Prism and Verizon surveillance discussion thread

[Cain]

Greenwald is promising a "fireworks show", which he promises will be "the finale, a big missing piece".

I'm hopeful, but skeptical.  Greenwald has not exactly covered himself in glory lately.

[P3nT4gR4m]

Was there a formative moment in your childhood that might've cast you in the adversarial role?
Being gay was a big part of that process. I grew up gay in the '70s and '80s, when things were obviously much different than they are now. There was no gay culture for a gay teen in an American suburb, at all. The overriding message was there's something wrong with you, there's something inside of you that's just wrong. It's broken. It's bad. It's diseased. And so it's a pretty harsh message to internalize when you're, like, 11. It leaves you with three different options.

One is you just keep internalizing it and keep internalizing it and tell yourself that you're this horrible, diseased, broken person. And that's why gay teens kill themselves. Another strategy is to say I'm going to try and convince you that you're wrong, right? I'm going to show you that I'm actually really normal in every other way. That's the gay lobby in D.C., who are just, like, so intent on proving that they're exactly like straight people in every single other way, so please accept us. And then, I think, a third strategy is just to say, You know what? Go fuck yourself. I'm going to be the one to impose judgments on you, and let's examine the propriety of your behavior instead.

I like this guy already! 

[Cain]

This interview definitely showed his better side.  He can be a credit as a journalist...or alternatively he can be a preachy, intolerant asshole who dismisses all criticism of him in a condescending, holier-than-thou manner and with an...ambivalent attitude towards corporate power.

Sadly, he normally chooses to be the latter.

[P3nT4gR4m]

Still at least he does have a plus side. That's becoming increasingly uncommon in journalism 

[Cain]

Truecrypt, one of the better encryption options out there, has thrown in the towel:

The anonymous developers responsible for building and maintaining the free whole-disk encryption suite TrueCrypt apparently threw in the towel this week, shuttering the TrueCrypt site and warning users that the product is no longer secure now that Microsoft has ended support for Windows XP.

truecrypt.ch has been established for those who want to continue TrueCrypt's open source development.

[Junkenstein]

Speculation that Truecrypt may be acting as a warrant canary of sorts. Seems highly likely. Guess that'll be cleared up either way relatively soon.

[Junkenstein]

ahahahahahahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAIEEEE
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-27726248

It said that Netflix's claims could damage its business.

Yes Verizon, This is truly the most damaging thing to your business.

[Cain]

I said this was the case when Lulzsec were running around

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/exclusive-how-an-fbi-informant-helped-anonymous-hack-brazil?trk_source=homepage-lede

In early 2012, members of the hacking collective Anonymous carried out a series of cyber attacks on government and corporate websites in Brazil. They did so under the direction of a hacker who, unbeknownst to them, was wearing another hat: helping the Federal Bureau of Investigation carry out one of its biggest cybercrime investigations to date.

A year after leaked files exposed the National Security Agency's efforts to spy on citizens and companies in Brazil, previously unpublished chat logs obtained by Motherboard reveal that while under the FBI's supervision, Hector Xavier Monsegur, widely known by his online persona, "Sabu," facilitated attacks that affected Brazilian websites.

Just keep this in mind, the next time a high profile hacker group starts making waves, and is attacking foreign targets.

[UB]

What's interesting about this, is that it is targeting Verizon's business customers - not personal phone usage.

I've heard suggestions it may be linked to suspected Iranian hacking....but no-one seems to know anything.  I certainly don't think they're cracking down on insider trading, money laundering and fraud in the banking system, for example 

Iranian? Realizing this was posted in 2013, I'm sure the board has been made more aware of the Chinese inclination toward the suggested invasion of international privacy. *dunno*

Still Reading.

[Pæs]

Yeah, I'm sure Cain's info is based on profiling who has the greater proclivity towards hacking, rather than evidence pointing towards one actor or another.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Look, Cain, it's trying to educate you on international politics. How cute. 

[Pæs]

IRANIAN hackers? Dude, everyone knows that all hackers are Chinese. Iranian hackers are SO 2013.

[UB]

No one can possibly boast, err, to know which holder will drop. It wasn't my intention to come across as attempting to "educate" anyone, but there are always other angles to consider.

GEEZE.

The amount of assholes I tend to encounter some days force me to question if I have borrowed the dick nose from the Spaceballs saga.

[Pæs]

SIR, WE HAVE INTELLIGENCE IMPLICATING THE IRANIANS.

"The who, Johnson?"

SIR, I KNOW, BUT THE SOURCE OF THE MALICIOUS PACKETS WAS 2KM OUTSIDE SHAHRUD.

"Those damn sneaky Chinese."

SIR?

"I know you've got your little 'Iranian' theory, Johnson, but this it's not 2013 anymore. You've got to wake up and smell the sneaky Chinese coffee."

SIR, I...

"No, no, Johnson. There are always other angles to consider."

SIR, THE AJAX SECURITY TEAM, AN IRANIAN HACKER GROUP, HAS JUST TAKEN CREDIT FOR THE INTRUSION.

"More like the Ajax CHINESE Security Team, amirite? Get in touch with your man in Shanghai, we need to retaliate and show these guys we aren't falling for their Iranian ruse."

[UB]

"Hey, Johnson, yer nose looks like a dick..."

"Nahhhh, Stanley, yer just on yer KNEES."

.... and the wheels on the succuBUS go 'round and 'round... 'round and 'round... 'round and 'round... and the squeals of Jack's son gettin' louda' louda'... louda' louda'... louda' louda'...

ONE day off in another galactic realm where the global networking system actually provoked independent THOUGHT.... "Holy Hell, Clyde, we are all plucked and fucked by a nosy ass clown with a jester's role."  Ehha.... Ehha.