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FBI is investigating Minnesota Signal chats tracking ICE

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Re: FBI is investigating Minnesota Signal chats tracking ICE

#261
post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

CISA recommended Signal for encrypted end-to-end communications for "highly targeted individuals." https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/2024-12/guidance-mo...

Recommendations to the private sector don't condone violating security and retention laws for people working in the public sector.

Military personnel are currently only allowed to use Signal for mobile communications within their unit. Classified information is a different story, though.

Re: FBI is investigating Minnesota Signal chats tracking ICE

#262

I have seen anti-Signal FUD all over the place since it was discovered that protesters have been coordinating on Signal. Here’s the facts: - Protesters have been coordinating using Signal - Breaches of private Signal groups by journalists and counter protesters were due to poor opsec and vetting - If the feds have an eye into those groups, it’s likely that they gained access in the same way as well as through informa…

The downside of opsec is that it breeds paranoia and fear about legal, civic participation. In a way, bullshit investigations like this are an intimidation tactic. What are they going to find - a bunch of Minnesotans that were mad about state-backed killings?

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Re: FBI is investigating Minnesota Signal chats tracking ICE

#265

With all the predatory tech Palantir has produced, it won't take more than a few minutes for FBI to start taking actions, IF they had anything tangible. This is just an intimidation tactic to stop people talking (chatting)

I'm never sure why people assume that Palantir is magically unlike the overwhelming majority of tech startups/companies I've worked at: vastly over promising what is possible to create hype and value while offering things engineering knows will never really quite work like they're advertised. To your point, but on a larger scale, over hyping Palantir has the added benefit of providing a chilling effect on public resi…

> ... I've never seen the government efficiently action on any data they have collected.

It isn't usually a question of efficiency, it is a question of damage. Technically there is an argument that something like the holocaust was inefficiently executed, but still a good reason to actively prevent governments having ready-to-use data on hand about people's ethnic origin.

A lot of the same observations probably apply to the ICE situation too. One of the big problems with the mass-migration programs has always been that there is no reasonable way to undo that sort of thing because it is far too risky for the government to be primed to identify and deport large groups of people. For all the fire and thunder the Trump administration probably isn't going to accomplish very much, but at great cost.

Re: FBI is investigating Minnesota Signal chats tracking ICE

#266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm never sure why people assume that Palantir is magically unlike the overwhelming majority of tech startups/companies I've worked at: vastly over promising what is possible to create hype and value while offering things engineering knows will never really quite work like they're advertised. To your point, but on a larger scale, over hyping Palantir has the added benefit of providing a chilling effect on public resi…

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Re: FBI is investigating Minnesota Signal chats tracking ICE

#267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm never sure why people assume that Palantir is magically unlike the overwhelming majority of tech startups/companies I've worked at: vastly over promising what is possible to create hype and value while offering things engineering knows will never really quite work like they're advertised. To your point, but on a larger scale, over hyping Palantir has the added benefit of providing a chilling effect on public resi…

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The algorithm was sorting punch cards and then putting the cards in different stacks on a table.

We can only hope that the surveillance state is still working with the same algorithm…

Re: FBI is investigating Minnesota Signal chats tracking ICE

#268

The FBI should investigate the murders done by ICE and until done with that, remain silent.

It's a good thing FBI has capacity to do more than one thing at a time. Also Trump agreed to allow MNPD to handle the wrongful death investigation.

Two things can be true: the "resistance" rings in MN are behaving like the insurgents the US has fought for decades in the Middle East, and ICE agents wrongfully killed a man.

Re: FBI is investigating Minnesota Signal chats tracking ICE

#269
post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder whether the protesters could opt for offshore alternatives that don't require exposing their phone number to a company that could be compelled to reveal it by US law. For example, there is Threema[1], a Swiss option priced at 5 euros one-time. It is interesting on Android as you can pay anonymously[2], therefore it doesn't depend on Google Play and its services (they offer Threema Push services of their own.…

It's worth noting that the way Signal's architecture is set up, Signal the organisation doesn't have access to users' phone numbers. They technically have logs from when verification happens (as that goes through an SMS verification service) but that just documents that you have an account/when you registered. And it's unclear whether those records are available anymore since no warrants have been issued since they m…

Perhaps you're right that they couldn't be compelled by law to reveal it, then! However, I can still find people on Signal using their phone number, by design. If they can do that, surely there is sufficient information, and appropriate means, for US state-side signals intelligence to do so, too. I don't think Signal self-hosts their infrastructure, so it wouldn't be much of a challenge considering it's a priority target.

Now, whether FBI and friends would be determined to use PII obtained in this way to that end—is a point of contention, but why take the chance?

Better yet, don't expose your PII to third parties in the first place.

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