearly Alexander’s been hired for his Contact list on whatever “cyber” device his uses, plus who he knows and what dirt he has on people (which may be legion).

    Keep the good news coming! Always fun to laugh at this overblown egomaniac.

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