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There are two reels of old tape buried in the National Security Agencys archives that contain a landmark piece of computer science history. Theres a problem though, the NSA doesnt have a device that can play back the tapes.

The tapes are a recording of a lecture from computer science legend Admiral Grace Hopper. Hopper was a U.S. Navy officer and computer pioneer who helped develop FLOW-MATIC, the first programming language that used English keywords instead of numbers. She later helped develop COBOL, a business-oriented computer language that still undergirds many computer systems.

In 1982, she gave a lecture at the NSA headquarters at Fort Meade. The NSA recorded the lecture and stored it away. The insights contained within her 1982 lecture, split into two partsTVC 930A and TVC 930B, with durations of 48 minutes and 15 seconds, and 40 minutes and 39 seconds, respectivelyare not just historical footnotes but are likely to offer valuable perspectives on the evolution of technology and its societal impact, researcher Michael Ravnitzkysaid in an article about Hoppers lecture on MuckRock, a nonprofit that helps people file Freedom of Information Act Requests (FOIAs).

Ravnitzky filed a FOIA for the tapes on October 12, 2021. Three years later the NSA said there were no responsive documents. Ravnitzky told the NSA he knew the agency had the files. The NSAs own Television Center Catalog, a document turned loose by a FOIA in 2009, listed the tapes among the contents. He pressed them for an explanation.

The NSAs excuse? It didnt have anything to play the tapes back, couldnt listen to them, and therefore couldnt clear them for release. When the search was conducted, our office reached out to the organization that would have the tape you requested if it still exists. We were informed that although there are some older video tapes that are potentially responsive, they are on a format that NSA no longer has the ability to view or digitize, the NSA FOIA office said in a follow-up. Without being able to view the tapes, NSA has no way to verify their responsiveness. NSA is not required to find or obtain new technology (outdated or current) in order to process a request.

Ravnitzky asked the NSA for pictures of the tapes and they complied. The pictures revealed the tapes were recorded on an AMPEX 1-inch Video Tape Recorder. There were three different standardized types of AMPEX machines, but it wouldnt be impossible to find a device that could play back the tapes. A cursory search on eBay revealed dozens of machines that might fit the bill.

It might not come to that. After MuckRock published an article people stepped forward and offered to help. Michael Morisy, the founder and CEO of MuckRock, told Gizmodo that several groups had reached out with various hardware setups they thought could do the trick.

Been trying to connect folks, he said. But not sure if anything concrete has or will come of it yet.

The NSA is holding on to an important piece of computer history, something historians and the public will be interested to hear. Tape, like everything else, degrades over time. If we want to preserve this lecture and hear the wisdom of Admiral Hopper, now is the time to act.

This challenge transcends the confines of NSAs operational scope, Ravnitzky said on MuckRock. It is our shared obligation to safeguard such pivotal elements of our nations history, ensuring they remain within reach of future generations. While the stewardship of these recordings may extend beyond the NSAs typical purview, they are undeniably a part of Americas national heritage.

See the rest here:
NSA Claims It Cant Watch an Important Tape It Recorded in the 1980s - Gizmodo

Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) sent a letter to National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, requesting an assessment of the information that Russia has shared with the PRC regarding U.S. weapons capabilities and those of our partners and allies.

In the letter, the Chairman and Ranking Member write, As you stated on July 9, we should not expect that foreign adversaries, such as the PRC, are supporting Russia for free. Rather, we should anticipate and indeed operate under the assumption that Russia is passing information about vulnerabilities or counters to American and allied weapons systems to the PRC in support of its no limits partnership.

Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi and Chairman Moolenaar request the Administration share, at the appropriate classification level, their current determinations and assessments on the information that the PRC has shared with Russia, and the administrations plans to ensure that the appropriate steps are taken to hold both Russia and the PRC accountable.

Background:

Chairman Moolenaar and Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi releaseda statementlast week, following theWashington Summit Declarationissued by the NATO allies condemning the Chinese Communist Party for its support of Russia's war in Ukraine.

The full text of the letter can be foundHERE

The rest is here:
Letter to NSA Sullivan Requesting Assessment of Information Russia Has Shared with the PRC on U.S. Weapons Capabilities in Ukraine - Select Committee...

One of the towering figures in the evolution of computer science was Grace Hopper, an American mathematician, academic, and Naval reservist, whose work gave us the first programming languages, compilers, and much more. Sadly she passed away in 1992, so her wisdom hasnt directly informed the Internet Age in the manner of some of her surviving contemporaries.

During her life she gave many lectures though, and as [Michael Ravnitzky] discovered, one of them was recorded on video tape and resides in the archives of Americas National Security Agency. With the title Future Possibilities: Data, Hardware, Software, and People, it was the subject of a Freedom Of Information request. This in turn was denied, on the grounds that Without being able to view the tapes, NSA has no way to verify their responsiveness. In short, the recording lies on Ampex 1 reel-to-reel video tape, which the NSA claims no longer to be able to read.

Its fairly obvious from that response that the agency has no desire to oblige, and wed be very surprised to find that they keep a working Ampex video system to hand on the off-chance that a passing researcher might ask for an archive tape. But at the same time its also obvious that a lecture from Rear Admiral Hopper is an artifact of international importance that should be preserved and available for study. Its an interesting thought exercise to guess how many phone calls Hackaday would have to make to secure access to a working Ampex video recorder, and since we think for us that number would be surprisingly low its likely the NSA know exactly who to call if they needed that tape viewed in a hurry. We dont have influence over secretive government agencies, but if we did wed be calling shame on them at this point.

If youre curious about Grace Hopper, weve talked about her work here in the past.

Thanks [F4GRX] for the tip.

Ampex image: Telecineguy., Public domain.

Excerpt from:
The NSA Is Defeated By A 1950s Tape Recorder. Can You Help Them? - Hackaday

Countless athletes and coaches, along with a fleet of parents congregated at the Crown Point Sports Complex on Tuesday afternoon to take part in the 2024 National Softball Association (NSA) Fastpitch World Series Kick-Off Day.

Organized by the NSA in partnership with the South Shore Convention & Visitors Authority (CVA), the World Series sees nearly 200 teams from across the country come together and compete across 13 divisions, ranging from 8U to 23U/womens. Activities and games last until Sunday, and typically begin with the annual Skills Competition, where teams compete in a series of challenges that test their baserunning and fielding abilities. This year, however, the NSA added a special event to the calendar the Heavy Hitters Camp, where multi-time College World Series Champions Kierston Deal and Kinzie Hansen of the University of Oklahoma worked directly with the young athletes in attendance.

It was a great show, we had a lot of people sign up for it that arent even taking part in the tournament, Bill Horton, president of the NSA, said. It was good for the NSA, good for Crown Point, and the South Shore.

Among the attendees at both the Heavy Hitters Camp and Skills Competition was the Crown Point based Nightmares 13U team. Nightmares Coach Brandon Norris highlighted what a special opportunity it was for the girls to see stars such as Deal and Hansen in person.

I think something like this does a lot for the girls sport, we could go on and on about what someone like Caitlin Clark has done for womens basketball for example, Norris said. For the girls to see these athletes from Oklahoma here today gives them a sense of motivation, a drive to go on and continue playing.

South Shore CVA Chief Marketing Officer Heather Becerra noted that this years World Series marked the first in a new 5-year deal for the event to be held in the Region meaning the festivities will return annually until at least 2028.

Its become a tradition for a lot of area teams as well as teams from around the Midwest, Becerra said. Its cool to see the crowd each year. I have a daughter in the softball community too, and her team was in it last year. A lot of these girls have grown up playing, they started in the 8U division and now theyre in high school having been coming out to this throughout their career.

There are a number of traditions that are a core part of the NSA Fastpitch World Series culture, and the Skills Competition marks the opportunity for girls to take part in one of the biggest them trading team pins. Every team designs a unique pin featuring their logo, brings a mountain of them to the competition, and trades them with other teams aiming to collect them all.

Ive been running the girls program for over 30 years now, and these traditions have always been a part of it, Horton said. They all get into the camaraderie and spirit of it and have built their own traditions different from the boys.

Norris was excited to see his team embracing the tradition, and expressed gratitude for an event of this caliber being so close to home.

Its amazing to have this right in our backyard, weve traveled out to other events before, he said. Its exciting for the girls to be able to say that theyre playing on their home fields. Crown Point and the South Shore did the right thing by hosting this. Its just awesome.

To learn more about the South Shore CVA, visit southshorecva.com. For more on the National Softball Association, visit playnsa.com.

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NSA Fast Pitch World Series kicks off with Skills Competition & Heavy Hitters Camp, featuring College World Series Champions from the University...

Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party and Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs requested a classified briefing from the Biden administration as the chairmen remain concerned that without robust protections, sensitive U.S.-origin technology transferred as part of the Microsoft-G42 partnership could end up the CCPs hands.

Chairmen Moolenaar and McCaul write, Itis vital we do all we can to limit the PRC's [Peoples Republic of China] malign influence around the world, including in the Middle East... we support your efforts to work hand in glove with U.S. companies like Microsoft to strengthen our dominance in AI; however, we must also be clear-eyed about the risks posed by transferring our most critical AI technology particularly when it comes to countries where the PRC is active.

The lawmakers continue,Given the ties between the PRC and G42 as well as PRCs continued interests in the UAE, we ask that the National Intelligence Council prepare an official Intelligence Community assessment on the ties between G42, including its subsidiaries and affiliates, to the Chinese Communist Party, the Peoples Liberation Army, or any part of the PRCs apparatus.

Background:

In January, the Select Committeeoutlinedsome of G42s most problematic connections with Chinese military companies, state-owned enterprises, and Chinese intelligence services. According to documents reviewed by the Committee, G42s CEO Peng Xiao operates and is affiliated with an expansive network of UAE and PRC-based companies that develop dual-use technologies and materially support PRC military-civil fusion and human rights abuses. Following the Select Committees inquiry, G42 announced that it severed its relationships with some problematic Chinese entities. Then in April, Microsoft announced a $1.5 billion partnership with G42, furthering the UAEs aspirations to be a global AI leader.

However, last month, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan traveled to China and described AI as an area of deeper PRC UAE collaboration. As a result, lawmakers remain concerned that key American technology could end up the CCPs hands, originating from Microsofts partnership with G42.

The full text of the letter can be foundHERE.

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Letter to NSA on Microsoft's Billion Dollar Partnership with UAE Firm G42 - Select Committee on the CCP |