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XKeyscore: NSA program collects 'nearly everything a user does on the internet'

theguardian.com

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Re: XKeyscore: NSA program collects 'nearly everything a user does on the internet'

#61

Post by jgrahamc »

znowi wrote: post #51
nikcub wrote: post #29

This is overwhelming. Even when you always hear the claims about we knew this was going on, somehow it is still shocking when you see it all laid out infront of you with screenshots and the capabilities described. I can see how they get HTTP information, since they would intercept at transit hubs - but how are they getting all Facebook private messages and Gmail? I was also looking for another unique ID that users ar…

> how are they getting all Facebook private messages and Gmail? Perhaps you missed the news about PRISM? :)

This presentation is from 2008. According to the presentation on PRISM Facebook joined the program on 3 June 2009. That would indicate that the searches here are based, most likely, not on participation by Facebook but by passive sniffing of HTTP traffic and then session reconstruction.

Re: XKeyscore: NSA program collects 'nearly everything a user does on the internet'

#62

Post by haakon »

hga wrote: post #4

This bit both somewhat limits the impact and makes Greenwald et. al.'s claims that most everything is being Hoovered up a lot more credible: " The XKeyscore system is continuously collecting so much internet data that it can be stored only for short periods of time. Content remains on the system for only three to five days, while metadata is stored for 30 days. One document explains: "At some sites, the amount of dat…

Notice that the presentation is from 2008 - a lot changes in five years.

Re: XKeyscore: NSA program collects 'nearly everything a user does on the internet'

#63

Post by griffordson »

jacquesm wrote: post #42
znowi wrote: post #33

Holy shit... Apparently, the only way to ensure privacy is to go Stallman . Funny how yesterday's "conspiracy crackpot" became today's visionary.

Stallman never was a conspiracy crackpot, he always was a visionary. The only thing that changed is some people's judgment of him.

Exactly. It has been obvious and widely understood for years to anyone who has ever used a network analyzer that systems like this could be built. The question was always would they be built. Stallman, and others, bet correctly based on their better reading of history and human nature.

Re: XKeyscore: NSA program collects 'nearly everything a user does on the internet'

#66

Post by arca_vorago »

Lurkers first post here.

I always said saying "I told you so." when stuff like this started getting revealed would feel like a hollow phrase. Some of us have spent quite a bit of time talking about these issues, and were mostly rejected as crackpot "conspiracy theorists". While there are plenty of those around, maybe I could use this slight moment of pseudo-clarity to propose something.

I could tell you where this is going (removal of ex post facto, and eventually algorithmic based pre-crime), and who is largely behind it, but once again most of you would probably perform the standard knee-jerk reaction against "conspiracy theory", only to wait around and repeat the same kind of stuff you are saying now, whenever the next steps are put into action.

We curious geeks have been too cocky, always thinking we could use our superior knowledge of technology to beat "the man". Well boys, the man is learning our tricks, and he's starting to get better at them than us...

The NSA is but a cog in a greater machine, and until we all realize that and start conversing on what/who that machine is, we will continue to spin our wheels uselessly.

Re: XKeyscore: NSA program collects 'nearly everything a user does on the internet'

#67

Post by nwh »

brown9-2 wrote: post #38
nikcub wrote: post #29

This is overwhelming. Even when you always hear the claims about we knew this was going on, somehow it is still shocking when you see it all laid out infront of you with screenshots and the capabilities described. I can see how they get HTTP information, since they would intercept at transit hubs - but how are they getting all Facebook private messages and Gmail? I was also looking for another unique ID that users ar…

How long has https been an option with Facebook and messages? I don't think it was always required, if ever.

It's only been required in the last year or so, prior to that it was an optional extra in the security section.

Re: XKeyscore: NSA program collects 'nearly everything a user does on the internet'

#69

Post by chewxy »

I don't think I have been more conflicted about this. I've just been talking to my cofounders about the technical feasibilities of XKeyScore, and honestly, our back-of-napkin engineering configurations indicate this is really an awesome project to be working on.

On the other hand, this is categorically 'evil' by my and my cofounders' ethical standards, and really, no one is safe. And that bugs the hell out of me.

On the one hand: really fucking cool. On the other, I really do not like the idea that I am being spied on.

I'm not sure how to process this information.

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