Re Both parties hold responsibility. - like the GCHQ the product presented to the upper levels of US political leadership becomes addictive over generations, left and right.
The only part that was amazing was the ability to keep insights out of the press or intercept transcripts out of speeches:)
Your call jumps from exchange A to B to C to D to E... all exchange C knows is that the call is headed to E and it came from B... so they can bill B... B bills A and so on. The only exchange the NSA could get any real data from is A, the one the call originated from.
The NSA and GCHQ have global reach. That was the bright idea behind digital exchanges, packets, layers and international law enforcement treaties had some real good tracking options.
The hardware and its encryption as a global export standard was set/weakened/accessible to/shared with the NSA/GCHQ. That exchange level destination (B,C,D,E) is as local to the NSA as A was.
Add in voice prints and any "telco disguise" is an epic fail too.
Domestically the trick seemed to be suggesting the data sets where too large to keep (~billing), illegal to share with the US gov, somehow private to the private sector for billing only.
The data use in the US would be the same as any other country domestically. Are you calling the press, a political leader, local activist, trade unionist, author, a federal agency, a state agency, internal affairs, a political foundation. The next question is who is that person and why would an individual feel the need to make that first call.
Depends really on the CIA and other mil/gov agencies and the emerging political power of the NSA.
Recall the status, career move, standing, funding and technical role the NSA was seen to be in the 1990's?
Note the new standing, role, political access and color of law domestic ability over the past ~10 years?
A lot of other contractors, mil, gov have had to share/lost their political power due to the unexpected climb of the NSA.
What does a purge in the USA feel like? A massive flow of raw data to the protected press from the centre of one agency.
"other European countries" may not have The Fourth Amendment, just some hopeful privacy and really detailed telecom laws.
Other countries can do what they want - until law reform catches up or trails fail or the press finds out...
Going against your own laws will make good trusted staff become whistleblowers long term.
Depends on the term "better". Other countries have "better" longer term sleeper cells, long term ideological helpers or faith based 'teams' at all levels of US clearance levels.
The US got historically lucky with the UK running out of cash for its Empire and trading world wide bases to the US.
The US also failed at basic fast crypto communications into the late 1940's - only been saved by UK experts.
The friendly nations are unhappy as the NSA has created crypto weakness in friendly systems that where expensive, trusted and junk from inception.
If the NSA can get in at will, other groups have too/are trying/will. A lot of friendly countries with limited cash flows have upgraded to very unsafe telco and crypto systems.
Trade and financial spying also makes friends unhappy vs the expected cooperation keeping the ~"communists" out.
The US codes and access is hardcoded for law enforcement use per tower, exchange, switch.... the crypto is weak... trade deals dictated you have to buy into the US cloud, OS, databases and be open for business.
Thats a lot of trade law and basic telco infrastructure to rework for any single nation. As far as Soviet or German occupation experiences - people knew their countries where occupied, standards where set, secret police where well networked. Globally cryptographers, telco experts and their political leaders where happy to let their national networks be reduced to junk status after the 1960's.
Only the US, UK and 'friends' have the crypto standards, global locations, satellites, cpu power, cash, skill set, storage to keep it all going.
Domestically most nations can do anything they want to their own telco network and any links in/satellites systems above their country.
The rest is embassies, aircraft, spy ships, limited satellites and human spies - easy to track, limited and hard work.
Every other country has to use the US (NSA) telco network at some point if they want to reach out, or make a deal with the USA to be allowed to.
Over years the NSA has seen, predicted and pre positioned the US to always be at the forefront of any emerging export grade telco standards or code.
That global US backed standard infrastructure was invested into by many countries on good faith with 'private/public' hard currency loans with real interest rates.
The US and UK baited countries with speed, trade deals, low costs, crime fighting laws to ensure global uptake.
What can be done? Reconfigure all public and private core gov networking? No more wireless, on site staff or wired links. Water, gas, electrical, public/private medical billing, emergency services, transportation, police/jail/legal/gov... everything that a skilled outside spy agency 'needs' to track domestic patterns and target individuals.
Such an air gapped national system running domestic code would suggest to the US needs CIA/special forces teams 'on site' for long term database entry in the future.
An epic nation building boondoggle for domestic hardware supplies, skilled coders, telcos, engineers and private security firms.
The most important aspect the US seemed to have wanted to shape was standards of crypto, OS and database backends per nation. To be decoded and readable from the USA as needed with limited US or local staff 'knowing'.
So you need your own file system, own OS, own database, own crypto and understanding that all wider national and international networks are a constant threat.
Is your country any safer from the NSA and CIA/special forces teams on the ground than say the Soviet Union was? No, but the per site cost just went way up.
In theory a regional/national telco would equip its cell towers with backup power - battery, generators or fuel cell systems?
The problem would be legal challenges to keep cost down and not have federal laws stating backup power is any sort of telco requirement.
Later portable cell towers can be driven in. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cell_on_wheels
Helicopters to fly in replacement batteries?
Smartphones and web 2.0.coms can probably smell cash from federal broadband infrastructure projects for remote and rural communities.
Why should web 2.0 miss out on branding, PR and cash vs ongoing optical, wireless upgrades or sirens, air horns or storm cellars?
The big human rights abuse stories where US supported via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Condor
For the past ~~20 years Brazil has had a "democracy" and a generation has grown under the freedoms and emerging wealth, trade and stability.
The US was interested in Brazil for its emerging nuclear skill set, oil and aerospace exports.
Things an "emerging" nation is expected to take a loan out for in US and buy via the US not develop domestically and export to the world.
The US has two main fears historically emerging from a Brazil like country:
Exports outside the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrodollar with countries like Japan, China - totally removing the need for any use of US currency.
The formation of views such as a new http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-Aligned_Movement locking up strategic materials and demanding market value.
The CIA and NSA never want the US to lose control of their vision of soft dollar loans. Long term the loans get repaid with interest or the sale of local assets back to US entities by emerging countries.
Very true, other nations will just re task their many deep cover clandestine forces for additional distant 'drone' related missions.
Whats the cost of a crash program http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-satellite_weapon for a middle power in 2020?
The average.com users and legal staff would have some real issues:
US domestic law would have prevented it.
Stock in a US firm would be at risk if/when exposed - legal teams would have stopped any meeting/demands with a request for a very focused warrant from a real US court.
Tech staff would have seen the packets moving, informed the legal team and your back to needing a focused warrant from a real US court.
Political leaders would not allow domestic spying due to their own self interest in getting elected again and again and again if exposed.
The press and that "other" political party would expose the domestic spying and gain fame or return to office.
Law reform/computer/crypto experts would find out and tell the press.
Whistleblowers would write books, law reform experts would find out, tell the press and political leaders would hold hearings.
The fantasy was not about data sets sizes, cpu power, cooling, storage, optical loops/mirroring, brand names helping, indexing - the fantasy was the legal system.
If one big brand was allowed go to China for IT, why not allow more local US IT services to follow the same long term savings?
The phone call is made, the call logged and a local team of skilled contractors sent out as needed.
Everything is certified within the US, just calls and mapping of tasks is done via a longer network.
Shareholders are happy, skilled contractors are still been guided to issues and on going maintenance.
The fact that a vital sector is now mapped, costed and visualised by other govs and their corporations - does that really register anymore?
There is only so much political power, funding and prestige within the US gov.
Recall where the NSA was seen to be in the early-mid 1990's?
Note where the NSA got to in the past ~10 years. Funding, staff, political access do not just get created..
Other contractors and agencies felt that rearrangement as them not winning.
In the West you go to the press until you get your funding back and the old order is restored.
People who know its a pathway to becoming a contractor.
People who know its the path to getting a pension.
People who know its the path to clearances that ensures future funding.
People who know its the path to clearances that ensures future tech and math job security.
People who know they want to work with telco, crypto and math with a real budget and as a core mission.
Second and third generations with clearances.
The ideological testing for the next gen admins will be expensive. Internal file encryption and more compartmentalisation will have to be contracted in too.
Less people, no trust, more work, been recorded, been scrutinized, ever more domestic data to sort, languages via new contractors..
Spy agencies who put their staff under that kind of pressure always know the results long term.
Hiring sockpuppets to get onto web 2.0 and help reshape the conversation around privacy laws derived from a "living document".
The domestic targets will argue themselves into amusing new directions on that topic.
Hi g01d4,
Have a look at any good bookshop with a 'computing' section. Computer graphics and fundamental CS/math education books seem to have a few extra years in them. Programming languages, mobile related, tax, product guides seem to have a life under a year with massive version drift.
The M$ product is a fixed part of your home cinema/surround sound/media experience. The Sony product can then be plugged ("snapped" or clicked) in as a special treat for that rare rental Sony game or 4k movie rental experience.
MS products are to be the on going gaming, rental and movie experience, other products can be dusted off and "snapped" into place if needed.
Slashdot Mirror
It really depends on your local power company NET/FIT rates, federal solar panel import protections and state/city building/code regulations.
Some areas ensure you get real cash back for feed in back to the grid. Others have do not offer so much export cash to homes with solar.
City building/code regulations can also be costly in some areas.
http://freeingthegrid.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_metering#United_States vs http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feed-in_tariff#United_States_2
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/solar-panel-next-granite-countertop-161321343.html
http://www.fool.com/how-to-invest/personal-finance/home/2013/09/15/net-metering-how-a-little-known-policy-can-shave-h.aspx
When energy prices going up, you get a FIT, the cost of a solar install in your state is fair, your home has newer appliances... the pay back period is not so unaffordable over years.
http://ktep.org/post/booting-new-nsa-data-farm-takes-root-utah
'100 or so technicians" "Intelligence analysts will log in remotely from NSA facilities in and outside the U.S."
Re Both parties hold responsibility. - like the GCHQ the product presented to the upper levels of US political leadership becomes addictive over generations, left and right. :)
The only part that was amazing was the ability to keep insights out of the press or intercept transcripts out of speeches
Your call jumps from exchange A to B to C to D to E... all exchange C knows is that the call is headed to E and it came from B... so they can bill B... B bills A and so on. The only exchange the NSA could get any real data from is A, the one the call originated from.
The NSA and GCHQ have global reach. That was the bright idea behind digital exchanges, packets, layers and international law enforcement treaties had some real good tracking options.
The hardware and its encryption as a global export standard was set/weakened/accessible to/shared with the NSA/GCHQ. That exchange level destination (B,C,D,E) is as local to the NSA as A was.
Add in voice prints and any "telco disguise" is an epic fail too.
Domestically the trick seemed to be suggesting the data sets where too large to keep (~billing), illegal to share with the US gov, somehow private to the private sector for billing only.
The data use in the US would be the same as any other country domestically. Are you calling the press, a political leader, local activist, trade unionist, author, a federal agency, a state agency, internal affairs, a political foundation.
The next question is who is that person and why would an individual feel the need to make that first call.
Depends really on the CIA and other mil/gov agencies and the emerging political power of the NSA.
Recall the status, career move, standing, funding and technical role the NSA was seen to be in the 1990's?
Note the new standing, role, political access and color of law domestic ability over the past ~10 years?
A lot of other contractors, mil, gov have had to share/lost their political power due to the unexpected climb of the NSA.
What does a purge in the USA feel like? A massive flow of raw data to the protected press from the centre of one agency.
"other European countries" may not have The Fourth Amendment, just some hopeful privacy and really detailed telecom laws.
Other countries can do what they want - until law reform catches up or trails fail or the press finds out...
Going against your own laws will make good trusted staff become whistleblowers long term.
Depends on the term "better". Other countries have "better" longer term sleeper cells, long term ideological helpers or faith based 'teams' at all levels of US clearance levels.
The US got historically lucky with the UK running out of cash for its Empire and trading world wide bases to the US.
The US also failed at basic fast crypto communications into the late 1940's - only been saved by UK experts.
The friendly nations are unhappy as the NSA has created crypto weakness in friendly systems that where expensive, trusted and junk from inception.
If the NSA can get in at will, other groups have too/are trying/will. A lot of friendly countries with limited cash flows have upgraded to very unsafe telco and crypto systems.
Trade and financial spying also makes friends unhappy vs the expected cooperation keeping the ~"communists" out.
The trust an NSA Inside sticker gives.
The US codes and access is hardcoded for law enforcement use per tower, exchange, switch.... the crypto is weak... trade deals dictated you have to buy into the US cloud, OS, databases and be open for business.
Thats a lot of trade law and basic telco infrastructure to rework for any single nation. As far as Soviet or German occupation experiences - people knew their countries where occupied, standards where set, secret police where well networked. Globally cryptographers, telco experts and their political leaders where happy to let their national networks be reduced to junk status after the 1960's.
Only the US, UK and 'friends' have the crypto standards, global locations, satellites, cpu power, cash, skill set, storage to keep it all going.
Domestically most nations can do anything they want to their own telco network and any links in/satellites systems above their country.
The rest is embassies, aircraft, spy ships, limited satellites and human spies - easy to track, limited and hard work.
Every other country has to use the US (NSA) telco network at some point if they want to reach out, or make a deal with the USA to be allowed to.
Over years the NSA has seen, predicted and pre positioned the US to always be at the forefront of any emerging export grade telco standards or code.
That global US backed standard infrastructure was invested into by many countries on good faith with 'private/public' hard currency loans with real interest rates.
The US and UK baited countries with speed, trade deals, low costs, crime fighting laws to ensure global uptake.
What can be done? Reconfigure all public and private core gov networking? No more wireless, on site staff or wired links. Water, gas, electrical, public/private medical billing, emergency services, transportation, police/jail/legal/gov... everything that a skilled outside spy agency 'needs' to track domestic patterns and target individuals.
Such an air gapped national system running domestic code would suggest to the US needs CIA/special forces teams 'on site' for long term database entry in the future.
An epic nation building boondoggle for domestic hardware supplies, skilled coders, telcos, engineers and private security firms.
The most important aspect the US seemed to have wanted to shape was standards of crypto, OS and database backends per nation. To be decoded and readable from the USA as needed with limited US or local staff 'knowing'.
So you need your own file system, own OS, own database, own crypto and understanding that all wider national and international networks are a constant threat.
Is your country any safer from the NSA and CIA/special forces teams on the ground than say the Soviet Union was? No, but the per site cost just went way up.
In theory a regional/national telco would equip its cell towers with backup power - battery, generators or fuel cell systems? .coms can probably smell cash from federal broadband infrastructure projects for remote and rural communities.
The problem would be legal challenges to keep cost down and not have federal laws stating backup power is any sort of telco requirement.
Later portable cell towers can be driven in. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cell_on_wheels
Helicopters to fly in replacement batteries?
Smartphones and web 2.0
Why should web 2.0 miss out on branding, PR and cash vs ongoing optical, wireless upgrades or sirens, air horns or storm cellars?
The big human rights abuse stories where US supported via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Condor
For the past ~~20 years Brazil has had a "democracy" and a generation has grown under the freedoms and emerging wealth, trade and stability.
The US was interested in Brazil for its emerging nuclear skill set, oil and aerospace exports.
Things an "emerging" nation is expected to take a loan out for in US and buy via the US not develop domestically and export to the world.
The US has two main fears historically emerging from a Brazil like country:
Exports outside the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrodollar with countries like Japan, China - totally removing the need for any use of US currency.
The formation of views such as a new http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-Aligned_Movement locking up strategic materials and demanding market value.
The CIA and NSA never want the US to lose control of their vision of soft dollar loans. Long term the loans get repaid with interest or the sale of local assets back to US entities by emerging countries.
Very true, other nations will just re task their many deep cover clandestine forces for additional distant 'drone' related missions.
Whats the cost of a crash program http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-satellite_weapon for a middle power in 2020?
The average .com users and legal staff would have some real issues:
US domestic law would have prevented it.
Stock in a US firm would be at risk if/when exposed - legal teams would have stopped any meeting/demands with a request for a very focused warrant from a real US court.
Tech staff would have seen the packets moving, informed the legal team and your back to needing a focused warrant from a real US court.
Political leaders would not allow domestic spying due to their own self interest in getting elected again and again and again if exposed.
The press and that "other" political party would expose the domestic spying and gain fame or return to office.
Law reform/computer/crypto experts would find out and tell the press.
Whistleblowers would write books, law reform experts would find out, tell the press and political leaders would hold hearings.
The fantasy was not about data sets sizes, cpu power, cooling, storage, optical loops/mirroring, brand names helping, indexing - the fantasy was the legal system.
Yes all too real. Note the use of the honey trap operation..
If one big brand was allowed go to China for IT, why not allow more local US IT services to follow the same long term savings?
The phone call is made, the call logged and a local team of skilled contractors sent out as needed.
Everything is certified within the US, just calls and mapping of tasks is done via a longer network.
Shareholders are happy, skilled contractors are still been guided to issues and on going maintenance.
The fact that a vital sector is now mapped, costed and visualised by other govs and their corporations - does that really register anymore?
There is only so much political power, funding and prestige within the US gov.
Recall where the NSA was seen to be in the early-mid 1990's?
Note where the NSA got to in the past ~10 years. Funding, staff, political access do not just get created..
Other contractors and agencies felt that rearrangement as them not winning.
In the West you go to the press until you get your funding back and the old order is restored.
People who know its a pathway to becoming a contractor.
People who know its the path to getting a pension.
People who know its the path to clearances that ensures future funding.
People who know its the path to clearances that ensures future tech and math job security.
People who know they want to work with telco, crypto and math with a real budget and as a core mission.
Second and third generations with clearances.
The ideological testing for the next gen admins will be expensive. Internal file encryption and more compartmentalisation will have to be contracted in too.
Less people, no trust, more work, been recorded, been scrutinized, ever more domestic data to sort, languages via new contractors..
Spy agencies who put their staff under that kind of pressure always know the results long term.
Interesting how US rights are now just "maintained".
Hiring sockpuppets to get onto web 2.0 and help reshape the conversation around privacy laws derived from a "living document".
The domestic targets will argue themselves into amusing new directions on that topic.
Hi g01d4,
Have a look at any good bookshop with a 'computing' section. Computer graphics and fundamental CS/math education books seem to have a few extra years in them.
Programming languages, mobile related, tax, product guides seem to have a life under a year with massive version drift.
The M$ product is a fixed part of your home cinema/surround sound/media experience. The Sony product can then be plugged ("snapped" or clicked) in as a special treat for that rare rental Sony game or 4k movie rental experience.
MS products are to be the on going gaming, rental and movie experience, other products can be dusted off and "snapped" into place if needed.
Be fun to see the next gen prices after the 2014 patents expire.
http://hackaday.com/2013/09/11/3d-printering-key-patents/