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Edward Snowden: The Untold Story

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Re: Edward Snowden: The Untold Story

#81

Post by ARCarr »

peterwwillis wrote: post #78

Can someone remind me why Snowden became a public figure in the first place? The second leaker is anonymous and practically invisible, and here Snowden is, constantly getting more press. It's like he wants to be as visible as possible while other leakers want the opposite. Edit: Can somebody tell me what was downvote-worthy about this comment? This is getting ridiculous.

Every movement needs a figurehead. Plus, there's not much more that can happen to him. Others who aren't identified have more to lose.

Re: Edward Snowden: The Untold Story

#82

Post by lallysingh »

crunchcaptain wrote: post #62
elwell wrote: post #42

> One day an intelligence officer told him that TAO—a division of NSA hackers—had attempted in 2012 to remotely install an exploit in one of the core routers at a major Internet service provider in Syria, which was in the midst of a prolonged civil war. This would have given the NSA access to email and other Internet traffic from much of the country. But something went wrong, and the router was bricked instead—render…

It's very interesting that TAO attempted to remotely compromise a core router. What happened to diverting Cisco boxes to an "undisclosed location" for installing implants?

Nobody was ordering replacement routers in the area that they wanted? At least not until their old one magically bricked itself...

Re: Edward Snowden: The Untold Story

#83

Post by anon1385 »

drez wrote: post #73
chatmasta wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In middle of a war zone > In peacetime So which is it? There was (is) a war raging in Syria, the US has interests there -- like it or not -- and the NSA is a US intelligence agency. This story sounds like an example of the NSA just doing its job. I have no problem with the NSA spying on foreign communications or disrupting them. After all, that's their job. What else would we use the NSA for? What I do have a probl…

> I have no problem with the NSA spying on foreign communications or disrupting them. After all, that's their job. What else would we use the NSA for? Really? You don't have an issue with a foreign intelligence agency disrupting core infrastructure for a nation in the midst of a civil war? Especially against a nation we are not even at war with? What if the Chinese (or anyone else) did something similar? Would that n…

It's just the usual old American Exceptionalism. They believe they have the 'God given' right to disrupt the economies of other countries, destroy infrastructure, assassinate civilians, fix elections and fund military coups.

The only reason ever given is 'Might is Right'. To be an American patriot is to be a psychopath.

Re: Edward Snowden: The Untold Story

#84

Post by anon1385 »

tptacek wrote: post #80
drez wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I have no problem with the NSA spying on foreign communications or disrupting them. After all, that's their job. What else would we use the NSA for? Really? You don't have an issue with a foreign intelligence agency disrupting core infrastructure for a nation in the midst of a civil war? Especially against a nation we are not even at war with? What if the Chinese (or anyone else) did something similar? Would that n…

Do you really believe that France, China, and Israel haven't owned up US routers? Should we declare war on them?

That is some very weak whataboutery.

If there was a civil war going on in the US and disrupting the internet was likely to lead to loss of life then we might have a comparable situation. That isn't the situation though.

I am making a note of the fact that you view the Chinese government as a good barometer of morality in readiness for the next time you bring up their human rights record.

Re: Edward Snowden: The Untold Story

#85

Post by chatmasta »

drez wrote: post #73
chatmasta wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In middle of a war zone > In peacetime So which is it? There was (is) a war raging in Syria, the US has interests there -- like it or not -- and the NSA is a US intelligence agency. This story sounds like an example of the NSA just doing its job. I have no problem with the NSA spying on foreign communications or disrupting them. After all, that's their job. What else would we use the NSA for? What I do have a probl…

> I have no problem with the NSA spying on foreign communications or disrupting them. After all, that's their job. What else would we use the NSA for? Really? You don't have an issue with a foreign intelligence agency disrupting core infrastructure for a nation in the midst of a civil war? Especially against a nation we are not even at war with? What if the Chinese (or anyone else) did something similar? Would that n…

> You don't have an issue with a foreign intelligence agency disrupting core infrastructure for a nation in the midst of a civil war? Especially against a nation we are not even at war with?

Intelligence agencies operate in foreign countries during peacetime. This is not a new phenomenon. Espionage is not limited to war, and it never has been. Peacetime espionage is 99% of all espionage, and much of the time, it's necessary to maintain that peacetime.

The US has spies in every country in the world, war or not. So does China, so does Russia, so does the UK, etc. It's just a fact of life. If a nation state is not spying, it's not doing its job.

Re: Edward Snowden: The Untold Story

#86

Post by peterwwillis »

ARCarr wrote: post #81
peterwwillis wrote: post #78

Can someone remind me why Snowden became a public figure in the first place? The second leaker is anonymous and practically invisible, and here Snowden is, constantly getting more press. It's like he wants to be as visible as possible while other leakers want the opposite. Edit: Can somebody tell me what was downvote-worthy about this comment? This is getting ridiculous.

Every movement needs a figurehead. Plus, there's not much more that can happen to him. Others who aren't identified have more to lose.

First, the article clearly points out that there is quite a bit more that can happen to him and he's fighting to stay hidden. Second, what movement?

Re: Edward Snowden: The Untold Story

#87

Post by djb_hackernews »

slg wrote: post #79
adityab wrote: post #18

Two key 'new' things from this article, that were previously unknown: 1. The NSA exploited the firmware of a Syrian core internet router, and bricked it by mistake. This was an "oh shit" moment (sic). So in it's eagerness to scoop up all digital communications, it killed the majormost way for citizens to communicate while in the midst of a civil war. Great. 2. There is a project called "MonsterMind", which 100% autom…

It is in revealing things like this that make me question Snowden. While both points are interesting and maybe a little troubling, they are certainly not whistleblowing in the name of protecting the rights of American citizens. He has moved from simply exposing the breadth of the domestic spying apparatus to exposing the tactics the United States uses in legitimate espionage operations. Isn't trying to compromise the…

> Isn't trying to compromise the communication network of a country like Syria the exact thing the NSA is supposed to be doing?

No

Re: Edward Snowden: The Untold Story

#88

Post by walshemj »

ch4s3 wrote: post #25

"Programs like this had existed for decades, but MonsterMind software would add a unique new capability: Instead of simply detecting and killing the malware at the point of entry, MonsterMind would automatically fire back, with no human involvement. That's a problem, Snowden says, because the initial attacks are often routed through computers in innocent third countries. “These attacks can be spoofed,” he says. “You…

pro Wi-Fi gear will do that already out of the box you can set up an AirNet system with spare AP's that act as trackers and aggressor nodes to kill rouge ap's or host's

Re: Edward Snowden: The Untold Story

#89

Post by jmscharff2 »

I can buy that he saw a lot of things that made him mistrust the government. What I have a problem with is that it seems as though he took jobs and looked for positions that would give him access to even more data. If he was really just working and saw this stuff that is one thing to go in and try and steal it is another, whether or not he did the right thing is up for debate. Selling USA secrets to other governments is espionage no matter how you slice it. If it was just leak it to the USA and the world at the same time then sure I could buy the whistleblower if it is go run and hide in Russia or China and sell information that is a different story. I dont think anyone has all the facts about this though.

Re: Edward Snowden: The Untold Story

#90

Post by chatmasta »

TuringTest wrote: post #77
chatmasta wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In middle of a war zone > In peacetime So which is it? There was (is) a war raging in Syria, the US has interests there -- like it or not -- and the NSA is a US intelligence agency. This story sounds like an example of the NSA just doing its job. I have no problem with the NSA spying on foreign communications or disrupting them. After all, that's their job. What else would we use the NSA for? What I do have a probl…

The US didn't declare war on Syria. > I have no problem with the NSA spying on foreign communications or disrupting them. Should the rest of countries just assume that the US is a permanent military enemy? You don't seem to have a problem with treating them as such.

Countries should assume that other countries are spying on them, military enemy or not. This is how the world has worked for the past 70 years, and it's not going to change.
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