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Foreign Government | The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is Canada's national police force, which became significantly involved in the investigation of the PROMIS Software Scandal. | 1920 | Ottawa, Canada |
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is Canada's national police force, which became significantly involved in the investigation of the PROMIS Software Scandal. In February 2000, Sean McDade, an Royal Canadian Mounted Police national security investigator, secretly entered the United States to investigate evidence that the Canadian Government was using a modified version of the PROMIS computer software, which purportedly allowed the United States to eavesdrop on Canada intelligence secrets through a "back-door." His investigation was code-named Project Abbreviation, and his email handle, "simorp," was PROMIS spelled backward.[1]
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police probe, code-named Project Abbreviation, was authorized at the highest levels of the organization and was well-funded. The investigation was prompted by the discovery of an invoice for the purchase of PROMIS from Strategic Software Planning in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which contradicted earlier denials by Canada authorities regarding the Hamiltons' claims about the pirated software. Sean McDade's investigation reportedly traced banking transactions that supported the claim that high-ranking Canadian Government officials might have unlawfully purchased the software from officials in the Ronald Reagan-George H.W. Bush administration.[1]
During his investigation, Sean McDade learned that a meeting had taken place in December 1999 at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, attended by intelligence heads from the United States (Central Intelligence Agency), United Kingdom (British Intelligence), Israel (Mossad), and Canadian Security Intelligence Service. The discussion, labeled "Unique Elements," touched upon questions related to Y2K computer problems and a glitch in the British computer system. A source suggested that all four allied countries shared the same computer system, possibly PROMIS, due to its mutual integration capabilities. Furthermore, Sean McDade was informed that the Mossad might have modified the PROMIS software to create a "two-way" backdoor, potentially granting Israel access to top United States weapons secrets at Los Alamos National Laboratory and other installations.[1]
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police investigation, with assistance from Detective Sue Todd of Hercules, California, revealed that United States investigators who had previously probed the PROMIS affair faced significant obstruction from the Department of Justice. Many were fired, suspended, or resigned when their inquiries into drugs and money laundering reached high-level connections. The text highlights that Royal Canadian Mounted Police investigators, among others, still feared punitive action for coming forward, even if they were no longer in the public sector.[1]
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police's involvement in the PROMIS investigation also brought to light the use of ECHELON technology. Sean McDade himself became a target of ECHELON during his investigation in the United States, forcing him to take extraordinary measures to communicate securely. He noted that the NSA was spying on Canada citizens while Canada spied on United States citizens, both utilizing ECHELON and exchanging data.[1]
Despite the exposure of Sean McDade's investigation in the Toronto Star in August 2000, he reportedly returned to police work in his hometown.[1]
Footnotes
[1] Seymour, Cheri. The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro’s Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010.