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Reflections on Ten Years Past the Snowden Revelations

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Re: Reflections on Ten Years Past the Snowden Revelations

#21

I think people would be surprised and sickened to know just how cooperative the big tech companies are with the intelligence agencies. Microsoft is especially cooperative, even as going so far to make sure their systems are compatible with surveillance systems. Yes, Telcos have had to this as well, but I don’t think many people know that Microsoft has proactively done this.

> Microsoft is especially cooperative, even as going so far to make sure their systems are compatible with surveillance systems. I don't doubt you but a reference would help folks know what to make of this.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Enterprise_Defense_Inf...

This for example

Re: Reflections on Ten Years Past the Snowden Revelations

#22

I think people would be surprised and sickened to know just how cooperative the big tech companies are with the intelligence agencies. Microsoft is especially cooperative, even as going so far to make sure their systems are compatible with surveillance systems. Yes, Telcos have had to this as well, but I don’t think many people know that Microsoft has proactively done this.

Azure and AWS have so much money coming in from the government that I doubt either company is going to find anything but jelly in their backbones when it comes to government demands for data.

Re: Reflections on Ten Years Past the Snowden Revelations

#23
post #6

Serious question, why are the Snowden leaks so revered and not the reporting of James Risen several years earlier? Risen exposed operation Stellar Wind which was the grossest abuse of spying apparatus approved by the Bush admin over the express objections of their own DOJ. Risen also appeared in court for every summons about his activities and was dutifully defended by the NYT until he was ultimately exonerated.

I think because one day everyone woke up and heard about PRISM, including a lot of the tech companies, which had to go into damage control to deny their involvement. It was big news with brands that every American was familiar with.

Re: Reflections on Ten Years Past the Snowden Revelations

#24

I think people would be surprised and sickened to know just how cooperative the big tech companies are with the intelligence agencies. Microsoft is especially cooperative, even as going so far to make sure their systems are compatible with surveillance systems. Yes, Telcos have had to this as well, but I don’t think many people know that Microsoft has proactively done this.

[deleted]

Re: Reflections on Ten Years Past the Snowden Revelations

#25

I think people would be surprised and sickened to know just how cooperative the big tech companies are with the intelligence agencies. Microsoft is especially cooperative, even as going so far to make sure their systems are compatible with surveillance systems. Yes, Telcos have had to this as well, but I don’t think many people know that Microsoft has proactively done this.

Microsoft is also responsible for the Orwellian (and as far as I know still secret/closed source) PhotoDNA, which is an incredible tool for censorship and surveillance.

A lot of people are dead or in jail because of that software, and not just “predators”.

Re: Reflections on Ten Years Past the Snowden Revelations

#26

I think people would be surprised and sickened to know just how cooperative the big tech companies are with the intelligence agencies. Microsoft is especially cooperative, even as going so far to make sure their systems are compatible with surveillance systems. Yes, Telcos have had to this as well, but I don’t think many people know that Microsoft has proactively done this.

> Microsoft is especially cooperative, even as going so far to make sure their systems are compatible with surveillance systems.

What is a good example?

Re: Reflections on Ten Years Past the Snowden Revelations

#27
post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Username checks out.

Great find, love it! But the downvotes are maybe unfair for the Clapperish, wasn't that a parody?

> wasn't that a parody?

I can't see how. Post was a wall of copypasta from James Clapper's book.

Re: Reflections on Ten Years Past the Snowden Revelations

#28

I think people would be surprised and sickened to know just how cooperative the big tech companies are with the intelligence agencies. Microsoft is especially cooperative, even as going so far to make sure their systems are compatible with surveillance systems. Yes, Telcos have had to this as well, but I don’t think many people know that Microsoft has proactively done this.

We have a crisis of morality in tech and society at large. When the ends justify the means, and the ends are in fact unending pursuits of power, then no amount of deception, deceit, collusion is off the table. And yes, people who work at FAANG et al are complicit.

Re: Reflections on Ten Years Past the Snowden Revelations

#29
post #6

Serious question, why are the Snowden leaks so revered and not the reporting of James Risen several years earlier? Risen exposed operation Stellar Wind which was the grossest abuse of spying apparatus approved by the Bush admin over the express objections of their own DOJ. Risen also appeared in court for every summons about his activities and was dutifully defended by the NYT until he was ultimately exonerated.

> Serious question, why are the Snowden leaks so revered and not the reporting of James Risen several years earlier? Because, historically, the US Press is compulsively deferential to the NatSec state. It's the same reason the press twistered themselves to report the Mark Klein revelations as a warrantless wiretapping issue - instead of the NSA live cloning internet backbone traffic in a room custom built by AT&T for…

The US major media reported on this.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Room_641A

Re: Reflections on Ten Years Past the Snowden Revelations

#30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Microsoft is especially cooperative, even as going so far to make sure their systems are compatible with surveillance systems. I don't doubt you but a reference would help folks know what to make of this.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Enterprise_Defense_Inf... This for example

FTA:

“Companies interested in the contract included Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Oracle”

and

“The deal was considered "gift-wrapped for Amazon" until Oracle (co-chaired by Safra Catz) contested the contract”.

So pretty much every single large cloud provider went after this, though Google did eventually bow out early. Other than winning the second round of the bidding (and not actually going live), is there something Microsoft did specifically that warrants being singled out?

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