I feel like the key sentence in this article (edit: which is ironically no longer verbatim in this article, which I see hours later has been heavily expanded) which purports to answer the "but... why the USPS?"--is: > The agency told Yahoo News the Inspection Service collaborates with law-enforcement agencies to identify and assess threats to the Postal Service and its "overall mail processing and transportation network.
The USPS is running a 'covert' program to monitor Americans' social media posts
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Re: The USPS is running a 'covert' program to monitor Americans' social media posts
#12I bet FedEx could operate a domestic intelligence agency for like a quarter of their budget.
You joke but private mail carriers don't have the same restrictions on monitoring your mail that the USPS does. They are free to open and inspect any package, as well as x-ray and other such methods, and don't need to disclose it. Except under some special circumstances, letters and parcels going through the USPS, on the other hand, need a warrant to be opened. One could easily imagine a program where private carriers report the contents of parcels sent to or from targeted individuals or even add things like listening devices or malware to items being shipped. While probably not useful for dealing with organized crime, if your goal is just general intelligence gathering or blackmail, private carriers could easily be a treasure trove.
Re: The USPS is running a 'covert' program to monitor Americans' social media posts
#13I bet FedEx could operate a domestic intelligence agency for like a quarter of their budget.
You joke but private mail carriers don't have the same restrictions on monitoring your mail that the USPS does. They are free to open and inspect any package, as well as x-ray and other such methods, and don't need to disclose it. Except under some special circumstances, letters and parcels going through the USPS, on the other hand, need a warrant to be opened. One could easily imagine a program where private carrier…
More likely to improve targeted advertising.
Re: The USPS is running a 'covert' program to monitor Americans' social media posts
#14It seems like this should be the job of the FBI, DHS or some other agency like that. The Post Office should deliver mail and packages not investigate material on the internet.
Re: The USPS is running a 'covert' program to monitor Americans' social media posts
#15Hah, remember this story? https://apnews.com/article/1e42c1a6fd324f5784c414fcd2adbd17 > The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives lost track of most of the guns, including two found at the scene where a U.S. Border Patrol Agent was fatally shot in the Arizona desert. The operation sparked a political backlash against the Obama administration. > Attkisson left CBS in 2014 and is now the host of “Ful…
completely forgot about that story—great catch.
Re: The USPS is running a 'covert' program to monitor Americans' social media posts
#16I work in cyber security ML engineering (open for interviews, hmu) and frequently see federal contractor firms hiring for cyber data/engineer positions for USPS. Always puzzled me.
example: https://jobs.rtx.com/job/-/-/4679/4267185376?codes=INDEED
Re: The USPS is running a 'covert' program to monitor Americans' social media posts
#17This is a power grab by the USPS to inject themselves into the industrial surveillance complex. It most likely tries to tie a social media profile to a physical address and provides a pen register of all the mail sent and received by that citizen along with a collection of the "inflammatory opinions". It is unconstitutional and folks at the USPS and organizations they shared the data with should go to jail.
> to inject themselves into the industrial surveillance complex.
Haven't they been de-facto participating for decades?
Re: The USPS is running a 'covert' program to monitor Americans' social media posts
#18News flash: people read things that you make public on the Web.
There is a qualitative difference between "people reading things you make public on the web" and "a government-funded agency uses extensive technological means to read, categorize and threat-assess your statements on the net, and have the power to throw you into jail for an indeterminate length of time - or worse."
Re: The USPS is running a 'covert' program to monitor Americans' social media posts
#19Weird, and scary. But maybe I can kind of see it. Here's a protest. Let's say it's Proud Boys, and Antifa shows up. And here's a mail carrier out trying to deliver the mail, who drives (or worse, walks) right into the middle of it. The Post Office might have a legitimate reason for wanting to know, so they can keep their on-duty employees from harm. Is that what's going on? Is that all that's going on? I don't know.
You should try to re-word your comment so that it reads less like an "I'm just asking questions" conspiracy theory.
Re: The USPS is running a 'covert' program to monitor Americans' social media posts
#20I bet FedEx could operate a domestic intelligence agency for like a quarter of their budget.
You joke but private mail carriers don't have the same restrictions on monitoring your mail that the USPS does. They are free to open and inspect any package, as well as x-ray and other such methods, and don't need to disclose it. Except under some special circumstances, letters and parcels going through the USPS, on the other hand, need a warrant to be opened. One could easily imagine a program where private carrier…
> One could easily imagine a program where [...]
One doesn't have to imagine.
https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2015/03/cisco_shippin...