NSA Makes Contribution To Apache Hadoop Project

An anonymous reader writes "The National Security Agency has submitted a new database, Accumulo, to the Apache Foundation for incubation. Accumulo is based on the original BigTable paper with some extensions such as the ability to provide cell-level security. It appears there are some hurdles that must be cleared concerning copyright before the project could be accepted."

Before donning tinfoil hats...

[hattable]

I know NSA doesn't have the best 'street-cred' but remember that they are the folks that brought up SELinux. When they are working for security they generally know what they are talking about. Has anyone had any experience installing software on a NSA machine? If you have then you know the hurdles and testing that takes place to get something usable. They LOVE security and really just want you to love it as much as they do.

does this explain the Thomas Drake case?

[decora]

You are describing software testing in the 1990s. Thomas Drake was heavily involved in software testing, and worked for NSA contractors until 2001, when he was hired at NSA itself.

After 9/11, he got disturbed with some of their wasteful practices . . . I am wondering if 'vendor friendly' software testing was one of the practices he might have had a problem with.

The DoD IG report on Trailblazer is still mostly redacted... the public is left in the dark about these things.