Comments on: The Press Is Waking Up

By: Bryan

Bryan — Sat, 24 Aug 2013 03:57:31 +0000

So far the only case that seems to be a verified ‘success’ for this entire system is a Somali refugee in San Diego who was picked up for sending around $9K to the al Shabab group. He might have been supporting them, or it may have been ransom for a relative. That’s it. All of the other cases the government has mentioned were actually after fact, and the evidence could have been obtained with a normal search warrant in a regular court.

There is definitely a negative ROI on this program.

It is possible that they are amassing the data to see if they can find a pattern that would have identified attacks that have taken place, but the hardcore professionals don’t use telecommunications for anything other than their press releases.

This mess is eating up resources that might actually be used to for the traditional investigations that still seem to produce results.

By: hipparchia

hipparchia — Sat, 24 Aug 2013 03:30:02 +0000

We are going back to Geneva under Calvinism when curtains on windows were illegal. ugh. gathering all this data makes finding terrorists, real terrorists, harder, not easier. i often wonder if they don't really care about finding terrorists so much as what they really want is lots and lots of data on which to train their killer apps .

By: Bryan

Bryan — Fri, 23 Aug 2013 19:41:09 +0000

The real issue here is that privacy is no longer a right guaranteed by the Constitution in the US, but a privilege that must be purchased. When the government makes you purchase your rights, they lose their legitimacy. We are going back to Geneva under Calvinism when curtains on windows were illegal.

It still boils down to utility – gathering all this data makes finding terrorists, real terrorists, harder, not easier. The bombing in Boston is the prime example – those guys left markers all over the Internet, made calls to an area were radical Islamists were known to be operating, and the system didn’t discover them. After the fact all of these things are known, but you could have found that out with a standard search warrant after the bombing. The system doesn’t work; it doesn’t provide protection.

By: Kryten42

Kryten42 — Fri, 23 Aug 2013 16:02:36 +0000

LOL I just got a bargain! 😀

I’ve noticed a trend with software lately, especially European and German in particular.

After installing some software, and you decide to uninstall it, it will usually pop up a web page with a really good special offer to keep the software. So, I thought I might see if the CyberGost VPN client does that. And it does! 😀

CG have a pretty good deal online anyway right now, 50% off for 12 Mth Premium account, which is 30 EUR (about AU$45 or US$40). If you install the client, set up a free account, then uninstall it, you will be offered a deal for $15 EUR for a 12 Mth Premium Acct (about AU$22). Not bad, and an absolute bargain for some privacy. 😉

By: Kryten42

Kryten42 — Fri, 23 Aug 2013 15:42:49 +0000

I just read this little article on a VPN blog (doing a little last minute research before I sign over to CyberGhost). :) Digital Al-Qaida; What the FBI Calls Snowden Supporters; Talk of ‘Blinding’ Hackers What that kind of attitude and big mouth's, it's no wonder there is no actual *Justice* available in the USA (or UK for that matter). This was on the CyberGhost Blog: :) The worth of your privacy