CIA Isn't “Spooked” by Wiki Security Issues

It seems that most early stage discussions with clients about the role that a Wiki might play in their organizational toolbox inevitably hit a bump-in-the-road around questions of control…

* Who is going to monitor the quality of entries?
* How to do we ensure appropriate entries?
* This all sounds totally out-of-control!

In short, the risks seen in bottom-up collaboration often seem out-sized compared to the potential rewards.

Well, you think that these issues loom large behind your corporate firewall? By contrast, where would you think the Central Intelligence Agency would come down on any measures of "high needs for control"?

As detailed in this April, 2009 Time Magazine article the CIA has created "Intellipedia" – a Wiki that is "transforming the way American spy agencies handle top secret information." This Wiki for spies now has more than 100,000 user accounts and sees about 5,000 page edits a day.

Was it easy to introduce these open, collaborative tools into a command-and-control culture? As Don Burke, one of the CIA staffers who promoted the Intellipedia idea internally says, "There’s been pushback throughout the whole process." But the team pressed on and the successes have been outstanding:

In just two days, agency-wide guidelines were rapidly developed to address the use of chlorine in improvised explosive devices - and, within minutes of the news breaking, a page was up and collecting insight on the Mumbai terror attacks.

Hmmm, something to keep in mind when you run into resistance within your own corporate culture. No matter how tight things might look, it’s hard to imagine that you’re facing a culture more rigid than the CIA! Now there's a success story you can use here to help make your case…