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The NSA: An Inside View

lorensr.me

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Re: The NSA: An Inside View

#121

Post by [deleted] »

leot wrote: post #99
lukifer wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's also little analysis (here or elsewhere) of the consequences of widespread data warehousing. Why pay agents to listen to personal calls, when you can stockpile intel for the day you might need it, and analyze it via algorithm? I foresee a day when every American has a dossier, a smear campaign, and a law enforcement attack plan on file, in case they decide to "make trouble" for the powerful. It's highly proba…

It would be great to see a cheerful launch page for a satirical startup that automatically generated smear campaigns for governments against persons of interest. "We use of the expanded information capabilities of our client agencies to maximize the plausibility of our allegations!" Pricing! $8,000: General fear, uncertainty, and doubt (duration: 2 months) $15,000: Complete discrediting (duration: 6 months -- best va…

[deleted]

Re: The NSA: An Inside View

#122

Post by sitkack »

rookonaut wrote: post #69

Some trendy buzzwords in the title, no relevant information in the post, just opinions,... Imho it's just a disguised advertisement for his kickstarter campaign.

It smells like some Terry Gilliam inspired fascist utopia where a mid level tech in the security apparatus shills for the state/employer while hocking their caveman mayonnaise.

It must indeed have all of the electrolytes. Big brother would put THAT on his bun!

The unexamined life isn't worth living or watching. Those with nothing to hide offer nothing of interest.

Re: The NSA: An Inside View

#123

Post by middleclick »

alan_cx wrote: post #117

"I am an American patriot." If anything scares me, its that. I know what he has written straight afterwards, but it still makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Its all very well the author trying to define the word to suit their own purpose, but Im afraid its not that easy to get others to accept it. Try using your own definition of the word "Nig r", and see how that flies. "Patriotism to me simply means t…

The author claims to be a patriot but I would like to ask him how can he justify mass surveillance and/or entrusting a government agency with so much power while forgetting the Fourth Amendment which was enacted just for this purpose. There is a reason that such protections exist because it is almost certain that people in power will exploit them. And yet, he claims to be a patriot while being oblivious to the basic civil liberties and the Bill of Rights that the United States was formed on.

Re: The NSA: An Inside View

#124

Post by EthanHeilman »

lorendsr wrote: post #75
EthanHeilman wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you answer questions of the NSA's known past involvement in targeting political figures such as Martin Luther King[1], US journalists, and US antiwar activists? The NSA was known to pass this intelligence to LE. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_MINARET#Domestic_target...

MINARET was used in the 60's and 70's. It led to the passing of FISA, which made it illegal to look at or pass on US citizen data unless a judge suspected them of being a foreign agent.

The NSA did these things both pre-FISA and post-FISA. For example:

* 1980-present. MAIN CORE, which is shared between CIA, FBI, NSA, Contains data on 8 million Americans and is used by LE. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Core

* ?-Present the DEA SOD program which uses NSA intelligence for drug cases. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2013/08/05...

And these are just the cases we know about, they are likely only the tip of the iceberg.

Lorendsr, given this evidence and your previous statements that, "If I thought there was much chance that in the future, law enforcement and intelligence would not remain separate, my decision would change.", are you considering changing your decision?

Re: The NSA: An Inside View

#126

Post by phpnode »

leot wrote: post #99
lukifer wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's also little analysis (here or elsewhere) of the consequences of widespread data warehousing. Why pay agents to listen to personal calls, when you can stockpile intel for the day you might need it, and analyze it via algorithm? I foresee a day when every American has a dossier, a smear campaign, and a law enforcement attack plan on file, in case they decide to "make trouble" for the powerful. It's highly proba…

It would be great to see a cheerful launch page for a satirical startup that automatically generated smear campaigns for governments against persons of interest. "We use of the expanded information capabilities of our client agencies to maximize the plausibility of our allegations!" Pricing! $8,000: General fear, uncertainty, and doubt (duration: 2 months) $15,000: Complete discrediting (duration: 6 months -- best va…

if your customers are governments, I think your prices are missing one or more 0s

Re: The NSA: An Inside View

#127

Post by emiliobumachar »

malloreon wrote: post #79

"But I digress – the rare cases of unauthorized data retrieval were not polygraph-trained foreign spies trying to infiltrate the Agency, but rather regular employees illicitly viewing communications for personal gain." There are articles suggesting this is happening many thousands of times per year - shouldn't each of these 'regular employees' be put on trial? They have committed serious crimes.

Yeah, a little real punishment could go a long way towards preventing future abuse.

Re: The NSA: An Inside View

#128

Post by agorabinary »

I can't help but observe, with a sort of grim humor, that this fellow's resume now consists of international unwarranted espionage that threatens to upend the very foundations of our constitutional republic...and organic mayo entrepreneurship.

Re: The NSA: An Inside View

#129

Post by czr80 »

rst wrote: post #70
jonknee wrote: post #37

Interesting to get a look at what it's like to be inside the bubble. It's compartmentalized enough that the individual actors can justify their actions by the assumed competence and benevolence of the others. > I didn't test it, but I'm sure there was automated analysis that prevented or flagged use of US selectors. The mental leap here is subtle, but substantial. Since I have been told I can't use US selectors , I a…

What's particularly interesting is that some of the recent disclosures don't seem to be visible inside the bubble. Take this assertion, for instance: "The NSA copy of my emails won't be viewed by police or FBI investigating me about marijuana use, for instance. Law enforcement might get a search warrant and retrieve a copy from Google, but not from the NSA." In fact, it's been known for months that the DEA receives i…

This is an interesting article, thanks for sharing. Your summary does not quite reflect the article though. You say "In fact, it's been known for months that the DEA receives intercepts from the NSA in such volume that they have an office devoted to handling them (the DEA's "Special Operations Division")", which to me created the impression that the NSA was funneling large amounts of information about US citizens to the DEA.

However, the article actually says: "...two dozen arms of the government working with the Special Operations Division, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Security Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency.", and later that "the Special Operations Division of the DEA funnels information from overseas NSA intercepts, domestic wiretaps, informants and a large DEA database of telephone records to authorities nationwide to help them launch criminal investigations of Americans. The DEA phone database is distinct from a NSA database disclosed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden." [emphasis mine]

It's quite possible that the NSA passed only occasional information about non-US citizens - it's impossible to tell from that article - if that's the case, then to many people they're acting within their mandate.

I'm not trying to defend the NSA, and I'm deeply troubled by the implications of mass surveillance. But it's important I think to be clear about the claims we're making since otherwise it's easy for people to dismiss us.

Re: The NSA: An Inside View

#130

Post by SideburnsOfDoom »

rl3 wrote: post #107
sedev wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you'd never heard of parallel construction before today, that seems to powerfully undermine your credibility. Why should we take you more seriously than someone who says "I was a secretary at the NSA for years and I never heard of anything bad happening, therefore nothing bad happened"?

"I was in the Computer Network Operations Development Program, and my office was S32X: Signals Intelligence Directorate (S) > Data Acquisition (S3) > Tailored Access Operations (S32) > Special Tactics and Techniques (S32X)." I think it is reasonable to say that he is slightly more informed to speak on these issues than a secretary. It's really not surprising he hasn't heard of parallel reconstruction, considering: ht…

> by the very nature of the restricted work environment at intelligence agencies, it's not reasonable to expect him to have a complete picture.

How is that different from "he lacks credibility" ?

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