Confirmed: all digital data (in USA) is recorded

[Dennis Leahy]

Glenn Greenwald article highlighting the comments of former FBI counterterrorism agent Tim Clemente - confirming other reports we have all heard that every digital communication in the US is recorded.

"The real capabilities and behavior of the US surveillance state are almost entirely unknown to the American public because, like most things of significance done by the US government, it operates behind an impenetrable wall of secrecy. But a seemingly spontaneous admission this week by a former FBI counterterrorism agent provides a rather startling acknowledgment of just how vast and invasive these surveillance activities are."

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisf...ded-fbi-boston

Dennis

[ghostrider]

they use only 18 percent of the star wars satelites capabilities, cell phones, internet, Gps, the other 82 percent is technology they use against us ...they said long ago satelites could read the date on a dime in your hand ...

[ThePythonicCow]

Posted by Dennis Leahy (here)
Glenn Greenwald article highlighting the comments of former FBI counterterrorism agent Tim Clemente - confirming other reports we have all heard that every digital communication in the US is recorded.

Well, there may be corner cases, say using local communication connections, that aren't recorded, but my guess is that yes, pretty much any "normal" communication (something you would expect an ordinary person to be able to receive, using our usual phone, web or cell devices) is recorded. There is likely also sufficiently well encrypted communication that they can't crack it, with the resources they choose to apply to that effort.

They can't (so far as I would guess) intelligently scan all that data in real time, but if they identify some person of interest, they can recover pretty much every communication that person has had in recent years, whether by phone, email, web forum, google searches, tweets, instant messages, Skype messages, ...

This can be a potent tool to crack down on someone.

I've no doubt that they are also working on automating the scanning of this data, both to identify individuals who should be subject to closer scrutiny, and to model and track the flow of information, ideas and propaganda in the population at large.

[gripreaper]

Should we start talking about Taylor Swift to try and cover our tracks?

[Dennis Leahy]

Posted by gripreaper (here)
Should we start talking about Taylor Swift to try and cover our tracks?

Yes. Talk about mundane and boring things until the CPUs on the supercomputer freeze-up.

From now on, all my communication will be in Navajo, 2048-bit encrypted, with hundreds of thousands of random words added. Approximately 1 out of every 1000 messages will actually be conversational text, the rest will be to F* with HAL's CPU. I'll terabyte 'em a new sphincter. When HAL goes down, he won't be singing "Bicycle Built For Two", but Trololo and Happy Little Clouds.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=YLO7tCdBVrA

Dennis

[Craig]

We need to add a 2 to the binary - that'll confuse them

[gripreaper]

Good thing I'm in my mothers basement where they can't find me!

[InCiDeR]

Well, this been going on for quite some time... I talked a bit about ECHELON in this thread:

No one seems to talk about ECHELON anymore, and that in itself is quite interesting. With ECHELON there is no real need to install a remote malware on a computer... even though it makes it easier to access it, especially when it is behind strong shields.

First Post

The United States government has gone to extreme lengths to keep ECHELON a secret. To this day, the U.S. government refuses to admit that ECHELON even exists. We know it exists because both the governments of Australia (through its Defence Signals Directorate) and New Zealand have admitted to this fact. However, even with this revelation, US officials have refused to comment.

This "wall of silence" is beginning to erode. The first report on ECHELON was published in 1988. In addition, besides the revelations from Australia, the Scientific and Technical Options Assessment program office (STOA) of the European Parliament commissioned two reports which describe ECHELON's activities. These reports unearthed a startling amount of evidence, which suggests that Echelon's powers may have been underestimated. The first report, entitled "An Appraisal of Technologies of Political Control," suggested that ECHELON primarily targeted civilians.

Second Post

There is LOTS more to say and show about ECHELON. When I have some time to spare, I might do so...

[InCiDeR]

When it comes to encryption, this article is worh reading:

25-GPU cluster cracks every standard Windows password in <6 hours

A password-cracking expert has unveiled a computer cluster that can cycle through as many as 350 billion guesses per second. It's an almost unprecedented speed that can try every possible Windows passcode in the typical enterprise in less than six hours.

The five-server system uses a relatively new package of virtualization software that harnesses the power of 25 AMD Radeon graphics cards. It achieves the 350 billion-guess-per-second speed when cracking password hashes generated by the NTLM cryptographic algorithm that Microsoft has included in every version of Windows since Server 2003.

As a result, it can try an astounding 958 combinations in just 5.5 hours, enough to brute force every possible eight-character password containing upper- and lower-case letters, digits, and symbols. Such password policies are common in many enterprise settings. The same passwords protected by Microsoft's LM algorithm—which many organizations enable for compatibility with older Windows versions—will fall in just six minutes...

Read more

They use graphic cards that anyone of us can buy from a computer store. Ask yourself, what do you think the government have?

They also used a brute force attack, which in my opinion is not as efficient as Black-bag cryptanalysis, but is easier to do under certain cirumstances.

In cryptography, black-bag cryptanalysis is a euphemism for the acquisition of cryptographic secrets via burglary, or the covert installation of keystroke logging or trojan horse software/hardware installed on (or near to) target computers or ancillary devices.

It is even possible to monitor the electromagnetic emissions of computer displays or keyboards from a distance of 20 metres (or more), and thereby decode what has been typed. This could be done by surveillance technicians, or via some form of bug concealed somewhere in the room.

Although sophisticated technology is often used, black bag cryptanalysis can also be as simple as the process of copying a password which someone has unwisely written down on a piece of paper and left inside their desk drawer.

Read more

Then of course we have the Rubber-hose cryptanalysis:

In cryptography, rubber-hose cryptanalysis is the extraction of cryptographic secrets (e.g. the password to an encrypted file) from a person by coercion or torture, in contrast to a mathematical or technical cryptanalytic attack.

According to Amnesty International and the UN, many countries in the world routinely torture people.It is therefore logical to assume that at least some of those countries use (or would be willing to use) some form of rubber-hose cryptanalysis.In practice, psychological coercion can prove as effective as physical torture.

Non-violent but highly intimidating methods include such tactics as the threat of harsh legal penalties. The incentive to cooperate may be some form of plea bargain, such as an offer to drop or reduce criminal charges against a suspect in return for full co-operation with investigators.

Alternatively, in some countries threats may be made to prosecute as co-conspirators (or inflict violence on) close relatives (e.g. spouse, children, or parents) of the person being questioned unless they co-operate...

Read more


Consider following:
Would you rather try to break in after some software or hardware is released, or would it be easier and better to just have an agreement with the company creating the software/hardware?

Anyone remember the rootkit scandal with Sony?

The Sony BMG CD copy protection rootkit scandal of 2005–2007 concerns copy protection measures implemented by Sony BMG on about 22 million CDs. When inserted into a computer, the CDs installed one of two pieces of software which provided a form of digital rights management (DRM) by modifying the operating system to interfere with CD copying.

Both programs could not be easily uninstalled, and they unintentionally created vulnerabilities that were exploited by unrelated malware. One of the programs installed even if the user refused its EULA, and it "phoned home" with reports on the user's private listening habits; the other was not mentioned in the EULA at all, contained code from several pieces of open-source software in an apparent infringement of copyright, and configured the operating system to hide the software's existence, leading to both programs being characterized as rootkits.

Sony BMG initially denied that the rootkits were harmful. It then released, for one of the programs, an "uninstaller" that only un-hid the program, installed additional software which could not be easily removed, collected an email address from the user, and introduced further security vulnerabilities.

Following public scorn, government investigations and class-action lawsuits in 2005 and 2006, Sony BMG partially addressed the scandal with consumer settlements, a recall of about 10% of the affected CDs, and the suspension of CD copy protection efforts in early 2007...

Read more

What if the backdoor/keylogger is already built-in within the software you are using? Windows anyone?

Every authority in Sweden use windows as operating system... hmmmm.

Who creates most of the encryption standards? For example the old AES, you think any government forces were involved?

The Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) is a specification for the encryption of electronic data established by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in 2001. Based on the Rijndael cipher developed by two Belgian cryptographers, Joan Daemen and Vincent Rijmen, who submitted a proposal which was evaluated by the NIST during the AES selection process.

AES has been adopted by the U.S. government and is now used worldwide. It supersedes the Data Encryption Standard (DES), which was published in 1977. The algorithm described by AES is a symmetric-key algorithm, meaning the same key is used for both encrypting and decrypting the data...Source

AES
AES Pdf, how it works


Sorry for derailing this thread, I just needed to empty some thoughts off the top of my head.

[Strat]

I just read the full article. After 9/11 a surveillance agency was formed (and since scrapped). Check out the logo:



Apparently that agencies tactics are slowly being brought back.

There are several reasons why such surveillance shouldn't be allowed. Honestly though, I'm more concerned how they store the communications of 300,000,000+ people. How secure is my information? It's like building one huge bank that's easy to access and just praying nobody manages to crack the safe.

[ThePythonicCow]

Posted by Strat (here)
Apparently that agencies tactics are slowly being brought back.

That, or ... we are slowly being informed of their tactics .

Posted by Strat (here)
There are several reasons why such surveillance shouldn't be allowed. Honestly though, I'm more concerned how they store the communications of 300,000,000+ people. How secure is my information? It's like building one huge bank that's easy to access and just praying nobody manages to crack the safe.

The bastards who are already allowed access are sufficient worry for me; nevermind worrying about those who steal an unauthorized peak .

[InCiDeR]

Posted by Strat (here)
I just read the full article. After 9/11 a surveillance agency was formed (and since scrapped). Check out the logo:



Apparently that agencies tactics are slowly being brought back.

There are several reasons why such surveillance shouldn't be allowed. Honestly though, I'm more concerned how they store the communications of 300,000,000+ people. How secure is my information? It's like building one huge bank that's easy to access and just praying nobody manages to crack the safe.

Not exactly brought back... it's been here since 1947 (by the way, a very interesting year to start the project)

The existence of ECHELON has been know for some time. But, until recently, there was no solid evidence to support its existence. That changed on March 16, 1999, when Martin Bradley, Director of the Australian COMINT agency, the Defense Signals Directorate (DSD) confirmed in a letter to Ross Coulthart, a reporter for the Sunday Program in New South Wales, that the "DSD does cooperate with counterpart signals intelligence organizations overseas under the UKUSA relationship."

This, of course raises the question, "What is UKUSA?" The super-secret UKUSA Agreement was created in 1947, in the aftermath of World War II, between the UK and the USA. Shortly after that, Canada, Australia and New Zealand signed the agreement as "Second Parties." We now know that the purpose of the UKUSA agreement was to develop COMINT technologies and share COMINT data between signatory nations. The bad part of this agreement was that the signatory nations granted each of the other nations permission to monitor themselves.

Source/Read more

---

Duncan Campbell

Duncan Campbell was the author of "Intelligence Capabilities 2000", and has investigated Echelon's activities for decades. Here is one of his reports:
Read more

..Under the rubric of "information warfare", the sigint agencies also hope to overcome the ever more extensive use of encryption by direct interference with and attacks on targeted computers. These methods remain controversial, but include information stealing viruses, software audio, video, and data bugs, and pre-emptive tampering with software or hardware ("trapdoors")...

Read more

---

Here are some more infromation:

Echelon is an officially unacknowledged U.S.-led global spy network that operates an automated system for the interception and relay of electronic communications. Monitored transmissions are said to include up to 3 billion communications daily, including all the telephone calls, e-mail messages, faxes, satellite transmissions, and Internet downloads of both public and private organizations and citizens worldwide [and this was an estimate 2007 mind you!]. Led by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), Echelon is operated collaboratively by the intelligence agencies of the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. The organization's name originated as the code name for the system component responsible for intercepting satellite communications.

Echelon collects information through an extensive system of radio antennae and satellites that monitor satellite communications and sniffer devices that collect Internet communications from data packets. Some sources claim that the organization employs underwater devices to tap into transcontinental fiber optic phone cables. According to the ACLU, Echelon gathers huge volumes of data indiscriminately, and then filters out useful information through artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The system is also said to involve voice recognition, language translation, and keyword searching to select messages to study in their entirety.

According to recent reports, Echelon enabled intelligence gatherers to learn several months prior to the World Trade Center strike that some sort of large-scale action was planned, although the details were insufficient to avert it.deit is not clear how much detail was learned. While Echelon is clearly considered an asset by the intelligence community, some organizations and individuals are made uneasy by claims that the organization monitors well-intentioned endeavors, such as Amnesty International. The Scientific and Technical Options Assessment program office (STOA) of the European Parliament recently commissioned two reports looking into Echelon. These reports found: that the organization exists; that it routinely intercepts both personal and business communications, in probable contravention of human rights; and that stringent encryption practices should be followed to protect against Echelon's transgressive invasions of privacy.

As counter-terrorist activity intensifies following the events of September 11, 2001, Echelon activity is also considered likely to intensify.

Source

AN APPRAISAL OF THE TECHNOLOGY OF POLITICAL CONTROL
This document was one of the first reports to the European Parliament that described Echelon activities and possible improprieties.
Read report

History of the Air Intelligence Agency (Scanned documents)
Read
NAVSECGRU INSTRUCTION C5450.48A (Scanned documents)
Read


ECHELON also purportedly uses a special type of search engine to find pertinent material, U.S. Patent No. 5, 418, 951
I believe you can search for that patent here

Menwith Hill, outside Harrogate, Yorkshire, UK



Some recent news:
Echelon spy network secrets to be revealed in Megaupload copyright

...Now, Echelon is re-entering the headlines, and we are likely to learn more about the network’s capabilities than conspiracy fans ever dreamed possible, all because of the copyright case against the defunct online storage company, Megaupload.

In the increasingly bizarre case unfolding in Hobbit-land, we learned months ago that the Government Communications Security Bureau, New Zealand’s equivalent of the National Security Agency, illegally spied on eccentric former Megaupload chief, Kim Dotcom...

Read more


EDIT: If my memory serves me correctly, in 2005 there were 40 000 people/agents worldwide working with this project. But I can't find that document as of now. I confirm that number when I do!

[gripreaper]

Posted by InCiDeR (here)
There is LOTS more to say and show about ECHELON. When I have some time to spare, I might do so...

From my cursory understanding of Echelon, it is a program which is virtually like none other, and has the ability to "think". I'm not a programmer, although I did study computer programming in my early twenties back in 1971 and 1972, back then when it was basic and fortran, and so I can imagine how a fully integrated program could work.

[InCiDeR]

Posted by gripreaper (here)

Posted by InCiDeR (here)
There is LOTS more to say and show about ECHELON. When I have some time to spare, I might do so...

From my cursory understanding of Echelon, it is a program which is virtually like none other, and has the ability to "think". I'm not a programmer, although I did study computer programming in my early twenties back in 1971 and 1972, back then when it was basic and fortran, and so I can imagine how a fully integrated program could work.

Well, in a way it is a program also, as I stated in my previous post it has an unique search engine and algorithm that no other system has!

They also have this program to better "keep us safe"!

Another top-secret program code-named Tempest, also operated by satellite, is capable of reading computer monitors, cash registers and automatic teller machines from as far away as a half-mile and is being used to keep a close eye on an untold number of American citizens, the sources said, pointing to a little known declassified document that sheds light on the program.

Source
Read more

[ThePythonicCow]

Posted by InCiDeR (here)
As a result, it can try an astounding 958 combinations in just 5.5 hours

That would be 95 to the power of 8, which is equal to 2 to the power of 52.56, or 10 to the power of 15.8.

In other words: 6,634,204,312,890,625

It is unfortunate that our forum software doesn't support superscripts.

[Tesseract]

There are numerous ways the people running this system could capitalise on their accumulated data. Having considered the particular scenario where the government uses data from the system to publicly charge someone with a crime, or even to simply discredit someone, I came to wondering how the government could prove the provenance of their incriminating data in the absence of the victim's physical hard drive [which would provide a matching record that could be verified by an independent party].

How would the evidence be presented? Would there be a list of IP addresses, email texts, web sites, viewed data, times and dates of access? If so, how on earth would it be possible for the government to prove that the data collection was not a complete fabrication typed up by someone with a good imagination? Perhaps by corroboration with the victim's ISP..? Now, a court of law could always take the authorities on their word - this happens anyway - but really, how could the authorities actually prove that their presentation was not fabricated?

Any ideas?

[ThePythonicCow]

Posted by Tesseract (here)
- but really, how could the authorities actually prove that their presentation was not fabricated?

The courts are a farce, no such evidence is presented, and no attempt is made to show that the evidence is legitimate.

We're dealing with thugs here, not governments duly constituted by the people and for the people.