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Source Code Similarities Between NSA Malware and 'Regin' Trojan
21–30 of 200 posts
Re: Source Code Similarities Between NSA Malware and 'Regin' Trojan
#22My current opinion on government hacking is, that I actually want democratic government to be the biggest meanest hackers of them all. The alternative, unfortunately, is that either organized crime or non-democratic governments (or a combination of both) would be the biggest meanest hackers. And hacking doesn't really scale. Mass surveillance just through attacking individuals with malware isn't possible, because of…
I don't get it. The NSA is not a democratic government ... It's not elected by the people. The US people have no control over the NSA. There are also good reasons to argue that the US is not democratic: http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-echochambers-27074746
The U.S. government, for all its weaknesses, is providing their citizens with freedom and liberties as good or better than most other countries.
The NSA does have democratic oversight. It is controlled by the executive, legislative and judicative branches of the system. That this control is inadequate in our view, doesn't matter for the question whether or not the NSA is part of a democratic system.
Re: Source Code Similarities Between NSA Malware and 'Regin' Trojan
#23Earlier quoted context omitted.
Or, you know, they could concentrate on defense rather than offense
How can they provide adequate defenses without having the best offensive hackers? At the very least, penetration testing is an indispensable tool in cyber security. Also, surveillance of criminal and terrorist organizations without offensive capabilities is impossible.
The NSA have been accused of discovering vulnerabilities in systems and software but keeping them undisclosed so that they can exploit them themselves. A defensive security agency could be actively trying to secure these systems protecting us not just from government surveillance but all types of nefarious hackers.
Re: Source Code Similarities Between NSA Malware and 'Regin' Trojan
#24Earlier quoted context omitted.
I am confused in just about everything you said. So what do you endorse and what do you mean by "biggest meanest hackers"? How would that fit in a democratic government?
It depends on just who you are attacking. Terrorist groups, criminal organizations or criminal individuals are legitimate targets of a cyber attack, just as they could and should be put under conventional surveillance. If government agencies attack ordinary citizens or companies, without legitimate authorization, than it's not a problem of means or tools but rather a problem with democratic or judicial oversight on t…
It can be argued that leaving systems vulnerable to attack as the NSA have been accused of doing actually facilitates more crime than it prevents.
Re: Source Code Similarities Between NSA Malware and 'Regin' Trojan
#25My current opinion on government hacking is, that I actually want democratic government to be the biggest meanest hackers of them all. The alternative, unfortunately, is that either organized crime or non-democratic governments (or a combination of both) would be the biggest meanest hackers. And hacking doesn't really scale. Mass surveillance just through attacking individuals with malware isn't possible, because of…
Define 'democratic government'. This term is a euphemism nowadays in the West.
E.g.: http://www.salon.com/2013/08/17/chomsky_the_u_s_behaves_noth...
Re: Source Code Similarities Between NSA Malware and 'Regin' Trojan
#26Earlier quoted context omitted.
I am confused in just about everything you said. So what do you endorse and what do you mean by "biggest meanest hackers"? How would that fit in a democratic government?
It depends on just who you are attacking. Terrorist groups, criminal organizations or criminal individuals are legitimate targets of a cyber attack, just as they could and should be put under conventional surveillance. If government agencies attack ordinary citizens or companies, without legitimate authorization, than it's not a problem of means or tools but rather a problem with democratic or judicial oversight on t…
Providing these backdoors isn't government hacking on legitimate targets, but rather a sort of lazy surveillance or intrusion on its citizens.
Re: Source Code Similarities Between NSA Malware and 'Regin' Trojan
#27Nothing like waking up to a story that makes you feel embarrassed by your citizenship. Good job Canada, you're making a Maple Leaf a dangerous symbol all around the world. When I was a youngster, being Canadian meant that Incould travel anywhere and be fine. Granted, there was a > 50% probability that the other Canadians I would meet were really Americans, but that was nothing. My country had a solid international re…
Just imagine being American and being full of false pride...
Re: Source Code Similarities Between NSA Malware and 'Regin' Trojan
#28Re: Source Code Similarities Between NSA Malware and 'Regin' Trojan
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't get it. The NSA is not a democratic government ... It's not elected by the people. The US people have no control over the NSA. There are also good reasons to argue that the US is not democratic: http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-echochambers-27074746
The U.S. government, for all its weaknesses, is providing their citizens with freedom and liberties as good or better than most other countries. The NSA does have democratic oversight. It is controlled by the executive, legislative and judicative branches of the system. That this control is inadequate in our view, doesn't matter for the question whether or not the NSA is part of a democratic system.
> "That this control is inadequate in our view, doesn't matter for ... a democratic system."
It absolutely matters. Without those controls you have a democracy in name only. You could quite happily rig elections, arrest opponents, suppress the population etc, while still claiming to be 'democratic'.
Re: Source Code Similarities Between NSA Malware and 'Regin' Trojan
#30Nothing like waking up to a story that makes you feel embarrassed by your citizenship. Good job Canada, you're making a Maple Leaf a dangerous symbol all around the world. When I was a youngster, being Canadian meant that Incould travel anywhere and be fine. Granted, there was a > 50% probability that the other Canadians I would meet were really Americans, but that was nothing. My country had a solid international re…
Not related to this thread, but to your comment about the Maple Leaf: http://www.newsweek.com/why-rebel-groups-love-toyota-hilux-7...
Edit: Sorry, I didn't see it was paywalled (I'm not a subscriber of that site). I now see that it counts your visits and disable itself after a few times. "Private" browsing seems to solve the problem.