Slashdot Mirror
How Secret Partners Expand NSA's Surveillance Dragnet
Advocatus Diaboli (1627651) writes It has already been widely reported that the NSA works closely with eavesdropping agencies in the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia as part of the so-called Five Eyes surveillance alliance. But the latest Snowden documents show that a number of other countries, described by the NSA as "third-party partners," are playing an increasingly important role – by secretly allowing the NSA to install surveillance equipment on their fiber-optic cables. The NSA documents state that under RAMPART-A, foreign partners "provide access to cables and host U.S. equipment." This allows the agency to covertly tap into "congestion points around the world" where it says it can intercept the content of phone calls, faxes, e-mails, internet chats, data from virtual private networks, and calls made using Voice over IP software like Skype.
One could make the argument for targeted foreign intelligence collection. All that they've succeeded in doing so far is further eroding the already shaky reputation enjoyed by the United States. At best the NSA spins its wheels, at worst it's counter-productive to the U.S. economy.
"Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right" - Salvor Hardin
Skype is indeed encrypted, but I think it'd be a fairly safe bet that the NSA has the keys/access to a backdoor/some other method by which they can easily decrypt such calls. Especially in the years since Skype was acquired by Microsoft.
Proprietary "encryption" means the private entity (Skype) can decrypt it. As you might know, Skype is owned by Microsoft, which is a US corporation. Consequently, the NSA has access to all Skype communications.
The way they operate (at least within ECHELON a.k.a. "five eyes" / AUSCANNZUKUS) is that we spy on their citizens while they spy on ours, and then information is exchanged after the fact, thereby avoiding any country "spying on its own citizens." It's essentially a loophole in the 4th amendment and its counterparts in those countries.
I've sat on the sidelines since the whole NSA "revelations" began unfolding, but I've finally had enough. I'll not stand by and let the government continue intercepting my faxes.
I think the most powerful argument that can be made against the NSA (and today's government in general) is that it was once seen as a necessary evil that could be harnessed to protect liberties. It surely wasn't anywhere near perfect ever, but it was hoped that over time, it would eventually slide towards perfection as a servant of the people.
Now, does anyone seriously believe the government is anything but a bureaucratic monster, gorging itself via wars (on terrorism, on poverty, on drugs, etc) to the end of enlarging itself and shrinking everyone else's pie? I mean seriously?
Documents look like it's primarily focused at foreign targets with cooperation from other countries. Shouldn't the NSA be doing foreign intelligence collection?
The main question is for what purpose?
Is it for national security or for other reasons? If I had data like this, I could probably make a killing in the stock market or provide lots of insider information for hedge funds.
Another scary situations like the Iran Shah manipulation or mujahadeen in Afghanistan. Powerful agencies being able to manipulate government, countries, regions by manipulating communication. We already know of the Cuba text message uprising and I'm sure its attempted in many other places. It creates civil war and misery for a lot of people for the benefit of a very few by manipulating unstable systems into chaotic situations.
The Supreme Court is pretty cowardly about that stuff. They have, time and again, utterly failed to rule that if the government is prohibited from doing X, and doing Y achieves the same goal, then Y is also prohibited. Example: the federal government has no power to set a national drinking age. It is specifically given to the states in the amendment that repealed Prohibition. So they threaten to withhold highway funds unless states do it for them, and that goal is achieved.
One's opinion on the issue shouldn't be relevant: the effect of this is that Congress has done something that they are in fact not allowed to do. The mechanism is irrelevant to a thinking person. Yet the Supreme Court had no problem with this, and of course since it only affected young people nobody in the US stood up for it. Now we have this massive spying problem going on, using much the very same logic, and you expect the Supreme Court to apply proper logic to it? I very much doubt it.
Re "If I had data like this, I could probably make a killing in the stock market or provide lots of insider information for hedge funds."
Thats the reality Australia, Canada, UK, NZ, Germany, France, other EU NSA helper nations face internally long term.
Generations of generals, top technical experts and their groomed staff are giving all their nations secure data away to the USA in real time.
How can a bright, local, entrepreneur with job creating, huge profit exports ever hope to compete against the USA? A nations best and brightest telcos are giving their own banking sectors time and trade/time sensitive data to the USA.
A nations telcos are giving their own emerging scientific data to the USA.
A nations telcos are networking their own gov data to the USA when they only ever upgrade to the next generation of junk encryption.
Re "It creates civil war and misery for a lot of people for the benefit of a very few by manipulating unstable systems into chaotic situations."
You can see that every year - the protected and well supported movement of CIA backed 'freedom fighters' help to reduce/split nations to smaller groups needing constant outside support.
How The US Is Arming Both Sides Of The Iraqi Conflict 06/12/2014
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/...
The only way out is for talented local entrepreneurs to understand what signals intelligence is when they used a phone, fax, network or any other digital device.
The only way out is for talented diplomatic staff to understand what signals intelligence is when they use their bespoke embassy communications equipment.
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
Skype's problem isn't proprietary encryption.
If you recall, for a very long time, Skype used random clients as nodes to connect calls..
Microsoft bought Skype and, in 2012, released an update that ended this practice and forced everyone to go through MS controlled nodes.
Microsoft claimed this was for performance reasons, but everyone with two braincells immediately assumed it was for spying.
http://tech.slashdot.org/story/12/07/24/0039205/microsoft-wont-say-if-skype-is-secure-or-not-time-to-change
http://yro.slashdot.org/story/12/07/26/2243206/microsoft-makes-skype-easier-to-monitor
Skype's original design was intentionally restructured to give Microsoft the ability to intercept all communiciations.
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
I've been to NZ.. it's a wonderful place. Beautiful, raw, remarkable in all of its unique features. It's also pretty fucking empty with more sheep than people. There isn't a threat within 5,000 miles unless Australia turns Taliban. The worst thing they need to look out for is Chinese fishing poachers emptying their seas.
//spy agency//?! Enjoy the wonderful land you live in and leave the stupids to the rest of the world.
In all seriousness, please, kiwis, tell me why you have a