Tag: 1984 was a Warning not a Blueprint

The NSA Has Been Collecting E-Mails Since 2001

The list of known crimes perpetrated the National Security Agency (NSA) keeps growing and growing. So far the agency has been caught intercepting Internet traffic, and accessing customer data directly from corporate systems. As this information has continued to roll out people have assumed that those practices are relatively new. Not surprisingly, the NSA has been spying on us for a long time:

The Obama administration for more than two years permitted the National Security Agency to continue collecting vast amounts of records detailing the email and internet usage of Americans, according to secret documents obtained by the Guardian.

The documents indicate that under the program, launched in 2001, a federal judge sitting on the secret surveillance panel called the Fisa court would approve a bulk collection order for internet metadata “every 90 days”. A senior administration official confirmed the program, stating that it ended in 2011.

The collection of these records began under the Bush administration’s wide-ranging warrantless surveillance program, collectively known by the NSA codename Stellar Wind.

The NSA claims that the program ended in 2011 but the only reason it ended was because they had a new program to accomplish the same things. Same shit, different name.

You Can’t Trust Anybody These Days

This day and age it’s very difficult to find trustworthy people. Julian Assange knows this fact better than most people since his involvement in WikiLeaks made him a primary target for state aggression. As it turns out, a volunteer for WikiLeaks was actually a paid Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) informant:

On an August workday in 2011, a cherubic 18-year-old Icelandic man named Sigurdur “Siggi” Thordarson walked through the stately doors of the U.S. embassy in Reykjavík, his jacket pocket concealing his calling card: a crumpled photocopy of an Australian passport. The passport photo showed a man with a unruly shock of platinum blonde hair and the name Julian Paul Assange.

Thordarson was long time volunteer for WikiLeaks with direct access to Assange and a key position as an organizer in the group. With his cold war-style embassy walk-in, he became something else: the first known FBI informant inside WikiLeaks. For the next three months, Thordarson served two masters, working for the secret-spilling website and simultaneously spilling its secrets to the U.S. government in exchange, he says, for a total of about $5,000. The FBI flew him internationally four times for debriefings, including one trip to Washington D.C., and on the last meeting obtained from Thordarson eight hard drives packed with chat logs, video and other data from WikiLeaks.

This news demonstrates two things: Julian Assange’s paranoid was justified and the FBI was investing notable resources into destroying investigating WikiLeaks. The FBI’s tenacity in investigating WikiLeaks also shows how transparent the current government isn’t. WikiLeaks does little more than release dirty secrets of corporations and governments. If the government was actually transparent it wouldn’t care about its dirty secrets being released, but the government has actually put a great deal of resources into stopping leaks and prosecuting leakers.

The Ever Changing Terrorist Narrative

Following along with the war on terror is difficult because the state’s official story constantly changes. One moment we’re lead to believe that the terrorists are a very sophisticated group that utilizes many high-tech communication methods in order to avoid surveillance. The next moment we’re lead to believe that the terrorists are idiotic cavemen who barley have enough intelligence to comprehend the invention of the wheel. Before Snowden leaked information regarding the National Security Agency’s (NSA) PRISM program we were told that the terrorists were sophisticated, now that he has leaked that information we’re being told that the terrorists were simpletons:

The U.S. intelligence community says terrorists are trying to change the way they communicate because of what they learned from Edward Snowden’s admitted leaks of classified information about government surveillance programs.

“We can confirm we are seeing indications that several terrorist groups are in fact attempting to change their communications behaviors based specifically on what they are reading about our surveillance programs in the media,” a U.S. intelligence official told CNN.

This is bullshit. Last year a report noted that most terrorist forums existed on, what is often referred to as, the deep web:

In a January 2012 report titled “Jihadism on the Web: A Breeding Ground for Jihad in the Modern Age,” the Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service drew a convincing picture of an Islamist Web underground centered around “core forums.” These websites are part of the Deep Web, or Undernet, the multitude of online resources not indexed by commonly used search engines.

The only terrorists using communication channels that can be watched by the NSA are the dumb ones, the ones who pose no legitimate threat. Most terrorists aren’t retarded, they know how to use a search engine to find information on securing communications. By claiming that terrorists are now moving to communication systems that can’t be watched by the NSA the United States government is also claiming that the terrorists are stupid. If the terrorists are that stupid then the government has been lying to us when it claimed that terrorists were sophisticated and therefore a legitimate threat to Americans.

Don’t fall for the bullshit, if the terrorists are intelligent enough to pose a threat then they’ve been using unwatchable forms of communications for decades. The state simply wants to run Snowden’s name through the mud in order to erode popular support for the man’s actions.

Make the NSA Pay, Encrypt and Anonymize Your Communications Today

As it turns out there is yet another reason to encrypt and anonymize your communications, it will directly cost the National Security Agency (NSA):

Using online anonymity services such as Tor or sending encrypted e-mail and instant messages are grounds for US-based communications to be retained by the National Security Agency even when they’re collected inadvertently, according to a secret government document published Thursday.

The document, titled Minimization Procedures Used by the National Security Agency in Connection with Acquisitions of Foreign Intelligence, is the latest bombshell leak to be dropped by UK-based newspaper The Guardian. It and a second, top-secret document detail the circumstances in which data collected on US persons under foreign intelligence authority must be destroyed or can be retained. The memos outline procedures NSA analysts must follow to ensure they stay within the mandate of minimizing data collected on US citizens and residents.

While the documents make clear that data collection and interception must cease immediately once it’s determined a target is within the US, they still provide analysts with a fair amount of leeway. And that leeway seems to work to the disadvantage of people who take steps to protect their Internet communications from prying eyes. For instance, a person whose physical location is unknown—which more often than not is the case when someone uses anonymity software from the Tor Project—”will not be treated as a United States person, unless such person can be positively identified as such, or the nature or circumstances of the person’s communications give rise to a reasonable belief that such person is a United States person,” the secret document stated.

The more encrypted and anonymized data sent across the Internet the more hard drives the NSA has to buy. Do your duty to cost the NSA money, encrypt and anonymize your data today.

Oh, and it goes without saying but, the NSA is certainly lying when it claims it ceases surveillance upon determining a target is within the United States. This is the same agency that claimed it wasn’t spying on American citizens while it was spying on American citizens.

The Government Learned Its Lesson, Kill the Whistleblower Before He Blows the Whistle

Michael Hasting’s mysterious death last week left a lot of unanswered questions. Somehow the man managed to die in a car accident, that was so horrific his vehicle burst into flames, shortly after contacting WikiLeaks with concern that the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) was investigating him. More evidence has been brought to light that gives credence to the idea that Hastings was murdered by the United States government:

Hours before dying in a fiery car crash, award-winning journalist Michael Hastings sent an email to his colleagues, warning that federal authorities were interviewing his friends and that he needed to go “off the rada[r]” for a bit.

[…]Here’s the email, with the recipients’ names redacted.

Subject: FBI Investigation, re: NSA

Hey (redacted names) — the Feds are interviewing my “close friends and associates.” Perhaps if the authorities arrive “BuzzFeed GQ,” er HQ, may be wise to immediately request legal counsel before any conversations or interviews about our news-gathering practices or related journalism issues.

Also: I’m onto a big story, and need to go off the rada[r] for a bit.

All the best, and hope to see you all soon.

Michael

I think the federal government learned its lesson with Edward Snowden, kill the whistleblower before he has a chance to blow the whistle. Anything is possible considering how out of control the federal government has proven to be.

The Most Transparent Government in History Charged Edward Snowden with Spying

During his first presidential campaign, Barack Obama promises to create the most transparent government in history. He must have been using Orwellian doublespeak because a transparent government, upon learning about criminal activity within itself, would move to punish the corrupt individuals within the system not the person who brought the corruption to light. In fact Obama’s website still has the following posted:

Protect Whistleblowers: Often the best source of information about waste, fraud, and abuse in government is an existing government employee committed to public integrity and willing to speak out. Such acts of courage and patriotism, which can sometimes save lives and often save taxpayer dollars, should be encouraged rather than stifled. We need to empower federal employees as watchdogs of wrongdoing and partners in performance. Barack Obama will strengthen whistleblower laws to protect federal workers who expose waste, fraud, and abuse of authority in government. Obama will ensure that federal agencies expedite the process for reviewing whistleblower claims and whistleblowers have full access to courts and due process.

For a man who promised a transparent government and protections for whistleblowers it’s pretty ironic to see his administration charged Edward Snowdan with spying:

The US justice department has filed criminal charges against a fugitive ex-intelligence analyst who leaked details of a secret surveillance operation.

The charges against ex-National Security Agency (NSA) analyst Edward Snowden include espionage and theft of government property.

In May, Mr Snowden fled to Hong Kong after leaking details of a programme to monitor phone and internet data.

The US is also reported to be preparing an extradition request.

Fortunately, for Mr. Snowden and transparency, the government of Hong Kong told the United States government to pound sand by buying Snowden some time to vacate their country:

HONG KONG — A former National Security Agency contractor wanted by the United States for revealing highly classified surveillance programs has been allowed to leave for a “third country” because a U.S. extradition request did not fully comply with Hong Kong law, the territory’s government said Sunday.

Hong Kong’s government did not identify the country. Snowden, who has been in hiding in Hong Kong for several weeks since he revealed information on the highly classified spy programs, has talked of seeking asylum in Iceland.

Where in the world is Mr. Snowden? By the sounds of it, Ecuador:

Mr Edward Snowden, the American whistleblower who exposed evidence of a global surveillance regime conducted by US and UK intelligence agencies, has left Hong Kong legally. He is bound for the Republic of Ecuador via a safe route for the purposes of asylum, and is being escorted by diplomats and legal advisors from WikiLeaks.

Mr Snowden requested that WikiLeaks use its legal expertise and experience to secure his safety. Once Mr Snowden arrives in Ecuador his request will be formally processed.

I wonder what this will do to the United States attempt to arrest him? Ecuador has demonstrated an unwillingness to play ball with other nations by giving Julian Assange asylum in their embassy in Britain. It seems unlikely that Ecuador will hand over Snowden, which means the charges of spying are a moot point, unless the United States decides to declare war on Ecuador (I wouldn’t put it past them).

There’s also a great deal of irony in the United States government charging Snowden with spying after he revealed the United States was spying on everybody. This double standard shouldn’t surprise anybody, it’s inherent in statism.

The NSA’s Complete Lack of Oversight

Since Edward Snowden leaked information regarding the National Security Agency’s (NSA) PRISM program the state has been ensuring us that a great deal of oversight exists between the NSA’s agents and private communications. As it turns out, that isn’t the case:

Top secret documents submitted to the court that oversees surveillance by US intelligence agencies show the judges have signed off on broad orders which allow the NSA to make use of information “inadvertently” collected from domestic US communications without a warrant.

That is a major point to note. If the NSA “inadvertently” collects data on people living in the United States, the very same people the NSA claims it’s not spying on, it can use that data without so much as a warrant. I ask you, what motivation does the NSA have not to collect domestic communications? If there’s no punishment for doing so then there is no motivation against doing it. What makes this even worse is that this policy comes from the top:

The Guardian is publishing in full two documents submitted to the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (known as the Fisa court), signed by Attorney General Eric Holder and stamped 29 July 2009. They detail the procedures the NSA is required to follow to target “non-US persons” under its foreign intelligence powers and what the agency does to minimize data collected on US citizens and residents in the course of that surveillance.

The documents show that even under authorities governing the collection of foreign intelligence from foreign targets, US communications can still be collected, retained and used.

Is anybody surprised that Eric Holder has authorized the NSA to collect data on people living in the United States? After all the skeletons that have been pouring out of his closet I doubt anybody is even slightly shocked by this revelation. Just how far does this authority go? Pretty damned far:

However, alongside those provisions, the Fisa court-approved policies allow the NSA to:

• Keep data that could potentially contain details of US persons for up to five years;

• Retain and make use of “inadvertently acquired” domestic communications if they contain usable intelligence, information on criminal activity, threat of harm to people or property, are encrypted, or are believed to contain any information relevant to cybersecurity;

• Preserve “foreign intelligence information” contained within attorney-client communications;

• Access the content of communications gathered from “U.S. based machine[s]” or phone numbers in order to establish if targets are located in the US, for the purposes of ceasing further surveillance.

In other words, there is no real oversight or any form of protection against the NSA spying on people residing in the United States. Most of us have suspected this for a long time but until now we’ve been unable to surface proof.

More on the Marriage of the State and the Private Sector

Last week I mentioned the trend of the state and private enterprise merging to assist one another in spying on us. This week it was revealed that Skype was working with the state to place a back door in its software in 2008:

Skype, the Internet-based calling service, began its own secret program, Project Chess, to explore the legal and technical issues in making Skype calls readily available to intelligence agencies and law enforcement officials, according to people briefed on the program who asked not to be named to avoid trouble with the intelligence agencies.

Project Chess, which has never been previously disclosed, was small, limited to fewer than a dozen people inside Skype, and was developed as the company had sometimes contentious talks with the government over legal issues, said one of the people briefed on the project. The project began about five years ago, before most of the company was sold by its parent, eBay, to outside investors in 2009. Microsoft acquired Skype in an $8.5 billion deal that was completed in October 2011.

News like this shouldn’t surprise anybody but the real concern this story raises, as Bruce Schneier pointed out is that Skype denied such allocations previously, meaning they, along with every other tech company, can’t be trusted:

Reread that Skype denial from last July, knowing that at the time the company knew that they were giving the NSA access to customer communications. Notice how it is precisely worded to be technically accurate, yet leave the reader with the wrong conclusion. This is where we are with all the tech companies right now; we can’t trust their denials, just as we can’t trust the NSA — or the FBI — when it denies programs, capabilities, or practices.

We’re in a pretty bad situation since we can’t trust the National Security Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigations, Microsoft, Apple, Google, or anybody else that’s part of this unholy mess of a spying operation.

There’s Something Fishy Going on Around Here

Michael Hastings, the journalist who effectively ended Stanley McChrystal’s career, died in a car crash early this week. What makes this story even more interesting is that Mr. Hastings had supposedly contacted WikiLeaks shortly before his death and was concerned that the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) was stalking him:

CULVER CITY (CBSLA.com) — Questions persist following the death of Michael Hastings Tuesday, after reports that the award-winning journalist told WikiLeaks the government was watching him.

WikiLeaks tweeted a message to their millions of followers Wednesday stating that the 33-year-old author and war correspondent had contacted the organization’s lawyer to say he was being watched by the FBI.

Michael Hastings contacted WikiLeaks lawyer Jennifer Robinson just a few hours before he died, saying that the FBI was investigating him.—
WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) June 19, 2013

“Michael Hastings was a journalist who definitely gave the government trouble, the Pentagon trouble, so if they were surveilling him it wouldn’t be that surprising,” said friend and fellow journalist Cenk Uygur.

Had this occurred last year I would have likely written Mr. Hastings’s death off as a coincidence. I was more ignorant of the federal government’s corruption back then. Things have obviously changed since then. We now know that the National Security Agency (NSA) have worked in cooperation with private corporations to intercept our communications, actively listen to our phone conversations, and exploiting flaws in at least one operating system before patches are released. We also know that the FBI has been creating terrorists for years, arming Mexican drug cartels, and spying on Americans with drones. In other words, the federal government is completely out of control and currently accountable to nobody.

Today I take the whispers that Mr. Hastings was murdered by the federal government seriously. If the federal government is willing to go so far as to develop an advanced surveillance state and create terrorists in order to drum up fear then it’s no small stretch to believe it would also knock off people who became inconvenient. We live in dark, albeit interesting, times.

The Death of Due Process

It’s not a secret that due process is dead in this country but the most recent news from the Guantanamo Bay detention facility really drives the point home:

The US has listed 46 inmates held at its military prison in Guantanamo Bay who it says it does not have the evidence to try but are too dangerous to release.

Could somebody explain to me how the federal government lacks enough evidence to try these 46 individuals but has enough evidence to indicate that they’re too dangerous to release? If there’s evidence that they’ve performed violent acts in the past they can be tried, if there no such evidence exists then they’re not demonstrably dangerous and should be released immediately.

The message here is quite simple: you’re guilty and will be punished when the state says you’re guilty and should be punished. There is no due process here, just a state that has reserved the power to indefinitely detain anybody it wants for whatever reason it wants.

This information does raise an interesting question though, what would happen if a foreign government decided to arrest Americans and detain them without trial?