If you have ever used TOR or have read Boing Boing online, NSA targets you long term

[mikeymikec]

Kind of funny watching people rage over information they barely have a glance at and don't really have any understanding of. A large chunk of which may or may not be true.

You're absolutely right. People should ask their government what the truth is in these allegations.

On a completely unrelated note, I wonder if the US or UK government has considered hiring Baghdad Bob.

 

[Zodiark1593]

Oops! Missed the sarcasm.

Sorry.

Uno

No problem, kinda hard to convey that via text. In fact, just changed my avatar to a rather fitting character. :sneaky:

 

[shabby]

Best shirt ever https://www.trycelery.com/shop/torrorist

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

You're absolutely right. People should ask their government what the truth is in these allegations.

On a completely unrelated note, I wonder if the US or UK government has considered hiring Baghdad Bob.

Instead we should put our trust in the person who has become a mouthpiece for Russian propaganda.

 

[Anubis]

WTF is boing boing? sounds like a porn site

 

[Zorkorist]

As if the government would acknowledge their infiltration of TOR in order to shut down a minor criminal enterprise like the Silk Road.

Yeah, they are so advanced they stopped 911.
They stopped Snowden.
They can't stop the flood of South American Children into America.

Tell me how advanced they are, again?

-John

 

[Zorkorist]

But yet, they have no idea what is/was on the computer of the Secretary of the IRS.

-John

 

[Nebor]

Yeah, they are so advanced they stopped 911.
They stopped Snowden.
They can't stop the flood of South American Children into America.

Tell me how advanced they are, again?

-John

Their thousands of amazing success stories are classified.

 

[mikeymikec]

Instead we should put our trust in the person who has become a mouthpiece for Russian propaganda.

So before that, he was a liar? He left his own country and family because he's a liar and a traitor at the same time, as the US and UK governments would have you believe... does this seem plausible to you? Now that he's risked everything, his next life choice is to become the very thing he despises?

Do you suppose we're going to see a string of people like Edward Snowden who are willing to risk everything to tell you the sort of things that the US/UK governments are doing with little or no oversight?

The US government probably have some special facilities ready to punish such people like they did Chelsea Manning. The possibility of long-term suicide watch / solitary confinement should be enough to cool the heels of anyone inside the system with a desire to whistle-blow.

You can believe who you like of course. I would personally be more likely to believe someone like Edward Snowden than spokespersons of the US/UK intelligence services given the truth-telling tendencies of the latter.

 

[Oldgamer]

But yet, they have no idea what is/was on the computer of the Secretary of the IRS.

-John

Yea that bothers me to no end honestly..and we all know that 9 out of 10 targets are just average US citizens (not really terrorists) whom they collect very intimate details on. As one article put it "the NSA agents demonstrate an almost voyeuristic tendency when viewing intimate details on Americans".

 

[Zodiark1593]

Yea that bothers me to no end honestly..and we all know that 9 out of 10 targets are just average US citizens (not really terrorists) whom they collect very intimate details on. As one article put it "the NSA agents demonstrate an almost voyeuristic tendency when viewing intimate details on Americans".

The NSA is probably bored out of their mind trying to spy on me.

 

[gevorg]

The NSA is probably bored out of their mind trying to spy on me.

Its not the 70s right now, everything is automated and archived forever. Once something about you causes triggers/alerts in "big data", then maybe a human being checks it out and decides on what to do next (i.e. Zodiark1593 bought guns last week and now surfing the web by TOR, gotta be a terrorist, get him!). As shown by Boston bombers, the system is nowhere close to being ideal though.

 

[momeNt]

It seems like the goal of those in the NSA is to constantly be brainstorming new threats, and methods of tracking possible evil-doers, in order to expand their branch of government and to remain viable. As long as they keep those that fund them gripped in terror, they will have a job, and will be able help others get a job as well. They are like business consultants with an extremely gullible and deep pocketed schmuck eating out of the palm of their hands.

 

[werepossum]

The NSA has repeatedly been shown to be decades ahead of anyone else in the realm of cybersecurity & hacking. They have an unlimited classified budget to hire the best of the best. They can buy off or intimidate with force every ISP, security company, hardware manufacturer and software developer. The people attempting to outmaneuver them are at the best, criminals, but more typically casual, hobbyist hackers or wannabe revolutionaries.

If you think any of your electronic communication isn't accessible by the NSA, odds are you're wrong.

The NSA's biggest problem is its reach. One can have the best telescope in the world, but if one's target of observation is "everything" one won't see much of note.

But yet, they have no idea what is/was on the computer of the Secretary of the IRS.

-John

lol +1

It seems like the goal of those in the NSA is to constantly be brainstorming new threats, and methods of tracking possible evil-doers, in order to expand their branch of government and to remain viable. As long as they keep those that fund them gripped in terror, they will have a job, and will be able help others get a job as well. They are like business consultants with an extremely gullible and deep pocketed schmuck eating out of the palm of their hands.

+1 Pretty much, except that within their customer base they have the ability to single out the non-believers as threats, so there's quite a bit of the protection extortion racket as well.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Anyone who's not a standard user (probably majority of this board) is already on a watch list. They don't need a reason.

Private VPN, then TOR. good luck with that one NSA.

 

[Jeff7]

The NSA's biggest problem is its reach. One can have the best telescope in the world, but if one's target of observation is "everything" one won't see much of note.
...

So what if you tie that telescope to a supercomputer that can note things rapidly and automatically, and present its conclusions to a small group of people who may not adequately question or audit it?

 

[artvscommerce]

So what if you tie that telescope to a supercomputer that can note things rapidly and automatically, and present its conclusions to a small group of people who may not adequately question or audit it?

You end up with a mediocre tv show staring "Ben" from Lost.

 

[werepossum]

So what if you tie that telescope to a supercomputer that can note things rapidly and automatically, and present its conclusions to a small group of people who may not adequately question or audit it?

That's what they THINK we have now. Or maybe it's just what they want us to think. Whichever, I'd argue that we have the pretense of data rather than actual usable data, but I grant that your premise is correct in principle even if I doubt its practicality in government. I'd give Amazon or Google a much more efficient data mining grade than the NSA, as witnessed by the NSA's continued reliance on brute force whenever they want a particular datum or data set.

 

[ch33zw1z]

werepossum, I agree with some of what you've said.

What they can or can't access readily is always in question. What the government agencies claim can hardly be trusted.

On the topic of Amazon or Google, you're probably correct. But on that same topic, we all agree to Amazon or Google's TOS, I've yet to see a NSA TOS Even voting doesn't seem to stop it.

There's just too many people who don't seem to grasp the extent of these companies or government agencies abilities. I can't claim I fully grasp it, but what we do know leads me to believe both private companies and the government agencies are capable of much more in terms of data mining, storing, and long term preservation. Both sides are driven by the need to stay relevant.

 

[werepossum]

werepossum, I agree with some of what you've said.

What they can or can't access readily is always in question. What the government agencies claim can hardly be trusted.

On the topic of Amazon or Google, you're probably correct. But on that same topic, we all agree to Amazon or Google's TOS, I've yet to see a NSA TOS Even voting doesn't seem to stop it.

There's just too many people who don't seem to grasp the extent of these companies or government agencies abilities. I can't claim I fully grasp it, but what we do know leads me to believe both private companies and the government agencies are capable of much more in terms of data mining, storing, and long term preservation. Both sides are driven by the need to stay relevant.

This is true. A vote for Democrats means accepting that government has all the power, but it's for your own good. A vote for Republicans means accepting that government has all the power, but we're going to agree to pretend that isn't true. Government power is largely unaffected by voting, except that the next guy will be worse than the last.

 

[Zorkorist]

Which is where and why "back to basics" campaigns like the Tea Party Movement come in. If we had a branch of Government (Republican or Democrat, er, ahem) that actually cared about LIMITING Government, that would be one thing, but we obviously don't. So the next best thing is a MOVEMENT inside one party, that puts enough pain on the rest of the party to cause them to acquiesce.

So for all the people out there, looking to support the "extreme" groups, of Tea Party, Libertarian, Green Party, etc., now is the time. It's quite clear that neither "two party system" gives a shit about anything but the system.

-John

 

[Zorkorist]

I listen to a radical right radio station on the morning in my drive time to work, and they like to say in there tag-line some famous words from President Ronald Reagan.

"The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'"

“Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.”

Children today have very little, if any, education into the true roots of America.

-John

 

[Zorkorist]

The true roots of America, starting with the Bill of rights.

Keep in mind this is someone 300 years ago saying;

1 Freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition.
2 Right to keep and bear arms in order to maintain a well regulated militia.
3 No quartering of soldiers.
4 Freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures.
5 Right to due process of law, freedom from self-incrimination, double jeopardy.
6 Rights of accused persons, e.g., right to a speedy and public trial.
7 Right of trial by jury in civil cases.
8 Freedom from excessive bail, cruel and unusual punishments.
9 Other rights of the people.
10 Powers reserved to the states.


We see attacks (to those 300 year old rights, daily.)

But now, with unlimited Money, comes Unlimited Government.

-John