Latest Articles

Countering the Threat of Insider Spies

David Charney was a speaker at the Institute of World Politics’ Chancellor’s Council Meeting. He spoke on the topic of “Countering the Threat of Insider Spies”. Here is a video…

Read more

More Articles

(in random order)

Who Said “Forgiveness”? Dismantling Criticisms of the NOIR Concept

By John Irvin One of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century, American journalist H. L. Mencken, once wrote, “For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.” Decades have passed since Mencken offered that insight, yet we continue to address complex issues with self-assured opinions that are somehow…

Read more

What Made Spy George Blake Tick?

By Dr. David Charney This article first appeared in Jeff Stein’s SpyTalk. What to make of George Blake, associated with the Cambridge Five, who died this week in Russia at the ripe old age of 98? Trying to understand the psychology of a mole is tougher than it first appears. The acronym MICE is bandied…

Read more

Focus on the Person, not Technology

“The foundation of a counter-insider threat program needs to start with recognizing there is a person at the other end,” says Keith Lowry, former Chief of Staff to the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Human Intelligence, Counterintelligence and Security at the Pentagon in this article on ZDNet: Fighting the person should be cybersecurity best practice When…

Read more

Insider Spies and Terrorists: The Case for Disillusionment and Regret

By John Irvin NOIR Team On the face of it, insider espionage and terrorism would seem to have little in common.  The insider spy and his or her handler (traditionally, but not necessarily, a foreign intelligence service) strive to keep their activities as hidden as possible, while the definitive purpose of all terrorism is to…

Read more

LECTURE – Insider Spies: New Ideas to Counter the Threat

Dr. David Charney will be giving a lecture about his new NOIR White Paper, Prevention: The Missing Link for Managing Insider Threat in the Intelligence Community, at the Institute of World Politics graduate school in Washington, DC on Friday, February 8, 2019 from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm. Dr. Charney’s lecture, “Insider Spies: New Ideas…

Read more

New Deal for Insider Spies Could Have Prevented Snowden Case

Article by Bernie Reeves in American Thinker, September 8, 2014: In the espionage business, uncovering secrets passed on to the enemy by a captured insider spy is critical to resuming normal operations. Until a thorough damage assessment is completed, intelligence agencies don’t know what data are secure, or if agents in place are safe. And while…

Read more

Netflix SPYCRAFT Episode: “Recruiting the Perfect Spy”

There is a new series on Netflix called “Spycraft”. Psychiatrist Dr. David Charney was interviewed in the episode, “Recruiting the Perfect Spy,” which talks about the motivations of four people who spied against the U.S. Watch the trailer and see all the epsiodes We’re delighted the producers show the NOIR White Papers when introducing Dr.…

Read more

Dr. Charney interviewed about NOIR in Psychology Today

Dr. David Charney, creator of the NOIR concept and author of  NOIR: True Psychology of the Insider Spy and Proposing a New Policy for Improving National Security by Fixing the Problem of Insider Spies, was recently interviewed by the magazine, “Psychology Today” about NOIR. – (Psychology Today, November 2014) . . . . Of course,…

Read more

Painting Rocks: Internal vs. External Management of the Insider Threat

By John Irvin Those who have served in the military, especially those who served at a time when World War II-era buildings were still widely in use, are probably familiar with the concept of “painting rocks.” This was originally born out of the common practice to line either side of the walkway leading to a…

Read more

Article about NOIR in Newsweek

Building a Better Mole Trap By Jeff Stein, Newsweek 6 September 2014 The continuing leaks of National Security Agency material by Edward Snowden so dominate the news that you don’t hear much these days about Cold War–style moles burrowing through the CIA, FBI and Defense Department on behalf of foreign spy services. Yet they keep surfacing,…

Read more

An Off-Ramp on the Road to Hell

By John Alan Irvin Proverbs are passed down over the centuries or millennia because we recognize that they contain a larger truth or a useful lesson. Circumstances change, but the proverbs stay relevant. That’s because they speak to our human nature, which hasn’t changed. As unique as we may be as individuals, as humans we’re…

Read more