NSA infiltrates links to Yahoo, Google data centers worldwide • Hacker News Board

Re: NSA infiltrates links to Yahoo, Google data centers worldwide

#11

Post by gohrt » Wed, Oct 30, 2013, 5:01 PM UTC

segmondy wrote: post #6

tonyplee wrote: post #3

"vice president for security engineering Eric Grosse announced that the company is racing to encrypt the links between its data centers. " Isn't this useless? They can serve Google NSL and the court can force the company to release the SSL keys for the encryptions - just like Lavabit. Google CEO/Board can not shutdown the company like Lavabit. What can they do, get out of USA like how they got out of China?

Lavabit is small. Who did their shutdown directly affect? Imagine Google going down for a full day, even homeless people will raise pitch forks and match down to DC to protest.

If you want to fight for freedom, but are too busy, take some of your startup lottery money and hire some underemployed folks to raise pitchforks and march on DC.

Re: NSA infiltrates links to Yahoo, Google data centers worldwide

#12

Post by than » Wed, Oct 30, 2013, 5:02 PM UTC

Gen. Keith Alexander, asked about it at a Bloomberg event, denied the accusations.

"I don't know what the report is," Alexander cautioned, adding the NSA does not "have access to Google servers, Yahoo servers." He said the NSA is "not authorized" to do this, and instead, must "go through a court process."

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/10/keith-alexander-nsa-re...

Re: NSA infiltrates links to Yahoo, Google data centers worldwide

#13

Post by leef » Wed, Oct 30, 2013, 5:02 PM UTC

tonyplee wrote: post #3

"vice president for security engineering Eric Grosse announced that the company is racing to encrypt the links between its data centers. " Isn't this useless? They can serve Google NSL and the court can force the company to release the SSL keys for the encryptions - just like Lavabit. Google CEO/Board can not shutdown the company like Lavabit. What can they do, get out of USA like how they got out of China?

No it's not. The court system, even if it is rumber stamp-y, provides way more visibility and accountibility than secret and total access to Google's data via tapping data links.

Re: NSA infiltrates links to Yahoo, Google data centers worldwide

#14

Post by mhurron » Wed, Oct 30, 2013, 5:02 PM UTC

wyck wrote: post #5

Is that an official document with an actual smiley face? What ever happened to the admins / programmers standing up for what is right, or do they just gobble down a paycheck and turn the other way?

>Is that an official document with an actual smiley face?

It's only HN that pretends there is no feeling in professional work.

Re: NSA infiltrates links to Yahoo, Google data centers worldwide

#15

Post by mkr-hn » Wed, Oct 30, 2013, 5:02 PM UTC

gohrt wrote: post #9

tptacek wrote: post #2

It's hard not to come to the conclusion that these activities were essentially criminal. I don't see how the administration can fail to disavow them, investigate them fully, and hold their instigators accountable. It feels like Special Prosecutor time. That aside, let me re-make a point I keep making: Google had no knowledge of NSA's physical compromise of their data centers. But still, they pushed harder than anyone…

Even with everything you say, Google was still defeated by the NSA. Will Google ever catch up in this arms race? "95% encrypted" == "100% compromised"

Google might have an easier time recruiting edge producing developers than the NSA after the leaks.

Re: NSA infiltrates links to Yahoo, Google data centers worldwide

#16

Post by jimparkins » Wed, Oct 30, 2013, 5:03 PM UTC

People will no doubt come on this thread and remind everyone that of course the government always had access - you must have been a fool not to think so. But I just can not get over how angry it makes me. Honestly I thought that using google products with some exploitation of the contents for advertising was an acceptable exchange. This is just a total betrayal and I cannot believe that the Google board is not aware of this! and if it is not it is because they choose to be!

Re: NSA infiltrates links to Yahoo, Google data centers worldwide

#17

Post by reustle » Wed, Oct 30, 2013, 5:03 PM UTC

tptacek wrote: post #2

It's hard not to come to the conclusion that these activities were essentially criminal. I don't see how the administration can fail to disavow them, investigate them fully, and hold their instigators accountable. It feels like Special Prosecutor time. That aside, let me re-make a point I keep making: Google had no knowledge of NSA's physical compromise of their data centers. But still, they pushed harder than anyone…

> Google had no knowledge of NSA's physical compromise of their data centers.

Are we sure about that?

Re: NSA infiltrates links to Yahoo, Google data centers worldwide

#18

Post by ghshephard » Wed, Oct 30, 2013, 5:03 PM UTC

tptacek wrote: post #2

It's hard not to come to the conclusion that these activities were essentially criminal. I don't see how the administration can fail to disavow them, investigate them fully, and hold their instigators accountable. It feels like Special Prosecutor time. That aside, let me re-make a point I keep making: Google had no knowledge of NSA's physical compromise of their data centers. But still, they pushed harder than anyone…

In the first week that I was managing IT/Ops at our company, our security architect, msj, approached me and said that our approach towards security would be to encrypt everything at rest, and everything in flight. Even the 18" of ethernet cord hanging outside of the servers would be considered an attack vector.

I thought he was loopy at the time. Amazing how wrong I was.

Re: NSA infiltrates links to Yahoo, Google data centers worldwide

#19

Post by betterunix » Wed, Oct 30, 2013, 5:04 PM UTC

jakewalker wrote: post #4

If that graphic - that taunting smiley face, drawn when it was assumed that no one was watching - isn't enough to outrage the general public, I don't know what it will take. This is not super technical - it's easily explained and should be easily understood by the masses. And it should cause outrage.

You know what would outrage the public? ESPN being shut down. Most people do not actually care about their privacy. Even if everyone had the technical chops needed to understand what has been happening, most people never spend much time contemplating the importance of privacy rights.

Re: NSA infiltrates links to Yahoo, Google data centers worldwide

#20

Post by vidarh » Wed, Oct 30, 2013, 5:05 PM UTC

It's kind of shocking that they haven't been encrypting all internal inter-datacentre connections to begin with. Even if they didn't suspect NSA snooping, there's enough companies and criminals out there that'd conceivably have a lot of reasons to want to try to find ways to tap Googles links.