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NSA secretly conducted illegal searches on Americans for years

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Re: NSA secretly conducted illegal searches on Americans for years

#71

Post by matt4077 »

Sven-z wrote: post #52
endymi0n wrote: post #11

I think the most dangerous thing is that what Snowden predicted actually happened by now. After all the revelations, nobody is interested anymore. There's this general fatigue and powerlessness that leads to a feeling of "well, yeah, everbody knows by now... what's the news here?" - even for me as a security expert and privacy proponent. The real danger is nobody cares anymore, as this enables all further constitutio…

What do you mean nobody cares anymore? This is a very strange notion I see propping up more and more in people's minds, as they get overloaded with information they don't know what to do with. There are lots of very experienced people and resources allocated to this problem across the world working on it round the clock. But this is a hard problem. It's going to take multiple generations to achieve a mature resolutio…

I'm wondering how you think this process works. When you say:

> There are lots of very experienced people and resources allocated to this problem across the world

It sounds like a curing-cancer-style problem where what's needed is some scientific breakthrough for a specific problem... So... Who are these "very experienced people", and what "resources" are allocated, where? Or how far exactly is this "above my paygrade"?

Because this appears to me, fundamentally, a difference of opinion, or maybe just even priorities. If you get enough people to care, just watch how fast policies can change. And while I may have wasted my "career and life experience" on skills that disqualify me from this super-elite circle of "people allowed to care", my sorry excuse for a brain can't think of something more important than public advocacy of these issues, nor can it find fault with what John Oliver is doing.

But, you know.. whatever.

Re: NSA secretly conducted illegal searches on Americans for years

#72

Post by lmm »

afarrell wrote: post #69
lmm wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do I do, as someone who cares? No, seriously. Should I throw a bit more money at the EFF? Start my own political party, or enter an existing one and try to steer it in my direction? Try to get employed by one of these organizations and then promote a better understanding of their mission internally? Move to another country where people care more (which?) Identifying the problem is a good first step, but what can…

Put money toward an organization that will hire full-time UX designers and engineers who can make open-source encryption usable by the masses. Why Johnny Why Johnny Still, Still can't encypt [2015] https://arxiv.org/abs/1510.08555

Good idea. Is there such an organization?

Re: NSA secretly conducted illegal searches on Americans for years

#73

Post by tjr225 »

Sven-z wrote: post #52
endymi0n wrote: post #11

I think the most dangerous thing is that what Snowden predicted actually happened by now. After all the revelations, nobody is interested anymore. There's this general fatigue and powerlessness that leads to a feeling of "well, yeah, everbody knows by now... what's the news here?" - even for me as a security expert and privacy proponent. The real danger is nobody cares anymore, as this enables all further constitutio…

What do you mean nobody cares anymore? This is a very strange notion I see propping up more and more in people's minds, as they get overloaded with information they don't know what to do with. There are lots of very experienced people and resources allocated to this problem across the world working on it round the clock. But this is a hard problem. It's going to take multiple generations to achieve a mature resolutio…

I agree totally. It is only recently that I've taken measures to protect my privacy.

Re: NSA secretly conducted illegal searches on Americans for years

#74

Post by cxromos »

builditand wrote: post #32
cxromos wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I call Bullshit on you. The one of the product of that excellent education system was Milosevic as well. Serbia with Milosevic started the last Balkan Wars in its desire to renew Dusan's Empire, or in common tongue, to make a greater Serbia. First in Slovenia, later on in Croatia then in Bosnia and Herzegovina. When it started on the south, in between Serbia, Kosovo, Albania, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, it became too…

> The one of the product of that excellent education system was Milosevic as well. Not the best phrasing, one could deduct from it that the education system was broken. Of course bad people will benefit from education as well as good people, but this is not a reason to stop educating people.

By "excellent education system" I mean the combination of Nationalism and Communism, which, I first hand experienced, as National Socialism. Every story I've learned about Nazis, what they spoke and believed in, was present in the speech and in the deeds. I am well aware of why and how that happened, the rise of National Socialism on Balkans, one of them being 50 years of Communism and lack of the benefits of balanced democratic evolution of the society.

Re: NSA secretly conducted illegal searches on Americans for years

#75

Post by spaceribs »

endymi0n wrote: post #70
spaceribs wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Encrypt everything. I wouldn't trust the political process to work itself out in the near future, so a technical approach may be the answer in the meantime. I've moved all my friends to Signal not because we're having sensitive conversations, but because we're voting with our actions.

I'm sorry to be the party pooper here, but... Signal was intercepted: http://heavy.com/tech/2017/03/wikileaks-vault-7-cia-bypasses... My favorite most depressing take on this by Peter Gutmann - "Crypto won't save you either" http://regmedia.co.uk/2014/05/16/0955_peter_gutmann.pdf

The OS was hacked, big distinction there.

Also, they would have to actively target your phone for surveillance. I'm much more concerned about the passive interception aspect, and I don't for a second believe that I'm preventing myself from being surveilled.

The fact that they should have to go out of their way to break the 4th amendment is important to me.

Re: NSA secretly conducted illegal searches on Americans for years

#76

Post by cxromos »

coldtea wrote: post #35
cxromos wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I call Bullshit on you. The one of the product of that excellent education system was Milosevic as well. Serbia with Milosevic started the last Balkan Wars in its desire to renew Dusan's Empire, or in common tongue, to make a greater Serbia. First in Slovenia, later on in Croatia then in Bosnia and Herzegovina. When it started on the south, in between Serbia, Kosovo, Albania, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, it became too…

> I call Bullshit on you. The one of the product of that excellent education system was Milosevic as well. Serbia with Milosevic started the last Balkan Wars in its desire to renew Dusan's Empire, or in common tongue, to make a greater Serbia. Rather that's the party line. Because other sides weren't angels either, and a lot of the atrocities/stories pilled on the Serbian side were manufactured BS. http://www.counter…

There's nothing about those wars that you can teach me, nor the idiot from the link posted.

Re: NSA secretly conducted illegal searches on Americans for years

#77

Post by cxromos »

acqq wrote: post #27
cxromos wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I call Bullshit on you. The one of the product of that excellent education system was Milosevic as well. Serbia with Milosevic started the last Balkan Wars in its desire to renew Dusan's Empire, or in common tongue, to make a greater Serbia. First in Slovenia, later on in Croatia then in Bosnia and Herzegovina. When it started on the south, in between Serbia, Kosovo, Albania, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, it became too…

Your version is as true as it was true that Iraq had WMD. Or that those against Assad are all "moderate rebels." There are definite similarities. In reality, Bosniak Muslims were supported by al-Qaeda, bin Laden and his closest men had the passports made by the Bosniak Muslim government, which was also supported by the U.S. It was all before 9/11, or "Iraq had WMD" affair, so it was very easy to sell.

Another schizophrenic view of the world.

Re: NSA secretly conducted illegal searches on Americans for years

#78

Post by Mendenhall »

lmm wrote: post #30
endymi0n wrote: post #11

I think the most dangerous thing is that what Snowden predicted actually happened by now. After all the revelations, nobody is interested anymore. There's this general fatigue and powerlessness that leads to a feeling of "well, yeah, everbody knows by now... what's the news here?" - even for me as a security expert and privacy proponent. The real danger is nobody cares anymore, as this enables all further constitutio…

What do I do, as someone who cares? No, seriously. Should I throw a bit more money at the EFF? Start my own political party, or enter an existing one and try to steer it in my direction? Try to get employed by one of these organizations and then promote a better understanding of their mission internally? Move to another country where people care more (which?) Identifying the problem is a good first step, but what can…

If you are a US citizen contact your representative and let them know you want people held accountable. Be active in social media calling for the same (if you're on social media).

I know many wont do that based simply on political affiliation which is sad but expected in todays environment.

Re: NSA secretly conducted illegal searches on Americans for years

#80

Post by teddyh »

lmm wrote: post #72
afarrell wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Put money toward an organization that will hire full-time UX designers and engineers who can make open-source encryption usable by the masses. Why Johnny Why Johnny Still, Still can't encypt [2015] https://arxiv.org/abs/1510.08555

Good idea. Is there such an organization?

Maybe (https://pep.foundation/)?
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