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Some Hackers Unknowingly Gathering Intel For the NSA
itwbennett writes As reported Wednesday by the news website The Intercept, the U.S. National Security Agency and its intelligence partners are sifting through data stolen by state-sponsored and freelance hackers on a regular basis in search of valuable information. A page from an internal wiki used by the intelligence agencies of the U.S., Canada and the U.K, which was last modified in 2012 and was among the files leaked by Edward Snowden reads: "Hackers are stealing the emails of some of our targets... by collecting the hackers' 'take' we 1) get access to the emails ourselves and 2) get insights into who's being hacked."
For all of these hackers and hacker groups getting arrested by the FBI. The FBI really wants to read Scarlet Johannson's emails not look at her pics.
they watch each other.
What's even more shocking is that it is possible to do anything on a cell phone or computer and the NSA hasn't already decrypted, archived, and scanned all of it.
I hope all those stories about the all powerful intelligence network in the USA aren't just a big myth, intended to scare people with a new boogeyman.
They will probably hack my computer now just to make a point about how they are always watching and listening.
as incest?
I little ole me does most of what TFA describes UK intelligence doing. OF COURSE you pay attention to open sources like Twitter and blogs.
TFA is silly in asserting that the government said Anonymous is a threat "but" their own memo says the threat is small COMPARED TO THE THREAT FROM NATION STATES. Duh, China is a bigger threat than Anonymous. That doesn't mean hacktivists aren't a threat.
Other world governments that are increasing their internal population surveillance (in some cases, because they suspect NSA intervention in their internal affairs) are also surely giving that collected information to NSA in a silver platter by that same reason.
This story reads like a Monty Python movie credit - "Those responsible for hacking the people who have just been hacked have been hacked."
Just using the internet gathers intel for them
I don't want to do a sig now
That's just brilliant on their part.
Ooops somebody just left a bot net lying around be a shame if it were compromised somehow.
Ooops China is planting malware on protestors wonder what could go wrong with that.
Why aren't more Americans stepping up and demanding that the government grant Clemency to Snowden?
Snowden did the right thing, and we all benefited from it, so we all owe him a favor.
Really
Shouldn't there be an octopus strangling the globe or maybe a man in black icon for this
How long until the NSA/FBI/DHS/CIA begin issuing Letters of Marque and Reprisal to hackers and (online) pirates, to do the surveillance dirty work for them?
I also noticed the following racist quote at the bottom of the Slashdot page: "The perversity of nature is nowhere better demonstrated by the fact that, when exposed to the same atmosphere, bread becomes hard while crackers become soft."
It also sounds like something a literal child would say.
Anyhow, if you want to be free from hackers and spies, you need to create your own cloud network, and set it up with hardware encryption devices that have crypto that is changed daily, and in paper format. And then set it up to auto-destroy old data after a certain amount of time, and make it so that unencrypted data the end user's hard drive is re-encrypted with random old keys on a daily basis. And encrypt the data stored in RAM.
And then make it so that only black people can keep their stuff a secret from the crackers. Including that Uncle Tom in the White House.
Barack Obama may be black on the outside, but on the inside he is as white as a cracker.
Some NSA Stooges Unknowingly Gathering Intel For Hackers
When you monitor everything, you get everything.
I'd be more interested in what they aren't/can't monitor. As would evil people, but I'm not evil. You can take my word for it...
BlameBillCosby.com
Yes, it should be obvious. But the issue from a public policy perspective is if the intelligence services are paying criminals to hack people or are they hacking the hackers to get the information? If the intelligence services are paying criminal gangs of hackers by buying stolen information on the black market through back channels, then they are directly providing a financial incentive for criminal and destructive activities with a likelihood of harm to the US economy and to national security. It is the same risk of paying informants or any other people involved with criminal activities. You are essentially paying criminals to commit crimes. At some point you have to take an honest look at this and see if intelligence gathering is counterproductive and to do that you need people working for the DNI, CIA, NSA that are really providing effective oversight and leadership and not just pushing their folks impress their bosses with how much intel they can gather. There is a cost to every piece of intel.
When you are talking about intel gathered from criminal gangs, my guess would be that the cost is not worth the benefit unless they are also taking down these criminal hackers as soon as they find them.
I wish everyone was as sophisticated as you.
dey be haxxed
I'm sure there is a whole set of robot eyes watching for pastebin urls on IRC / Twitter et al
Old age and treachery almost always overcome youth and skill.
the NSA gets to read email that somebody else stole, so they can truthfully (or "truthyfully") say they don't steal email.
That's how you get on the watch list. We are controlled through fear.
If you hack the NSA and access THEIR data, you've hit the mother lode.
This is my signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
Of course, that makes the faulty assumption that it is unquestionably true. The only source is someone that cannot be trusted.
On the other hand, such unauthorized releases of material, including everything from the Intercept, has only served to cause harm.
Through their actions, they are indirectly complicit in aiding/abetting groups like ISIS, in addition to directly being complicit in aiding hostile countries like Russia and China. The blood is on all of their hands - nothing short of turning themselves in to face justice will wash it off.
Of course, you'd rather modbomb the Painful Truth than acknowledge their transgressions.
Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
Hackers can now target the Three Letter Agencies and harvest their 'take'. Saves time and money and is far more efficient. More dangerous too but the risk may be worth it.
Now take the reasoning to the next stage and this means that all security holes are effectively available to all black and white hat organizations. Yet one more reason why the Three Letter Agencies should not withhold exploit information from those who need to fix them. Unless you believe that the Three Letter Agencies are allied with the criminals, whether actively, passively, or through coincident interests?
Nah. The Three Letter Agencies are good people. They say so, it must be true.
Well as a foreigner, what about GCHQ?
They did a full take on everyone, ranked journalists among terrorists, so they knew they were spying on British people. They handed the data to the NSA, now the NSA has leverage against all political, campaigning, journalists, activists and anyone in the democratic process in the UK.
They are fucking traitors to their country. That's treason, its spying, and they're still trying to legalize it even now. With three traitors in the House of Lords making a warrantless surveillance clause which would as a side issue also enable all forms of warrantless surveillance, even spying for a foreign power like GCHQ do now.
We all have traitor to our democracies.
I do network and computer security for a university. In the last couple years we have received a couple alerts from the FBI. The info was fairly old and limited in scope. And, they didn't want us to share the info with those who really needed to have it.
In the same period, the Chinese government has instituted a program of rigourous scanning and vulnerability assessment against my university. If I pay close attention, I discover all kinds of useful information. They have shown me 0-day exploits. They have taught me devious manipulations. They have even taught me a ingenious method of detecting firewall failure.
The Chinese give me daily updates on the latest hacking techniques. They never complain if I share the info. And they don't waste my time with meaningless paperwork. If I wasn't getting it for free, I would be willing to pay for this service. I don't understand why my government can't be as helpful
Snowden did the right thing for all the enemies of America and we all benefited from it, so we all owe him a favor.
He only helped the enemies of the US, such as Russia, China, and entities like ISIS. The sooner he/his helpers can face justice in a US court (and convicted with the Mt. Everest of evidence), the sooner America is done a favor.
Your original words can only be spoken in the context of the Russian/Chinese governments or the various groups that stand against the US and its allies, such as ISIS.
Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
Snowden did nothing whatsoever to "damage" the USA
The facts betray you. No amount of modpoints can change that.
He provided intelligence to known-hostile countries such as Russia and China. In addition, various anti-American groups (such as ISIS and others inspired by them) have adjusted their actions to account for the unauthorized disclosures.
Snowden's proper place is a secure corrections facility in Florence, Colorado - after the evidence is used to convict him in a US court of law. The NSA's proper place is to exist as they are now and adapt to threats - whether they are internal (such as Snowden and his sympathizers) or external (Russia/China/other threats to the US).
If you think Snowden's different:
The NSA's existence survived the 1970's and grew under the Reagan era. It will respond similarly to Snowden - it will survive him and expand under a defense-favored administration. Reality will not be changed simply because you think he's a hero and that he should be lionized.
Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
If you're wondering about traitors in the UK, one might look at the abuses at Rotherham and who enabled them. Then look at all the no-go zones and the general lack of courage to stand up to militant Islam.
On the other hand, a GCHQ intelligence swap with the NSA would serve to ensure no safe haven for any terrorist. The UK would benefit from the effectively world-wide reach of the US while the US would get detailed coverage.
Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.