Slashdot Mirror
From Uber To Eric Schmidt, Tech Is Closer To the US Government Than You'd Think (theguardian.com)
An anonymous reader shares an article on The Guardian: Alphabet's executive chairman, Eric Schmidt, recently joined a Department of Defense advisory panel. Facebook recently hired a former director at the U.S. military's research lab, Darpa. Uber employs Barack Obama's former campaign manager David Plouffe and Amazon.com tapped his former spokesman Jay Carney. Google, Facebook, Uber and Apple collectively employ a couple of dozen former analysts for America's spy agencies, who openly list their resumes on LinkedIn.
These connections are neither new nor secret. But the fact they are so accepted illustrates how tech's leaders -- even amid current fights over encryption and surveillance -- are still seen as mostly U.S. firms that back up American values. Christopher Soghoian, a technologist with the American Civil Liberties Union, said low-level employees' government connections matter less than leading executives' ties to government. For instance, at least a dozen Google engineers have worked at the NSA, according to publicly available records on LinkedIn. And, this being Silicon Valley, not everyone who worked for a spy agency advertises that on LinkedIn. Soghoian, a vocal critic of mass surveillance, said Google hiring an ex-hacker for the NSA to work on security doesn't really bother him. "But Eric Schmidt having a close relationship with the White House does," he said.Danny Yadron, said, "What's worse for a Silicon Valley executive: ties to the Chinese military or friends in the US Defense Department?"
These connections are neither new nor secret. But the fact they are so accepted illustrates how tech's leaders -- even amid current fights over encryption and surveillance -- are still seen as mostly U.S. firms that back up American values. Christopher Soghoian, a technologist with the American Civil Liberties Union, said low-level employees' government connections matter less than leading executives' ties to government. For instance, at least a dozen Google engineers have worked at the NSA, according to publicly available records on LinkedIn. And, this being Silicon Valley, not everyone who worked for a spy agency advertises that on LinkedIn. Soghoian, a vocal critic of mass surveillance, said Google hiring an ex-hacker for the NSA to work on security doesn't really bother him. "But Eric Schmidt having a close relationship with the White House does," he said.Danny Yadron, said, "What's worse for a Silicon Valley executive: ties to the Chinese military or friends in the US Defense Department?"
This has been a problem in agriculture and other industries for decades.
All the other candidates, Super PACs, several tech companies (Google, Facebook, etc) working hard to get him.
In our system of Cartel Capitalism - there really isn't a difference between the government and the large companies that buy influence.
Is anyone surprised that tech companies are a big part of the military industrial complex?
That's some hell of a choice you leave there. Does it have to be either or? And if so,wouldn't the answer be quite obvious? Well, maybe not to the Chinese.
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
The Android Administration: Google's Relationship With the Obama White House
Not a dupe but kinda close. And its the closeness that really bothers me.
Speaking of tech sharing with the government. Windows 10 still phones home regularly, sending who-knows-what data about you and your documents to Microsoft. Because Microsoft refuses to discuss exactly what data is being transmitted, and because the packets going back to the mother ship are encrypted so we can't look at them for ourselves, the only safe assumption is that your private data, every keystroke you type, and the contents of your files are being vacuumed up to feed the NSA machine.
Microsoft could end the speculation very easily by offering an option to transmit telemetry data in the clear, so people could examine what's being sent. If it's truly innocuous statistics, like "User 1959028 ran NOTEPAD.EXE," they shouldn't have any problem doing that. If, instead, the packets are more like "User 1959028 ran NOTEPAD.EXE to open file c:\corporate_data\CocaColaRecipe.txt whose contents are..." then I can see why Microsoft wants the packets to stay encrypted. They don't want anyone knowing what's being collected and that's the part that's deeply troubling.
It's okay, the United States is The Good Guys(tm). They just want to keep us safe.
by Cyphase ( 907627 )
Even my college wasn't nearly up to date on the technology that I encountered while working. And while I've never worked for the government I have bounced between almost a dozen companies in my career. I doubt that I would treat the government any different if I needed a job and they were hiring.
It seems that secret U.S. government agencies are paying Microsoft to corrupt Windows.
Windows 10 "upgrades" are not free. They were apparently bought with taxpayer money.
wow that's so many compared to Google's 28,457 other software engineers. -_-
Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
Think those are safe? Every time you get your location detected by checking local wifi access points, a request is sent to Google that identifies *you* cell phone's or computer's MAC address, and the information is saved. Even if Google doesn't directly share those records with the NSA, you had better *believe that among all the Israeli security people, Indian and Pakistani QA people, and "l33t Hacqor D00dz" in the IT groups is someone who's either left their credentials around, or just sells access to their favorite government, probably several.
That is precisely why ISIS didn't even bother with "encrypted" cell phones, they just used throwaway one-use burner cell phones to actually coordinate their attacks in Paris. It's the classic defense against sophisticated monitoring, and even works fairly well against the infamous $5 wrench decryption technique, the one ISIS is more familiar with described at https://xkcd.com/538/ .
John Podesta, Podesta Group and the Clinton Fund. Google that for some king of sleaze stuff. Podesta Group was BPs chief lobby pre and during the oil spill.
http://freebeacon.com/issues/p...
https://www.opensecrets.org/lo...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
"Danny Yadron, said, "What's worse for a Silicon Valley executive: ties to the Chinese military or friends in the US Defense Department?""
Easy, ties to the Chinese Military are worse. The US Defense Department at least answers to a democratically elected government.
Dont get me wrong, the US government is far from an angel but out government does answer to its governed people at least on some level and we don't also claim massive amounts of ocean space belonging to other nations as our own.
Really, what a dumb question to ask...
I ignore Anonymous Coward posts. If you want to discuss something, that's awesome. Log in.
If you think government is the bad guy that unjustly shook down IBM, Microsoft and others, then it's good that companies have learnt to soften the blow.
If you think government is the good guy, then it sure is easy to capture and sway.
But if your cynical, then you see hints of both worlds. Government is the corrupt bad guy *and* it can be captured to further nefarious ends (such as gaining anti-competitive advantages).
These comments are mine; I do not speak for my employer.
by Julian Assange: https://wikileaks.org/google-is-not-what-it-seems/
Why would Eric Schmidt of all people decide to pay a visit to Julian Assange together with other people from DoJ?
I am certain that our government has a lot more ability to use common operating systems and popular programs to spy on us. i wonder how there is any hope of keeping government agents from picking up insider tips or innovative ideas and designs and making personal profits from the work of unsuspecting victims.
And the vast majority of its citizens are employees, (and sometimes even slaves), of the vast corporation called United $tates of America. Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?
'The Economy' is a giant Ponzi scheme whose most pitiable suckers are the youngest among us and the yet-unborn.
I meant to say Cartel Socialism -- under real capitalism (which we left a long time ago) the government does not pick the winners and losers - the market does. (Remember to big to fail? Tarp? Congress voting on secret trade bills they can't read?). Calling something 'that it is not', does not change what it is. Even huge companies go broke (and need to - should!) under free-enterprise.
One can measure the degree of socialism by the percentage of GDP that is government spending ( in fact THE definition back when words meant something).
The USA (41.6%) is now at a level similar to Norway (43.9%) - way past Russia (35.8%) and China (23.9% vaild?). And this does not include the amount of private spending mandated by government regulation. To say that the USA is not a socialist country reminds me of 1984(the book). As a result, the USA is in decline while Russia and China's economies are expanding.. See:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
The US government spending continues to increase - and as it does the appearance of Cartels - companies whose existence and freedom from competition depends on government interventions - increases. And the middle class disappears.
One very good measure of corruption is the size of the middle class. (It is shrinking rapidly). The DemoPulicans have all been bought. They do not support the interests of the people - but only the interests of who is bribing them - from inside and outside of the country.
"U.S. firms that back up American values."
Oh the humanity, it's so horrible U.S. firms back up American values! What's next, Japanese firms that back up Japanese values? Nooooooooo!!!! *jumps out window*
See subject: How he went into countries as a "consultant" after they took over media, communications, education etc. (std. fare for conquerors in war) for "indoctrination" & control of the masses AFTER they engineered economic ruin in said nations, nation after nation, to get them in their control & into debt etc. (also std. fare for conquest + control).
* I may have some of that "wrong" but feel free to correct or enlighten me again fixing my mistakes - but that's what I recall of it.
When I was younger, I used to wonder WHY other nations of the planet hated the USA (we're composed of them all after all) - when in Europe in 2010 I asked people from all over their (& even nations like Argentina on trains there in conversation) why- their answer?
"It's not your people. It's your leaders and they are NOT politicians but instead big money behind the curtain pulling their political bought and paid for puppets strings..."
Imo @ least? We NEED a separation of CORPORATION & STATE & to cut the Eisenhower Military Industrial Complex + Federal Reserve & IMF banking systems RIGHT OUT of the system here in the USA... like how Church & State were separated.
Look: I love my country - I really God's honestly do, but I don't like KNOWING how we operate for "the HOLY DOLLAR", the "god of the 1%" greedy is all...
APK
P.S.=> IIRC also/lastly - it noted how Chavez held them off by informing his people to WATCH OUT for "their kind" doing it... apk