That depends on the generation.
The UK tried a post ww2 military feel - low wages, poor conditions, mil feel and global locations. The Soviet Union found the staff to be happy just to talk about life, conditions and found a few agents that way.
The UK had rushed to improve conditions, wages and advancement options.
The US went for wages, tech, universities and quality - perfection and it worked well into the late 1980's as in keeping staff cleared happy and in good conditions.
The last 20 years seemed to have been a rush for outside skills in computing, languages, rushed clearances and the results are as predicted.
Just as the UK showed, more people who are not part of the gov system is not good short or long term.
The problem for the USA is the vast security work boondoggle is now so enjoyed, addictive while been politically and ideologically protected that an easy UK like fix is very difficult.
How can a gov watcher watch all the contractors with real political and mil connections when confronted?
That is no fun for the cash flows for the contractors and mercenaries now trusting "their" own staff to sell skills back to gov.
A lot of people with skills and few details about their pasts are getting deeper into gov work and getting nice wages while working on varied projects.
A few other countries are happy at the prospects of their people been able to get so far without been stopped.
That mostly sees the gov whistleblower in a sealed court with political protection, cleared legal team and good lawyers having a chat with the bosses doing unconstitutional work.
At best the gov whistleblower is moved to a new section, the unconstitutional work is stopped after all the files are backed up to another site with new staff and a new mission.
The evidence is in the smarter countries with cleared security services that don't trust useless results;)
They have real government agencies doing real background work on all staff.
Up and down the family tree, all school years, friends, family, lovers, if/when married, hobbies, reading material of grandparents, teachers views, extended family, local court system, local law enforcement for sealed paper work not on any digital systems - real people who can fill out details of that perfect CV.
A digital search of state and federal databases, knowing the contractors boss has a great security level and needing skills "now" cannot make up for very basic easy background work.
Past work with one agency, been a cleared contractor or having a clearance 20 years ago should not be an instant free upgrade into any other areas.
All this was worked out by most security services by the 1960-80's mostly after massive loss of files via trusted staff rushed in for war, skills, languages.
They are "good enough" for preliminary screening is still useless. The bad people with no feelings or a not bad feeling about helping other countries/their faith/cult/politics will pass every time and be allowed to move up the security structure. The only winner with the testing system is the cash flow/wage from having tests in place.
Good people have bad days, bad people never have to worry.
The UK looked at this tech in depth in the early 1980's and correctly found it to be an easy way in for the wrong kind of people stay hidden for longer when passed.
The real trick to the expensive magic of the science is the pre interview life story search, the pre interview look at reading lists, logging net use, the pre test talk, the post test talk and other methods to look deeply into a persons life.
Traditional background work done per cleared staff member would be a lot better than expensive tests.
"They made manufactured both VAX and S/360 copies" near the end and at great cost i.e. it was never enough for the needs of East German intelligence use, science and government. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K... production in 1988 with work starting in 1985 - 4 years to ramp up for a VAX-11/780 clone.....
Others where prototype runs - huge costs, limited numbers of units after rushed efforts from the early/mid 1980's
As for tapping optical lines and other methods - they could get optical calls into Berlin and sort them... and then act on that flood of data how.....in time?
The tech to tap optical and not get caught was simple - how to act on the information and not get caught was complex and costly.
East Germany lived on Soviet cash flows i.e. it was always a question of funding and constant new tech needs...
East Germany could sort calls, watch the West but it was stuck as to getting spies into the West or shaping the West beyond useful people feeding information back.
The ability to act long term in the West on insider chatter via teleco taps was always just too risky.
East Germany had 2 main goals - get more spies into long term top/mid ranking West German positions over decades (20 something staff entering private sector) and spread revolution via expensive aid and support for various groups and methods.
Another option was to find well positioned West Germans with a ww2 past they had managed to hide and ask them to work for East Germany.
The rest was to watch for internal issues.
Your view of 'advanced' is given Soviet tech at the time and then missed the next step... no East German cash to act or the ok from Moscow..
i.e. East German could listen but not risk their own or endanger KGB/GRU efforts...
If East Germany had more cash they could have swayed West German politics more but everything was too late or could not be worked on. The big iron computers, more computers for science, a new hi tech killer Berlin wall, waiting for their young staff to move up in West German firms, the nuclear power options, space, export deals to the West for hard currency.. - East Germany had big dreams but could not work well with what it could gather.
Think of East Germany as a Canada or New Zealand to the NSA now. Lots of amazing tech, loads of data sorting, great taps into many data steams but few options in the real world without the OK of the USA.
West Germany kew what they faced, the GCHQ and NSA understood all that Russia could do in East Germany... great tech up front but so much paperwork and audio tape at the backend.
Airborne and hilltop listening was fun in the late 1940's-60's - after that both sides knew to be more careful or just understood what the other side could collect.
"Computers, receivers, spectrum analysers" where bought in for unique operations but the ongoing hard currency would never cover massive US/UK style computer use or even a fraction of it - i.e. cheap domestic grade 1980's 'home' computers where found for domestic sorting experiments.
"extremely advanced" SIGINT/COMINT capabilities where static and well understood by NATO for looking in to the West - every skilled nation around that time in the region could do that via the tech help of Russia or the USA - shared facilities - with less of the shared part in many cases.. The spying on a total population was the interesting part.
East Germany had to ready computer files for Moscow on every new and ongoing case. The East German daily spy work was mostly paper with the exception of some 'home' computer databases efforts.
Why no no large scale computer use? They had an epic walk out of all their full West spy lists early on and decided never to place all the material in one paper/digital database for a long time.
So the factual information about their agents in the West was kept in a few different paper files in different locations - no one person could ever walk out again with anything connecting 'everything'. No options to try to connect name, address, ongoing details without top officials knowing in person.
Slow but it kept staff working on their projects with less insight into details they did not need to know per agent in the West.
This effort did fail at one time near the fall of East Germany. A computer database was constructed and stored in a bunker so in case of war the correct codes could be sent to all agents - fast and with new, updated war instructions. The CIA got the list and turned the East German agents as expected.
The rest was vast amounts paper files, audio tape and other physical material on its own population.
So 'acquire whatever they needed from the west" was also never a long term option for new hardware and ongoing spare parts - it exposed spies and cost too much. East Germany did not have endless amounts of cash to spend in the West or helpers to just go big iron "shopping". West Germany/CIA was always waiting for that attempted buy too;)
Also recall usefull computing power was not cheap in the 1970-80's and needed ongoing support over time.
Even Russian computer exports where expensive, limited, underpowered and hard to get.
The other option was a rapid industrial option to build electronics in East Germay - like Russia, East German found building their own useful computers expensive, limited, underpowered and hard scale into the 1980's.
Russia can talk of been in the Crimea since ~1790?
Region went to Ukraine in 1954.
The Partition Treaty (late 1990's) gave Russia ships and with extension the ability to stay unit 2042..
Russia may have 25,000 troops, limited artillery systems, limited count of armored vehicles, limited military aviation,
Russia has two airbases as well.
Think of it as a Convention of Chuenpee/Treaty of Nanking for Hong Kong then.
Lots of nice examples in history of countries legally eating and keeping land, mil bases, some very distant, some more local.
The Falklands now has http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M...
They all have their NGO fronts and networks in place and are flooding cash in to help 'their' local freedom fighters.
Russia knows its hold on the bases is a bit like the US at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base or the UK in Gibraltar or the Falkland Islands.
In the very short term expect a flood of web 2.0 sockpuppets talking about Stalin and WW2 Germany.
The real medium term issue for Russia is the flow of gas to the EU at a set price and US/NATO expansion around Russia.
Russia has been invaded many times over the past few hundred years. Russia has a good historic feel for how having new troops around them usually ends up.
Russia faced visions of the Trans-Saharan gas pipeline, Medgaz a submarine natural gas pipeline between Algeria and Spain (inaugurated on 1 March 2011), GALSI a planned natural gas pipeline (Algeria to Sardinia and further northern Italy), the Trans-Mediterranean pipeline and Greenstream pipeline over decades eating into its energy sales to the EU.
Can the EU do what it was told by Italy in the 1960's via ENI and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E... and get oil and gas from the rest of the world?
Russia can turn the gas off, change how it views debts US$ or just wait for the CIA supported freedom fighters to try a local Bay of Pigs?
How the UK and EU will react to energy shocks might be fun too. Energy contracts with Soviet Union and Russia where decades long...
Be nice to Russia and get a good contract again? Or risk all backing some US neocon plan and see the results in new Russian energy contracts?
Italy warned the emerging EU to go find other energy imports in the 1960's but few listened to the expert advice.
Now as predicted the EU is stuck between the US manifest destiny and the reality of Russian pipelines.
The problem for Australia is the lack of dedicated hardened Australian only mil communications networks.
The mil networks used are telco quality, shared and owned/built by other countries.
Australia hopes to escape this hardware reality by using secure Australian quantum tech.
Any network and Australian only data is super safe... from Asia, faith based spies, Russians, GCHQ, NSA, EU...
Australia faces staff issues with many of its experts been very close to other countries - faith, generations of shared mil work, rapid expansion of new language needs, rushed contractors and other needed experts.
The issue is really with the backgrounds of cleared staff.
The good part now is quality "recored" material can be streamed to a distant site.
Local efforts to drop, hold as evidence and erase or in other ways ensure that material never makes it online/to the media gets more difficult.
With next gen trendy devices having an off switch recording free speech in your local area becomes more difficult by average people.
Your device may just not work at that time. Nothing will stream or save. Calls will be restricted to the emergency services. Any incoming data will be from approved gov sources.
Wifi will be jammed, domestic telco data services will not work. Hours later approved edited footage will make it out and political spin will be ready.
Yes you try and capture and upload free speech in your community. You may find your fancy new networked HD recording device stops until the speakers have been herded into a small, distant free speech zone.
Good luck getting that city parade permit to enjoy free speech next time.
The politics is similar to a Guantanamo Bay Naval Base - Cuban can do what it wants but the base stays in US hands.
Gibraltar http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G... or the Falkland Islands http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F... to the UK.
Russia feels its bases are part of an ongoing historical issue and surrounding NATO backed coups, well funded political changes do not really alter their view.
The origins of the crisis is basically NATO and the US want to surround and contain Russia.
Russia is selling its gas and natural resources, the EU is reflecting on gas prices and may feel a weakened transit pipeline gives the EU more price leverage.
Russia will also have new pipelines passing around Ukraine in a few years.
Think of it as The Great Game http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T... but the US is trying to play too via very well funded non-governmental organisations.
The prize seems to be NATO next to Russia, gas contracts and ports. Russia also recalls its many invasions it faced over the last a few 100 years and might be very aware of what happens when other nations leaders get interested in their country.
A great way for lots of side to press domestic issues and the usual sock puppets come out to play:)
i.e. big nations often have historical claims to sites and other nations do the best they can to upset the surrounding locals:)
Multinational firmware? Was started by a group for some reason in that region and it was found/spread/lost/spotted/coverted?
Gov watching dissidents, protesters and method was repurposed by others after EU based contractors work leaked?
Or just something in the easy default telco setups in that region that made something very easy?
Or a wide spread use covers very unique actions once exposed and Asia or the EU.
It could be new or old firmware that was used that made it easy to get around hard user changed passwords?
Getting to your router vs the exchange or cabinet legally via a telco does solve a lot of legal issues for the security services too:)
Crashing the Wiretapper's Ball ( 06.01.06) http://www.wired.com/science/d... shows some of the thinking at the time.
EU & FBI launch global telecommunications surveillance system (Statewatch bulletin, January-February 1997, vol 7 no 1) http://www.statewatch.org/eufb...
The idea was for the US gov to make sure all new emerging digital devices from a phone (POTS) replacement to ISP card at an exchange to consumer level/quality text encryption was US wiretap friendly i.e. as e.g. an old POTS was to tracking all calls logs and voice recordable.
US telco industry and multinationals at the time faced the costly US only privilege for having to retool (expensive tested software, encryption and new hardware) just for the US market and would be at a disadvantage if costs grew.
The stigma of a US brand been US wiretap friendly may not have sold well if other countries could claim that a lower price competing product was more secure.
Over time the US gov fixed the issue with international law enforcement treaties, gov letters setting global telco products to be of a standard that US law enforcement liked (cost and encryption).
Most telco products where going to be compliant to US standards - and be US wiretap friendly with costs passed on - no US firms or bands where going to be left with huge costs.
It depends how well Russia can play this with the worlds media.. let Ukraine be free to fail under a new far right gov.
Wait for the US to try a "Bay of Pigs" with local well funded freedom fighters:)
Russia just has to sit in its bases and wait, just like with Georgia:)
Re 'not irredentist land grabbers"
Covert United States foreign regime change actions http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C...
The US basically swaps out a gov, installs a weak new gov, or supports a gov and then gets a "request" for a shared or join facility (base, covert listening station).
No need to used the term land grabbers, when a term like research facility, partnership, joint military facilities, radar base, camps, air station, facilities, installations sound so much more normal.
A split would work well. The pro Western faction can be happy under US protection. The EU can rush in with loans (banker bail in) and generations in the region return to having laws passed from EU vs Soviet Union.
New pipeline deals with a new, split, weak Ukraine start to look amazing to the EU:)
The US gets NATO very near Russia under the cover of a new, split, weak Ukraine "invite".
Other parts go to Russia, Russians in the area feel safe, Russia keeps its mil happy with vital areas still been in Russian hands.
Win win win win for bankers with new 'loan' energy contracts, the USA, Russia, EU.... Ukraine escapes the horror of the Soviet Union only to be occupied in parts by the USA, EU and Russia.
Fun and years of extra funding for CIA, FSB and MI6 too.
Re This isn't about the US bro
The US spent a lot on color revolution efforts over the years and really wants to see some payback http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O...
US campaign behind the turmoil in Kiev (26 November 2004) http://www.theguardian.com/wor...
The US really wants NATO up against Russia (encirclement, containment) - like the Soviet Union used Cuba.
So we get great changes to how packets move and their origins while moving. This would have made any city, state, federal or intergovernmental efforts for tracking not so easy in past years.
The reason we seem to be getting all the good crypto news and 'fixes' might be that the vast illegal domestic spying programs have move on and are now ready for any such changes to the internet.
The next step seems to be "NSA head floats idea: What if we only gathered terrorist communications?" Mar 1 2014 http://arstechnica.com/tech-po...
i.e. a new “collect-it-all” option for domestic and international use offering deep pack inspection at a level (exchange, digital loop carrier) to keep the first 'hop'.
You can then move all the packets globally, encrypt all you want, at some point if your work, First Amendment-related activities or tracked daily movements become interesting your digital interactions can all be recreated.
Other efforts to gain your passwords can then be attempted.
Yes your back to one time pad and number station, your family, village, tribe, faith, cult, community, country vs the Tempora http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T...
Recall Hemisphere , "US drug agency partners with AT&T for access to 'vast database' of call records" http://www.theguardian.com/wor...
Forever (as in over a human life) seems to be hardware and software level enjoyed and expected.
1919 Government Code and Cypher School.
1939 a series of cover names where used for Bletchley Park: Government Communications Headquarters, Station X, BP. Later London Signals Intelligence Centre was used due to a new location in 1946. By late 1948 Government Communications Headquarters was the term used.
You would have the ip, isp details and a 'real' persons face, voice over time. Lots of national databases for car, school, passports, work ID, with images at the UK and US level too going back many years.
Add in web 2.0 a few years later and it would have been a few images (frames) sorted by machine and the unique maths: voice print and your face.
Everything would have been bulk saved per ip when collected, sorted and compressed in near real time until a good image and voice match can be kept.
The final file size per person would be tiny. The cpu power for a nations realtime webcam sorting would have been a steep buy at that time but the end result is a perfect match and not too much to store for later use.
Slashdot Mirror
That depends on the generation.
The UK tried a post ww2 military feel - low wages, poor conditions, mil feel and global locations. The Soviet Union found the staff to be happy just to talk about life, conditions and found a few agents that way.
The UK had rushed to improve conditions, wages and advancement options.
The US went for wages, tech, universities and quality - perfection and it worked well into the late 1980's as in keeping staff cleared happy and in good conditions.
The last 20 years seemed to have been a rush for outside skills in computing, languages, rushed clearances and the results are as predicted.
Just as the UK showed, more people who are not part of the gov system is not good short or long term.
The problem for the USA is the vast security work boondoggle is now so enjoyed, addictive while been politically and ideologically protected that an easy UK like fix is very difficult.
How can a gov watcher watch all the contractors with real political and mil connections when confronted?
That is no fun for the cash flows for the contractors and mercenaries now trusting "their" own staff to sell skills back to gov.
A lot of people with skills and few details about their pasts are getting deeper into gov work and getting nice wages while working on varied projects.
A few other countries are happy at the prospects of their people been able to get so far without been stopped.
That mostly sees the gov whistleblower in a sealed court with political protection, cleared legal team and good lawyers having a chat with the bosses doing unconstitutional work.
At best the gov whistleblower is moved to a new section, the unconstitutional work is stopped after all the files are backed up to another site with new staff and a new mission.
The evidence is in the smarter countries with cleared security services that don't trust useless results ;)
They have real government agencies doing real background work on all staff.
Up and down the family tree, all school years, friends, family, lovers, if/when married, hobbies, reading material of grandparents, teachers views, extended family, local court system, local law enforcement for sealed paper work not on any digital systems - real people who can fill out details of that perfect CV.
A digital search of state and federal databases, knowing the contractors boss has a great security level and needing skills "now" cannot make up for very basic easy background work.
Past work with one agency, been a cleared contractor or having a clearance 20 years ago should not be an instant free upgrade into any other areas.
All this was worked out by most security services by the 1960-80's mostly after massive loss of files via trusted staff rushed in for war, skills, languages.
They are "good enough" for preliminary screening is still useless. The bad people with no feelings or a not bad feeling about helping other countries/their faith/cult/politics will pass every time and be allowed to move up the security structure.
The only winner with the testing system is the cash flow/wage from having tests in place.
Good people have bad days, bad people never have to worry.
The UK looked at this tech in depth in the early 1980's and correctly found it to be an easy way in for the wrong kind of people stay hidden for longer when passed.
The real trick to the expensive magic of the science is the pre interview life story search, the pre interview look at reading lists, logging net use, the pre test talk, the post test talk and other methods to look deeply into a persons life.
Traditional background work done per cleared staff member would be a lot better than expensive tests.
"They made manufactured both VAX and S/360 copies" near the end and at great cost i.e. it was never enough for the needs of East German intelligence use, science and government. ... no East German cash to act or the ok from Moscow..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K... production in 1988 with work starting in 1985 - 4 years to ramp up for a VAX-11/780 clone.....
Others where prototype runs - huge costs, limited numbers of units after rushed efforts from the early/mid 1980's
As for tapping optical lines and other methods - they could get optical calls into Berlin and sort them... and then act on that flood of data how.....in time?
The tech to tap optical and not get caught was simple - how to act on the information and not get caught was complex and costly.
East Germany lived on Soviet cash flows i.e. it was always a question of funding and constant new tech needs...
East Germany could sort calls, watch the West but it was stuck as to getting spies into the West or shaping the West beyond useful people feeding information back.
The ability to act long term in the West on insider chatter via teleco taps was always just too risky.
East Germany had 2 main goals - get more spies into long term top/mid ranking West German positions over decades (20 something staff entering private sector) and spread revolution via expensive aid and support for various groups and methods.
Another option was to find well positioned West Germans with a ww2 past they had managed to hide and ask them to work for East Germany.
The rest was to watch for internal issues.
Your view of 'advanced' is given Soviet tech at the time and then missed the next step
i.e. East German could listen but not risk their own or endanger KGB/GRU efforts...
If East Germany had more cash they could have swayed West German politics more but everything was too late or could not be worked on.
The big iron computers, more computers for science, a new hi tech killer Berlin wall, waiting for their young staff to move up in West German firms, the nuclear power options, space, export deals to the West for hard currency.. - East Germany had big dreams but could not work well with what it could gather.
Think of East Germany as a Canada or New Zealand to the NSA now. Lots of amazing tech, loads of data sorting, great taps into many data steams but few options in the real world without the OK of the USA.
West Germany kew what they faced, the GCHQ and NSA understood all that Russia could do in East Germany... great tech up front but so much paperwork and audio tape at the backend.
Airborne and hilltop listening was fun in the late 1940's-60's - after that both sides knew to be more careful or just understood what the other side could collect. ;)
"Computers, receivers, spectrum analysers" where bought in for unique operations but the ongoing hard currency would never cover massive US/UK style computer use or even a fraction of it - i.e. cheap domestic grade 1980's 'home' computers where found for domestic sorting experiments.
"extremely advanced" SIGINT/COMINT capabilities where static and well understood by NATO for looking in to the West - every skilled nation around that time in the region could do that via the tech help of Russia or the USA - shared facilities - with less of the shared part in many cases.. The spying on a total population was the interesting part.
East Germany had to ready computer files for Moscow on every new and ongoing case. The East German daily spy work was mostly paper with the exception of some 'home' computer databases efforts.
Why no no large scale computer use? They had an epic walk out of all their full West spy lists early on and decided never to place all the material in one paper/digital database for a long time.
So the factual information about their agents in the West was kept in a few different paper files in different locations - no one person could ever walk out again with anything connecting 'everything'. No options to try to connect name, address, ongoing details without top officials knowing in person.
Slow but it kept staff working on their projects with less insight into details they did not need to know per agent in the West.
This effort did fail at one time near the fall of East Germany. A computer database was constructed and stored in a bunker so in case of war the correct codes could be sent to all agents - fast and with new, updated war instructions. The CIA got the list and turned the East German agents as expected.
The rest was vast amounts paper files, audio tape and other physical material on its own population.
So 'acquire whatever they needed from the west" was also never a long term option for new hardware and ongoing spare parts - it exposed spies and cost too much. East Germany did not have endless amounts of cash to spend in the West or helpers to just go big iron "shopping". West Germany/CIA was always waiting for that attempted buy too
Also recall usefull computing power was not cheap in the 1970-80's and needed ongoing support over time.
Even Russian computer exports where expensive, limited, underpowered and hard to get.
The other option was a rapid industrial option to build electronics in East Germay - like Russia, East German found building their own useful computers expensive, limited, underpowered and hard scale into the 1980's.
Russia can talk of been in the Crimea since ~1790?
Region went to Ukraine in 1954.
The Partition Treaty (late 1990's) gave Russia ships and with extension the ability to stay unit 2042..
Russia may have 25,000 troops, limited artillery systems, limited count of armored vehicles, limited military aviation, Russia has two airbases as well.
Think of it as a Convention of Chuenpee/Treaty of Nanking for Hong Kong then.
Lots of nice examples in history of countries legally eating and keeping land, mil bases, some very distant, some more local.
The Falklands now has http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M...
They all have their NGO fronts and networks in place and are flooding cash in to help 'their' local freedom fighters.
Russia knows its hold on the bases is a bit like the US at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base or the UK in Gibraltar or the Falkland Islands.
In the very short term expect a flood of web 2.0 sockpuppets talking about Stalin and WW2 Germany.
The real medium term issue for Russia is the flow of gas to the EU at a set price and US/NATO expansion around Russia.
Russia has been invaded many times over the past few hundred years. Russia has a good historic feel for how having new troops around them usually ends up.
Russia faced visions of the Trans-Saharan gas pipeline, Medgaz a submarine natural gas pipeline between Algeria and Spain (inaugurated on 1 March 2011), GALSI a planned natural gas pipeline (Algeria to Sardinia and further northern Italy), the Trans-Mediterranean pipeline and Greenstream pipeline over decades eating into its energy sales to the EU.
Can the EU do what it was told by Italy in the 1960's via ENI and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E... and get oil and gas from the rest of the world?
Russia can turn the gas off, change how it views debts US$ or just wait for the CIA supported freedom fighters to try a local Bay of Pigs?
How the UK and EU will react to energy shocks might be fun too. Energy contracts with Soviet Union and Russia where decades long...
Be nice to Russia and get a good contract again? Or risk all backing some US neocon plan and see the results in new Russian energy contracts?
Italy warned the emerging EU to go find other energy imports in the 1960's but few listened to the expert advice.
Now as predicted the EU is stuck between the US manifest destiny and the reality of Russian pipelines.
The problem for Australia is the lack of dedicated hardened Australian only mil communications networks.
The mil networks used are telco quality, shared and owned/built by other countries.
Australia hopes to escape this hardware reality by using secure Australian quantum tech.
Any network and Australian only data is super safe... from Asia, faith based spies, Russians, GCHQ, NSA, EU...
Australia faces staff issues with many of its experts been very close to other countries - faith, generations of shared mil work, rapid expansion of new language needs, rushed contractors and other needed experts.
The issue is really with the backgrounds of cleared staff.
The good part now is quality "recored" material can be streamed to a distant site.
Local efforts to drop, hold as evidence and erase or in other ways ensure that material never makes it online/to the media gets more difficult.
With next gen trendy devices having an off switch recording free speech in your local area becomes more difficult by average people.
Your device may just not work at that time. Nothing will stream or save. Calls will be restricted to the emergency services. Any incoming data will be from approved gov sources.
Wifi will be jammed, domestic telco data services will not work. Hours later approved edited footage will make it out and political spin will be ready.
Yes you try and capture and upload free speech in your community. You may find your fancy new networked HD recording device stops until the speakers have been herded into a small, distant free speech zone.
Good luck getting that city parade permit to enjoy free speech next time.
The politics is similar to a Guantanamo Bay Naval Base - Cuban can do what it wants but the base stays in US hands. :) :)
Gibraltar http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G... or the Falkland Islands http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F... to the UK.
Russia feels its bases are part of an ongoing historical issue and surrounding NATO backed coups, well funded political changes do not really alter their view.
The origins of the crisis is basically NATO and the US want to surround and contain Russia.
Russia is selling its gas and natural resources, the EU is reflecting on gas prices and may feel a weakened transit pipeline gives the EU more price leverage.
Russia will also have new pipelines passing around Ukraine in a few years.
Think of it as The Great Game http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T... but the US is trying to play too via very well funded non-governmental organisations.
The prize seems to be NATO next to Russia, gas contracts and ports. Russia also recalls its many invasions it faced over the last a few 100 years and might be very aware of what happens when other nations leaders get interested in their country.
A great way for lots of side to press domestic issues and the usual sock puppets come out to play
i.e. big nations often have historical claims to sites and other nations do the best they can to upset the surrounding locals
Multinational firmware? Was started by a group for some reason in that region and it was found/spread/lost/spotted/coverted? :)
Gov watching dissidents, protesters and method was repurposed by others after EU based contractors work leaked?
Or just something in the easy default telco setups in that region that made something very easy?
Or a wide spread use covers very unique actions once exposed and Asia or the EU.
It could be new or old firmware that was used that made it easy to get around hard user changed passwords?
Getting to your router vs the exchange or cabinet legally via a telco does solve a lot of legal issues for the security services too
Crashing the Wiretapper's Ball ( 06.01.06)
http://www.wired.com/science/d... shows some of the thinking at the time.
EU & FBI launch global telecommunications surveillance system (Statewatch bulletin, January-February 1997, vol 7 no 1)
http://www.statewatch.org/eufb... The idea was for the US gov to make sure all new emerging digital devices from a phone (POTS) replacement to ISP card at an exchange to consumer level/quality text encryption was US wiretap friendly i.e. as e.g. an old POTS was to tracking all calls logs and voice recordable.
US telco industry and multinationals at the time faced the costly US only privilege for having to retool (expensive tested software, encryption and new hardware) just for the US market and would be at a disadvantage if costs grew.
The stigma of a US brand been US wiretap friendly may not have sold well if other countries could claim that a lower price competing product was more secure.
Over time the US gov fixed the issue with international law enforcement treaties, gov letters setting global telco products to be of a standard that US law enforcement liked (cost and encryption).
Most telco products where going to be compliant to US standards - and be US wiretap friendly with costs passed on - no US firms or bands where going to be left with huge costs.
It depends how well Russia can play this with the worlds media.. let Ukraine be free to fail under a new far right gov. :) :)
Wait for the US to try a "Bay of Pigs" with local well funded freedom fighters
Russia just has to sit in its bases and wait, just like with Georgia
Re 'not irredentist land grabbers"
Covert United States foreign regime change actions
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C...
The US basically swaps out a gov, installs a weak new gov, or supports a gov and then gets a "request" for a shared or join facility (base, covert listening station).
No need to used the term land grabbers, when a term like research facility, partnership, joint military facilities, radar base, camps, air station, facilities, installations sound so much more normal.
A split would work well. The pro Western faction can be happy under US protection. The EU can rush in with loans (banker bail in) and generations in the region return to having laws passed from EU vs Soviet Union. :) .... Ukraine escapes the horror of the Soviet Union only to be occupied in parts by the USA, EU and Russia.
New pipeline deals with a new, split, weak Ukraine start to look amazing to the EU
The US gets NATO very near Russia under the cover of a new, split, weak Ukraine "invite".
Other parts go to Russia, Russians in the area feel safe, Russia keeps its mil happy with vital areas still been in Russian hands.
Win win win win for bankers with new 'loan' energy contracts, the USA, Russia, EU
Fun and years of extra funding for CIA, FSB and MI6 too.
Re This isn't about the US bro
The US spent a lot on color revolution efforts over the years and really wants to see some payback
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O...
US campaign behind the turmoil in Kiev (26 November 2004)
http://www.theguardian.com/wor...
The US really wants NATO up against Russia (encirclement, containment) - like the Soviet Union used Cuba.
So we get great changes to how packets move and their origins while moving. This would have made any city, state, federal or intergovernmental efforts for tracking not so easy in past years.
The reason we seem to be getting all the good crypto news and 'fixes' might be that the vast illegal domestic spying programs have move on and are now ready for any such changes to the internet.
The next step seems to be "NSA head floats idea: What if we only gathered terrorist communications?" Mar 1 2014
http://arstechnica.com/tech-po...
i.e. a new “collect-it-all” option for domestic and international use offering deep pack inspection at a level (exchange, digital loop carrier) to keep the first 'hop'.
You can then move all the packets globally, encrypt all you want, at some point if your work, First Amendment-related activities or tracked daily movements become interesting your digital interactions can all be recreated.
Other efforts to gain your passwords can then be attempted.
Yes your back to one time pad and number station, your family, village, tribe, faith, cult, community, country vs the Tempora http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T...
Different groups in the US have had some great results in open US court: "program violates the U.S. Constitution":
http://www.freedomwatchusa.org...
Recall Hemisphere , "US drug agency partners with AT&T for access to 'vast database' of call records"
http://www.theguardian.com/wor...
Forever (as in over a human life) seems to be hardware and software level enjoyed and expected.
1919 Government Code and Cypher School.
1939 a series of cover names where used for Bletchley Park: Government Communications Headquarters, Station X, BP. Later London Signals Intelligence Centre was used due to a new location in 1946. By late 1948 Government Communications Headquarters was the term used.
You would have the ip, isp details and a 'real' persons face, voice over time. Lots of national databases for car, school, passports, work ID, with images at the UK and US level too going back many years.
Add in web 2.0 a few years later and it would have been a few images (frames) sorted by machine and the unique maths: voice print and your face.
Everything would have been bulk saved per ip when collected, sorted and compressed in near real time until a good image and voice match can be kept.
The final file size per person would be tiny. The cpu power for a nations realtime webcam sorting would have been a steep buy at that time but the end result is a perfect match and not too much to store for later use.