National Intelligence Director Wants Access To All Internet Communications
from the you-have-no-privacy-anywhere dept
Now, there are those who claim the government already has the ability to monitor all internet communications, but it looks like it's about to become official. National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell told a reporter from The New Yorker that he's prepared a "cyber security policy" that would grant the federal government the right to monitor all internet communications. The report also notes that President Bush hasn't yet announced this policy. The reporter from the New Yorker states: "it may be the only way to protect transportation, security, and other critical systems that rely on the Internet." That is a bizarre statement that seems totally unsupportable. It almost goes without saying, but the old (supposedly) Ben Franklin quote applies: "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." It's also not clear from this report whether this is just a policy or an actual system for monitoring internet content -- as that makes quite a big difference. Either way, expect to see more people become a lot more interested in encrypting their communications soon.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
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Filed Under: government, internet, mike mcconnell, privacy
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This is soooo depressing.....
I know that there will always be those that say if you aren't doing anything wrong that you have nothing to hide and/or that safety is worth the cost. I just didn't think in America that those folks had the majority view and that the masses don't seem to care about freedom or rights any longer. After all, the hell with your rights if you can go shopping at the Mall and spend your new $800 tax rebate check from Uncle Sam. Besides - it will never effect me, right?
Between the Patriot Act and now this, you have to wonder if any one remembers that this is supposed to be a free country - not a perfect country and definitely not a safe country, but a FREE country.
I'm kills me to say this, but ever day it seems like more and more Americans lack a "pair".
We can talk about winning the war all we want, but as we lose more and more of our freedoms each day, I'd say we are losing the war in the worst way.
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GIVING Up?
I'm with "Freedom" here, kinda: I'm very ashamed ... of our government, of the self-serving interests running this country, but not of the country and its people.
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Icing
They already have the system. The policy would just be the icing on the cake.
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Re:
So is the phone system. I suppose you'd like to get rid of wiretap restrictions as well.
If you want privacy, you stand right next to each other and whisper, and then the cops might suspect you are up to no good BUT THERES NOTHING THEY CAN DO ABOUT IT. That is privacy.
What they're wanting to do now is to figuratively stick a microphone between the two of you and record your conservation.
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Re: Re:
Presume it on the phone network and raise holy hell when it is denied you as has been done routinely over the decades, and stand in good company with thousands of other people.
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Re: Re: Re:
I wasn't presuming any such thing. But I did take exception to your position that anything other than a whisper between two people standing next to each other should be subject to monitoring. People deserve privacy in their private communications however they are conducted.
And name calling really doesn't help your position any.
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Re:
If you need private communications, buy them, don't use hang your "pair" out on public medium for the whole world to play with.
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Re: Re:
The idea that there should be no privacy in anything other than intimate face to face communications is patently absurd. In fact, it is so kooky and your writing style so similar that I suspect that you are actually a sock puppet of the original commenter.
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And I'll say it again,
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Monitor this...
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National Security - feh, it's like a rat infested
i.e Lets look at the traffic world-wide entering America instead of putting money into the financial industry, transportation industry and all additional valuable resources with the intent of securing their data and upgrading the hardware to something capable of implementing that technology. Why not simply make everyone responsible for compliance of data security. This a free country, all you have to do to be free is jump a fence. God help you however if you were born here.
I think people like this director need to go get a job in Iraq, maybe someone there would do the right thing and "secure" them for being completely stupid in a more permanent fashion.
And for the record director boy "should you be reading this", The weakest link in all security is the human element, and with the encryption export laws - we should have the best data security worldwide. USE IT and your brain.
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Sorry, forgot something
Just So you know, if you pass this somehow. I will be the first to create an encrypted ISP and refuse any and all requests for compliance as it is un-american. Notice the lack of caps on america, for you have shamed it right along with bush. Some people deserve no respect for their actions and you are right up there with the terrorists. In fact you are worse, because you lie and try to put the face of security on. That is like beating a child until they are hospitalized and them telling them it is for their own good.
All Security is an illusion that provides a false sense of safety, and people like you feed on that fear to enable restrictions that will set us so far back communism will sound like a wet dream.
P.S. Mike, I really hope you get a chance to read this. Isn't freedom of speech great, until it becomes a threat to security
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Re: Sorry, forgot something
Actually, as a US citizen I'm far more afraid of GWB than I ever was of OBL.
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You know coward, you are right
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security
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Mmmmmm
Me too.
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Wake up n smell the coffee
This excuse is so lame.
Ya gotta ask yourself.
If it is critical ... should it be on the intarwebs ????
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People should realize...
I do, however, dislike phone monitoring. But once again, if im on the phone telling my secrets, the government doesnt care, as long as it doesnt pertain to them.
Heres an idea, dont be a terrorist, and you should be pretty much unaffected.
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Re: People should realize...
I think you get the drift.
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SNOPPY GOVERNMENT
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Re: SNOPPY GOVERNMENT
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OK, to all you tinfoil hat wearers out there, GWB is gone in a year, he is a lame duck, he really can't do any serious damage, so why don't you stop with your "I hate America" talk because no one gives a crap about what you have to say. Go back to watching video games being played on ESPN 23.
You A Holes really don't know what is at stake here. Sure, Ben Franklin yadda yadda yadda, but Ben didn't have to worry about someone taking out NYC or Philadelphia in a nano-second. Ben didn't have to worry about someone killing millions with a virus.
Here is a question. How long do you think it would take for the US society (or any other countries society) to totally break down if all communications and services stopped? No phone, no radio, no TV, no power, no water, no gas?
I give it two weeks, then we are talking survival of the fittest. Two weeks, then someone is banging on your door looking for food. Are you ready for that? With no one to call, what do you do?
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Re:
That has got to be one of the most asinine statements things I have ever read. And the rest of you post reads like it came from one of the military "communication officer" propaganda trolls.
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Re:
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You'd be amazed how fast an innocent person's finances (and possibly life) can be ruined fighting against bad charges because the authorities were too lazy to do things right.
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Could we please use the proper (and clarifying) term of "power" instead of "right". It is impossible for a government to have or obtain a "right". Only an individual can have a right to anything. A governmental power is simply a recognized ability to legally override an individual right. Misusing the terminology in this way is a tactic to make people see power grabs as a trade-off of rights- yours vs. the govt who is trying to protect everyone. This tactic is fairly successful with the general public, and we should be vigilant in attacking it wherever it appears. Stories like this (as well as any commentary about them) need to make it clear to everyone that the govt is attempting to seize more power.
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And 44 Dem Senators will vote for it
Corporations win and We the people lose again...
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Monitor This
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That's Odd...
If they want to protect National Security by sniffing my packets, how about I use snail-mail to send bio-toxin's for them to sniff. I don't see them rushing to stick there noses into everyone's packages and envelopes.
Anyhow, such monitoring systems are always abused, having a setup for the government to monitor all internet traffic just make's it easy for a determined hacker to access "EVERYTHING" from one point.
Not saying it would be a hacker that abuses it either, one of the crooked employee's that manage it could use it to track people... Spy on people... spy on people for other people.
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Lets all move to Sweden
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Oh, and the post office has tools to screen for bio-toxins also.
You folks act like this is anything new, its not. Send $10K by any vehicle you want and someone is looking at it. The govt. has been tapped in to the phone system since its inceptioin, GWB didn't start it. Who signed FISA into law? It wasn't GWB.
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Re:
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Total Control Awareness Policy
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I like to post comments
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Re: I like to post comments
Sorry, constitutional protections don't count in times of war and we're now in a time of war. Perhaps you've heard of the (never-ending) global war on terrorism? Kiss all that constitutional stuff goodbye.
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NSA wants to survey all email
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Re: NSA wants to survey all email
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scary
Well, thanks god we still have some kind government in charge rather than an AI. SkyNet might have reasoned differently -- wipe all human from the surface of Earth "to protect transportation, security, and other critical systems".
Maybe it's time to realize the priorities [of protecting what against what else] shifted a bit out of balance and there might be a need to correct that -- before someday there'll be any sort of SkyNet AI around.
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mine fuhrer
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I'ts not over till its over
Revolting solves nothing.
We still have a democracy.
That is the most resilient form of gov.
Put the wheels on track, look beyond your box.
Fix this.
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I'ts not over till its over
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