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Do You Like Online Privacy? You May Be a Terrorist
schwit1 passes on this snippet from Public Intelligence: "A flyer designed by the FBI and the Department of Justice to promote suspicious activity reporting in internet cafes lists basic tools used for online privacy as potential signs of terrorist activity. The document, part of a program called 'Communities Against Terrorism,' lists the use of 'anonymizers, portals, or other means to shield IP address' as a sign that a person could be engaged in or supporting terrorist activity. The use of encryption is also listed as a suspicious activity along with steganography, the practice of using 'software to hide encrypted data in digital photos' or other media. In fact, the flyer recommends that anyone 'overly concerned about privacy' or attempting to 'shield the screen from view of others' should be considered suspicious and potentially engaged in terrorist activities. ... The use of PGP, VPNs, Tor or any of the many other technologies for anonymity and privacy online are directly targeted by the flyer, which is distributed to businesses in an effort to promote the reporting of these activities."
"If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place." - Eric Schmidt, Google CEO
"[There's an] error in logic that leads to short-sighted conceptions of privacy like Schmidt's. ... Google, governments, and technologists need to understand more broadly that ignoring privacy protections in the innovations we incorporate into our lives not only invites invasions of our personal space and comfort, but opens the door to future abuses of power." - EFF
Can you believe that the Internet was once considered a place to escape identity? Where anonymity reigned? It's pretty amazing in retrospect how quickly that changed, and the way people are now trained to reveal everything on Facebook and Twitter is creating a society that doesn't understand the value and the power of their personal information. They're willing to reveal all, to act as better products for advertisers and to avoid suspicion from overbearing governments.
These might be signs of someone being a terrorist. It's just that 99.9% aren't and you're basically taking away privacy from everyone by treating the use of such tools as being suspicious. It's exactly what terrorists want to achieve.
"Like privacy? You may be a terrorist!"
It's thinking like that which risks turning me into a terrorist.
I used encryption (well atleast my browser did) to do a bank transaction, I guess I am a terrorist.
I also work at a local sheriff's office and we use vpn to access a state/federal system. I guess the state and feds are terrorists too
I remember the loathsome brochures passed around in the Government during the Reagan / G.H.W. Bush drug wars years. They basically boiled down to
- anyone acting strangely might be on drugs, and
- anyone not acting strangely might be on drugs, and covering it up.
Sounds like the DOJ is falling down the same rathole once again.
Sorry guys, I may not be able to post here much longer.
Welcome privacy advocates to the Accused of Being A Terrorist While Doing Nothing Wrong Club. Take a seat over there next to the Photographers (because terrorists will really cart around a DSLR and tripod in their terrifying terroristic travels).
My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
Sounds like a lot of businesses are goin to be on the 'suspicious' list.
Just have it running with speakers full blast in the middle of the cafe if they REALLY wanna know what you're up to.
The sad thing is, people still believe the US government has their best interests at heart and is not trying to oppress them.
They seem to think a tyranny is impossible in the USA.
In other breaking news, buying a ticket on a commercial airline, driving a car, buying a penknife, wearing a shirt and breathing are all signs of possible terrorist activity.
If you login to you comcast webmail you may be a terrorist?
"Suspicious or coded writings, use of code word sheets, cryptic ledgers, etc"
To the average citizen, most programming languages would fit this.
All the world's a CPU, and all the men and women merely AI agents
If you keep stripping my rights, I'll become a Terrorist
My grand parents knew friends who were arrested as they were suspected communists during the witch hunt years McArthur was going after people who simply had an opinion about the government...
Previewing comments are for sissies!
attempting to 'shield the screen from view of others' should be considered suspicious and potentially engaged in terrorist activities. ...
Darnit! So thats why I failed the FBI test! I checked "C: is a Masturbator" on that one!
So this means that anytime I am at a public place and fire up a VPN to access work materials I am engaged in terrorist activities? Hopefully tech companies will shed some light over how absurd the FBI and DoJ are being on this.
If you like candy, you may be a terrorist, if you can ride a bike you may be a terrorist, if you keep your food in the fridge you may be a terrorist... Hell, we may all be terrorists!
Suspicious communications using VOIP or communicating through a PC game
MMO Guilds, consider yourselves warned...
"Suspicious communications using VOIP or communicating through a PC game" Seriously!? Communicating through a videogame? By that definition every single child who plays online computer games that allow them to talk to others is a potential threat. I wonder what that means for all those who play Modern Warfare and the like? Maybe they're TRAINING to be terrorists! The US lawmakers sicken me.
"Do You Like Online Privacy? You May Be a Terrorist"
Or simply wanking to porn. Who wants to be disturbed by CIA/FBI when touching one's genitals?
When l33t tools are outlawed, only outlaws will have them.
Governments are evil by definition and the real terrorists are in government and people need protection from government, which is what Constitution is supposed to be in at least in US.
You can't handle the truth.
This all sounds very familiar doesn't it...
"Are you know or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?"
This is why everyone should use such tools and practices, all the time.
I guess I'm a terrorist...
Just because you like protecting your identity does not mean you are a terrorist.
Remind me again why we have 1000 year old politicians, using Windows XP and IE6, making Tech laws for future generations?
Hey----Why not just LOGIN to the internet. So if you pirate something or say something stupid it is ON YOUR ACCOUNT. It DOES NOT punish the rest of us.
So in the effort to prevent bad things from happening we will take x and if that doesn't work we'll take y. We will keep taking to protect women, children, and the nation until we are all stripped of everything. The only problem with that is so will the bad thing. I am avoiding the obvious use of the term of this topic, but get my drift? What will prevent the bad thing is unity and dilligence of the community, not stipping the community of what makes them unique. This has become sport in some circles.
I guess I am a terrorist, where do I turn myself in?
Since I am now classified as a terrorist, where can I pick up my free AK-47?
.... for I relish in my privacy rights. I always try to hide what I do from others. I refuse to have an account on Facebook, or other social media tools. I guess this makes me suspect.
Forget that my Civil Liberties are being stripped away one chip at a time, and my right to privacy is a pursuit to my life, liberty and happiness, which is in the Declaration of Independence.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,[75] that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."
So I guess our founding fathers were Terrorists then....
Life takes interesting turns, but the most interest is when you're off the beaten path.
How long until it's, 'if your not actively posting a log of your daily life to Facebook, you might be a terrorist.'?
It is important to remember that just because someone’s speech,
actions, beliefs, appearance, or way of life is different; it does not
mean that he or s he is suspicious.
Alright, they at least have the arbitrary discrimination disclaimer. Lets take this one step at a time. Slow but sure...
You wouldn't mind getting your email monitored if you didn't have anything evil to hide!
Oh, and that encrypted partition pretty much makes you a pedophile.
Are overly concerned about privacy, attempts to shield the screen from view of others
That's every government worker or contractor in Washington. Privacy filters are ubiquitous here, often mandated for anything requiring a clearance above window washer.
Are observed switching SIM cards in cell phone or use of multiple cell phones
Again, this is pretty much every professional in Washington with a department/company phone and a personal phone.
Suspicious or coded writings, use of code word sheets, cryptic ledgers, etc.
Multi-factor logins are pretty common here, though one-time pads are usually of the key-fob/credit-card variety.
Encryption or use of software to hide encrypted data in digital photos, etc.
This is required by pretty much everyone here.
Enjoy your self-inflicted DDoS attack if people in DC actually follow these instructions.
TERRORISM!
I, for one, will be among the first to welcome our heavily-armed, privacy-invading Overlords. >.>
I think you are referring to Senator Joseph McCarthy and not General Douglas MacArthur. Right?
WALSTIB!
"Bend Over"
"No"
"By refusing to bend over that is probable cause for not bending over. Here's a warrant, bend over"
Shh.
My grand parents knew friends who were arrested as they were suspected communists during the witch hunt years McArthur was going after people who simply had an opinion about the government...
I think you mean McCarthy.
Apparently my employer could be a terrorist organization, because we use PGP and VPN technology routinely. Sure, the boss says it's for HIPAA compliance, but that's what you'd expect a terrorist to say, isn't it?
http://alternatives.rzero.com/
I'm pretty sure the FBI and DOJ both use encryption and VPN connections for many, many activities and are pretty diligent to 'shield the screen from view of others' in their day-to-day computer usage. Just say'in. So, who's watching the watchers?
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
This is obviously a fake flyer, where is your sense of humour people? Mention "Tripwire", seriously?
US-UK-Israel: The real Axis of Evil
Turn every neighbor against neighbor, one reporting the other to the police, so the other can be subjected to surveillance and snooping until they DO find something illegal...which might take years!
We're moving, exorably and completely, to a Police State, and the police are now over-armed, and using all the intelligence methods developed against our enemies in the past 50 years...so, it turns common citizens with something to protect (their livelihoods, their wealth, their families) into criminals-without-trial.
When all you know how to use is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
I skimmed thru 6 or so of the local specific pdfs and each one listed 'insists on paying with cash' or 'pays cash for large purchases'. My favorite Threat Area? - The Tattoo Parlor!
--
Gagbrae In - Gragabe Out
Seriously? Internet Cafe? That's so quaint how Homeland Security is stuck in the lingo of 1999.
Unfortunately, the general public, and more alarmingly, the government are starting to wrap their heads around the power technology provides but they still can't wrap their heads around the technology itself and therefore it is scary and evil to them. All technology that /can/ be used for nefarious deeds is, clearly, /always/ being used for nefarious deeds and has no other purpose. Because who wants to keep company/personal documents private besides a terrorist? Who would ever want to have more than one computer hooked to their ISP without paying for separate connections? That's terror-talk.
>Gather information about individuals without drawing attention to yourself
LOL isn't this what that flayer is about? Look for anyone trying to stay private while not drawing attention to themselves BUT you are ok to do it if you are trying to rat out your neighbour as possible terrorist.
by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
I guess the Obama administration is sick of my posts, too.
"If you don't tell me everything about you in intimate detail, I'm going to arrest you and destroy your house in front of you."
Anyone accessing any kind of sensitive information (like reading email) at an internet cafe is exposing themselves to the possibility of every type of electronic snooping by criminals, up to and including laptop theft. It would be folly not to employ strong security measures when accessing the net under such circumstances.
This is like claiming people who lock their front doors fit a criminal profile, because they are trying to keep people from seeing what they have or are doing in their houses.
Second class citizen of the New Gilded Age
There's a news story in Ann Arbor in which a pediatrician is accused of peeping involving a minor. Police confiscated his computer based on the investigation. That's great and I'm glad they caught the guy.
But....after analyzing his computer, the cops presented the "evidence" they found.
The detective was (can't find the news story right now, sorry) quoted as listing images, an electronic receipt to a child porn site and....the fact that the doctor deleted cookies and added other privacy measures to his browsing! The quote assumed that he must have been up to no good if he was careful about his privacy.
More telling. Out of the 200-plus comments on the story, none referenced this.
I do like online privacy. I like anonymizers too. I love encryption.
But then, I am actually a terrorist. Checkmate, freedom advocates.
Did you by chance mean "McCarthy"? Gen. Douglas McArthur was no fan of Communists, but it was Sen. Joe McCarthy who is know for anti-Commie witch hunts.
http://alternatives.rzero.com/
I see that the FBI still has a rock hard boner because of the Anarchist Cookbook.
At the bottom of the flyer: "Each indictor listed above is by itself lawful conduct or behavior and may also constitute the exercise of rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution." Don't let pesky details get in the way, JRIC...
This is a nice list of things to use as bait to find out if you're being watched. I think it's time to get out my netbook, and head for the local coffee shops. If I'm approached, I'll immediately turn off the netbook, eject the SD chip, and break it with my pocket multi tool...... will one of you please come bail me out?
That's right. They've won their war by turning this formerly free country into a state of fear and paranoia, where people are being indoctrinated and taught by the State to fear their own shadows and to constantly look over their shoulders. If at all, this FBI flyer is material proof of the terrorists' success, and that's a shame.
cpghost at Cordula's Web.
If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.
This would actually explain quite a bit about what happened not so long ago, come to think of it.
Caused by people who are trying to look at pr0n.
The FBI, CIA, NSA, DOD, etc etc etc are ALL terrorist organizations.
Banks are terrorist organizations too for that matter.
Give me a break...
So, if I'm trying to protect my privacy on the internet, I may be a terrorist, but if I'm carrying a fully-loaded assault rifle on the streets, I'm just a red-blooded American patriot asserting my rights.
Sort of like, if I blow up a school or army base, I'm a terrorist, but if I blow up an abortion clinic, I'm passionate about saving God's children.
Or my particular favorite: If a brown-skinned individual dares to open a Mosque within 100 miles of ground zero, it's debated hotly on the airwaves, and politicians even try to block it, but if Neo-Nazis or the KKK decide to march through a Jewish or black neighborhood, that's their first amendment rights, and not even questioned.
If telephones are outlawed, then only outlaws will have telephones.
So, if I am hiding something, I am a terrorist. Well news for everyone: When you get uncomfortable because I am going through your underwear drawer, well maybe you shouldn't be wearing underwear you terrorist! What's the difference? I guess it's ok to lean over someone's shoulder and read as they write in their diary? If they don't want anyone to know that the person who smeared shit all over the walls of the bathroom was them, it's because they are terrorists. Though arguably in that particular scenario, I would have to agree.
That the terrorists have already won. There was a time when you could get on a plane for a family vacation, and not have your government suspect you of planning to hijack it with the explosives you're hididng in your daughter's toothpaste. Now, you can't even type into your WoW guildchat at a cafe without the government wondering if "LFG" is just code for trying to find the other members of your cell.
When did we stop actually trying to look for terrorists, and instead started trying to look for American citizens we could paint as potential terrorists?
Taken individually these indicators are clearly absurd. However taken as a whole this is a very reasonable list. Its not like the FBI made a flyer saying "Anyone that protects their privacy is a terrorist", and I don't think it is reasonable to interpret this list that way.
If someone is collaborating with others to go un-seen, reading about how to make bombs, obsessing over recent terrorist attacks and studying the blue prints for large public venues over TOR all while paying for everything with CCs in a different name, then yeah they may very well be a terrorist. and probably should get some attention from law enforcement.
We need the services of Jeff Foxworthy on this one!
My first Journal Entry ever, in 8 years! http://slashdot.org/journal/365947/aphelion-scifi-fantasy-horror-poetry-webzine
It seems odd to me that the list of "What should I do?" includes the following "Do Nots":
-Do not collect metadata, content, or search electronic communications of individuals
-Do not do additional logging of online activity or monitor communications
Is this a bit of legal cover designed to immunize these agencies against 4th amendment violations by over imaginative barristas, and still have access to the data they collect? Can the government evade the 4th amendment by getting us all to spy on each other, provided they give us some standard boilerplate disclaimer?
As well as anyone who left a cake out in the rain, I have heard.
I'll call and act all bipolar schizophrenia and incriminate myself. I am will say I am afraid of myself because I could become a terrorist since I have all the symptoms described in that pamphlet.
Hey, don't hide your Credit Card Number.... That's terrorism!
I like how banks are now telling us on one hand to cover the PIN pad at ATMs while entering your PIN so it can't be picked up by webcams, and the government meanwhile is telling us that any movement to conceal what we're doing is terrorism.
Dudes, get your message straight.
If telephones are outlawed, then only outlaws will have telephones.
Serve your country with honor and wind up on the FBI's terrorism watch list: Veterans a Focus of FBI Extremist Probe
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.
Who will be the one who pops this McCarthyistic bubble? This witch hunt.
I come here for the love
**Potential** Indicators of Terrorist Activities Related to Internet Café
All they say that is that if someone goes long out of his way to hide something, then what he/she is trying *might* be related to terrorism.
Simple as that.
So pretty much, every government agency, every corporation, why limit that, every business can be considered as terrorists, based on the information in this flyer. That being said, the whole thing invalidates itself because there is no safe organization to report any of the suspicious activity to because no one is above reproach.
Evidence of a residential based internet provider (signs on to Comcast, AOL, etc.)
Using Comcast or AOL email makes you a suspected terrorist? Wow, I just thought it made you a suspected grandparent...
So is this because no one with a home ISP would need to go to a cafe to use the I think the Internet? I guess FBI forgot that some people still go to cafes to get *coffee*...
Every publicly traded company has to keep some of their activities confidential. We make heavy use of encrypted hard drives, encrypted VPN and train them not to allow others to view their screens. I can't wait for the firestorm after the CEO gets turned into the FBI for his "terrorist" activities. He has a building full of lawyers at his disposal.
I wonder if the candidates for US President are using these "terrorist" tools?
Place nail here >+
A useful metric for law enforcement organizations is what fraction of their work is self-generated, and what fraction is complaint-driven. When a police department responds to a call to 911 or a crime report, they're performing a service function. When they run a drug sting, they're doing self-generated work. Some self-generated law enforcement work is useful and necessary, but too much of it corrupts an organization.
The FBI was traditionally complaint-driven. Historically, their self-generated work didn't go well. The Red Squads and the investigation of the civil rights movement of the Hoover era are historical examples.
The FBI's anti-terrorism operation is mostly self-generated work. So is their Internet operation. (40% of FBI Internet investigative resources are devoted to kiddie porn. Most of the rest is "national security". Fraud on the Internet, about 4%. The FBI is soft on Internet fraud - stopping that takes real work, and results are measurable.)
Measurability is the big issue here. On their complaint-based work, law enforcement success rates are easily measured. There were N bank robberies last year, and the people who did M of them were caught. Success rate: M / N. Running a law enforcement operation on that basis keeps it productive and honest. Metrics for self-generated police work tend to be less meaningful. The US has had so little terrorism in the last decade that metrics for that are mostly have an N of zero.
Measurability was William Bratton's approach. Bratton headed the Boston PD, the NYPD, and the LAPD, and is generally considered to have improved all of them. He was big on measuring results, and put in systems to track, on a daily basis, how his cops were doing against crooks. There was a lot of software and mapping involved, and twice-weekly crime strategy meetings. In a big department, it was quite possible to have a whole crime spree before someone at the command level noticed a pattern. He fixed that. Focusing his cops on solving identified problems tended to keep his departments pointed in the right direction.
The only reason the government doesn't go after everyone with an opinion about the government these days is that they can't afford to go after every resident of the USA...
It's worse than that Jim!
They hired an evil professor to design an entire literature class about How To Implement Big Brother.
1984
Animal Farm
Brave New World
Minority Report
Fahrenheit 451
Harrison Bergeron (short story)
Your choice of five more.
Maybe some cop porn would make up for it though.
My first Journal Entry ever, in 8 years! http://slashdot.org/journal/365947/aphelion-scifi-fantasy-horror-poetry-webzine
So we'll just pass a law, compelling the FBI to publish all internal documents on-line. If they have nothing to hide, what's the problem?
Please do not read this sig. Thank you.
I just saw someone using an encrypted connection with his bank! He must be a money launderer, who do I call? How do I report this obvious terrorist activity. Didn't we learn anything from the McCarthy era?
I think I fit all of the behaviors mentioned here :-(
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
...because the FBI can't be bothered to actually do the real police work.
Then the FBI and the Department of Justice needs to declare themselves terrorists. Oh wait, they already are.
My karma is not a Chameleon.
Can you believe that the Internet was once considered a place to escape identity? Where anonymity reigned?
The Internet (and its precursors) were invented to facilitate communication, first among military personnel and academics. It is no more a place any more than the postal service is a place. You do not go there to do anything, let alone escape. And using the medium implicitly implies identity of some sort. Whether or not that identity can be positively associated with you, the individual using the medium, is another question.
Stop bandying about these romantic notions. They degrade the argument and confuse the matters further for policy makers and the general public.
I'd like to point out that I was, indeed, using a computer (with privacy tools) in an Internet Cafe in California (an airport, no less!) only last month, after having traveled an illogical distance and despite having robust residential Internet access.
While doing so, I did download content with extremely violent themes and military tactics. Indeed, the material enthusiastically described the ruthless, near-extermination of a freedom-loving people by a warlike, non-Christian foreign power bent on world conquest. The material was written by leader of these warlike people, and frankly I was rooting for him.
If I have to go to prison for reading Julius Caesar's Commentaries on the Gallic War, so be it. Sic Semper...wait a minute...
Advice: on VPS providers
I swear, USA seems to have done more to destabilize the world in the hunt of red ghosts than any actual communist agents could dream of doing.
One example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_PBSUCCESS
comment first, facts later. http://chem.tufts.edu/AnswersInScience/RelativityofWrong.htm
China is the role model that the USA is following?
I have to use a VPN connection when I meet customers offsite or connect to work or work from home and I also do e-banking using SSL so I'm in the same boat.
If the government believes capitalism is a form of terrorism, I guess I'm OK with that...
They are really calling themselves terrorists because they engage in those very activities - encryption, etc. And they really are becoming the terrorists.
Only if it was left in the park. Suspicious packages, ya know...
Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step on the path to true panic.
Just picked the wrong year ...
The average (US) citizen probably would not be able to say what a declarative sentence is without looking it up a dictioanry / wikipedia first. You outed yourself as a foreigner probably a sleeper cell terrorist.
(well not only in the US but that would otherwise kill the joke).
You are a government entity.
I would be totally ok with this IF the government did the same. If the government published everything about itself and its doing I would publish everything about myself and doings. Seems fair right?
Oh oh they are going after weed growers. Every hydroponic store in Canada and the US sells 29-35% hydrogen peroxide as a water disinfectant. In Canada it had to reduced to 20% from 35% a few years back because if was a possible chemical for terrorist bombs.
A few ways that its used
1 To boost the oxygen content of the water before its fed to the plants.
2 To kill off/stay off pithuim and other fungi/bugs in full water gardens (not grown in peat/coco based mediums)
Its actually sold quite a bit through indoor gardening stores.
by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
The Genie is out of the bottle and won't go back easily, if at all.
Examples: National Security Letters
"The Justice Department's Inspector General has reported that between 2003 and 2006, the FBI issued nearly 200,000 NSLs. The inspector General has also found serious FBI abuses of the NSL power."
(from: http://www.aclu.org/national-security-technology-and-liberty/national-security-letters )
Catch 22:
From: Susan Herman's book, Taking Liberties: The War on Terror and the Erosion of American Democracy:
"A number of courts have declared that no one has standing - that is, the right to bring a lawsuit - to challenge eavesdropping programs unless they can prove that the government has been listening to their own telephone calls or intercepting their own-mails. That is a true Catch-22, when the whole point of secrecy is that the target is unaware of being the target."
Bingo!
Issue a NSL to an ISP for all web traffic of a particular person, erroneously accuse a person of {something}. Defense lawyer can't do his job, person disappears.
Are you saying General MacArthur was pro-communist?
Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.
Most agents don't carry laptops...those who do?
Full disk encryption.
Smartcard access.
VPN back in to do anything.
Have those screen polarizers on them so you can't look at the screen for an angle.
Wait a minute, the FBI is full of terrorists!
Oh, we have the tech - this one is handled on the legal side, with some good ol xenophobia/______.
Imagine if we were allowed to go shopping in "Privacy" suits. You could order stylish outfits that look like Master Chief. Sure, there would be different styles of suits, so it's that "pseudonym anonymity" theme, and some people are good at remembering voices, but it wouldn't readily be "sellable data".
That, and we need the credit card to be like a 1-sided swiss account that the bank would know, but not the shop keepers.
Maybe the adults need to take over Halloween.
My first Journal Entry ever, in 8 years! http://slashdot.org/journal/365947/aphelion-scifi-fantasy-horror-poetry-webzine
They want to negotiate terms and fees for the use of scare tactics like "The Red Menace is among us!"
"Waitress I need two more boat-drinks..."
The Obama Administration has done FAR more to turn America towards police state status than the supposedly evil Bush did. I'm not totally surprised when you have liberal mouthpieces like Thomas Friedman saying we would be better off if we could be more like China, where the government has the power to just get things done. And the reaction to Citizen's United.... The logical conclusion of the policies supported by the people protesting against Citizen's United is that if more than one person agree on something and want to talk about it, they will have to get licenses as members of the press, or they are an organization. And organization's aren't people so they can't have free speech, right? Wake up, people, Obama is making more rights which should be rights, that makes more criminals, he's also making more criminals the old fashioned way, arresting people he said he wouldn't touch, like pot dispensaries in California. He's driven up anger against rich people, even though you could take every penny from them and it wouldn't fix our economy because that's not the problem! But it is a good way for him to try to get reelected.
Wake up, people! Obama is a false messiah and will only lead us to control, stagnation, and decline.
I don't think for a minute that using encryption and VPNs and the like are in any way indicative of terrorism. Banks, financial institutions, engineering firms, etc...they all use such things widely, and this is clear evidence that there's no clear link. But some methods are only worth the effort if you're dealing with a very different risk model than what normal people face. Do I care of my credit card gets compromised? Yeah. But not so much that I would use something like steganography. Nothing that I wish to keep private is THAT dangerous to me that I'm willing to go through all the trouble of something like StegFS, or of hiding the bits of data inside pictures or MP3s. And if I tried to use stego to communicate with others, they would think me crazy...because it's not worth it to them, either. So while this pamphlet that's going around is ridiculous for its scope and breadth of accusation, there is a nugget of truth to it.
For your security, this post has been encrypted with ROT-13, twice.
Sounds to me like just another reason to arrest anyone, anywhere, anytime, for NO valid reason, and hold them indefinitely, without charge or legal representation, with the option of stripping them of their citizenship and "deporting" them ("To where?", I keep asking? Work camps? Medical experiments?) or just dropping them in a military prison for the rest of their days.
When are you people going to stand up and say "HELL NO!" to this shit? Hasn't it gone far enough?
..oh, and the first person who says "If you're not doing anything wrong, then you shouldn't have anything to hide" is going to get punched in the mouth.
Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
Our Government hides stuff from us, so obviously they are terrorist.
It's time we got rid of the terrorist in our government, which of course, is probably all of them, so lets start over.
Be seeing you...
Can anyone picture Jeff Foxworthy doing a "You might be a terrorist" skit to this stuff?
Too funny
You just keep drinking that Kool-Aid.
The truth is, 9-11 couldn't happen today. Americans will beat to death anyone who attempt to hijack a plane again.
In fact, DHS/TSA fails a huge portion of the blind tests (even when some aren't so blind).
Not only that, the flyer says that if you're downloading news coverage of terrorism, you're a terrorist! So apparently anyone who watches the news at all is a terrorist.
Either that, or you're (perhaps deliberately) misinterpreting the flyer.
I'm not sure what the purpose of this flyer is. It's quite obvious that, if enough people actually believe it and act on it, it will result in potentially (10s of, 100s of) thousands of false positives. I wonder how the FBI would handle that flood of information?
The flyer says "Some of the activities, taken individually, could be innocent and must be examined by law enforcement professionals in a larger context to determine whether there is a basis to investigate." This is a hint that the FBI wouldn't follow up after every report of "suspicious behavior" that might arise, but would fit it into some larger collection of data to see if it constitutes part of a larger pattern. For example, there could be information about travel patterns, known associates, financial transactions, etc. Internet Cafe usage gets added to those. There must be such a system already. Once some threshold is reached, an alert pops up saying "check this person out" and you get hauled in, or, at least, get a GPS tracker put on your car.
I wonder if every one of us who uses anonymizers, portals, etc., already has a record in that database, merely because we use those privacy tools.
Does anyone pay attention to history?
Seriously?
I had a public school education, yet i know how this ends.
Be seeing you...
Return of 'McCarthy'ism?
Wilkomen!
So PGP and VPN is often used by companies to secure it's data. So all the top Fortune 500 companies support terrorism? Encryption of data is a legal requirement for some of our work.
Hoenstly, I get the 'outrage' that the terrible synopsis provokes, but how many of you actually read the damn brochure? It's fairly explicit, and yes, someone doing those things would look suspicious to me. I mean, guys, this is talking about internet cafes, not your Mom's basement.
Let's see - I've got at least acetic acid, citric acid, malic acid, tartaric acid, sodium chloride, sodium bicarbonate, ammonium chloride, fructose, sucrose, maltodextrin, and monosodium glutamate. I might order in some sodium nitrite too, one of these days. Then there's ethanol, Iron (III) chloride, hydrogen peroxide and sodium hydroxide and, AHA! some fertilizer. Then of course there's the precision scales and an improvised dragee pan - can't do without those for the good stuff, obviously.
Point in case - I happen to be a rather passionate amateur cook (thinking I should try making my own smarties one of these days). Most of the above chemicals are just cooking ingredients. Also, occasionally I like to grow my own veg. Peppers, tomatoes, that kind of stuff. And when I'm not cooking, sometimes I play around with electronics and make my own circuit boards.
Extremely suspicious, I'm sure.
Can we stop the "AAAAH!! TERRORISTS!" bullshit already, please, and get on with our lives?
Visit http://ringbreak.dnd.utwente.nl/~mrjb/growingbettersoftware to download your free copy of the book
If you like candy, you may be a terrorist, if you can ride a bike you may be a terrorist, if you keep your food in the fridge you may be a terrorist... Hell, we may all be terrorists!
If the government keeps going after the citizenry like this, they may well make terrorists of us all.
This was predictable in the wake of 9/11, when the government refused to come up with a rigorous definition of terrorist to go along with all the new, unconstitutional powers they were demanding. Now it's devolved to anyone who questions authority or wants a little privacy in their lives.
Pretty soon we'll reach a tipping point, and most of the population will become quietly revolutionary or supportive of a revolution. We may be there already.
Which will make most of us terrorists, by the post-Bush, post-9/11 dysfunctional definition.
--George Orwell
Terry Gilliam was prescient.
Also, closing the drapes or blinds on the windows of your house are signs that you're probably doing something illegal inside.
If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried.
This reminds me of the McCarthy era communist witch hunt. Where flyers like these were given out to neighborhoods and people were instructed to inform law enforcement of anti-American (communist) activities and gatherings.
This also reminds me of Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, where the children give up their parents to the State.
Once they turn people against each other and encourage us to look at one another suspiciously, we will never be able to unite against the common enemy. And that enemy is becoming very clear right now.
My $0.02
That the internet is place for me to give prying eyes miss-information ;)
A agree with the parent post. And also, government always try to confuse you with the word privacy. Often, we have stupid sentences like: "why should you care about privacy? Do you have something to hide?". That's not the point. Privacy isn't about hiding things, it's about CHOOSING what you want to make public or not. It's the right to decide what you want to keep for yourself.
People updating their status 24h per day on twitter, telling everything they do, are deciding that this isn't private, and make it public. It's their right. As much as it's mine to not reveal it. I have nothing to hide, yet it's not a reason to put a camera in my home and spy every single of my moves. The very same applies to the right to anonymity on the Internet. It's not because I have nothing to hide that someone has the rights to spy on me.
And in this day and age, there's so many evil companies that are spying on everyone all the time, that we got to react to it, and protect our right to keep things private. I may well decide for example to decide to hide my IP to google who might otherwise do statistics about my search, which really, I don't want to. And there's all sorts of valid examples like that, where privacy and anonymity makes sense.
Most of the items on the list are there because they are practiced by terrorists. This can be represented by P -> Q (P implies Q). The error being made here is they thus assume Q -> P, while Q -/-> P. This is mathematically incorrect (as -Q -> -P). In easier terms, just because terrorists use encryption software, it does NOT mean that using encryption software makes you a terrorist. If this were the case: driving cars, breathing air, and sleeping should also be on the list, as terrorists do those things as-well.
I dislike the erosion of our civil rights just as much as anyone else, but I really have to wonder if the PDF that TFA links to is genuine? For starters looking at the PDF's properties it seems to have last been edited on March 16, 2011 and we are only now seeing it. The PDF file also has no Author or Title information and no security. Additionally the PDF is being hosted on a website with a clear agenda and hidden whois information. What is the original source of this "flyer"? Can it be downloaded from the FBI or DOJ's websites? I call BS
Let me introduce everyone to those two important concepts.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensitivity_and_specificity
The problem is that while terrorists may indeed exhibit those behaviors, a massively larger number of people who are not terrorists also do. Like, oh, doctors, nurses, your insurance company, finance companies, any company that has trade secrets, any individual who has a sense of privacy, etc.
In other words, the positive predictive value of that test is extremely low. Nearly every time you report someone, you're reporting someone who is not a terrorist. In fact, I seriously doubt the pool of suspects generated by this would be any higher in actual terrorists than random selection would get you.
I am pretty sure that those federal and government agencies are itself using most of those tools and they are pretty secretive, does anyone else see the irony ?
...already a fascist regime. Seriously. Waging meaningless wars against helpless countries (next Iran), observing their ow people like the Stasi couldn't have done better... The list is endless. Still the capitalistic dogma "I don't give a shit, as long as I live halfway good" works and keeps people seperated from each other. Poor americans, seriously.
I have my hard drive on my laptop encrypted and use a VPN for work all the time. I must be a terrorist. Or maybe I need these because I deal if I am troubleshooting an issue at a customer it is possible for me to have patient data on my computer. As well I have tons of company data on the laptop, including programs internal to the company. This just goes to show how poorly educated our government is on Information Technology.
Just because you are wrong and I called you out on it doesn't mean I am a Troll.
How many of those points fit them?
I think the feds need to be reminded about intent, lets do it the hard way and report every federal agent and investigator as a suspected terrorist after all they fit the list?
Where I live they haven't outlawed cash yet, so at least one of your concerns is not a problem.
So by protecting ITAR sensitive information by using a VPN and not letting anyone see my screen, I might be a terrorist. If I'm a terrorist that's protecting ITAR sensitive information does that mean the terrorists have won?
Did anyone bother looking at this thing in detail?
JRIC? BJA? Wtf are these supposed government agencies?
I'd like to see a link on an actual government website that is distributing this document.....
MABASPLOOM!
" ...a sign that a person could be engaged in or supporting terrorist activity. The use of encryption is also listed as a suspicious..."
The FBI is 100% correct. HTTPS encryption is used by every single bank.
At what point does the erosion of basic freedoms, make Americans realize they're being controlled by their enemies?
Come on, somebody that stupid is far from likely to be a terrorist. Whereas reporting them to the police would simply get you put on a file - why were you taking an interest in what they were doing?
From scarped cliff or quarried stone she cries "A thousand types are gone, I care for nothing, no not one."
When I worked at Boeing we had to use full disk encryption on all our hard drives. And sometimes we had to use VPN. So
Boeing must be a terrorist organization plotting to attack the Homeland!
and your neighbours, and strangers, and well, anyone... terrorists are almost always people...
kids should watch their parents too... and of course, parents should watch their kids
Extreme paranoia is one of the early signs of imminent collapse! All authoritarian governments become increasingly paranoid & delusional about plots against them (usually because they know just how much harm they are doing) until they just implode!
It ALWAYS happens & they ALWAYS think that it'll be different "this" time!
I killed da wabbit -Elmer Fudd
Do you have the recipe? I've been looking all over the place for a man called "Horse"; apparently he was upset, because it took so long to bake it.
Dear USA, call me a terrorist for demanding privacy if you want, but it is clear that US citizens like me need to organize and overthrow using extreme force as the Declaration of Independence states. Red, White, and Blue pumps through our veins and there's nothing you can do to stop us. We believe in the REAL USA, not your fucked up locked down prison you ignorantly refer to as "freedom".
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, GOVERNMENTS ARE INSTITUTED AMONG MEN, DERIVING THEIR JUST POWERS FROM THE CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED. THAT WHENEVER ANY FORM OF GOVERNMENT BECOMES DESTRUCTIVE TO THESE ENDS, IT IS THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE TO ALTER OR ABOLISH IT, AND TO INSTITUTE NEW GOVERNMENT, LAYING ITS FOUNDATION ON SUCH PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZING ITS POWERS IN SUCH FORM, AS TO THEM SHALL SEEM MOST LIKELY TO EFFECT THEIR SAFETY AND HAPPINESS.
Watch your step, motherfuckers.
From medical data to financial every person and corporation have sensitive information that is in many cases required by law to protect.
Example:
besides data encryption requirements, HIPPA requires that PC monitors be shielded from public view and suggesting monitors with reduced angle of visibility. So everyone working with private medical data is suspect.
I guess I should mention Little Brother by Cory Doctorow.
It describes a very similar scenario. Has a happy ending, though. :-)
Simple things should be simple, complex things should be possible.
They basically just described every WOW player trying to avoid getting hacked...
"... there may be a wholly innocent explanation for conduct or behavior that appears suspicious in nature. For this reason, no single indicator should be the sole basis for law enforcement action. The totality of behavioral indicators and other relevant circumstances should be evaluated when considering any law enforcement response or action."
That would probably have made this document a lot less stupid.
I just found the box to change my sig. Um.... [timeless witticism].
What should I consider suspicious?
People who use computers to: "...obtain photos, maps, or diagrams of transportation, sports venues, or populated areas."
And if you may be a terrorist, or appear to be supporting terrorism in any way, you legally can be detained indefinitely by the military, without trial, according to the NDAA.
SO DON'T STAND SO CLOSE TO THE ATM, YOU TERRORISTS.
Hi from Canada, America please build the wall between our countries. I am afraid there will be no other way to keep the millions of you from streaming over the border when the revolution breaks out.
The Government and almost every business in the world that has people working away from the office uses VPN's so they are saying that their own employees are terrorists? This is just another one of those 'people with power' don't understand a god damn thing on how shit works. Unless you know of all 'good' and 'bad' uses for VPN's you shouldn't be aloud to say shit on the matter let alone call people names because of it.
This is a Mac, what you have there is an embarrassment to your fellow computer users.
Apparently there's a whole list of "potential indicators of terrorist related activities," broken down by "threat area:"
... and here are a few 'location specific' activities that I just couldn't resist listing:
http://publicintelligence.net/fbi-suspicious-activity-reporting-flyers/
Among the most prominent:
- paying with cash
- requesting information
- taking pictures
- use of "anti-government slogans"
- traveling "illogical" distances or requesting home delivery
- "Significantly alter[ing] appearance from visit to visit (shaving beard, changing hair color, style of dress, etc)" No, seriously. Shaving is to be considered suspicious...
- missing appendages
- reluctant to provide complete personal information(hmmm, didn't know submission to interrogation was compulsory when shopping)
Tattoo Shops:
- People or Groups Who:
-- Make repeated returns with multiple individuals requesting identical tattoos
-- Inquire about unusual methods of tattooing or placement of tattoos which could allow the concealment of extremist symbols ('cause, you know, most employers these days are totally cool with neck tats...)
Electronic Stores:
- asking questions about:
-- Radio frequencies (used/not used) by law enforcement
-- VoIP
-- Use of anonymizers, portals, or other means to shield IP address
-- Products/components related to "military-style" equipment
- purchasing "unusual combinations of:"
Electronic timer or timing devices, Phone or “bug” detection devices, 2-way radios, Batteries, GPS, Switches, Digital Voice Changers, Wire and soldering tools, Infra-Red Devices, Night Vision, Police scanners (wait; you can still buy those retail???), Flashlight Bulbs
Storage Facilities (i.e. 'U Stor It' type places):
- Using cash to pay rental fees in advance
- Failing to pay rent for a storage unit in a timely manner (yes, you're reading that right; paying in advance and paying late are both considered 'suspicious')
- Inquiring about security and surveillance equipment utilized at the storage facility (as we all know, only terrorists would be concerned about the security of their possessions)
Hobby Shops:
- Demonstrating "unusual interest" in remote-controlled aircraft
- Demonstrating interest that does not seem genuine (sounds like every teenager I've ever met)
Financial Institutions I won't get into, but suffice to say we should probably report Goldman Sachs, BoA, and many others since they totally fit the profile according to the FBI...
Martial Arts and Paintball:
- Interest in learning offensive moves in a confined space
- Interest in learning the use of hidden weapons
- Interest in learning kill and restraint techniques with no occupational need (who has an 'occupational need' to learn techniques for killing people??)
- Individuals who together are interested in learning group tactics
- Incorporating close combat or hand-to-hand fighting into training (yea, self-defense is for terrorists!)
- Operating a private facility that’s not available or advertised to the public
So, in summation, all Americans, from the top to the bottom, are potential terrorists. Nice to know our 'of the People, for the People' government thinks so highly of us...
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
I couldn't stay aware of what's going on in the world. I am constantly looking up attack mechanisms and tools, it helps me defend my infrastructure. I hide my screen because people who don't have my access shouldn't view what I have access to... Basically anyone with good awareness, following good security practices is a terrorist... (and you're a fucking idiot if you don't use throwaway credit cards in Vegas in the summer....)
I can't wait for the firestorm after the CEO gets turned into the FBI for his "terrorist" activities.
right, like this is going to happen...
The rules are made for YOU, peon.
moi
some mod doesn't know what "redundant" means
Terrorist suspect #29773 checking in!
I agree with everything you said, except I'd say that honestly, I'd be surprised if more than a small minority are revealing all in the interest of "avoiding suspicion from overbearing governments"?
That would indicate a level of paranoia I'm not sure most of us are at (yet).
More accurately, I'd say the vast majority is sharing a lot of personal information via tools like Twitter or Facebook because it satisfies some needs or desires. For starters, I think most people enjoy the idea of publishing content. In the "old days" of the internet, the "geeks" did this by way of Usenet message discussions or even networked message forums on BBS's. As more of the general public got on-board though, there weren't really many good outlets for them. (The majority of people aren't really very good writers, and often don't even LIKE trying to write very much at a time - so message forums weren't for them.) You could build your own "home page" on the web, and tools proliferated to do it with increasing ease (including PICTURES if you didn't want to write much!). But you still had the difficultly of driving traffic to actually look at what you put up. Many people lost interest in "personal" web pages after the initial thrill of building them subsided.
The social networking sites solved 2 problems at once in this area: They made it easy to generate "personal pages" that actually looked decent and were easy to update/modify, and more importantly, they brought along an audience for the content by encouraging linking up with acquaintances or friends who would actually have SOME reason to care about the relatively unimportant "little stuff" their connections were likely to publish.
All of a sudden, you could post a silly joke or describe a situation you had that day and get rapid feedback ... people LOLing at your material, contributing their own stories, etc.
The realization that advertisers might collect up the info you post and use it to target market to you doesn't seem like such a horrible thing, at least on the surface, to most folks. We all take advertising and marketing for granted as part of our daily life.If you're going to be faced with it anyway, why not for products or services you actually might be interested in?
Where I really start to have a problem with all of it, though, is when the providers of the social networking services betray people's trust..... I'm talking about such things as archiving information permanently that one would assume was deleted, by way of deleting a user account on the service. Or constantly changing privacy features so if you don't regularly keep on top of it, new posts are visible to more people than your intended audience you USED to have the service configured for.
Its about time the system came clean as they just did and declared themselves ( in somewhat roundabout fashion ) as really being terrorists
Why Microsoft just doesn't show the Windows source code to the public? They must be hiding something! Logically, they can be terrorists!!!
I'm not insane. My mother had me tested.
This is going up next to my "Is Your Washroom Breeding Bolsheviks?" poster. :)
this country is going down the shitter. fast.
Can the management of Google and Facebook be arrested as an accessory to a robbery or burglary if the thief or burglar uses both to monitor the activities of their victim using Google and Facebook technologies?
This is no longer a theoretical question. The number of robberies, burglaries, and assaults associated with crimes involving the use of these technologies is on the rise. These companies are making it easier and easier for criminals to prey on unsuspecting citizens.
Sigh.. haven't we been down this path before? Don't we learn from history?
---- Booth was a patriot ----
I see it directly references the 'anarchists cookbook', and 'always pays in cash'. And 'mention tripwire'. This must be a joke. Sounds a lot like something out of a movie.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
Both were fucking nuts. MacArthur went nuts in Korea. He wanted to nuke China. Thank god he was kicked out before that. McCarthy was just a delusional loon and probably would have supported Stalin-style purges to get rid of anyone opposing him.
Little Brother
Maybe you have stumbled on how to the privacy problem. Create an open source, open project that puts the private lives of guys like Schmidt and Zuckerberg on line 24/7, so that they can't even go to the John without everyone knowing if its #1 or #2. Let cameras, cell phones, video recorders, monitor the activities of their family and friends 24/7. Better yet turn the entire exercise into a reality TV show and give prizes for the best submissions.
I don't know why, but I have this feeling that all of a sudden they would begin to have a different perspective with regard to online privacy.
Nope, although I am saying that you are mildly funny with that comment. About a half chuckle, but that's better than none. :)
For those who don't get it:
I was clarifying an apparent error in the previous post. General MacArthur and Senator McCarthy were to some extent contemporaries on the world stage, at least during the first half of the 1950s. I guessed that the earlier poster got the two names mixed up, producing "McArthur". oodaloop then made a funny reference to Senator McCarthy's infamous smear campaign tactics.
WALSTIB!
"Have you seen any anaerobic terrorists? Well, have you?"
Osama Bin Laden is an anaerobic terrorist now, because he surely isn't an aerobic terrorist.
If everyone behaved ethically, rationally, and within the law 100% of the time, we would have less to worry about.
Fact is, though, everyone is subject to temptations and some of us succumb.
I don't trust the government (employees) and I don't trust Google. That's just for starters.
I've been unsuccessfully trying to find an official (.gov) site that has this flier.
The FBI site doesn't include any of the "Communities against terrorism" fliers.
In the Reno government site, I found one flyer, but a different one.
Does anyone have a link to an official version?
Margarita Manterola.
'cause using a password's a forbidden thing as it seems...
Possibly a hidden vector in getting source code opened.
We can frame any proprietary code producer of being a terrorist.
a chance of being labeled a terrorist and being indefinitely detained in Guantanamo without trial or having my wife know all about my porn habit? I guess I'll take my chances with homeland security.
And ALL of those people are terrified that the government is watching their EVERY move. So are you really to proclaim that 100-200 million Americans are potential terrorists? Because Gitmo's going to have to be a WHOLE LOT LARGER if that's what you're saying. Plus technically you're kind of proving the point of all those paranoid people -- just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you.
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
wrong timeline maybe? This here is the bad timeline btw.
Subsequent to the Orwellian-named USA PATRIOT Act I & II, the Military Commissions Act, the FISA/Telco Immunity Act, and now the NDAA FY2012, we are all terrorists now, each and every one of us. Only the degree of which is different, Red List or Blue List, FEMA Death Camp or FEMA Re-Education Camp. Any even minor crime may now arbitrarily considered an act of terrorism. Thought crimes, including even which software you use, can and will put you on a list. Internal (domestic) checkpoints, "enhanced interrogation techniques", "extreme rendition" to CIA "black sites" world-wide, preventive detention, extrajudicial stripping of citizenship, and even extrajudicial assassination of citizens worldwide, and so much more. I don't feel freer, or more secure in the intervening 10 years -- exactly the opposite. How many readers here have been groped by pedophiles in uniform posing as TSA security agents when flying, and now when boarding trains or buses, entering sporting events at stadiums, or entering a shopping mall?
Ironic, but I distinctly remember the uproar by civil libertarians and even many mainstream Republicans against President Clinton's intrusive "Clipper Chip" and "Key Escrow" programs, and those events weren't all that many years ago. So, WTF happened to the Republican Party since then, and where in hell did those "populist" Democrats disappear to? The USA has pissed away over $4 Trillion USD in the past 10 years over national security, but we cannot prosecute financial "terrorists" that have wreaked ruin upon the entire global economy -- while using PGP or a proxy service can put you on a terror watch-list. Welcome to the Twilight Zone Gulag of Orwell's "1984".
Don't suspect a friend, report him.
- Brazil
From back in the year 2000...
Be Safe: Be Suspicious
Terrorism has become an unfortunate fact of life not only in New York but the
country at large, a direct assault on our communities and our way of life that
leaves citizens struggling to find answers to difficult questions, not the least
of which is "What can I do to prevent such atrocities? How can I help?"
Quite simply, terrorism is successful because terrorists are able to pass
unnoticed and unremarked upon - but they fail to count on the best intelligence
network ever devised: the American people. How can you tell who might be a
terrorist? Look for the following characteristics:
And those are just a few. If you're suspicious, then turn them in to your local
law enforcement for a thorough background check. Better safe than sorry. You
and your neighbors will sleep more securely knowing that you're watching each
other's back.
That the DHS and the executive branch are run by self-professed liberals in the democratic party?
Are you glad you voted for them now? Was the alternative worse? I doubt it. Anyone still married to the two party system and the republicrats is a useful idiot.
BS2b4IaInThf5jkN05fngrsN0mo4
Criminals are a form of terrorist in my book.
There are fewer and fewer words these days...
Replied, meant to reply to you, but aimed wrong. Sorry. Please see comment here.
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
...you have a truck bomb up on blocks in your front yard.
For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
I guess this means that the just about every branch of the US government (including FBI, CIA, and military), most businesses, hackers (both white hat and black hat), and many gamers who occasionally bypass a firewall or two. Are now suspected terrorist. To be honest I've been suspecting the government of being terrorists for a while now. Why else would they continually try to take away our rights?
Terrorist is a generic term for anyone who opposes us. That means both our government, and the false reality of popular notions that we insist is real through the democratic process.
Thus the word "terrorist" joins many other catch-alls used through history, mixing legitimate fear with a need to smash all dissenters:
1. Communist
2. Anarchist
3. Child molestor
4. Satanist
5. Hacker
6. Fascist
7. Mulatto
Don't trust the crowd or its lap-dog, the government, when it makes up some term and uses that term as a blank check to do whatever it wants to you.
Futurist Traditionalism
There's no honest politicians (they break more promises than anyone). Scheming self-serving control freak slime 90% of them or better.
The FBI are saying go ahead and report them because they *might* be terrorists.
It's your desire to give the FBI the benefit of the doubt that is exaggerated.
The solution to this is to encourage everyone to use privacy tools. This makes this sort of profiling useless. Like the solution to those British tourists who were jailed for a funny tweet recently... is for everyone to begin tweeting "Destroy America". Because these sorts of profiling are written by and for stupid people who have to write or do something to justify their jobs. Searching for a terrorist in an internet cafe is a stupid practice.
If u run linux, using these tools is easy. Fist use Gmail, because they support XMPP which allows u to run OTR encryption for chat. Install Pidgin and the OTR addon. Set OTR to automatically be used when available. Create a PGP under "Passwords and Encryption Keys" in System->Administration. Use Evolution to collect ur email by POP or preferably IMAP. Evolution will allow u to PGP encrypt/decrypt messages with a single checkbox. Install polipio application as instructed on the Tor website. Then add the torbutton plugin to firefox. This will allow u to browse the internet anonymously after a single click of the icon.
All of these steps are easy in Linux. The hart part is getting others to support it on their end.
It bugs me, because I use all of these tools all the time. I just consider myself a more careful Internet tourist then the average citizen. I make my computer a little more difficult to track and attack... so virus writers and hackers will move on to easier targets. If you use email and chat for business... I think all of these tools would be a minimum requirement in order to protect ur assests.
Being careful online doesnt make me suspicious at all. But this sort of document will make ignorant people suspicious of my care.
BTW: does anyone else suspect that maybe this article is BS? Because I cant believe the FBI would have anything to do with encouraging people to look for potential terrorist in an Internet cafe. I just cant believe that our intelligence service is that stupid.
VPN and other encrypted communications which are P2P in nature are suspicious in their eyes.
The use of PGP, VPNs, Tor or any of the many other technologies for anonymity and privacy online are directly targeted by the flyer, which is distributed to businesses in an effort to promote the reporting of these activities.
Let's see the government put it's authority where its mouth is. Outlaw VPNs and encryption at all, watch what happens in the business world next when suddenly companies aren't allowed to secure anything. I believe a lot of congressional brib^H^H^H^H campaign donors will be on the phone with their chosen representatives real fast.
call (888) 705-JRIC (5742) and mention “Tripwire”
I triple dog dare you .....
Its not the years, its the mileage
fbu nz tipsut
Its not the years, its the mileage
Cisco VPN -- Supporting your terrorist activities since 19xx! (Can't be bothered to look for the original release date of their first software vpn client)
The US has had so little terrorism in the last decade that metrics for that are mostly have an N of zero.
It really depends on the metric, doesn't it? In reality there has been a pretty constant stream of terrorism related arrests and convictions, with many plots being foiled. Here are some recent examples:
FBI’s Top Ten News Stories for the Week Ending January 27, 2012
FBI’s Top Ten News Stories for the Week Ending January 13, 2012
FBI’s Top Ten News Stories for the Week Ending December 9, 2011
FBI’s Top Ten News Stories for the Week Ending December 2, 2011
More here.
much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
"Suspicious communications using VOIP or communicating through a PC game"
I can already see all the 'noobs' notifying law enforcement authorities, when they are losing at Call of Duty,
because the guy who is 'owning' them is a 'hacker/terrorist', given the fact that he is communicating through the game
or Teamspeak, and should be taken offline ASAP.
The use of degrading gaming terms was used here to emphasize the ridiculousness of that point on the flyer.
If one listens to what gamers usually say while playing online (e.g. 'kill that bastard' or 'get the bomb')
then pretty much every gamer qualifies as a potential terrorist.
It seems like the only effect of this campaign is to make people suspicious of eachother.
I'll give you the warning sign to look for APK, the one that says we are ALL gonna have to jump to the darknets and risk prison time just to be free. When you see Nancy Grace start talking about how tools like TrueCrypt and non government approved VPNs are "Letting kiddie fiddlers molest little kids ZOMFG!" you'll know its the death of privacy. they have learned that trying to force this stuff by congress with bits like SOPA/PIPA isn't easy because of the net, so mark my words just as they had all the MSM tripping over themselves to discredit WikiLeaks they'll use Grace and the other shills for the power whores "sell" the change as being needed to protect us from that bad old (insert terrorist, hacker, kiddie fiddler).
Hell you can already go to prison now for thoughtcrime, did you know that? look up the "pro pedo" book. the man wrote his thought in book form and is now in prison . That's all, no pictures, no yelling fire in a theater, simply the man's thoughts on the subject in a book. No matter how odious you find the subject the fact that a man lost his freedom for having his thoughts on paper scares the shit out of me as it should everyone here.
How long before OUR thoughts on a subject written down, like on this very site, can and will be used against you? THAT is the true chilling effect, because all it will take is a couple of poor schmucks like you or me or Joe Blow being given 60 years for "giving aid to piracy" or conspiracy or some other nebulous charge before everyone will be too damned scared to say anything but "Gee don't you love El Presidente? i sure do, El Presidente is the best!". I stand by every post i make but i don't kid myself into believing that is the safe thing to do like I did a decade ago and just like Watergate with enough data on you they can twist and turn it and make you look like such a monster nobody will come to your aid. look at my sentence above, it could be twisted into saying I'm pro pedo when i was simply pointing out the loss of free speech. Scary time we are living in my friends, scary times. I believe we are gonna see more McCarthy style witchhunts in our future and who knows if it'll be us geeks that are the target.
ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
In fact, the flyer recommends that anyone 'overly concerned about privacy' or attempting to 'shield the screen from view of others' should be considered suspicious and potentially engaged in terrorist activities.
Yeah, I'm looking at YOU. US Government classifications of material as 'Top secret" and "Classified' has been growing under each successive President. It's not surprising, then, that the GOVERNMENT is concerned about people who are concerned about privacy. Besides, since everything on the Net is routed through the NSA now , I think *somebody* is protesting a wee bit too much. F*** the Fourth Amendment, eh, AG Holder?
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated,..
(In case you've forgotten what it is....)
DNA is a Turing machine. You, however, being dynamic and emergent, are not.
...what does it mean when the U.S. Government protects its own systems with encryption?
The US Government and its Corporate Overlords lust after and are working hard to emulate the Chinese Government
How about Eric's phone list. Surely he's not phoning people he doesn't want other people knowing, right?
I have ticket off 4 of the fields for myself... 4 supicious activities, I must be a terrorist... Where do I turn myself in?
1) I own more than one phone and switch between them (I don't mix my private life with my work phone number, so I can leave my workphone off without missing calls from my girlfriend or family...
2) I have traveled what can only be described as illogical distances to visit a net café, mainly because it is owned by a friend of mine, but how would a passer by know that?
3) I often study maps of public transport facilities and sports venues... Basically because it is not always easy to find a parking spot here so it pays to know beforehand where parking is possible.
4) I use SSH, VPNs, encryption software and have been known to make cryptic insider talk on in-game chats...
Which would be good for the business of government.
The patethic thing is as a person working in healthcare, I MUST use most of these listed "terrorist" activities to comply with HIPPA! Which way is it Big Brother?!?!? Make up your mind!
So how is a ship full of tea a military target?
I actually read "Communists Against Terrorism". Which doesn't sound that far fetched. Is the FBI the next red danger?
Terrorists are people. People use internet cafe's. Therefore just shoot everyone who goes to internet cafe's and be done with it.
The US government backlash against so-called terrorism is to create a state where everyone lives in a constant state of terror. The terrorists won but at least that can be used to justify a few more wars and spead the message of terorism worldwide.
When did 'Land of the free' become 'Land of living in fear of the US government' ?
Iran just established a similar law which also demanded that all cyber cafes install video cameras with the tapes kept for the government to examine to find out who was sitting at which computer. Iran's leaders fear privacy, since their "terrorists" are news reporters, citizens reporting human rights abuses, and, of course, any Americans. Not a good example for the US IMHO.
1.) CrystalTech removed Jay Little's website for libeling myself and making death threats directed my way.
2.) Jay Little then moved to hosting it himself as he told them he would do in retaliation.
3.) Jay Little's just "bent" that I got the best of him in front of MILLIONS of readers @ Windows IT Pro forums on Exchange Servers (he claimed to be "EXPERT" on them, & "yours truly" SCHOOLED him), RamDisks/RamDrives, & Windows NT-based OS' error stopcodes too...
* Jay Little's mostly upset about his website being forcibly removed by CrystalTech.com his hosting provider for libel & death threats he directed my way as well out of his "geek angst" (pretty pitiful).
(He just did it again elsewhere as CrystalTech.com's staff told me he would out of "effete retaliation", lol... pitiful!)
---
There you go, you off topic done nothing with your LIFE stooge, Kristopeit.
APK
Oh I'll tell you something about the ME that'll scare your ass white APK, I live next to a conservative college where many of the "men behind the throne" go to lecture and because my bud is an engineer there that helps with the robotics designs I've been to a few of those lectures and got to talk to the real power players about the ME. you wanna know what our ENTIRE ME policy is based on? ready for this?.....Jesus won't come back. I swear to fucking God, these guys are basing the ME policy of one of the most powerful nuclear armed countries on a prediction written on a sheep's ass 1800 years ago about how some 2000 year dead guy won't have a place to park his fluffy cloud if there ain't a Jew to valet park his ass. They can make all these bogeyman stories about the Muslims and Sharia but when push comes to shove our right wing is just as damned batshit religious as theirs, only we have a hell of a lot more dangerous weaponry.
Oh and as for the "pro pedo" guy? Actually if you would have read the book (I actually did read part of it I found online) the majority of his book is teaching pedos how to NOT TOUCH KIDS by using non pedo sources for fantasy and by writing out their thoughts. Basically it was like an AA for pedos but since with our right wing anything other than "kill yourself" is automatically labeled pro he's rotting in prison. But frankly it shouldn't matter WHAT he wrote as its WORDS ON A PAGE. We allow the little red book and Mein Kampf and those books killed millions, because we USED to know freedom of ideas is one of the cornerstones of democracy. now we have the feds demanding lists from libraries of anyone who has checked out "The catcher in the rye" so those people can be put on a watchlist.
I do agree with you though the most powerful weapon out there wielded by the enemies of the people isn't the bomb but propaganda. By simply sticking the right label on you with their MSM they can turn the world against you, have them screaming for your blood, look at the guy they blamed for the bomb at the Olympics that turned out to be an innocent man, they nearly destroyed him and he has PTSD to this very day thanks to a year and a half of constant attacks. Look at that poor bastard in FLA that got an infected laptop from work that had a CP virus on it, he lost his job, his wife divorced him and took his children, His friends all abandoned him and he spent over 2 years in PMITA prison when just 15 minutes of forensic investigation would have cleared him but nobody gave a fuck if they had the RIGHT guy, just that they had SOME guy. Even though this mild mannered schmuck had never had so much as a speeding ticket all it took was someone to point a finger and say "pervert!" to completely destroy a life that had taken him nearly 30 years to build.
this shit is getting scary friend, damned scary. You watch, soon they will have Nancy Grace and the talking heads spewing how the tools we geeks use "is helping pedo ZOMFG!" and simply possessing them will end up being outlawed. It is getting to the point that anyone who doesn't agree with El Presidente and isn't willing to have a camera on them 24/7 is an enemy and a threat. Its gonna be Nixon all over again, only this time they'll be smart enough not to get their hands dirty directly and instead will use the MSM to be their attack dogs.
ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
alexander peter kowalski openly admits to being in a relationship that consisted of abuse, and unwanted sex that was deemed part of a "job".
alexander peter kowalski threatens libel suits for people that tell the truth about him, then he turns around and spreads lies about others.
the petty actions of an ignorant hypocrite...
cower in my shadow some more, feeb.
you're completely pathetic.
This is a thinly veiled attempt to turn the once mighty US of A into a nation of informers and people so afraid of being targeted that all potential protest is squashed at the bud.
Welcome to the Soviet Union.
alexander peter kowalski openly admits to being in a relationship that consisted of abuse, and unwanted sex that was deemed part of a "job".
alexander peter kowalski threatens libel suits for people that tell the truth about him, then he turns around and spreads lies about others.
the petty actions of an ignorant hypocrite...
cower in my shadow some more, feeb.
you're completely pathetic.
Billions of personal data will be stolen, and among this data will be Gov, and Political figures, as well as local people, and celebrities. They will be in a frenzy to fix the problem which was cause because the data was not encrypted. Meanwhile the thief is having a field day of the data. And all they had to do is steal and enjoy. Meanwhile Gov has second thoughts about personal data... now thinks all this openness is a bad idea. ...proceeds to try to fix it. But it's too late for many.
...individually sound ok maybe. After reading it I have an overwhelming urge to turn in my Jewish neighbors. Anybody else have the same response?
Let's just all swing our naked asses out in the breeze so BIG BRO can kiss them.
Nocturnal Slacker
Is it within the rules of "good" English grammar the the semicolon in "It is important to remember that just because someone’s speech, actions, beliefs, appearance, or way of life is different; it does not mean that he or she is suspicious."?
Harrison Bergeron (short story)
This is the handbook for Occupy.
A good example of why people need anonymity on the internet happened to me yesterday. Some person in Cypress tried to rack up my credit card, after I made an online purchase the day before. Whether it was coincidence or a leak in security, my credit card information was in the hands of the wrong people. Thankfully I just had to cancel the card and they couriered a new one to me the next day. But this is just a small example of why people need internet security. If you look at internationalization for business (which I firmly believe we should be keeping jobs within Canada/U.S. not shipping them overseas) companies need VPN/security etc for many reasons to share data which in many cases would be a business disaster if it was public for the competition to see. If the FBI truly believe people no longer have a right to privacy you only have 2 choices: 1) rise up fast and nip this paranoid power mongering in the bud before it becomes irreversible. 2) prepare and accept to be dominated by authority with zero human rights just like Communist China. (which is the mentality I thought the U.S. was fighting against ??? hmmm)
BigBrther was inevitable. Citizens really are to be feared, and we should love our benificient overwatchers
The obvious next step is to make possession and use of encryption devices a felony....it's sure to come...
MichaelKristopeit = child molester with AIDS?
MichaelKristopeit = child molester with AIDS???
MichaelKristopeit = child molester with AIDS????
MichaelKristopeit = child molester with AIDS?!?
MichaelKristopeit = a child molester with AIDS?
MichaelKristopeit = a child molester with AIDS??
MichaelKristopeit = a child molester with AIDS?!?
MichaelKristopeit = a child molester with AIDS?!??
MichaelKristopeit = a child molester with AIDS?!???
MichaelKristopeit = a child molester with AIDS??!???
MichaelKristopeit = a child molester with AIDS?!!??
MichaelKristopeit = a child molester with AIDS?????????
alexander peter kowalski openly admits to being in a relationship that consisted of abuse, and unwanted sex that was deemed part of a "job".
alexander peter kowalski threatens libel suits for people that tell the truth about him, then he turns around and spreads lies about others.
the petty actions of an ignorant hypocrite...
cower in my shadow some more, feeb.
you're completely pathetic.
Doesn't it seem odd how they bring up THIS subject of all things after the NDAA got passed? Rather suspect.