Schneier: The NSA Is Commandeering the Internet

[Vitalius]

Story at /.

 

 

Nerdfest writes

"Bruce Schneier writes in The Atlantic: 'Bluntly: The government has commandeered the Internet. Most of the largest Internet companies provide information to the NSA, betraying their users. Some, as we've learned, fight and lose. Others cooperate, either out of patriotism or because they believe it's easier that way. I have one message to the executives of those companies: fight.'"

*mock laughter*

So it is the heads of the major companies that have to do the fighting now, is it? I figured it would be the people who's rights are actually being violated, but noooo. 

Just saying. Them being the ones called to fight and not us (the people) as well as this whole surveillance situation are just symptoms of a much bigger problem. 

*sigh*, how much was it for that one way trip to Mars again? $35 deposit right? ... Maybe. ... Maybe.

[gauvinic]

Already signed up. (Mars One)

[LonliestofAll]

Ugh, we as Americans need to really do something about our government. It has become to big, and now it has a unpatriotic agency spying on its own people. It really is sad.

[JLCitadel]

Ugh, we as Americans need to really do something about our government. It has become to big, and now it has a unpatriotic agency spying on its own people. It really is sad.

 

 

Already signed up. (Mars One)

Where does one sign up for this?

 

Story at /.

 

*mock laughter*

So it is the heads of the major companies that have to do the fighting now, is it? I figured it would be the people who's rights are actually being violated, but noooo. 

Just saying. Them being the ones called to fight and not us (the people) as well as this whole surveillance situation are just symptoms of a much bigger problem. 

*sigh*, how much was it for that one way trip to Mars again? $35 deposit right? ... Maybe. ... Maybe.

 

Lol the government has been 'spying' on us as long as there has been a governmet, and this is true for any society, yes it's creepy, but yes it's necessary, why do I give a fuck if the government is listening to me have phone sex? or talk to my mom about mops, or my friend about computers? Shit makes no difference. If they want to 'violate' my privacy, go right ahead, what are they guna get out of it? and what are we going to lose? the whole point is to prevent the potential of an attack like 9/11, and if they read my emails of me looking for a date on eharmony to do so, idgaf what so ever. (Just an example, I curse a lot so don't take offense to anything here just friendly opinion, it doesnt matter:) )

[LonliestofAll]

Where does one sign up for this?

Lol the government has been 'spying' on us as long as there has been a governmet, and this is true for any society, yes it's creepy, but yes it's necessary, why do I give a fuck if the government is listening to me have phone sex? or talk to my mom about mops, or my friend about computers? Shit makes no difference. If they want to 'violate' my privacy, go right ahead, what are they guna get out of it? and what are we going to lose? the whole point is to prevent the potential of an attack like 9/11, and if they read my emails of me looking for a date on eharmony to do so, idgaf what so ever. (Just an example, I curse a lot so don't take offense to anything here just friendly opinion, it doesnt matter:) )

I agree with you, but I feel like they are pushing it too far.

[JLCitadel]

I agree with you, but I feel like they are pushing it too far.

They're not pushing it anywhere, it's been like this for forever. They're still doing everything they used to do, and will continue to do so, even when we think they've stopped. The hype behind this will die down and people will go back to their sheep bandwagon lives.

[gauvinic]

Where does one sign up for this?

http://www.mars-one.com/en/faq-en/21-faq-selection/241-can-i-apply-to-become-an-astronaut

 

They closed application unfortunately, but say it will be open for subsequent trips. So yeah....

[JLCitadel]

http://www.mars-one.com/en/faq-en/21-faq-selection/241-can-i-apply-to-become-an-astronaut

 

They closed application unfortunately, but say it will be open for subsequent trips. So yeah....

Well I'll see you on mars bud

[Vitalius]

Lol the government has been 'spying' on us as long as there has been a governmet, and this is true for any society, yes it's creepy, but yes it's necessary, why do I give a fuck if the government is listening to me have phone sex? or talk to my mom about mops, or my friend about computers? Shit makes no difference. If they want to 'violate' my privacy, go right ahead, what are they guna get out of it? and what are we going to lose? the whole point is to prevent the potential of an attack like 9/11, and if they read my emails of me looking for a date on eharmony to do so, idgaf what so ever. (Just an example, I curse a lot so don't take offense to anything here just friendly opinion, it doesnt matter:) )

I dont personally believe "preventing things like 9/11" is a good enough excuse for sacrificing an entire nation's freedom. 

Look at the Boston Marathon bombing. Smaller scale, but the stuff happens anyway, whether we spy or not. 

[JLCitadel]

I dont personally believe "preventing things like 9/11" is a good enough excuse for sacrificing an entire nation's freedom. 

Look at the Boston Marathon bombing. Smaller scale, but the stuff happens anyway, whether we spy or not. 

That's because we aren't aware of the events they're preventing, they don't disclose information like that to the public. & It's not violating our freedom or sacrificing it, what freedoms do I lose by them listening to a phone call or reading an email? It's not like i'm plotting to destroy the world. If they see I'm a member of pornhub why do I care?

[Vitalius]

That's because we aren't aware of the events they're preventing, they don't disclose information like that to the public. & It's not violating our freedom or sacrificing it, what freedoms do I lose by them listening to a phone call or reading an email? It's not like i'm plotting to destroy the world. If they see I'm a member of pornhub why do I care?

Because the system will never be perfect. Assuming it is or can be is silly because it's government.

Just because they are looking for those things does not mean the information will always be used for those things. Corruption exists. Tis life. 

However, it is also our choice in how much power they are allowed to have (and inevitably abuse). Just as we do not have the information on the number of events they are preventing, we do not have information on the number of times that these priviledges have been abused. 

But I do know human nature and the nature of government evidenced by history itself, and with that, I can guarantee you instances like that exist. 

[TideRower]

They're not pushing it anywhere, it's been like this for forever. They're still doing everything they used to do, and will continue to do so, even when we think they've stopped. The hype behind this will die down and people will go back to their sheep bandwagon lives.

You do not see the big problem?

The NSA is spying on us and the NSA is a secret agency. Who's watching them?

[TideRower]

It is not a bad statement but way too late.

I am not signing up, I have still hope.

And it could still be worse: Imagine national sozialism happening today...

[JLCitadel]

You do not see the big problem?

The NSA is spying on us and the NSA is a secret agency. Who's watching them?

Why does someone need to watch bench jokies who do nothing?

[eshbop]

Because the system will never be perfect. Assuming it is or can be is silly because it's government.

Just because they are looking for those things does not mean the information will always be used for those things. Corruption exists. Tis life. 

However, it is also our choice in how much power they are allowed to have (and inevitably abuse). Just as we do not have the information on the number of events they are preventing, we do not have information on the number of times that these priviledges have been abused. 

But I do know human nature and the nature of government evidenced by history itself, and with that, I can guarantee you instances like that exist. 

Also, it's just the principal of it. If people just accept this then what's the next step? They'd have a tracker put in everyone if they could.

 

I'm just lamenting the fact that (the government thinks) NSA-esque organisations still even need to exist. When will people just get along.

[Ramzez]

 

Lol the government has been 'spying' on us as long as there has been a governmet, and this is true for any society, yes it's creepy, but yes it's necessary, why do I give a fuck if the government is listening to me have phone sex? or talk to my mom about mops, or my friend about computers? Shit makes no difference. If they want to 'violate' my privacy, go right ahead, what are they guna get out of it? and what are we going to lose? the whole point is to prevent the potential of an attack like 9/11, and if they read my emails of me looking for a date on eharmony to do so, idgaf what so ever. (Just an example, I curse a lot so don't take offense to anything here just friendly opinion, it doesnt matter:) )

 

Are you serious?

 

At first it might seem that a guy like you who doesn't really have anything interesting to look for would be irrelevant to the NSA or any other spying agency. And this might be the case for now. But there are so many ways how the system could get corrupt. For example if you were developing something revolutional like a working fusion generator, how likely it would be that NSA would steal your plan? Let's face it, a working fusion generator would be worth more money than anything existing today. So they would steal it from you and you would be left empty handed. This is just the most extreme case, but it could happen.

 

If the system were to get corrupt, this would mean that corporations could pay heavily on NSA employees who would spy other corporations and steal their ideas. NSA employees could also have their own agendas like spying their neighbours and getting benefits for themselves by spying on other people.

 

There are other examples where ordinary people could get involved for the corrupt system. For example if NSA were spying on you on a regular basis and had done so for the last year. They would have pretty comprehensive idea who you are, what you do and what are your habits. If you know enough from somebody, you could get them in a serious trouble. In the most extreme case, you could be staged for murder and everything would seem like you did it, if it was planned well enough. And this would be totally possible, because they would have known your every move.

 

There are also other concerns why people should resist for more spying and control. That's because when people get used to the fact that they are constantly watched, they get used to it. After some time, watching over your shoulder is not enough. They actually start to demand you to work like they want you to. So you no longer have a free choice. This has happened so many times in the past, it's not even funny. Many dictatorships have evolved to the point where they didn't only watch their citizens every move but also controlled how they should live their lives. Most recent example would be North Korea. Are people seriously wanting that to happen? Obviously it doesn't happen immediately, but by the time you realize what's happened, its already too late.

[Ethnod]

Bruce Schneier is quite a smart dude, He also wrote this article

 

NSA surveillance: A guide to staying secure

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/05/nsa-how-to-remain-secure-surveillance

 

 

With all this in mind, I have five pieces of advice:

1) Hide in the network. Implement hidden services. Use Tor to anonymize yourself. Yes, the NSA targets Tor users, but it's work for them. The less obvious you are, the safer you are.

2) Encrypt your communications. Use TLS. Use IPsec. Again, while it's true that the NSA targets encrypted connections – and it may have explicit exploits against these protocols – you're much better protected than if you communicate in the clear.

3) Assume that while your computer can be compromised, it would take work and risk on the part of the NSA – so it probably isn't. If you have something really important, use an air gap. Since I started working with the Snowden documents, I bought a new computer that has never been connected to the internet. If I want to transfer a file, I encrypt the file on the secure computer and walk it over to my internet computer, using a USB stick. To decrypt something, I reverse the process. This might not be bulletproof, but it's pretty good.

4) Be suspicious of commercial encryption software, especially from large vendors. My guess is that most encryption products from large US companies have NSA-friendly back doors, and many foreign ones probably do as well. It's prudent to assume that foreign products also have foreign-installed backdoors. Closed-source software is easier for the NSA to backdoor than open-source software. Systems relying on master secrets are vulnerable to the NSA, through either legal or more clandestine means.

5) Try to use public-domain encryption that has to be compatible with other implementations. For example, it's harder for the NSA to backdoor TLS than BitLocker, because any vendor's TLS has to be compatible with every other vendor's TLS, while BitLocker only has to be compatible with itself, giving the NSA a lot more freedom to make changes. And because BitLocker is proprietary, it's far less likely those changes will be discovered. Prefer symmetric cryptography over public-key cryptography. Prefer conventional discrete-log-based systems over elliptic-curve systems; the latter have constants that the NSA influences when they can.