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FBI seizes riseup.net server

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Re: FBI seizes riseup.net server

#61
post #48
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When did these bomb threats happen? At the end of term or beginning? During exam week? When a famous politican is visiting? 126 is alot. I bet if you were to investigate the timing of these threats you might find some interesting correlations...

The bomb threats began to really start picking up this month, but started after spring break. I also just got the notification of two more bomb threats made. Here is a spread sheet about the bomb threats (not made by me): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AlvhxmKEu6UpdGZ...

This is great, the spreadsheet not the bomb threats. Nicely done.

Re: FBI seizes riseup.net server

#62
post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I do not understand the sledgehammer approach the FBI 'cybercrimes' division deals with things with. ... I'm sorry but covert monitoring of a server is going to be vastly more beneficial for an operation than taking the server and is going to net more targets and more evidence. I wonder if they'll auction off the server? Fun fact. The federal government makes ~$3 billion a year off asset seizures. They don't have t…

Yeah, but they have to hold on to that stuff for a while. a 5 year old cash is still cash. a 5 year old computer is a doorstop.

I would point out the fallacy in your statement - but I will let you figure it out in the next 5-10 years.

Re: FBI seizes riseup.net server

#63

I do not understand the sledgehammer approach the FBI 'cybercrimes' division deals with things with. The FBI are not police, are not detectives, and are not competent in these matters. I'm sorry but covert monitoring of a server is going to be vastly more beneficial for an operation than taking the server and is going to net more targets and more evidence. I remember stories of the FBI sitting on a known front for or…

> The FBI are not police, are not detectives, and are not competent in these matters.

Actually the FBI is a law-enforcement agency with the statutory power to investigate and arrest people for the violation of certain federal laws. I'd consider that police.

Re: FBI seizes riseup.net server

#64
post #57

I do not understand the sledgehammer approach the FBI 'cybercrimes' division deals with things with. The FBI are not police, are not detectives, and are not competent in these matters. I'm sorry but covert monitoring of a server is going to be vastly more beneficial for an operation than taking the server and is going to net more targets and more evidence. I remember stories of the FBI sitting on a known front for or…

This isn't a "sledgehammer" approach. The operators made an explicit choice to stick a bunch of mailing lists and websites on the same machine as a remailer. A reasonable person would expect the remailer to eventually be used to commit a crime. It's like keeping your kids school books and a kilo of cocaine both in your cars trunk, then complaining when the FBI takes the whole car into evidence.

Whoah whoah whoah! Is a remailer really === a kilo of cocaine? Seems like it's more like a car sans license plates, operating in a state where license plates are optional. (But hey, if you use that car to transport a cool k...)

Re: FBI seizes riseup.net server

#65
post #57

I do not understand the sledgehammer approach the FBI 'cybercrimes' division deals with things with. The FBI are not police, are not detectives, and are not competent in these matters. I'm sorry but covert monitoring of a server is going to be vastly more beneficial for an operation than taking the server and is going to net more targets and more evidence. I remember stories of the FBI sitting on a known front for or…

This isn't a "sledgehammer" approach. The operators made an explicit choice to stick a bunch of mailing lists and websites on the same machine as a remailer. A reasonable person would expect the remailer to eventually be used to commit a crime. It's like keeping your kids school books and a kilo of cocaine both in your cars trunk, then complaining when the FBI takes the whole car into evidence.

Of course, possessing a kilo of cocaine is illegal. Hosting an anonymous remailer, is not.

Re: FBI seizes riseup.net server

#66
What recourse do the people have when voter fraud occurs? How much monitoring is done through those channels?

*I know it is not a react quickly because human lives could be at stake - but considering anything tied to a presidential election could lead to a person voted to office that could jeopordize a nation.

Re: FBI seizes riseup.net server

#67
post #61
post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The bomb threats began to really start picking up this month, but started after spring break. I also just got the notification of two more bomb threats made. Here is a spread sheet about the bomb threats (not made by me): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AlvhxmKEu6UpdGZ...

This is great, the spreadsheet not the bomb threats. Nicely done.

The Pitt subreddit actually informs me faster about bomb threats than the school's notification service.

Here is a blog someone started to keep track of bomb threats: http://stopthepittbombthreats.blogspot.com/

Re: FBI seizes riseup.net server

#68
post #13

This seems like a no-brainer to me. The FBI has the duty to find the Pitt bomb threatener. Perhaps Mixmaster truly does make the email untraceable, but it's the FBI's duty to try tracing it - not to take the Mixmaster claims as fact. If the FBI has evidence that criminal emails passed through that server, I absolutely want the FBI to be able to obtain and execute a warrant to seize it and search it for evidence. Anal…

The biggest injustice is that innocent private parties are forced to carry the costs of something that (allegedly) will benefit the public.

Investigations of crimes benefit the public, and so the public (taxpayer) should pay the costs of the investigation, not whatever private party the costs happen to fall upon. Taking this logic to its conclusion, in a fair and just society, if a law enforcement agency executes a search warrant, it should have to pay those affected by the search warrant the reasonable costs of that seizure (e.g. the cost of renting and deploying an acceptable alternative until the equipment is returned, or the cost of lost business if it is a purely for-profit organisation and loss acceptance appears to be the cheaper based on the information available to the business at the time). This wouldn't apply if the court was satisfied following a contested hearing that the person having assets seized was a party to a crime being investigated.

While the above would be fair, it is not how the law works in many jurisdictions, because politics works on what politicians can fit in a sound bite (lower taxes! more law enforcement on the same budget!), not necessarily what is fair to minorities like innocent parties having their equipment seized.

Re: FBI seizes riseup.net server

#69
I've never understood what people don't understand about illegal. Reminds me of mega upload users who claim they had no idea illegal activity I.e copywriter files uploaded was taking place. I call it major ignorance this story above falls in line.

Re: FBI seizes riseup.net server

#70
post #57

I do not understand the sledgehammer approach the FBI 'cybercrimes' division deals with things with. The FBI are not police, are not detectives, and are not competent in these matters. I'm sorry but covert monitoring of a server is going to be vastly more beneficial for an operation than taking the server and is going to net more targets and more evidence. I remember stories of the FBI sitting on a known front for or…

This isn't a "sledgehammer" approach. The operators made an explicit choice to stick a bunch of mailing lists and websites on the same machine as a remailer. A reasonable person would expect the remailer to eventually be used to commit a crime. It's like keeping your kids school books and a kilo of cocaine both in your cars trunk, then complaining when the FBI takes the whole car into evidence.

Its more like a commercial airplane being seized because one of the passengers smuggled drugs. I think its reasonable to assume that during the life of a commercial plane, a passenger will eventually commit a felony(smuggling drugs/contraband) on it.
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