Today , technical school nerds are obsessed with mellow - tech encryption . But if you ever send escargot mail , you might desire to take a tip from America ’s intelligence information community . The CIA sends out letter that are secure with a specific type of tamping bar - proof taping — think of it like low - technical school encoding — and we now know incisively what form the CIA uses .
When you file a Freedom of Information Act ( FOIA ) request with a Union agency , they ’ll often send you physical letter in the post . When I got my first response letter from the CIA , I was a little surprised to see some erstwhile - fashioned , anti - spy tech on the back of the envelope . As you’re able to see from the photos above and below , there ’s no way to launch the gasbag without making it clear you ’ve been messing with it . Comparatively , the FOIA reply letters I get from an authority like the FBI are not only lack any additional security , they ’re sometimes hardly even sealed to get with .
After a fruitless search to find the precise kind of tamp - proof tape the CIA uses , I file away a FOIA request to find out what form it might be . The agency responded by tell me that it did n’t have to say , reason that this information was n’t a specific “ government record . ” But “ in an effort to assist me , ” they tell me anyway .
Tamper-proof tape used by the CIA to secure envelopes sent to FOIA requestors (Photo: Matt Novak)
I half - suspected that the tape measure , which ca n’t be steamed off and has laminate glass fiber , would be specially made for the CIA . ( Like I said , I find a lot of tape that seemed exchangeable , but nothing quite as sturdy as the CIA ’s seals . ) But it turn out that it ’s just off - the - shelf tech that anyone can buy .
The “ gum kraft sealing tape ” the agency uses is three column inch wide , and the indicant from the reaction to my FOIA request suggest that the agency buys it in 450 - foot scroll . The CIA even post me a photocopy of the catalog they order from — Miller ’s Supplies at piece of work , Government Sales Division . The Cartesian product number isUFS-44HD007 .
After September 11 , 2001 , the US authorities instituted high - technical school monitoring of snail mail sent through the US Postal Service . fundamentally the front of every letter can be scanned and catalogue with theflip of a electric switch . In fact , there ’s some grounds that the USPS might snap every piece of mail that makes its waythrough their system .
Tamper-proof tape used by the CIA to secure envelopes sent to FOIA requestors (Photo: Matt Novak)
But if you ’re interested about someone ( the government or otherwise ) tampering with the interior of your mail , you might do well to get a roll of this poppycock . If it ’s skillful enough for the CIA , it ’s probably your best bet .
Tape
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