It made perfect late-summer reading for the Internet-is-Big-Brother crowd. And it emerged on Forbes.com, no less, which lent it credibility far beyond the usual sources for paranoia on demand. "Stealthy Government Contractor Monitors U.S. Internet Providers, Worked With WikiLeaks Informant" shuddered the headline atop Andy Greenberg's story about the August 1, 2010, Defcon 18 hacker conference at the Riviera Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas."A semi-secret government contractor that calls itself Project Vigilant surfaced," Greenberg disclosed, "with a series of revelations: that it monitors the traffic of 12 regional Internet service providers, hands much of that information to federal agencies, and encouraged one of its 'volunteers,' researcher Adrian Lamo, to inform the federal government about the alleged source of a controversial video of civilian deaths in Iraq leaked to whistleblower site WikiLeaks."Chet Über, identified as Project Vigilant's director, has heretofore been better known for founding InfraGard, a 37,755-member information clearinghouse partnering the FBI, state and local law enforcement, academic institutions, and the private sector to foil terrorism targeted at the homeland's critical infrastructure. Fans of truTV's Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura will recall that series' unforgettable "Big Brother" episode, which branded InfraGard "the group that's turning everyday Americans into Big Brother's spies." The ex-wrestler and former governor was understandably aghast. "This is an outrage!" railed Jesse. "I am outraged! Is this Nazi Germany we're talkin' about?"

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