They focused on monitors and keyboards, processing data at a configuration of desks that suggested the bridge of a spacecraft. The Information Command Unit: what insiders called the ICU, where the nature of the work was top-secret cyber sleuthing. ICU analysts had diverted some of their resources from other classified assignments to accommodate Robert Lancer’s request for a “full-court press” to find Gretchen Sutsoff. He needed to interview her about Project Crucible. The room was taut with quiet pressure, underscored by the clicking of keys. In a process known as data mining, experts searched secure government archives, property records, court records, news articles, obituaries, Web sites, chat rooms, blogs and social networks—just about everything available online. They also searched law enforcement databases, drivers’ records, criminal records, death records, obits, tax records, corporate records and fee-based sources. And through international agreements, they were able to scour government holdings from foreign countries.
