NOIR: A White Paper Proposing a New Policy for Improving National Security by Fixing the Problem of Insider Spies is a two-part White Paper, written by David L. Charney, M.D., a psychiatrist who had the unique experience of interviewing former FBI counterintelligence officer Robert Hanssen in jail, weekly, for approximately two hours per visit, for a year. Dr. Charney did the same with two other incarcerated insider spies: Earl Pitts (former FBI Special Agent revealed as a KGB spy), and Brian Regan (former Air Force/NRO).
Dr. Charney’s interest was to better understand the minds of spies for the sake of strengthening our national security. Over the eighteen years of his work with these cases, Dr. Charney developed a greater understanding of insider spy psychology and formulated new approaches and fresh proposals for better managing the problem of insider spies.
Dr. Charney’s first paper, “True Psychology of the Insider Spy,” Part One of his two-part White Paper on insider spies, was published in late 2010 in the AFIO Intelligencer. This paper can be viewed on the NCIX (National Counterintelligence Executive) website.
Most Insider Threat management initiatives have been technology driven. While clever and useful up to a point, they are subject to the Law of Diminishing Returns and can backfire by creating a negative, distrustful workplace atmosphere.
A well-motivated insider can defeat nearly any technology-based system. They will always find a way.
By contrast, Dr. Charney’s NOIR proposals center on the minds of potential or current insider threats: their psychologies and their inner worlds. The battle must be won there.
NOIR focuses on “classic” state-sponsored espionage. However, many of its points are applicable for dealing with Snowden-type threats.
NOIR for USA is a 501(c)3 entity to educate the US Intelligence Community, other government components, including the Congress, the courts, responsible journalists, and the general public, about the NOIR concepts and proposals.
Dr. Charney and his colleagues at NOIR for USA would appreciate any comments, criticisms, or additional thoughts you may have about NOIR concepts and proposals: Contact@NOIR4USA.org
Dr. Charney is the Founder and Medical Director of Roundhouse Square Counseling Center, in Alexandria, Virginia. He specializes in Anxiety and Mood Disorders, Couples and Family Therapy, as well as Attention Deficit Disorder in adults.
In addition to his usual practice, he has also treated personnel from within the Intelligence Community. As a result of unusual circumstances, he had the opportunity to join the defense team of his first spy case, Earl Pitts. Subsequently, Plato Cacheris, the attorney of Robert Hanssen, invited Dr. Charney to join his defense team, which added a further dimension to his experience. With the addition of his third spy case, Brian Regan, Dr. Charney further deepened his knowledge of the psychological nuances of captured spies.
As a member of their defense teams, Dr. Charney was perceived by these insider spies as an understanding and supportive figure, which lowered their defensive mindsets, and provided a truer picture of their inner lives. Many common assumptions of spy motivation were brought into question by Dr. Charney’s work.
Dr. Charney elaborated his findings in Part One of his White Paper, entitled True Psychology of the Insider Spy. Part Two of his White Paper, entitled NOIR, lays out Dr. Charney’s innovative and perhaps controversial recommendations for making use of what he learned to better manage the problem of insider spies. To educate and promote these concepts and ideas, he founded NOIR for USA, a non-profit organization. Its website is: NOIR4USA.org.
