Gov is monitoring you at your ISP. UPDT:Google ordered to give FBI data on everyone

[bradley]

Only those with something to hide will have a problem with this. Now I have a book burning of George Orwell's entire bibliography to attend.

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

As for VPNs, Tor etc the big issue is, what is the motive of someone wanting to be an exit node? They will most likely be the ones held responsible for the traffic. So while in priciple these anonymous networks are great I don't see how they can be sustainable. We almost need a completely alternate internet where data is not centralized at all, and queries go to several nodes to construct a single page. That way no single piece of data leaves a single machine. Building such a network and making it fast would be hard, and I'm sure the FBI, CIA and other alphabet soup agencies will find ways to track it too.

As far as I'm aware, nobody has been held accountable for the traffic flowing out as a TOR exit node. It can be considered similar to the ISP's safe harbor provision. Granted the government would make an argument stating that kind of provision doesn't protect an individual, but it's unclear if that would hold up in court or not.

Also, TOR exit nodes aren't just a US thing. They exist on a global scale so it's kind of hard to shut them all down. Also it's a P2P network, not centralized, so no single point to kill it from. Personally the bigger issue I see is the government running their own exit nodes and inspecting traffic that way. You get information from it while you can, but then as an added bonus when it's found out you now have planted the seed of doubt of the privacy on the network.

Seeking backdoors to encrypted traffic puts the kibosh on encrypted e-mails or even using a VPN. The ability for them to demand access to what is supposed to be secure services and vulnerability these backdoors would create would mean nothing could ever be considered secure anymore.

It is getting to be just to much, I think I would rather dissolve the patriot act, abolish the DHS and TSA and take my chances.

Only for the traffic through the services. Sure Gmail won't be encrypted. So, roll your own mail server at home and encrypt them so that you send the trusted recipient a key via phone or snail mail or some other out of band path. This is basically the case for just about everything that would have a "backdoor."

No matter what the government or companies want to do, they are always going to be behind in security unless they can control everything from the source to the destination. And that isn't possible, even with the new NSA site in Utah. If you're really concerned setup VPN tunnels with trusted peers, and encrypt the stuff you send into the tunnel. Make sure to use a sufficiently large bit encryption standard as attacks, in the lab, have worked on 750+ bits. Encryption using 1024 and higher is still probably safe for the time being, but 1536 or 2048 is the "safe" stuff at the moment.

 

[Tom]

I hear you Zane. Most people, like myself, dont care however since we are all just tying to earn a living and live our lives. So we dont mind what really happens.

It just knowing that your electronic thoughts are no longer your own is what is unsettling. :ninja:

Electronic thoughts ?

There's really two sides to this issue. One is governmental authority to read, listen in, etc, most of which is protected by the requirement to get a subpeona.

The other side though is our own concept of what we are doing when we do it via the internet. A good deal of the time we think we are anonymous when we really aren't.

If we go to a bomb making website, its no different than going to your local bomb-making shop. Clearly the government has the right to watch people going to the latter.

 

[FelixDeCat]

Update 6/5/2013: Judge orders Google to Hand over all Data to FBI...NOW!

http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/judge-orders-google-turn-over-data-fbi-6C10157219

A federal judge has ruled that Google Inc. must comply with the FBI's warrantless demands for customer data, rejecting the company's argument that the government's practice of issuing so-called national security letters to telecommunication companies, Internet service providers, banks and others was unconstitutional and unnecessary.FBI counter-terrorism agents began issuing the secret letters, which don't require a judge's approval, after Congress passed the USA Patriot Act in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.



The letters are used to collect unlimited kinds of sensitive, private information, such as financial and phone records and have prompted complaints of government privacy violations in the name of national security. Many of Google's services, including its dominant search engine and the popular Gmail application, have become daily habits for millions of people.



In a ruling written May 20 and obtained Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston ordered Google to comply with the FBI's demands.

 

[Doppel]

Everything you do on your PC, phone, etc. including every text message and phone call, picture, video uploads, etc. are all stored here.

I have always known this was coming and presumably could be retro-active to scour whatever the hell is on the net.

data warehousing + analysis = automated knowledge of what you've written

That shit about google is shameful. There was also a thing on Wired yesterday (?) about a guy who is in prison because he refuses to release a password for some encrypted files that will convict him of pedophila. He is trying for a 5th amendment defense, which I support (I imagine there's a good chance they'll catch him on this in some other way anyway).

 

[ericlp]

Uh... I see millions of people downloading the latest movies/music off of utorrent. Maybe I'll make a popup app that does random terrorist keyword searches we can all install and see how much resources the government really has. My guess would be not nearly enough. There is no way in hell we have that many resources to go investigate random internet searches.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Uh... I see millions of people downloading the latest movies/music off of utorrent. Maybe I'll make a popup app that does random terrorist keyword searches we can all install and see how much resources the government really has. My guess would be not nearly enough. There is no way in hell we have that many resources to go investigate random internet searches.

Yeah this is probably the best way to go about fighting this. Just make them require a ridiculous amount of resources and money and overall waste their time.

On the other hand, the government is not scared to spend money, because it's not their money. They might also just make it instant jail for searching anything related to terrorism, and when it comes to the internet, there is not as much proof required to prosecute someone. An IP address is all it takes.

The US is turning so much into a dictatorship it's ridiculous. They remind me of another country that also spies on it's people... oh yes, communist china! With SOPA and all that crap the great firewall of china is also eventually going to come to the US.

 

[Jeff7]

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."*

 

[Red Squirrel]

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."*

Yeah that right is pretty much out the window these days. The kicker is "unreasonable". Who defines that, the government? Legally, they just have to say that everything they do is reasonable. Protect the children!

 

[michal1980]

what happened to all the protesting liberals that would have went ballistic if this happened under bush?

oh that's right. Their guy is in power now, so its a-ok.

just like drone strikes on American's
irs being used as a political weapon
and blaming American you tube video's for terrorist attacks.

 

[Fritzo]

Only those with something to hide will have a problem with this. Now I have a book burning of George Orwell's entire bibliography to attend.

::Government reads everyone's web browser history::

MY GOD! OUR COUNTRY DOES NOTHING BUT LOOK AT ANAL SEX CLIPS!

 

[FelixDeCat]

what happened to all the protesting liberals that would have went ballistic if this happened under bush?

oh that's right. Their guy is in power now, so its a-ok.

just like drone strikes on American's
irs being used as a political weapon
and blaming American you tube video's for terrorist attacks.

Exactly. And now they are taking everyones daily phone records.

Dont worry, they will complain when a R gets elected.

This is not so much a political issue than it is a privacy and freedom issue. I dont want the government knowing more about me than I know about myself.

The bs needs to stop.

 

[FelixDeCat]

lol at all the awareness now

Ive been telling you about this, and I have first hand experience!

 

[bradley]

I hope that the Fed monitoring citizen's "megadata" doesn't jeopardize our President's run for a third term. lol

 

[Doppel]

This does seem to be one of the few times conspiracy theorists are on the right path. I heard about carnivore for years and although the methodology was different the end-point of government intercepting a lot of the major data on the internet is now in play. I think it's a ghastly breach of privacy and illegal, but the federal government answers to nobody. The constitution is for individuals and states only these days; terrorism trumps all.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics...tronic-frontier-foundation-fisa-court-opinion