NSA data mining

[JayHawk]

We are really in new technology waters: embassies going back to typewriters, hand deliveries, and intercepts or pop-ups saying "you are now entering a NSA monitored area," which some countries are exploring.

All imminently vulnerable to just paying off internal spies which was what we successfully did prior to the information age. So we would collect sigint and use humint for corroboration.

At the UN Germany and Brazil are advancing a non-binding resolution on privacy, expected to garner widespread support. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/02/nsa-germany-brazil-un-resolution

All of which is politically motivated fluff that cannot pass the UN unless they first seek to remove the US or more likely the US alters it to their liking and then passes it along. Iran, China, and Russia have taught us well how to practice republican obstructive politics on a world diplomatic stage.

Errata: I saw one report that the US in collaboration Australia thought it a coup to get the unlisted number of Bali's police chief. How far down the totem pole does the collection go? http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/02/nsa-australia-bali-conference-spy-indonesia

All the way down. I imagine any player can submit a request for X,Y,Z data on X,Y,Z person or entity and then what we are willing to release is sent.

Errata 2: Europe is beginning to recognize that its demonization of Snowden was misguided or ill-founded, with (newly born) activist talk of actually granting him asylum. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/03/germany-edward-snowden-asylum

Popular support, sure... see above. The idea has popular support in America as well. See how far it goes. Just remember I told you they will SAY they are doing something and shove it all into a secrecy hole. They will never share will you WHAT they did not matter the public law outcome. Just as the Patriot act was maniputlated in ways you would disagree with by the oversight that includes more than two people you mention below. Infact, the entirety of both legislative bodies can request and receive full briefings. End of the day we will just stop providing this info to our allies.

Errata 3: I continue to regard Rep. Mike Rogers and Sen. Diana Feinstein as the most dangerous persons in America.

[/QUOTE] See above, they are simply the only ones capable of stating what your senators and your congressperson agreed to do. I trust them more for being out front and on the record. The cowards are the ones waiting in the wings that are too afraid to speak because they know their votes would contradict a public statement of outrage and support puts them at odds with current polls. So cowards. The polls will wane and the beat will go on.....

 

[tigerfan482]

Did you miss that one?

Here's the news report, reporting Alexander's remarks:

So you mean he shifted the "blame" to the State Department which took partial "blame" in the sentence directly before the one you bolded? And I wouldn't call Alexander explaining where intelligence requirements come from as "blaming" as much as I would call it explaining reality.

 

[tigerfan482]

I see talk of the internet fracturing or being balkanized. The only impediment to that happening is money.



And the tech giants are none to happy that their brand and business is being tarnished.

More questionable shock journalism. The only impediment is money, as it has always been. Oh, and the amount of data that companies like Google have. Oh, and the infrastructure the US has over many of these other countries pushing regional internet routing. Oh, and the economic consequences of cutting yourself off from the rest of the world. Oh, and the fact that even if they do this, the NSA will still find other ways of getting the intelligence. But that's it. That's all that's keeping this from happening.

BTW, I noticed you haven't mentioned China's new past-time. Sure, these may be used for spam, or maybe they could be used to suck up all of your data or deliver other malicious software. Seems like the Guardian is falling behind on their reporting.

Source

Russian authorities have claimed that household appliances imported from China contain tiny computers that seek out open WiFi networks and then get to work sending spam and distributing malware.

St Petersburg news outlet Rosbalt reported last week that local authorities had examined kettles and irons and found “20 to 30 pieces of Chinese home appliance 'spy' microchips” that “sends some data to the foreign server”.

 

[kallipolis]

So you mean he shifted the "blame" to the State Department which took partial "blame" in the sentence directly before the one you bolded? And I wouldn't call Alexander explaining where intelligence requirements come from as "blaming" as much as I would call it explaining reality.

Pedantry transforms reality into infintesimally tiny trivia.....

 

[tigerfan482]

Pedantry transforms reality into infintesimally tiny trivia.....

Studying for the SATs today I see. Unfortunately, with anything involving language, the smallest detail could make the biggest difference. However, in this case, I don't believe there are minor details. General Alexander pointing fingers at the State Department and saying all of this spying ordeal is their fault is not the same as Kerry saying that the State Department had tasked broad intelligence activities which lead to the "auto-pilot" collection of some of these people and then Alexander coming in later and saying "yes, we do receive some of our tasking from ambassadors."

 

[kallipolis]

^There you go, again.....

 

[tigerfan482]

^There you go, again.....

I know. This habit of thinking logically and making sense is getting to be quite the frequent occurrence.

 

[palbert]

...BTW, I noticed you haven't mentioned China's new past-time. Sure, these may be used for spam, or maybe they could be used to suck up all of your data or deliver other malicious software. Seems like the Guardian is falling behind on their reporting.

Source

Hadn't noticed that¹, but pretty clever. Still absorbing Brazil's spying efforts. And, the denial of Snowden's unmade request for clemency.

(¹ Of course we'll need proof of the mere speculation.)

 

[palbert]

From the this started with telegrams department:

C.I.A. Is Said to Pay AT&T for Call Data

Because the C.I.A. is prohibited from spying on the domestic activities of Americans, the agency imposes privacy safeguards on the program, said the officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity because it is classified. Most of the call logs provided by AT&T involve foreign-to-foreign calls, but when the company produces records of international calls with one end in the United States, it does not disclose the identity of the Americans and “masks” several digits of their phone numbers, the officials said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/07/us/cia-is-said-to-pay-att-for-call-data.html?hp&_r=0

Cost: $10,000,000 /year. or so.

Sounds cozy, but remarkably similar to parallel construction.

Historically, though, this is really nothing new: we did it with telegrams and Western Union.

 

[kallipolis]

From the this started with telegrams department:



Cost: $10,000,000 /year. or so.

Sounds cozy, but remarkably similar to parallel construction.

Historically, though, this is really nothing new: we did it with telegrams and Western Union.

Continuity.....................................

 

[tigerfan482]

From the this started with telegrams department:



Cost: $10,000,000 /year. or so.

Sounds cozy, but remarkably similar to parallel construction.

Historically, though, this is really nothing new: we did it with telegrams and Western Union.

And I'm sure they sell plenty of phone records with names redacted to other companies willing to pony up money as well. I remember a time when you could pay $8 on a public records site and get someone's social security number, birth date, home address, unlisted numbers, etc. Nothing that isn't solely in your mind is safe or private and it's been that way for a long time. I just wish people would stop acting surprised when they actually find this out.

 

[JayHawk]

And I'm sure they sell plenty of phone records with names redacted to other companies willing to pony up money as well. I remember a time when you could pay $8 on a public records site and get someone's social security number, birth date, home address, unlisted numbers, etc. Nothing that isn't solely in your mind is safe or private and it's been that way for a long time. I just wish people would stop acting surprised when they actually find this out.

Discovering the depths of one's personal ignorance is surprising. Or in the case of news agencies, profitable.

 

[palbert]

From the secure your passwords department:

In a story that will no doubt be used to demonstrate Snowden's heinous behavior, he is reported to have asked for and received the passwords of approximately 20-25 NSA employees, who have now been reassigned.

Snowden may have persuaded between 20 and 25 fellow workers at the NSA regional operations center in Hawaii to give him their logins and passwords by telling them they were needed for him to do his job as a computer systems administrator, a second source said.

The revelation is the latest to indicate that inadequate security measures at the NSA played a significant role in the worst breach of classified data in the super-secret eavesdropping agency's 61-year history.

Reuters reported last month that the NSA failed to install the most up-to-date, anti-leak software at the Hawaii site before Snowden went to work there and downloaded highly classified documents belonging to the agency and its British counterpart, Government Communication Headquarters.
...
(Ed.: Of course,)

"In the classified world, there is a sharp distinction between insiders and outsiders. If you've been cleared and especially if you've been polygraphed, you're an insider and you are presumed to be trustworthy," said Steven Aftergood, a secrecy expert with the Federation of American Scientists.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/07/snowden-nsa_n_4237112.html (from Reuters)

Also http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20...eir-passwords-many-gave-them-to-snowden.shtml

 

[palbert]

From the blame the other guy department,

Pursuant to Executive Order 12333:



http://icontherecord.tumblr.com/post/65656690222/nsas-activities-valid-foreign-intelligence (Press release 10/31/2013)(foreign intelligence gathering)

Executive Order 12333:



http://icontherecord.tumblr.com/tagged/EO-12333

Without further details, sounds a little attenuated. As news develops we shall see.

...I'm confused. What news? What is developing? There's nothing here but an explanation of E.O. 12333.

And what an E.O. it is:

1. Only Executive Oversight, a point recognized by Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

2. Outside of legislative strictures and directives.

The NSA is using 12333 in at least two different ways (and probably many more). It's using the supposed authority the order grants to collect information like the data center links, and Americans' address books and contacts because that information is considered "foreign intelligence." The definition is used in both FISA and in 12333, and is an incredibly broad term.

The Administration is also using 12333 to create secret guidelines—without the approval of Congress—for when, why, and how the NSA can use Americans' information outside of the oversight of the FISA Court. One such guideline is called the Supplemental Procedures and Guidelines for Governing Metadata Analysis. It's a boring title, but the procedures supposedly "allow" the NSA to use the metadata collected under Section 215 and Section 702 to create social networks of Americans—and anyone else—for any "foreign intelligence" purpose. The New York Times reports that there are no restrictions on the use of such data.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/...t-weve-learned-about-governments-other-spying

I don't think Americans are "surprised" by the revelations; I think we're stunned. And to dismiss this E.O. as pretty much just another E.O. is disingenuous.

 

[kallipolis]

Clearly Edward Snowden has not only done a big service for the general public, but also for the NSA by identifying that organisation's many internal security lapses....just imagine the consequences had the Chinese, Russians, or an Islamist terrorist group been employing Snowden to snoop on the NSA.

 

[JayHawk]

From the secure your passwords department:

In a story that will no doubt be used to demonstrate Snowden's heinous behavior, he is reported to have asked for and received the passwords of approximately 20-25 NSA employees, who have now been reassigned.



Also http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20...eir-passwords-many-gave-them-to-snowden.shtml

At the end of the day the only true faults in security lie in the people trusted to maintain the security system. If there are 20 - 25 ignorant fucks on earth then I blame them almost as much as Snowden. Reassigned?? They should be fired. The only reason they have not been fired is because others will not cough up their shitty deeds that enabled that spineless traitor. I imagine they will be placed on the 'shit on them till they leave on their own' track that is the best way to get a civil servant to go away.


Kalopolis what Snow den has done definitely served notice but the way he is releasing the information is much more harmful than if china or terrorist discovered it. Once you start seeing a locust of compromise then you can isolate the compromise. Snowden simply put everyone at risk.


Something I do not understand about the previous report that the reporters boyfriend had thousands of stolen documents on his person. Why isn't he in prison for EVER? Very strange to me that the UK would put public polling above the law of the land.

 

[palbert]

... Something I do not understand about the previous report that the reporters boyfriend had thousands of stolen documents on his person. Why isn't he in prison for EVER? Very strange to me that the UK would put public polling above the law of the land.

I think several things limited British Security:

1. Miranda was a foreign national in the international transit zone;
2. British law greatly circumscribes action Security can take in a transit zone;
3. He was probably travelling as a journalist.
4. The Guardian and the Brazilian Embassy got involved;
5. The docs were encrypted: the Brits may have suspected approaching certainty what he carried but couldn't establish it within the mandated lead time.

The above is my surmise.

 

[JayHawk]

I know nothing of UK law so you may be correct.

I wonder how much of a turd Glenn Greenwald is to have put his other half into such a position to go to prison, had they de-crypted the documents. I bet you the partner wont be a international secret mule again. LOL

 

[palbert]

Senator John McCain has said Keith Alexander should resign or be fired.

"Of course, he should resign, or be fired," McCain said. "We no longer hold anybody accountable in Washington."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/10/john-mccain-keith-alexander_n_4250505.html

A good place to start, even if a little late by my book.

 

[JayHawk]

Yeah it used to be standard policy that when you were caught with your pants down, you resigned. that changed when Clinton challenged, actually lied and then got away with it. Thereby proving to both sides that if you wait it out and have a good crisis management team you can survive. I don't think they should have went after Clinton's libido but I also think it is incredible that a sitting President lied to the American people blatantly.

No wait and manage is the order of the day. Alexander is leaving soon too. He is leaving BTW. He announced such in October. however he is doing another modern thing, scheduling his unplanned loss. That leaves him with the ability to say he wasn't fired. Resigning is realty just getting fired unless everyone is bagging you to stay.

That does not change the fact that whomever takes his place will be steeped in the exact same intelligence apparatus. In fact, if the person assuming command was operational during the last ten years they will be even more enamored with the massive advantage our intelligence offers a field commander. Not much is changing and there is a helluva lot of hullabaloo but no real traction. The noise is to placate the people who read the news and got angry. Perhaps I am way too jaded but that is how I see it happening.