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NSA collects millions of text messages daily in 'untargeted' global sweep

theguardian.com

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Re: NSA collects millions of text messages daily in 'untargeted' global sweep

#61

Post by hdevalence »

r0h1n wrote: post #60
pilooch wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I love textsecure. My problems is twofold: I don't know in advance who is using it from my contacts, and I know for sure none of my non geek relations is using it, not even for business stuff, which could make sense. And so as much as I like it (thanks!!!) I am not convinced this is the solution. Am I wrong ?

As I understand, you can use Textsecure as your default SMS app which means it will automatically send either a plain or encrypted message to a recipient depending on whether they have the app installed or not. Of course if you use a non-stock messaging app, like Handcent for instance, you may not want to switch to Textsecure for other features/reasons.

No, you need to initiate a secure session manually, and my experience was that unless you knew the other person was for sure using text secure, this could cause problems, since of you tried to handshake with the other person using a stock app, it could get stuck in the handshake. This was a while ago, so I don't know if the problem still exists.

Text secure is great, though. Really, really great.

Re: NSA collects millions of text messages daily in 'untargeted' global sweep

#62

Post by r0h1n »

hdevalence wrote: post #61
r0h1n wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As I understand, you can use Textsecure as your default SMS app which means it will automatically send either a plain or encrypted message to a recipient depending on whether they have the app installed or not. Of course if you use a non-stock messaging app, like Handcent for instance, you may not want to switch to Textsecure for other features/reasons.

No, you need to initiate a secure session manually, and my experience was that unless you knew the other person was for sure using text secure, this could cause problems, since of you tried to handshake with the other person using a stock app, it could get stuck in the handshake. This was a while ago, so I don't know if the problem still exists. Text secure is great, though. Really, really great.

Maybe its a Cyanogenmod-only feature then. Because they do claim the app can make the choice transparently without user involvement: https://whispersystems.org/blog/cyanogen-integration/

Re: NSA collects millions of text messages daily in 'untargeted' global sweep

#63

Post by alan_cx »

pvnick wrote: post #20

"Communications from US phone numbers, the documents suggest, were removed (or “minimized”) from the database – but those of other countries, including the UK, were retained." I'm interested in knowing the specifics on this. US data goes into a database and is then proactively removed? Minimization procedures [1] allow the nsa to keep US data up to 5 years to determine where it's coming from. It's also kept if "they…

To go back to blackmail arguments elsewhere...

I hope people see from this that if the OP or any of his friends decides to enter politics, they are compromised. They have strong reason to believe the NSA has dirt on them, and that if they speak out about the NSA in a way the NSA feels threatened, there is information that could be leaked to discredit them. So, will they risk all the good they might be able to do elsewhere to tackle the NSA? And this is merely the compromising information the OP remembers... and wants to tell HN about, or considers compromising. Once the likes of Fox News twist things up, even the genuinely innocent can be spun as vile and evil.

Sure, buying a bit of weed might not be as devastating as other things, but there its the point, there is the mechanism of control. And none of it involves or requires NSA goons inviting one to a parking lot at 2am for a quiet word.

Re: NSA collects millions of text messages daily in 'untargeted' global sweep

#64

Post by tP5n »

vermontdevil wrote: post #2

By now there's pretty much nothing NSA is not doing to collect information from everyone. Now I wonder if NSA is able to penetrate services like WhatsApp, Snapchat, etc.

you probably weren't serious, but in the case anyone else is unsure about this: whatsapp is and always has been broken from a security standpoint and there is no need for the/a NSA to penetrate anything in their case. i wonder how you could've missed out on what happened to snapchat lately though, two links as some sort of a short introduction:

from late 2012, but a worthwhile read on whatsapp http://fileperms.org/whatsapp-is-broken-really-broken/

and in the case anyone missed the snapchat debacle http://lookup.gibsonsec.org/

Re: NSA collects millions of text messages daily in 'untargeted' global sweep

#65

Post by Tharkun »

moxie wrote: post #49

I help develop TextSecure, an Android app which allows users encrypt their text messages: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.thoughtcri... It's fully open source: https://github.com/whispersystems/textsecure You can also sign up to be notified when it's released for iOS: https://whispersystems.org/blog/iphone-rsn/

Thanks, Moxie! Been using it for a while now, and apart from the odd crash on a memory-starved ancient Droid, I'm happy to report that It Just Works :)

Still trying to convince other people to use, without much luck in non-geek circles :(

Re: NSA collects millions of text messages daily in 'untargeted' global sweep

#66

Post by drdaeman »

hdevalence wrote: post #61
r0h1n wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As I understand, you can use Textsecure as your default SMS app which means it will automatically send either a plain or encrypted message to a recipient depending on whether they have the app installed or not. Of course if you use a non-stock messaging app, like Handcent for instance, you may not want to switch to Textsecure for other features/reasons.

No, you need to initiate a secure session manually, and my experience was that unless you knew the other person was for sure using text secure, this could cause problems, since of you tried to handshake with the other person using a stock app, it could get stuck in the handshake. This was a while ago, so I don't know if the problem still exists. Text secure is great, though. Really, really great.

Wonder how this works: https://whispersystems.org/assets/screens/textsecure_upgrade...

Unfortunately, there are no explanations on webpage and I'm not currently into the mood of reading source code to figure things out.

Maybe outgoing (unencrypted) SMS sent through TextSecure app are tagged as "hey, we can upgrade this to secure comms". Then all you have to do is use the app. But I really don't know.

Re: NSA collects millions of text messages daily in 'untargeted' global sweep

#67

Post by Tharkun »

VexXtreme wrote: post #55

I still don't understand something. If they are intercepting text messages globally, how do they do that if two people are texting each other in within the borders of their own country using their national carrier? Their texts never leave the country. Has the NSA somehow compromised or coerced various carriers around the world to provide them with this data?

NSA and GHCQ apparently routinely backdoor international carriers. I vaguely remember something about a Belgian carrier stumbling upon the backdoor and struggling to remove it for months.

Re: NSA collects millions of text messages daily in 'untargeted' global sweep

#69

Post by cryoshon »

sinak wrote: post #43
cryoshon wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I support this campaign. It won't work singularly, but it might be another useful bullet point in fermenting dissent against the NSA. There are two major hurdles to social change success which this campaign does not overcome: 1. There's no political threat being projected, just general, unfocused discontent 2. There's no hook to entice people who don't already care about the issue

Any suggestions on 2? We'd love to change the page to help improve that aspect of it if we can. In particular on the day of action itself.

Focus on average joes/peasants who have been hurt/otherwise disadvantaged by the surveillance.

If you can't find such an example, you need to take off the kid gloves and explain clearly that endemic surveillance is a cause of AND an effect of totalitarian governments.

Be sure to emphasize the historical incidences (STASI, Hoover, present day China/Russia) in which surveillance has been abused in order to support the narrative that once performed, surveillance will result in abuse.

As far as the day of action itself, I'd shift your focus onto trying to drum up physical presence-- anyone with a campaign can flood the internet, but flooding meatspace is much more difficult and also much more effectual.

EDIT: I thought about my comment for a while then realized it could be re-worded and re-thought out in a very simple way.

Your movement needs agitprop. Find a hornet's nest for the average joe, then hit it. Focusing on Aaron isn't the right way to go about that because most people have never heard of him. I have more feedback; email me if you'd like.

Re: NSA collects millions of text messages daily in 'untargeted' global sweep

#70

Post by vermontdevil »

tP5n wrote: post #64
vermontdevil wrote: post #2

By now there's pretty much nothing NSA is not doing to collect information from everyone. Now I wonder if NSA is able to penetrate services like WhatsApp, Snapchat, etc.

you probably weren't serious, but in the case anyone else is unsure about this: whatsapp is and always has been broken from a security standpoint and there is no need for the/a NSA to penetrate anything in their case. i wonder how you could've missed out on what happened to snapchat lately though, two links as some sort of a short introduction: from late 2012, but a worthwhile read on whatsapp http://fileperms.org/wh…

Of course not I'm not serious.

But what is not accessible to NSA?

However the fact that WhatsApp and Snapchat's popularity tells me that people are not really educated about their true privacy and how completely broken it is.

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