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Former NSA Chief Warns Hackers Will Attack US If Snowden Is Captured
Okian Warrior writes "The Guardian is reporting Michael Hayden speculating that hackers and transparency groups are likely to respond with cyber-terror attacks if the United States government apprehends whistleblower Edward Snowden. Hayden called the potential attackers 'Nihilists, anarchists, activists, Lulzsec, Anonymous, twentysomethings who haven't talked to the opposite sex in five or six years.'"
What do old married persons (people who haven't talked to the opposite sex in years), have to do with this?
Nihilists! Fuck me. I mean, say what you like about the tenets of National Socialism, Dude, at least it's an ethos.
Twentysomethings who don't recognize the opposite sex.
This claim was made by a fossilised old fart who hasn't managed to get a rise out of his dick for thirty years and has decided to take it out on everyone else who isn't having a problem satisfying themselves and their partners sexually.
If Hayden hadn't been spending the last 20 years trying to fuck over the entire country en-masse, he'd still be able to get a hard-on for normal sexual thoughts about individual people.
In other news: crotchety old man demands kids get off his damn lawn.
Mod Hayden -1 Troll.
people who give a greater damn about the Constitution than the current government.
'Nihilists, anarchists, activists, Lulzsec, Anonymous, twentysomethings who haven't talked to the opposite sex in five or six years.'
Well, at least that excludes Slashdot. Slashdot is filled with thirtysomethings who haven't talked to the opposite sex in fifteen or sixteen years.
US citizens are advised to flee the planet.
So, 'activists' is a negative word now too?
Even look at that guy's face in TFA?
That's from guy who instead of talking to person of opposite sex would tap her phone, read her journal and search her underwear drawer?
In this day and age, the mighty United States of America has been reduced to feeling "terror" from "twentysomethings who haven't talked to the opposite sex in five or six years."
Wasn't that a standup joke 20 years ago?
This country is terribly plagued with such a reprehrensible menace. The only solution is to mandate a free girlfriend to every twentysomething, to avoid their fall into tyranny and hackery. It will be a burden for us all, but I think we on Slashdot can manage.
Which are fascist, traitorous, nationalistic power-fetishists who only view the opposite sex as tools or sex toys. Power in D.C. attracts a lot of arm-candy and those people get used to that very quickly.
If telephones are outlawed, then only outlaws will have telephones.
I like how he lumps "activists" in together with Lulzsec and Anonymous.
Within a couple of years, the US media will be using "activist" as a synonym for "terrorist".
Sadly, most Americans will go right along with this.
Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
http://xkcd.com/932/
"So if they can't create great harm to dot-mil, who are they going after? Who for them are the World Trade Centers? The World Trade Centers, as they were for al-Qaida."
The only people who think like that are Al-Qaida and their American trainers. Oh wait, that's who was making the comment.
A government official advising against a course of action because he fears a terrorist response is proof that terrorism works.
[Sir Garlon] is the marvellest knight that is now living, for he destroyeth many good knights, for he goeth invisible.
When did hacking turn into "Cyber-terrorism"? Has the world gone stupid?
"Freedom in the USA is not the ability to do what you want. It is the ability to stop others from doing what THEY want"
quote:
"I'm just trying to illustrate that you've got a group of people out there who make demands, whose demands may not be satisfiable, may not be rational, from other points of view..."
not sure if this refers to our rogue government (ie, the criminals in charge of the NSA and those who continue to fund it) or the ones we are being programmed to 'be afraid of'. ...gotta go: I'm almost late for my two minute's hate.
--
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
He's trying to provoke an attack, isn't he?
they are going to start hacking michael hayden.
And next time some random .gov or .mil website gets hacked, it'll be taken as "vindication" and proof of the correctness of his point of view.
The US government closing all its Embassies seems less about an actual threat than about keeping the NSA jackboot on top of us all.
Especially those of us who are kicking up a fuss.
All your ghosts are just false positives.
You know, back before independence.
Even today, *those* activists are practically deified.
How many times have you seen someone respond to IRC, forum post, thread, etc with something along the following lines:
"The person disagreeing with me is 15 year old acne-crusted, coke-glasses-wearing, living in his mother's basement loser with no social life and blah blah blah....."
Reading Michael Hayden feels like reading an internet troll. I don't know if he's doing it because he's dumb troll, or because he used to be one of those 15 year old acne crusted, coke-glasses-wearing, living in his mother's basement loser with no social life before getting into the NSA so he could change venue to live in a government basement.
... that you don't talk about Fight Club. Then they made it into a movie. It is the American way.
Since 9/11 America was not the same. Terrorist is by definition him who inflicts terror. Therefore 9/11 was successful even if the causalities would be 0. America is terrorized to the point that "Land of Freedom" title should be stripped away. Of course the government takes this tragedy as a campaign to further strip other rights of the American people.
Yes, they'd be all over us with harsh language and pointing at us, and the laughter, this would just be devastating.
He's right about the hacking but not about the terrorism. Even more of a reason why we should give Snowden a full pardon on the condition he return to USA, maybe add a clause that he be banned from any government work for the next 60 years. Embarrassing those in power should not be a crime in it self.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheka
And don't tell me this guy is different. His pals stockpile hundreds of thousands of exploits and then he whines about "evil hackers" with their three exploits. Which are probably not used at all.
http://www.infoworld.com/d/security/in-his-own-words-confessions-of-cyber-warrior-222266
What he wants to do is to stifle any dissent. Like any professional Chekist, he hates to be out of control.
you are warned by humans of earth to fucking leave him be....
its easy move on ...touch him and we will...what ya gonna do big girlie boys now , rant rave and call us terrorists when the guy only told his own peopel the govt is illegally spying on them....
or doing it legally in a way that actually should be illegal....
ugh
the nsa needs to learn the phrase shut the fuck up
haha
or
https://www.uha1.com/14-mug.jpg --- will be there site next
Calling nihilist and anarchist hackers that are capable of performing successful cyber terrorist attacks against the US and the NSA "twentysomethings who haven't talked to the opposite sex in five or six years." is more agitating than some stuff in the news about snowden. I think the former head of the NSA is trying to induce terrorist attacks against the USA. He should be charged as a terrorist. He also looks like he hasn't talked to the opposite sex in 5 or 60 years. That's a true sign of terrorism right there.
TLDR: FUCK YOU.
Don't mess with the bull, young man. You'll get the horns.
It's all fun and games until they get annoyed enough to start having people disappear. Then it's no longer a fun internet game. And the big money players won't tolerate loss of finances for long.
Dear Mr. Hayden,
I understand your position that these cyber attacks would be illegitimate. But there is no need to disparage people for not having talked to the opposite sex for years. Making fun on others isn't fair. But may be fairness isn't a word you have in your mind...
Sincerely
Lol, maybe government should not be doing things they are shamed afterwords. Like spying its own citizens that have done nothing wrong. All this under fear of terrorist. I wonder how long until they realize terrorist won the war. They changed how certain superpower lives its lives. So much for land of the free... I all pro information freedom. And i don't fit any of those categories.. 'Nihilists, anarchists, activists, Lulzsec, Anonymous, twentysomethings who haven't talked to the opposite sex in five or six years.' Im 38 yeras old, i quess thats twentysomething.... Im married and talk my wife every day...
This whole scare tactic on Hayden's part, especially since it was a speech at the "Bipartisan Policy Center" sounds like a grab for political support and funding to further broaden what the NSA, FBI, DEA and every other shitty acronym involved is already doing. People like Hayden are the types who create places like Gitmo, fund operations like Haliburton, and see nothing wrong with getting what they want by any means necessary. No wonder he's so scared.
Join the Slashcott! Feb 10 thru Feb 17!
"who haven't talked to the opposite sex in five or six years.'"
Really? Is calling people it doesn't like gay really the governments new tactic?
I'm a bit of a hawk and anti-libertarian myself, and have little time for narcissists like Snowdown and the Wikileaks crowd.
THAT SAID --- it definitely appears that here, General Hayden is full-blown delusional. These remarks are of somebody whose tenuous grip on reality is seriously worrying for a man of his position.
Because clearly, that's what They really are.
twentysomethings who haven't talked to the opposite sex in five or six years
It's great to see people putting down others, I'm sure statements like that won't at all cause people who otherwise probably wouldn't have wanted to be involved in any such thing to change their minds. It's like saying "we have information suggesting an attack is imminent on US interests abroad - keep an eye out for young men who have unsightly beards, sand in their butt cracks, and a strange fascination with goats" and not expecting more people to be violent towards you than before you made the statement.
We are and have been attacked by "hackers". Its a very lame attempt at scare mongering.
My karma is not a Chameleon.
They won't attack the US, they'll attack the US government. Completely different. These guys remind me of mafiosi who try to claim prosecutors going after the Mafia are going after all Italian-Americans.
"If it's real, then it gets more interesting the closer you examine it. If it's not real, just the opposite is true." -
IF we broke international law, kidnap/kill a citizen of another country in that other country, someone that denounced that us are breaking the human rights of basically every human of the planet, and steal their intellectual property, then could be consequences. The real, big problem, is the first move, not the consequences. Whats next? Killers that complain that judges will try to put them in jail, as if everything is judges fault?
"twentysomethings who haven't talked to the opposite sex in five or six years.'"
Really? "Hah hah, little nerd, you don't get any pussy!" The former NSA chief is using sophomoric name-calling to make himself feel better about having become one of the most crafty and subversive enemies our nation has ever faced. Just like high school, when the jocks would do the same to feel better about their abusive relationships with their fathers.
Stop-Prism.org: Opt Out of Surveillance
twentysomethings who haven't talked to the opposite sex in five or six years.
Them's fighting words. _Every morning_ I talk to the girl who makes my coffee...
So he called them Slashdot readers/members.
Of the types of Cyber attacks motives -- Activist led, state sponsored espionage and ones driven by criminal activity, activist is a tiny fraction compared to the other two.
http://www.verizonenterprise.com/resources/reports/es_data-breach-investigations-report-2013_en_xg.pdf
Also of the three types, activist attacks are the least sophisticated while state espionage attacks are the most sophisticated. Its funny how activist attacks are considered as "terror" attacks.
Yes there will be attacks because of Snowden, but they will be insignificant compared to the daily business of government led attacks
Hayden sounds like he could use some Viagra and a hooker (or whatever he's into).
Might take the edge off, and he could come up with a reasoned argument instead of just using the Wikipedia entry on logical fallacies as a checklist.
I am not a crackpot.
OK, the guy's being a DB, but you have to admit there's a grain of truth:
nihilists: that could be one way to describe groups like lulzsec, who aren't into transparency as a cause but would rather watch the world burn for the lulz.
anarchists: I don't see this one per se, but the govt described bradley manning as an anarchist so that's why they think that.
activists: for sure, groups like anonymous are activists. manning too. snowden too. they are motivated by effecting change in the system.
Lulzsec: I'm not sure to what degree Lulzsec would participate themselves based on the FBI busts, but I'm sure there would be some offshoot phoenix "rise from the ashes" that would throw their hats in the ring.
anonymous: i think this one is a given.
neckbeards: kind of a stereotype, not suprised he through that out.
tldr: I think he's more right than wrong, both to expect attempts at reprisals and in describing many of the groups that will attempt it. I would add foreign nations / hostile groups (not activists, but interested in harming USA interests). It's the perfect time to attack under the guise of these other groups.
chronic masturbators
it is easy to understand why he thought his revelations of dirty business meant he could not go to the normal "authorities".
I am not exactly sure what's scarier in the fact that General Hayden is worried about 20 somethings that haven't talked to the opposite sex in 5 or 6 years. Barring that the 20 somethings are at least 24, then I suppose that's a good thing, but a 21 year old? If they have talked to the opposite sex (implying a sexual relationship), then I guess we have bigger problems... Oh wait, take that down the rabbit hold further... Why would General Hayden be concerned about underage sex? ... And with the NSA sharing Intel with the FBI... Oh wait, and with the FBI infiltrating Tor. ... Oh my... Plot thickens... dawning aluminum foil hat...
Select from tblFriends where interesting >= 4;
"The more you tighten your grip, the more star systems will slip through your fingers" Seems fitting here.
Let's ignore that some of what he leaked was about the US more or less illegally spying on their own citizens and people in other countries. Let's ignore that not everyone feels they should be spied on by the US. Let's pretend that some of this spying wasn't getting into the unconstitutional domestically and illegal where it happened. Let's completely ignore than political asylum has been around for centuries and America has certainly granted it to Russians over the years who were equally damaging. While we're at it, let's pretend that this 'apprehending' is essentially illegal in the countries where it happens.
Instead, let's put the focus on how a bunch of nihilists and anarchists might decide to stage a little retribution and how God himself told America they're allowed to do these things and fuck everyone else.
Because it couldn't possibly be because people disagree with what the NSA and other agencies do, or that everyone else in the world is tired of them thinking that what everyone else's rights don't matter. There's no way that the rest of the world doesn't feel like the US has overstepped its authority in other countries. It's inconceivable that we don't think you can have Liberty if we have to give up all of our privacy in order to make you safe. People couldn't possibly be protesting because the US is rapidly becoming a surveillance state which will happily trample on people's rights while telling other countries they should be more open and free.
Fuck you Mr. Hayden, we're not buying the misdirection to a bunch of nerds in their basement. You may not be able to understand why people are venting their displeasure, but that doesn't mean your stated reasons are the right ones.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
So. Snowden is going to - or threatening to - prove that the government is responsible for (exclusively hetero?) hacktivists' absence of comunication with the opposite sex? For at least 6 years, now? I knew it! I just knew it! :P That's the only explanation for it. And the lack of communication is forcibly the necessary consequence of not being able to talk to the opposite sex. ... Of course! Then, does that mean the government took a course of action that would knowingly turn them into hacktivists? Good grief! The government created the hacktivists through post-MKUltra mental and social cruelty! It's all so clear now! Thank you, Herr Hayl-den, for letting us all in on that terrible, horrible secret. Thank you!
Seems like US already declared cyber-war against every single person (uncluding US citizens) and country. It seems more like an act of defense. Don't fake to be suprised there is response to these spying the world acts.
These agencies are one of the enemy of the citizens of the world.
"Free Speech Zones", beeotches.
Get this bullcrap off the front page. Complete nonsense.
It's interesting Michael Hayden feels free to hold forth as an authority on the presumably private lives of his fellow American citizen's, specifically their sex lives.
Does anyone seriously doubt that this is Hayden accidentally -and very publicly- accessing and referencing the very thing he denies the NSA is doing- watching, cataloging , storing (and sniggering at) the most deeply personal and intimate details of people's everyday affairs, in this case their masturbation habits and likely frequency of sexual intercourse?
It's hard to keep clear the boundaries between what you know and can talk about and what you know and aren't supposed to talk about, isn't it Michael? It requires constant vigilance, doesn't it? You never know when you're going to let something slip.
I am asking the president of the United States to relieve General Hayden of his responsibilities for conduct unbecoming, gross negligence in his public utterances, and failure to uphold the high standards of the US military.
I'm pretty sure all those groups are constantly attacking the NSA, CIA, FBI, and any other government org for the notarial and to "Fight the Power". Unless this is World Hacker Vacation month.
Bring it on...
Hackers will continue to exist if Snowden is in US custody or not. They are always looking for an excuse to show their skills and deface some site or launch a DOS attack on something. If (or should I say *when*) the US gets their hands on him, it will just be one more reason for them to justify their illegal behavior.
It's going to happen anyway, so I say, "BRING IT ON!" No need to wait for an excuse to prove your able... The sooner you make your attempt, the sooner we all can find you and lock you up too.
How some online attack can be classified as a terrorist thing is beyond me. What they going to do that impacts me in any way? Take down the New York Stock Exchange or the Chicago Board of Trade? Disrupt Cell phone service? Where any of these would be *grand* feats for a hacker, *NONE* would put my life or property at risk and like any hacking attack, would be only temporary.
Bring it on.... Or are you afraid of the light outside the basement or think the handcuffs are too painful?
"Nihilists! Jesus. Say what you like about the tenets of National Socialism, Dude, at least it's an ethos."
Wait, did I just Godwin the thread?
Oh, give me a break.
Not every attack is "terrorism". Not every crime is terrorism.
IF this materializes, which who knows, it might, it will most likely be cyber-annoyance. You'll try to buy something on amazon and it'll be slow, so you'll do it later. Some web sites may be DDOSed off the net for a day or three. Life will go on.
Perhaps we need an Article V convention to amend the Constitution to prohibit all military and state secrets?
Not saying the state can't do things.
Not saying the military can't conduct operations.
Rather, all such must be done with 100% total disclosure of everyone involved, what was done, and how much money was spent.
Will some things be more difficult? Absolutely.
Will those difficulties be better than the current crop of difficulties? I think so. What about you?
i'm huntin... wabbits...
Kill da wabitt !
Kill da wa-bbit !!!!
So now the US needs Snowden for national security and to protect him from being tortured and coerced to give up secrets? Assuming if that threat is true, maybe if they had led with it instead of making him enemy number 1, this would have played out differently.
This tactic of bait and switch seems all to common with the US. Invade Iraq because of of their involvement with 9/11. Oops once it is known by the public that they weren't involved with 9/11, change the story. Invade Irag because of WMD. Oops, once it is known by the public that there weren't any WMDs, change the story. I've lost track of why the US invaded Irag.
Jump to Snowden. The cycle repeats. He's been branded a traitor, a spy, a terrorist... all to get him back and now that those have failed, we need to get him back to protect him in case he is captured.
So which is it? Does the US want him back because he is a bad guy or to protect him? Just spin the wheel and see. At least on Wheel of Fortune, you have the opportunity to win a trip to some nice resort. With the NSA and the US military complex, the only resort they offer is on the tip of Cuba.
...rustlers, cut throats, murderers, bounty hunters, desperados, mugs, pugs, thugs, nitwits, halfwits, dimwits, vipers, snipers, con men, Indian agents, Mexican bandits, muggers, buggerers, bushwhackers, hornswogglers, horse thieves, bull dykes, train robbers, bank robbers, ass-kickers, shit-kickers
...and Methodists!
Look who's talking..
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023414198
he looks like a fucking human tick that's just finished gorging itself ...
This is the NSA trying to deflect from the fact that they have been flagrantly ignoring the constitution and lying to everyone. Everyone needs to remember the point here is that the NSA et al are trying to create a police state.
If everyone sits around and jokes about it, then they we have lost.
So he thinks you have to be some pimple-faced, buggar-eating dork to want to react cyber-wise?? What bothers me is he's basically saying for all their ability and resources some "twenty-something" has the ability to attack, successfully, the government against which they have little to no defense. I say BS, but still, it seems to have an undertow of slight acknowledgement that in fact they have NO idea what they are doing, other than knowing they are violating our rights and trashing the constitution, plus driving this society down the drain. All for the upper 3% (or 1%, whatever, the stooooopid rich). At the end of the day it's just more rhetoric and propaganda to change the focus of what's really going on, these guys (NSA and I'd say ALL government) are a bunch of asshats that are really f'ing it up for good, and it bothers me that I don't see it changing any time soon, if ever.
" marriage interferes with romance , when i try to have a little romance the wife is sure to interfere .. " GM .. .. it takes a professional... ,she's been bugging me for years .. "
*
"Mr Speaker i have put my wife in charge of the NSA's interception operations
"Your wife ? How does she qualify for that job
"She is
Frankly .. i hope they succeed at halting the NSA's illegal operations. Make em feel what it's like to be at our end of the stick. .. but i doubt it. If we could trust the NSA it would be one thing , but they shown us we can't . :) An ounce of bashing the NSA is always good family entertainment. Ill get a huge cartoon mallet ..
Maybe they will one day see the light
They are supposed to be there to help us being safe , right now it's them we don't feel safe with. O the irony. Perhaps having a civilian ( ie taken from the public at random ) oversight , people with no relationship with the NSA FBI or any other agency would help make this confidence grow back . But for now it's work in progress and until proven , bash em
Millions, billions, possibly trillions of innocent bits could DIE in a cyber terror attack! THINK OF THE BITS!
I browse on +1 so AC's need not respond, I won't see it.
....there's nothing to be afraid of.
Is this what they call "intelligence?"
So all this top-secret spying stuff gives you a precise profile of the enemy. They should know if anybody, right?
What is "Cyber-Terror" besides a FUD buzzword? Have hackers changed THAT much in the last 20 years? When did Al-Qaeda and Jihadists give a crap about a guy who leaked secrets about how hypocritical America is? They are too busy trying to end us to care about a former spy. To them, Snowden is just another evil American.
Michael Hayden is a product of the much vaunted "War on Terror" and this statement just goes arm-in-arm with that "Enemies at the Gate" mentality that dominates our intelligence and law enforcement communities. This is why the NSA is spying on you, they see bad guys everywhere, and anything that seems "anti-American" (e.g. anti-establishment, even if that establishment is violating your Constitutional rights) is Terror/Terrorist/Terrorism.
Suddenly, hackers are terrorists. Wow.
is the kind of person that pulled the levers for the Third Reich.
Yeah, and arresting terrorists makes other terrorists mad at us too. So what? Either its the right thing to do, and we do it, or it isn't, and we don't.
The real conversation nobody seems to be having is wether its worth the tremendous black eye we are giving ourselves by ineffecitvely chasing this guy around the world. The guy broke the law, so he should be arrested. But that doesn't mean we have to publicly rail like impotent babies every time this dweeb sneaks into another country that doesn't like us much. For generations people have fled places like Russia and China after saying or doing things there that the government doesn't like (but are perfectly legal here), and we've rightly used each as an oppertunity to lecture them about freedom and human rights. Well guess what? Telling what you know about the NSA's operations is a form of speech that is not illegal in China or Russia. So now they can smugly do the same back to us. So what does our government do? Why, they make a big public stink about it, so that the damage to our reputation when China and Russia throw our own rhetoric back at us is a large as possible. This whole situation has been so perfect for Russia and China that they might start believeing in God again.
Doesn't he realize that this statement, 'Nihilists, anarchists, activists, Lulzsec, Anonymous, twentysomethings who haven't talked to the opposite sex in five or six years' translates directly into 'please initiate your attacks now'? Or maybe he does...
Hayden didn't include the words, "and we'll deserve it"
The most important rule of propaganda: If you can't discredit the message, discredit the messenger.
Mind the frickin' laser...
I see the NSA is keeping up on the recruiting drive.
If we could trust the NSA it would be one thing , but they shown us we can't .
This is where I see most people get tripped up. You're wrong. The fact that they want to spy on us at ALL proves that you're wrong. No Government can be trusted, and that includes the "good" one. Our Constitution was drafted specifically with this in mind...I really wish they'd teach this in public school, but that's probably asking too much.
They are supposed to be there to help us being safe , right now it's them we don't feel safe with.
You're assuming that the Government wants to keep you safe. This is false. The Government wants you to pay them to think that they're keeping you safe, but the reality is that they couldn't give a shit as long as they're getting paid.
.... seeing as how Snowden was dating a stripper. Indeed, I can think of no better role model.
Have gnu, will travel.
who the fuck is Michael Hayden? and how does he pretend to know ANYTHING?
Remember kids, if you're not paying for the service, YOU ARE THE PRODUCT THAT IS BEING SOLD.
OK, I know this is kind of OT for this thread and has little to do with Snowden, but I was flipping through channels last night and ran across this movie where everyone was in a life raft. I don't know what movie it was, but it went on for a while with people in a life raft, and they were fighting off sun poisoning, sharks, and dehydration. They tried to create an evaporation still with some saran wrap and a cup and lick the condensed drops off, the bottom of the plastic, but it didn't work. Here's the thing- so they were completely dehydrated, but the two women with larger boobs seemed OK. Why do they never talk about drinking boob milk when they're out there on a life raft or in the desert with no water or whatever? Big boobs have to carry at least a few quarts of liquid.
You know what this is? Fear. This is the same fear that they've been jamming down our throats for years, and we finally have an indication that the tables can turn. These douchebags are AFRAID of the sexually inactive anarchists. I can't help but see this as a good trend.
Caution, bait ahead.
Nice. How'd taunting the anons work out for Stratfor and HBGary, General?
Its a good thing its just Snowden that would be the cause. And totally not an out of control power hungry paranoid organization that finds enemies in every crevice; that is hell bent on hiding its activities while co-opting the privacy of those they are allegedly supposed to protect. Because if it was that, it would be a horrible commentary on the state of affairs of our failed political system.
This was always about the government controlling the internet, and through that, the cultural narrative...
The internet is just TOO DANGEROUS to let the public have free reign... and now that people can be their own broadcasters, the narrative gets out of control - nothing scares a government more
20 years ago to broadcast like you can on the internet today would have taken a ham radio license - and that was issued by the government and had less "reach"
I am married for fifteen years, and have a daughter of nine, but I sympathise with Snowden, not with the likes of NSA, CIA or FBI, or other likewise organisations.
As a middle class engineer who has to comply with all kinds of regulations and laws and has to pay taxes, I want that the organisations which are created by the lawmakers also obey the law.
Also, whistle blowers should be by default protected by the judiciary.
People opposed to, or uncomfortable with, unnecessary government snooping may be seen as today's Boston tea party activists, not the bogus Tea Party of today. England saw them as terrorists. Today we call them as patriots. Big government, while serving and protecting us, should read up on US history to see what happens when the people are deeply oppressed. We are likely nowhere near that digital point today. Let's hope that we never get to that point.
The Russians must be loving Snowden as he must be target number one for Russia based US spies. So all they need to do is have him stand in an open field and see who "happens to randomly" stroll by with their 300mm camera. Then have him go rock climbing and see who "randomly" strolls by again.
My guess is that if there were rumors that the Russians had developed a new superweapon and another rumor that Snowden was going out for an ice cream. That they would dedicate more resources to Snowden.
Obama just went on Leno and said, "There is no domestic spying program" My biggest fear is that Obama is so misinformed that this is actually what he believes. Soon they will just be saying there is no Snowden. I have been waiting for the campaign of disinformation about him: that he is really a janitor and a Walter Mitty, that he likes child porn, that he does drugs, that he murdered his grandma, that he is UFO nut, that there is strong evidence that he made all this up, that he was a Russian plant all along, that he was a supporter of the Rebel Louis Riel.
Top of page 3 and mid of page 2 of http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/aug/1/secrets-are-hard-to-keep-in-the-whole-wired-world/ Its like reaching out to a Nixon like silent majority of the contracting tech world.
The GCHQ did it with better pay, conditions, academic support and lots of expensive US tech in the 1970-80's. A real living wage and advancement.
The US gov seems to want to change the message back to a more positive debate vs the bitter people who cling to a 4th amendment subculture.
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
You put former Jocks in charge of national security.
"If the US apprehends Snowden, hackers will attack us. So I'm going to make matters worse by insulting them. I'm such a genius! ARE YOU PROUD OF ME NOW, DADDY?"
He's now in the private sector.
"Anyone who [rips a CD] is probably engaging in copyright infringement." - David O. Carson
Hayden knows this because the NSA's metadata analysis showed that those twenty-something men hadn't had any email correspondence with females in a long time, if ever.
"twentysomethings who haven't talked to the opposite sex in five or six years."
In my twenties I used to talk to my mother every day, you insensitive clod!
the likely hood of physical violence also.
cyber attacks are somewhat annoying but do you think that no one is actually angry enough to start hurting people? I doubt it would be just 'cyberterror' attacks i suspect you'd get some good old 'terror' attacks
well at least i hope so anyway
So he gets more money for so-called cyber-defense-programs!
I'm sure no real hacker is that stupid .. but probably the NSA's will simply pay some kids to do exactly that.
Pretext to taking away more liberty in the name of security theater. /yawn
Comments aside, to me it sounds as though Hayden hasn't spent much time with the current generation of computer nerds. Basements are less common these days while nice salaries, condos, and cars are not all that uncommon. He is right that the youngsters with nothing to lose (or think they have nothing to lose) are probably the most dangerous, but that doesn't mean that the stereotype is sound anymore. The NSA needs a dialog with the country to learn what the population thinks is okay, and he certainly isn't going to win over these "20 somethings" he talks about like this. Unfortunately because no one really knows what is going on, no one really knows how comfortable they are with it.
Lessee, I just emailed my wife (of the opposite sex, as if that's anyone's business) an hour or so ago; does that count? And a lot of the techies I know are married or in long-term relationships, ESR for example.
And some of us actually vote, and talk to our reps in Congress.
The US gov't needs a new broom, and no, I don't mean the neoConfederate "Tea Party", or the neofascist Republicans.
mark "and yes, some of us working for the gov't do try to make it work"
But somehow I think he knows how often they talk to females and how often they have sex.
Obama just told Jay Leno the NSA doesn't do domestic spying so how does Hayden know the intimate details of our sex lives? How?
Now that I said that, I fell better.
No Government can be trusted, and that includes the "good" one. Our Constitution was drafted specifically with this in mind.
Yes and no. It is true that Government cannot be trusted, and our Constitution was drafted with this in mind. But at the same time, every day you and everyone else trust that they won't suddenly decide that, even after accounting for the 2nd Amendment, instituting a true police state is not only feasible, but that the risk of failure is negligible.
Though given the direction we seem to be heading, eventually that trust will be breached.
If people were unhappy, I think the Republicrats wouldn't still be winning every single election by a 99% landslide.
It doesn't matter, hackers will attack because that is what they do, that is how they feel important. They'll find a reason, or no reason at all. Snowden will just be an excuse.
"Oh, he's very popular Ed. The sportos, the motorheads, geeks, sluts, bloods, wastoids, dweebies, dickheads - they all adore him. They think he's a righteous dude."
He in this case, standing in direct opposition to Commissar Hayden, is the US Constitution.
Or he means that there are no gay-hackers? I think that this is good cause for the gay rights group to standup and defend the gay-hackers.
fredrated is spewing disinfo. Do not squirt seawater up your butt!
...Hayden shook with indignant rage and bellowed, "NERRRRDS!!"
http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m74f0wvK501rq2uh5o1_400.jpg
How do you display all comments on iOS Safari on iPad mini? Sliders won't work!?!
Does this guy even know what he's talking about? Nihilists don't care. According to nihilism, there is no government. In fact, there is no country either.
I know, it must be exhausting...
Pretty rich comment from a bunch of fortysomethings with an off-scale high divorce rate because they are constitutionally unable or unwilling to share the emotional corrosiveness of their work environment.
he forgot the group that lives in Mom's basement.
I mean, if you are going to start throwing out insults, you got to have mom's basement in there.
Oh ya, and you also forgot the SKY is falling.
Be seeing you...
"Activist" = "enemy of the state". Sad times...
Lest you think I'm some young, age-ist punk, he's only a decade & a half older than me. But most people who were born before personal computers were common in peoples' homes don't understand 'net culture. Or computers, for that matter.
I'll give General Hayden some cred, in that's he served in the Air Force, and has worked in intelligence for most of his career. So he'll have some passing acquaintance with computers. But like many people his age, and from his background, he's probably clueless about "Nihilists, anarchists, activists, Lulzsec, Anonymous, twentysomethings who haven't talked to the opposite sex in five or six years."
The fact that he's using "Nihilists & anarchists" in the same grouping makes me think of those fogies who say things like, "on the drugs", "hippy-hop", and "all gooped up on gop". It's a spew of things they might have heard, but aren't really familiar with. All they know is it's different... and it scares them.
I'm sure Fox News'll give him lots of air time. You know, 'cause: Boo! Scary!
I told you. We're an anarcho-syndicalist commune. We take it in turns to act as a sort of executive officer for the week.
From a public info-terminal in fictional 2050s New York:
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 backs.
'Nihilists, anarchists, activists, Lulzsec, Anonymous, twentysomethings who haven't talked to the opposite sex in five or six years.'"
Or perhaps people who care?
In case some of you didn't read them, I have to quote two great comments on that Guardian page:
Mankar
06 August 2013 5:27pm
WASHINGTON -- The former director of the National Security Agency and the CIA speculated on Tuesday that "nerds" and "homos" were likely to respond with cyber-terror attacks if the United States government apprehends whistleblower Edward Snowden.
"If and when our government grabs Edward 'Four-Eyes' Snowden, and brings him back here to the United States for trial, what do these losers do?" said retired air force general Michael Hayden, referring to "oily, obese, pock-marked nerds, geeks, aspies, anime fans, bronies, freaks, homos, LARPers, asthmatics, Guy Fawkes mask-owners, twentysomethings who haven't left their mother's basement, let alone talked to the opposite sex in five or six years.
"Snowden is a little spaz-boy, and I'd like to dunk his head in the toilet, take his lunch money and give him a wedgie," he continued. "And if these little freaks of nature want to try to hack us, they've got another thing coming!"
When asked what sort of security measures were in place to prevent such cyber attacks against military networks, General Hayden responded, "We just installed the latest version of Norton Antivirus."
Aside from being hilarious, it's a very insightful commentary on the original. It illustrates that many in the defense/intelligence industry, especially more so the higher up in the leadership chain, are basically the bullies from their school days. This guy is basically Biff from Back to the Future, 50 years later.
Then, there's this:
stopthewars
07 August 2013 2:52pm
Just me, or do all these NSA hotshots look like alien extras on the set of a vintage Star Trek episode?
Macrocephalics on parade.
Bald, pink, pumpkin headedness must be the career track in-look on Kolob.
That and the over done military uniforms with the SS style cues.
The total picture makes me think they're not even trying any more to hide their real mission....global domination through omniscience.
Hehe...
.. because you forgot us slashdotters.
Hey don't blame me, IANAB
Did anyone actually click the link to the article? this dude looks like the cross between a grey alien and Dr. Evil from austin powers.
I can't wait until all these old, decrepit, pre-mature ejaculating, hater douches die off forever..
I like to call them "The Shittiest Generation": pompous assholes who are nothing more than maniacal, sociopathic, power obsessed , little dicks, who think their generation saved us from any threat whatsoever.
Those who've studied history know the truth - History was all a lie.
Oh and, This guy looks like the kind of guy who likes watching his wife get fucked by another dude. I'm sure the slashdot 20something crowd might go as far as bukakeing her just to take a load off, however I think mr hayden's dime-piece is probably a bit too old/wrinkley/ugly for anyone to actually hit it..
Looks like Heinrich Himmler would at age 113, Hmmm
Your twentysomething Lulzsec you! You're such an insensitive and Anonymous twentysomething! Cease to be such an activist, or face the wrath of nihilist US government! Your mom was a Lulzsec!
My bet is that Obama is planning a UAV attack against Snowden in Russia. With any luck, Russia won't appreciate having their sovereignty violated either. But Obama will still be a brat. Wouldn't surprise me if Obama again says its Bush Juniors fault. After all, being a brat and blaming others is BO's MO.
I'm pretty sure "neckbeards" was a reference to the UNIX/Linux people who were unwilling to put back doors in their OS, at least not on purposed, as opposed to those nice, clean-cut Microsoft types.
Mr Hayden might actually be justifying his own predictions by referring to these twentysomethings "who haven't talked to the opposite sex in five or six years.", as sexual frustration can be a powerful motivator when directed into other pursuits. Isaac Newton, for example, developed calculus during his period of celibacy which his contemporaries described as sending him a bit bonkers as well. Nerds not getting laid are to be feared indeed, rather than ridiculed. Besides, some of us just find the opposite sex unnecessary and annoying.
Oh right, they just don't want to admit that they're scared of invading Russia
And it's funny that Snowden's girlfriend didn't cure his idealism. Must've been something wrong with her.
We're already being targeted by hackers from abroad and from within!! This is news? Move along, nothing to see here. These are not the droids you're looking for!
My karma is bad. Don't get too close!!!
Just wonder, was Hayden's note about the opposite sex a mass insult of LGBT society? Like - you are not a human being (or at least have no future in IT) if you haven't "talk" to the opposite sex? I think some gay should sue that fag.
And before you think that "fag" is an insult - it's not in this case. See, what Mr. Hayden said can be translated into - "Regular sexual intercourse with the opposite sex turns you into a zombie". Which is FUD and could be a gay propaganda (hello, Russia!) if gays would be that stupid (to use Mr. Hayden's services, that is).
gay people involved?