New GCHQ Chief Says Social Media Aids Terrorists

An anonymous reader sends this report from Sky News: The new head of GCHQ has accused social media websites of helping terror groups and called for closer ties with intelligence agencies. "'However much they [tech companies] may dislike it, they have become the command and control networks of choice for terrorists and criminals, who find their services as transformational as the rest of us." ... Mr. Hannigan said that smartphone and other mobile technologies increased the opportunities for terrorist activity to be concealed in the wake of the exposing of secret cables and documents collected by US and UK authorities by whistleblower Edward Snowden. Mr. Hannigan said that smartphone and other mobile technologies increased the opportunities for terrorist activity to be concealed in the wake of the exposing of secret cables and documents collected by US and UK authorities by whistleblower Edward Snowden.

Comments

Not a win

[Chrisq]

If we start screaming, crying, and arresting people as soon as they express a view we don't like we have not defeated the Muslims. We have become like the Muslims.

Re:Not a win

[Tyr07]

First off, being a Muslim has nothing to do with screaming, crying, and arresting as soon as they express a view we don't like.

Muslim is a religious choice, and just like Christians or any other religion, there are those who are fanatical about it. They are dangerous, remember the holy crusades?

There are people who are fanatical who have nothing to do with religion at all, what group do you insult for them?
There's plenty of Muslims who live in Canada who are perfectly reasonable respectable people who are not violent who appreciate that you have your own way you live your life, and aren't coming to you to force you to change it, and just want to be respected for their way of life like any other religion.

Re:Not a win

[Lunix Nutcase]

You've only just now realized that Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden won beyond their wildest imaginations? We can fist bump about killing him and shouting "MURICA!! FUCK YEEEEAAH!" but even with Bush in front of his "Mission Accomplished" banner, we've still lost this fight big time by succumbing to the terrorist boogeyman to allow Big Brother to tuck us in at night.

Re:Not a win

[javilon]

Well, I guess he means muslim countries.

Any country defined (by themselves) as "a muslim country" falls into the view: "screaming, crying, and arresting as soon as they express a view we don't like".

As a test, try to go to a "muslim country" and tell them you are gay...

There are also other countries where this happens, like Russia (recently on the news) but the point is it does happen in every muslim country.

Re:Not a win

[jafiwam]

If we start screaming, crying, and arresting people as soon as they express a view we don't like we have not defeated the Muslims. We have become like the Muslims.

This sums it up right there. We are well on our way already.

The GCHQ head is clueless. They'll just do what they think is effective and safe. When they figured out we were using voice prints and cell phones to target air strikes, they stopped using cell phones.

The same thing will happen with Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Snapchat, or whatever else.

Another point, the ones using those things now are the dumb ones that are all talk, and not going to do much if anything effective. Worry about the ones that have hidden their messages that we aren't finding, or the ones that just meet in person or send coded snail mail letters. They don't need instructions, they need MONEY and TIME to get their goals done.

This is nothing more than yet another ploy to hook more surveillance into stuff that will be basically used to make the IRS more effective at targeting mild political opposites for harassment. The guys they need to bust in on with guns plot in mosques and living rooms in person.

Re:Not a win

[NotDrWho]

Islam may indeed be another religious choice. But in it's present-day form, it's MUCH more radical than most others. Very few other modern religions still seek to impose their religious beliefs by force in entire COUNTRIES (and exclude the practice of other religions). Even radical Zionists in Israel and Mormons in Utah would draw the line at banning other religions in their countries outright, or in overriding secular civil law entirely with their batshit beliefs. There are an *increasing* number of Muslim countries (and, make no mistake, it IS increasing), where the general populace is all-too-ready to vote in Sharia Law and start burning churches the second they get the chance. And this is not a movement that is weakening in the modern world, it's actually STRENGTHENING.

There are still voices of moderation in Islam. But I'm no longer convinced that they are the majority, and they are CERTAINLY on the wane.

Re:Not a win

[nedlohs]

So what were you saying. The exchange seems to have been (with different people involved in each step of course):

1. A claim that muslims exhibit the behaviour of "screaming, crying, and arresting people as soon as they express a view we don't like".
2. A claim that being a muslim has nothing to do with "screaming, crying, and arresting people as soon as they express a view we don't like".
3. A source showing some muslims setting an embassy on fire, rioting, and demanding death to some people, because said people expressed a view the muslims didn't like.
4. A source showing some christians killing people and blowing things up.

3. is clearly supposed to be evidence for the claim in 1. - you don't have to think it's good evidence, but it is at least clearly about the claim in 1.

4. On the other hand has nothing to do with either of the claims in 1. or 2. So what were you trying to show by that link?

Re:Social media

[javilon]

In other news:

Cars help terrorists: they use them as a means of transport. We should add kill switches and gps units to all cars so the goverment can track every individual car and stop it if needed.

Subway helps terrorists: They use it as a means of transport. We should force every person using it to identify and keep all this data on a database.

Houses help terrorists: They use them to hide and to stay warm and to plan new attacks. We should have a camera on every house connected to a government agency so we can track who is in the house and what is he doing.

Books help terrorists: They read them and get funny ideas. We should create a system where people would identify themselves before reading a book.

Also, this not only applies to terrorists. It also applies to child molesters, please think of the children.

Simple solution....

[purple_cobra]

...get a search warrant. Or, to be a bit more accurate: stop whining about how difficult your job is now and just do what you should have been doing all along. If you are having trouble identifying "persons of interest", that is not my problem. If encryption is too hard for you to break covertly, that is not my problem. If you can't do your job without every single person holding the door open for you to have a look around inside, that is not my problem. See a theme here, Hannigan? You are paid a handsome salary to detect nefarious arseholes who would do damage to the UK and its interests; perhaps you should earn that salary instead of moaning about the IT industry making the life of your staff difficult. If a dragnet is the answer, you are asking the wrong questions.

Re:Simple solution....

[The Ickle Jones]

That's still utterly ridiculous. Encryption is intended to protect you from Bad Guys (whether they be governments or simple criminals). If it also makes law enforcement difficult, then so be it; our rights don't just vanish just to make their jobs easier.

Draconian punishments for refusing to give up passwords would just further reveal them to be freedom-hating scumbags. Hopefully courts in the US would recognize that as a violation of the constitution (other places, I'm not sure).

Water aids terrorists

[Roodvlees]

Drinking water allows terrorists to remain hydrated, even in dry environments! Social media aid those who use them.

Of course it is.

[robbak]

The largest means of support for terrorist groups is the U.S. Dollar. Perhaps we should get rid of that, too.

Lions, tigers, and bears oh my

[EmperorOfCanada]

Paper helps terrorists make plans, maps help them find their way, cars help them get there, air helps them breath, food helps them grow, playing cars stave off their boredom, blah blah blah.

I would say that supporting tinpot dictators in these countries has probably been the #1 factor in creating these guys, with any #2 being such a distant second that it hardly counts. Yet it is these very same "security" agencies that have been patting themselves on the back as they trained and supported the secret police in all these countries. Using terms like "Realpolitik" to justify their actions.

Well sorry, you don't let the serial killer go just because he also runs an after-school program for the kids. Or even if he happens to own an oil well or two.

Plus it wouldn't be social media that the top terrorist dogs use. Those guys would be using couriers running around on motorcycles with cryptic notes. The only people that are using social media that these KGB types are scared of are new peaceful political movements that might organized to create a society that doesn't give them the free hand that they enjoy today and hope for tomorrow. Including movements in countries where they enjoy tight relationships with the corrupt evil regimes that have their boots on the throats of their people now.

Think about how much effort the American security services have spent going after Occupy NY whereas how little effort they have spent going after any police who violated the civil rights of those same protesters. That is the social media they seek to control.