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The NSA’s Panopticon
Edward Snowden, the NSA whistle-blower, has so far brought three important issues (back) into public knowledge. The NSA is tapping Verizon and all other major telecommunications providers and stores all information on who talks with whom, from where to where, by what means, when and for how long. These are the meta-data of the calls, not the actual content of the calls though those can and may well be tapped elsewhere or by other means.
The NSA also sucks user data from all major internet services. It taps into various commercial databases, personal medical data and into the records of air lines and other transportation services. It does all this permanently and on a global base. The collecting is not restricted to “foreigners”.
The U.S. also has a global target list for cyber attacks. It may, based on the NSA meta-data analysis, attack other countries, companies or individuals without any notice, without declaring war and in total secrecy. All this is “legal” in the sense that the U.S. congress and several U.S. bureaucracies have signed off on it.
The NSA is not the only one doing all this. The British and Canadian services do similar stuff, though on a much smaller scale, as likely do other governments. Their motto: “Yes, we scan!” and “In God we trust. All others we monitor.”
But what to do with all this (meta-)data, those trillions of data points? Here is a good explanation. If back in 1770s the British Royal Security Agency had had the capability of collecting and analyzing meta-data of various meeting circles in Boston it would have found that Paul Revere was one of the critical connecting persons of the American revolutionary movement. The RSA would have had no need to know what was spoken between the revolutionaries at their various meetings. Knowledge of who belonged to one or more of these circles would have been enough to find the critical connecting person. Solely based on meta-data one shot would then have been enough to probably end the American revolution movement.
Meta-data and a bit of matrix multiplication can find a “signature” that can then be used to find and target people. The “signature” drone strikes the U.S. conducts in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and elsewhere are on such meta-data derived targets. The U.S. does not know who it kills in such strikes. It judges that the circumstances of a meeting or the behavior of some unknown people who attend, i.e. the meta-data, is sufficiant to claim that those are “terrorists” and to blow them all apart.
This method can of course be used to find targets other than “terrorists” – environmentalists, pro-gun or anti-gun activists, people with this or that special interest. All just a query away.
That is scarry but that is not yet the real danger of the total observation state. Edward Snowden points to a different danger of such secret data accumulation:
[Snowden] said the [analysts and governments] labored under a false premise that “if a surveillance program produces information of value, it legitimizes it. . . . In one step, we’ve managed to justify the operation of the Panopticon.”
The Panopticon is a architectural concept for a prison where the guards can watch, unseen by the inmates, from a tower in the middle into all cells build in a circle around the tower. It leaves the inmates in a perceived state of permanent surveillance. The French philosopher Michel Foucault described the effect:
Hence the major effect of the Panopticon: to induce in the inmate a state of conscious and permanent visibility that assures the automatic functioning of power. So to arrange things that the surveillance is permanent in its effects, even if it is discontinuous in its action; that the perfection of power should tend to render its actual exercise unnecessary; that this architectural apparatus should be a machine for creating and sustaining a power relation independent of the person who exercises it; in short, that the inmates should be caught up in a power situation of which they are themselves the bearers.
The original Panopticon, like the digital version the NSA is building, takes away all feeling of privacy. Even when one is not watched, knowing that the possibility of being watched is always there, creates uncertainty and leads to self disciplining and self censorship. It is certainly a state the powers that be would like everyone, except themselves, to be in.
There are several ways to fight against this. One is of course by policy means. Tell your representatives that such data collection and analysis must be banned by law. But you can do more. Do not buy devices that are always on and permanently transfer your data to who-knows. Do not join services that use your data for their advantages. I for one do not own a smartphone, do not have a Facebook or other “social-crap” account and even put a piece of tape over my lap-top cam. Is that paranoid? I don’t think so. Slipping out of the Panopticon just makes it more difficult for them to intimidate me.
@Guest77#21 Re: ‘After asking for their gold back’. Whatever happened with that, last I heard the US in 2011 asked for a 7 year extension, about the same time Obama leaves office after his final term. Now its back on the cards for ‘Some’ of the Gold. Looks like central banks just don’t trust each other anymore, this includes the IMF (4th largest gold holder). In 1990 Drexel Burnham Lambert, one of America’s largest investment banks, filed for bankruptcy. Drexel’s failure is famously blamed on junk bond trader Michael Milken, but the central bank of Portugal had loaned 17 tons of gold to Drexel. When the firm failed, Portugal’s claim on its gold simply evaporated. That was more than two decades ago at a time when almost no one was interested in gold, which then traded at $380. My take is that the delay is central banks aren’t being forced to “buy back” the gold they may have leased out – Much of that to China, India etc.
Also ‘General Petraeus certainly might have been worried’; see this is the lawyer part of ‘Obama’ and all; it’s in the wording ‘Prisim’ i.e. rejection from FB, Google etc, as they know this as ‘Palantir’ AKA Palantir Metropolis platform (formerly branded as Palantir Finance)’ the CEO has shares in FB, his circle is PayPal, Google (Gmail, YouTube, etc), Facebook, Microsoft (Hotmail, Skype, etc.), Apple, Yahoo, PalTalk and AOL, even dropbox and a few more, also was kick-started via CIA funds, (In-Q-Tel venture capital arm) the CEO and the FBI chiefs attend the same conferences. A good reference for Prism cover; http://unhandled.com/2013/06/07/a-taxonomy-of-prism-possibilities/
What I don’t get is ‘customers’ more SME’s, conglomerates, institutions and Orgs not taking action with their respective ISP’s, all the more with non-disclosure documents and related legal documents, as well as simple but needed ‘private’ correspondence that is accessible to Government employees and 3rd party contractors (As is the leak person in this case). The ugly side is not only Gov control, even if it does this and is expected, but employees or 3rd party looking/reading, abusing, selling your data, be it as a lead or to blackmail, extort, victimize etc- This is the “Thin Red Line” (Could not resist that) as they are not all squeaky clean people.
What I don’t get is his profile as #32 linked, at times I do, since I have met many people that work as contractors or staff where in the past they have odd even anal CV’s that just don’t gel, much like a Vet (As in Animals) in the UN becoming head of Mission DDR programmes or a mil-drop out, low level mechanic in charge of a mission engineering sector, even top security heads with no previous background in that environment. I met and worked with a US SF analyst, he had flat feet (You don’t get in the club, but good swimmers) and an absolute moron in IT, i.e. CD tray id for holding the cup of joe and he was the US Embassy security contractor – So it happens; and thus I ask in this case, why set-up a fake or rouge whistle blower? What is the other intention, send out a signal that bad is done, but in the end we are good?
So if someone can give a good reason to why this is just a ‘story’ and not occured I am all ears.
Posted by: kev | Jun 11 2013 9:01 utc | 33
Booz Allen Hamilton shares down -4.4% on open.
This is the company the NSA leaker Edward Snowden just got a gig with (3 months) BA takes about 98% of its revenues from government contracts.
Verizon stock goes up; go figure?
@Brian – The Willyloman Blog –“ This is what $200,000 a year rents in Hawaii? Well how long was he doing a gig paying 200K, and that sum is not far out, ask Dyncorp, B&R, the UN, contractors, the latter as just ‘volunteers’ (Mission area dependent) get 30k a year, tax free, and travel. Hawaii, an expensive place by all means, bit of a luxury if you are not from Hawaii, in this light, he is living by his means. As for the little bungalow, double garage, lawn, pretty nice. What Scott write is speculation, wish I could live in a ‘crappy’ little place in Hawaii at 29.
Scott also seems to pump out 3 blogs at the same time, all takes of the other but pressing a theme that make no sense, “why manufacture E. Snowden?” That is never clarified, Scott seems more bitter than logical.
If anything, E. Snowden wanted his ‘15 min’, he found the way, and used it, I am not getting the vibe that he did it out of ethics, rather opportunity, but it still about an act that is wrong!
He had the means of getting a job, just not the one he wanted, Father officer in the United States Coast Guard; and his mother is a clerk at the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, so contacts. Back to Hawaii, May 2013, he had been working for defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton for less than three months as a ‘system administrator’ inside the NSA in Hawaii, this does not pay 200K, or did his last posts, around the 70-80k, but then you get expenses, adjustment pay, hazard pay, it all adds up. But 3 month in Hawaii would not make you buy a house, so rental would fit. His job was not ‘high profile’ or did it have rank (IT’S the IT guy, he is ignored, they all want power) but in that, his access (Information) was prolific as he was an administrator.
Before that he worked for Dell, nothing epic, just gave him ‘hand on IT skills’. So he worked for the CIA, so do cleaners, admin, drivers, cooks and candle stick makers, it did not mean he was a ‘special agent’, and he was not, it just means he worked for that entity; the play on this is blow out of all context.
In all this look like a opportunist or narcissist that also saw he was never going to transpire to what he thought he should be, but he also exposed something, or rather gave it content even if this was exposed before, many times I might add. What he did is great, why he did it is grey…
The underlying facts – “Verizon is Committed to Protecting Your Privacy
Protecting our customers’ privacy is an important priority at Verizon and we are committed to maintaining strong and meaningful privacy protections for customers… ”
This is also for the rest (The Yahoo’s, Skypee’s, AOL’ers… In turn, this is what is being done: Scapegoat the messenger, to distract us from the message.
Posted by: kev | Jun 11 2013 11:51 utc | 36
@Brain, ‘the problem’ = Brian – YouTube, Simpsons? – He is 29; sure he had aspirations, e.g. ‘USA all the way’ or a possible career, whatever, we all do the same. Most people that start a career find that it’s not what they expected, (If not all of us when we get older) , most get stuck in that rut, and then to keep your job live with a reality check, do or die, as it pays your way. At first you start with passion, excitement, then the BS pulls you down, you tend not to ‘rock the boat’ as it is also a financial crutch; I am not ashamed to say it, been there a few times myself.
What we are seeing is just that, and the MSN media is taking the ‘Leaker’ route; not ‘Whistle Blower’ – is it even a legal term? Well it’s not, it is a media spun ‘throw it out there’ and an deliberate change perception; camouflage, smoke screen, for the general public, as it seems they are all very stupid, and must be because we watch, and let it run its course, discuss over a coffee, and its yesterdays news, welcome to being a citizen; history proves that.
The reality – What we are seeing is Edward Snowden and him being the focus, in turn, exposed, the flaws (Although accepted at the time);and something we all have -What we are NOT seeing is the truth and the real story, or the poor oversight, mishandling, violations and abuse by Gov and actors in the Private sector, end of story!
Picture this; and deliberate the logic. It is fine to pay, give incentives, reduce sentences for informants, even provide then a new Identity and lifestyle; most informants are equally criminal, or very much complicit, they have no code of ethics to either side. But this is a part of the legal system V’s a whistle blower, who exposes grave injustice and is then persecuted – WTF. Example, and one of many, but will use a ‘popular’ media example for arguments sake; James “Whitey”, Boston’s (Hope that does not trigger NSA) most notorious gangster, worked hand-in-hand with FBI, pushing out his Mob rivals in exchange for protection, what one would call a Rat, irrelevant of the side, same code, a wanker. Did it stop the FBI and others to pay out? Did is F***, point in case, just as corrupt and complicit.
Like b, stated #68 WL, or Scott (Scott Creighton) as I mentioned previously, is just a cheap plagiarist riding on ego and adding variants in the hope that one of his ‘Many angles in a post’ may come true – the classic told you so hopeful or wanker who covers all bases just to be in the spotlight.
Posted by: kev | Jun 12 2013 13:35 utc | 70
It get better hotter and is some serious shit – Got some background off my tech person, not sure if it’s just her take, yet it all seems plausable; it looks like this saga is reflecting on IBM, who is now laying off workers globally; IBM, and we were already having serious trouble selling our cloud based software solutions in Europe because of concerns about the US government spying on transactions. So the catalyst for all, the mechanics was ‘Cloud’ (A driver), so that tech (Google) was deployed for a very good reson, but sold as cost saving. For example, a cloud computer facility which serves European users during European business hours with a specific application (eg. email) while the same resources are getting reallocated and serve North American users during North America’s business hours with another application (eg. web server). This approach should maximize the use of computing powers thus reducing environmental damage as well, since less power, air conditioning, rackspace, and so on, is required for the same functions, the majority based in the US. In turn, Cloud was formed and sold as a ‘Cost cutting’ attribute, and Security could improve due to centralization of data, increased security-focused resources, etc., but concerns can persist about loss of control over certain sensitive data, and the lack of security for stored kernels. Security is often as good as or better than other traditional systems, in part because providers are able to devote resources to solving security issues that many customers cannot afford, but that the kicker, who controls the security, also is the ‘all seeing eye’! Now remember, we have public cloud, and private cloud, 98% are on the public platform, but the 1% are provided for by those in bed! And the outstanding 1% is a hybrid, so just as controlled.
Cloud computing and it’s privacy concerns, be it Verizon or ATT for example (Keeping it relevant) the service provider can access the data that is on the cloud at any point in time. They could accidentally or deliberately alter or even delete information, also pass it on without consent as seems to be the case. On that note: In a virtualized cloud computing environment, customers may never know exactly where their data is stored. In fact, data may be stored across multiple data centers (US, UK, India) in an effort to improve reliability, increase performance, and provide redundancies. This geographic dispersion may make it more difficult to ascertain legal jurisdiction if disputes arise, or who has access and by whom (The administrators, mostly 3rd party). In a nutshell a total cluster fuck!
So how did they get around it, or thought they did? The EULA as a contract.
You can’t even see it until you have accepted the purchase or use. By the time you are installing the program, you can’t refund it even if you decline the EULA. The EULA came after that transaction, and the purchaser/user was not informed of such. Transactions do not work that way. No court can accept such an agreement but we all accept those terms, it’s a norm without a legal base. However; these days, most companies state that by uploading whatever, you give them a license to use it in connection with their service.
For example, the Google terms of service say:
When you upload or otherwise submit content to our Services, you give Google (and those we work with) a worldwide license to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works (such as those resulting from translations, adaptations or other changes we make so that your content works better with our Services), communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute such content. The rights you grant in this license are for the limited purpose of operating, promoting, and improving our Services, and to develop new ones.
The Facebook terms of service are broader about the allowed usages, but they still say nothing about transferring ownership:
For content that is covered by intellectual property rights, like photos and videos (IP content), you specifically give us the following permission, subject to your privacy and application settings: you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with Facebook (IP License). This IP License ends when you delete your IP content or your account unless your content has been shared with others, and they have not deleted it.
In addition, she told me just to look at the market this week, and watch the correlation and fall of stocks that have the Social Media, more so those in the very recent class action against not only the players like FB, Yahoo, but the administration and its legal arms, its chaos. Apparently one keyword that freaks the ‘system’ is BITCOIN! So please don’t place that in blogs or emails, or it will be more ‘hit/flagged’ than all the expected; keywords, so remember, no use of the word bitcoin at all! (Do it!!!)
Just to note, the IT gal, “ The US and visiting; After having many requests by TSA in a row to open my laptop and unlock the domain password to access the desktop, I do not take a laptop to the US. The only other place I have been to worse, is Israel.
In that, risking the health of a multi trillion dollar industry was worth whatever you were trying to achieve here, but they are on the back foot…
So weather forecast today; Could’y’, with downfalls, lighting may strike, and blackouts.
Posted by: kev | Jun 13 2013 12:30 utc | 76
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