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Wired Releases Full Text of AT&T NSA Document
ifitzgerald writes "This morning, Wired News released the full text of the AT&T NSA wiretap documents that are currently under court seal. From the article: 'AT&T claims information in the file is proprietary and that it would suffer severe harm if it were released.
Based on what we've seen, Wired News disagrees. In addition, we believe the public's right to know the full facts in this case outweighs AT&T's claims to secrecy.
As a result, we are publishing the complete text of a set of documents from the EFF's primary witness in the case, former AT&T employee and whistle-blower Mark Klein -- information obtained by investigative reporter Ryan Singel through an anonymous source close to the litigation. The documents, available on Wired News as of Monday, consist of 30 pages, with an affidavit attributed to Klein, eight pages of AT&T documents marked "proprietary," and several pages of news clippings and other public information related to government-surveillance issues.'"
I am now a subscriber to your magazine.
Patriotism is being loyal and loving your country unconditionally and your politicians when they deserve it.
This administration deserves neither loyalty nor love.
Expecting the conservative mod down in 3..2..1
Even having grown up in communist Poland during the 1960s and 1970s, I cannot say that I've seen such a blatant attack on freedom and liberty.
Small risk considering the government will will their stay with the States Secret Act. The original case will never go to trial and AT&T will be unable to launch a case against Wired because it can't show how the documents caused harm without identifying the harm, which in turn would violate the States Secret Act.
The whole point of a trial is that one group says "X has wronged me", then both parties defend their claims in front of the world and a representative group decides the outcome.
You think that evidence should be kept from public view until after the jury's decision? That sounds an awful lot like a secret trail. What happened to due process and the right to "a speedy, public trial?"
So all the information in all cases before the courts be made public? I'm sure rape and molestation victims will not appreciate having their ID's and details of the crime made public.
There is no "I disagree" mod for a reason. Flamebait, Troll, and Overrated are not substitutes.
Now next part is this whole "Nation of Laws" BS. Where is the law? Our own government has broken just about every right guaranteed to us by the constitution under the fictional guise of security when evidence proves we are no safer than we where on 9/11 and a lot of the law breaking is being used to keep government whistleblowers quiet and to get rid of "threats" to the current government in charge. Their own people leaked the identity of a CIA agent to get her either kicked out of the CIA or killed and they are getting away with it, jus because her husband flat out said Iraq doesnt have WMD which SURPRISE IT DIDNT. We have no laws if our own elected officials dont follow them. You have no rights atm and people FAIL to realize this because they listen to the bullshit spread by the media.
This ISNT legal, Im sorry if you think 3 lawyers and a lawschool kid (all who where consulted about this) constitutes legal right but it doesnt. There has been nothing in this war that WAS legal. And your a idiot and a traitor to this country and its founding principles and freedoms if you think it was.
Welcome to 1984.
"Slashdot, where telling the truth is overrated but lying is insightful."
It seems to me that Wired has decided not to respect fraudulent law makers, which is what the voice of a conscientious people should be doing. I certainly hope that the people's voice when it contests fascism avoids being crushed into silence. I applaud those who have the guts and nobility to push back against criminals where others are too cowardly or ignorant to stand up.
-FL
But seriously, I wonder how long this will stay online. I'd encourage those interested to save a copy, and mirror the crap out of it.
Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
Okay, so Wired has joined the group of people that have published the informants statements, and judges, being the considered thinkers they are, would not have barred only the EFF if the judge did not want the statements published. One point for the judge on that one. Neither did the judge declare the documents be returned or the informant 'gagged', two more points for the judge. At this point, it looks like a rout on the field of play, AT&T is in trouble. All the disinformation that they have been spreading is shaping up to be the proverbial excrement headed for the oscillating rotary device.
....
Everyone in the world but AT&T and NSA can see the train wreck coming. Time for some timely resignations about now, and please please please can we all drop the bottom out of AT&T stock just now too!
Where is Judge Judy when you need her? I can't wait to see what unimaginable harm this will do to those wanting to take away more and more of my 'rights' as a citizen of the Empire of the Dollar.
No, I'm not posting AC, the American system of laws and justice do have a good balance most of the time, and eventually, if you play with fire long enough, you get burned. I am given the right to discuss, even rant about how my government is serving me. As of today, I still have all of the rights. I would like to see those spying, criminals get the justice they actually deserve.... treason against the people of US.
The right to bear arms is to ensure that the government remains humble, among other things. Despite that fact that this would be a lopsided event, the framers of the constitution did not try to make it impossible for future citizens to remove the government from power. NOW, I'm not saying that we should, for the most part, I like the way the US government works. What I'm unhappy with is that there are entrenched in that government, people who would abuse the power granted to them for their own gain. People who would misuse those power to abuse the rights of citizens for their own gain.
We, the people.... demand to know who those people are, and what they are doing. When the government acts in the dark, hides from the light of oversight, it is time for change... Its a mid-term election year, and 2008 promises to be a special kind of election. So lets all dust off our thinking caps and start taking notes:
Who is making mistakes now?
Who is supporting DRM/*AA/stupid Internet laws?
And so on... then lets all vote accordingly when the time comes, even if it politically seems wrong. A good mix of all three parties, and a few token representatives from the fringe parties is "GOOD FOR AMERICANS" (TM) and thus good for America, America's allies, and the world in general in as much as it affects the world in general.
And, if you're not a US citizen, don't be afraid to share your notes. I'm sure you get different news than we a 'given' here in the US. Lets make it a wiki if we have to
What do you think? Am I off my rocker here?
Support NYCountryLawyer RIAA vs People
Does anyone else suspect that AT&T may be receiving special treatment for getting in bed with the fed? The anti-molopy police seem to have been looking the other way as AT&T snatched up BellSouth (the rest of Cingular with it) and SBC.
Or AT&T could just shut down Wired's link to the 'net. Wired is an AT&T backbone customer.
GP didn't say "majority", they said "big portion," and were very correct:
http://infosthetics.com/archives/2006/03/internetAll that pretty blue is AT&T-owned.
Pertaining to the leaked document, does anyone find it odd that even though the splitters where installed, there is no activation date for any of them? (Page 13)
The whistle-blower, Klein, so far doesn't seem to have produced any evidence that AT&T and the NSA are actively spying without court orders, just that they could.
So, what's all the fuss about? Why was there a gag order on this information?
Seems that somebody thinks that this information reveals something important, and I figure they know a lot more than you...
Remember that when Qwest checked with their lawyers and tried to follow the law, the government (after accusing them of being unpatriotic, of course) threatened them with loss of government contracts.
However, constantly insisting that laws were broken only shows that you've never put any thought or research into the position you've taken and exposes you for a fool that is probably best ignored.
I think that's a little unfair to say that. There is widespread opinion in the legal community that what the NSA is doing is illegal. For example Kate Martin of the Center of National Security Studies. Also don't forget Qwest turned down the government's request because their own internal lawyers thought it was illegal.
We won't know the "offical" legality of the program until SCOTUS makes some sort of decision on it. If that ever happens....
The best education consists in immunizing people against systematic attempts at education. - Paul Feyerabend
AT&T, you voided your right to keep your proprietary information locked up as trade secrets when you chose to engage in illegal activities with the government, conspiring to undermine our inalienable constitutional rights, namely the fourth and first amendments (and possibly the fifth in some cases if the "fishing" does turn up a crime). As bad as it is for pedophiles and terrorist and crack dealers to get away with what they're doing, I'd choose dealing with having those scumbags continue doing what they're doing than to lose my inalienable constitutional rights.
You got caught committing treason, and are now crying foul and are in essence trying to use the "trade secret" crap to get out of trouble and not lose customer confidence? Sorry, too late.
The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
"Treason is all a matter of dates." - Clarion, Count of Monte Cristo
My wife walks past that building on the way to work every day. She has been calling it the "Spy Headquarters" ever since she first saw it. It just LOOKS guilty... It's almost hollywood in it's attempt to look like a secret NSA headquarters (completely "abandoned", but without the graphiti and homeless that a typical abandoned building in that area draws, and except for the mysterious lights that are only on at certian hours of the day and night only on the floors with the blinds drawn)...
"Your superior intellect is no match for our puny weapons!"
Although I applaud standing one's ground, you must understand that of those who don't there is a portion who aren't simply caving in - they are taking a calculated decision.
:)
Do I...
A. Stand by ground, go to jail, and spend the next 4-8 years there pretty much powerless.
or
B. Let them win this one, and be free to fight another day that isn't 4-8 years into the future - like the next day.
Which option one chooses -should- be carefully considered.. I presume GP did
( not saying they would actually go to jail, let alone for 4-8 years )
It is an interesting read for sure. I don't however see clear proof that the NSA is listening in on our converstations. I see that there is monitoring but the articles don't say how the data is being used. It seems more like it is looking for patterns but it is way too soon to say for sure. If this is the case, I'm not sure how that is any different that the looking for patterns such astransactions for $10,000 or more (used to fight laundering, etc). A pattern is a pattern and this time it may just be a pattern in a new medium. It is also significant to note that this is nothing new. In the mid nineties Al Gore was involved in a meeting where the government tried to have listening devices built into every phone manufactured. Unfortunately as society "progresses", there is more and more personal information that is disseminated, stolen, viewed, etc but companies, governments, crooks, friends, etc. I work for an ISP and quite often we receive notices from some organization telling us that one of our customers is distributing illegal copies of something or using a name, photo, logo, etc illegally. Some one somewhere is monitoring their patterns. Some of our connections have restrictions on certain activites, e.g. web hosting and we can tell if their pattern confirms or suggests inappropriate usage. The author is clearly opiniated and sometimes makes judgement calls. One example is "The telltale sign of an illicit government spy operation is the fact that only people with security clearance from the National Security Agency can enter this room." The fact that security clearances are requried is not proof of an illicit operation. The article presents a small but important part of a much larger discussion. I will withhold judgement until I have more information.
NOW the "Get Smart" guys build a "secret room" right in the bleepin Ma Bell building! And said room is of course (a) On the building plans, in duplicatre. (b) Known to everybody, as they're not allowed to go in there. (c) Uses scads of bulky and hot, and easily-identifiable off-the-rack equipment.
Sheesh!
This document contains no unusual information from a security professional's perspective. Wired is correct in saying that keeping it secret for technical reasons is absurd. This document is secret solely for reasons that have nothing to do with technology.
It does not go into operational details to the point of enabling effortless duplication, but it does enumerate the tap points. It is simply a high level overview of a fiber sniffer.
I am not surprised one bit of its existence. One has to wonder what the peering providers (Abovenet, Verio, UU etc (I am not up to date on the current ownership of these entities)) will think about it.
There are plenty of precedents about the press publishing secret documents.
Leonid S. Knyshov
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