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[Nivim]

 Has anyone thought of doing a compilation of pertinent news articles and entries on this great mess? The encyclopediadramatica page some 40 posts back is similar to what I'm thinking of, except it isn't something I can recommend to non-internet people and have them take the issues seriously...

 If you've bookmarked stuff on these things, can you dump them into spoilers that I can start trawling? (Or do I need to search the whole thread for "http" and "www"?)

Also, know any news agencies that are saying what needs to be said right along with the information dumps? Almost all the stuff I've read so far has not been anywhere near rallying or accusatory enough relative to the subject matter.

[misko27]

It depends entirely on whom you plan to convince. "could, possibly, has a high chance, what if, can" is more then enough for those with vivid imaginations or reservations about something. To more entrenched folk it's idiotic hypothetical drivel, and it's a waste of your and their time. "Has happened, is likely to happen again, consequences of what happened, conesquences that hit home that are real and likely threats" and a general strong attempt to avoid the alarmist label is far more effective.


It is entirely possible to convince people who are not the least bit concerned about the power of spy agencies, but doing so in the same way as everyone else is a guarantee to failure. You just have to hit it home with consequences that affect their priorities.

[Nivim]

If that was a response to me, my response is "framing does wonders when you know when and how to apply it". There's a widespread logical fallacy both unavoidable and fairly convenient you can exploit, and if the person has already plugged/fixed it, then they probably don't need you to convince them; they'll convince themselves.

[alway]

http://arstechnica.com/security/2013/09/spooks-break-most-internet-crypto-but-how/

[alway]

http://arstechnica.com/security/2013/09/spooks-break-most-internet-crypto-but-how/

Irritating thing being most people appear to be nonplussed about the fact that their privacy is being invaded heavily.

No. The irritating thing is people still thinking about it and portraying it in terms of privacy; which is entirely a values judgement. That is to say, subjectively bad. Which is what the privacy argument comes down to.

These recent bits about undermining security shouldn't be seen as privacy at all. They aren't about privacy, they're about jeopardizing the core systems on which modern, digital commerce is built. It's about the fact that your banking systems are less secure, your businesses are more vulnerable, and in general, your security has been compromised in the name of a more trivial security concern. It isn't a security vs privacy values judgement anymore, it's downright objectively bad. It goes against their very mission of improving security for the US.

In terms of highly irresponsible behavior by a government agency which could endanger modern society, it falls just short of synthesizing the Rage virus.

[Baffler]

So would it be factually correct to say...

"The government put deliberate backdoors into encryption on the internet, so they can spy on people on the off-chance they join Al-Qaeda. Any ol' asshole could find and get into these backdoors, and that means stealing personal information on someone and/or their business, or just malicious attacks because they are assholes."
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Now that people know that these weaknesses exist, they will find them. I wouldn't be surprised if some have been found already. That means a patch or maybe even a decent reworking to your browser, and a LOT of websites. Correct me if I'm wrong on these points. As I said, I don't fully understand what the compromised encryption handles. If any of that is the case, it'll take time to fix. Plenty of time for people to suffer for it. And there's always those who just don't know and get left behind.

[GlyphGryph]

http://phys.org/news/2013-09-spied-brazil-petrobras-google.html

"Documents leaked by Edward Snowden indicate the National Security Agency spied on Brazil's state-run oil company, the private computer networks of Google and a company that facilitates most of the world's international bank transfers."

[Eagleon]

(thanks, lost half an hour on that site looking through all the Science! )
Yeah... I can't see all those dangerous fanatics misguidedly preaching against capitalism -not- using this to work people into a frenzy. Even if the US wasn't tipping the scales of the free market the past 12 years, it's pretty easy to fudge a quick and convincing argument to that effect using pretty statistics. I'm baffled as to why they thought this was a good idea.

[Sergarr]

Apparently leaving spy agencies unchecked turns them into bandits who work for their personal gain. Who knew? *sarcasm*

[werty892]

Welp.  Looks like this will be fun when someone finds the backdoors and shuts down the internet.

[GlyphGryph]

In other news the NSA chief has built his own copy of the bridge of the enterprise for making presentations. Fully functional screens, spent a ton of money to get the "whoosh" on the doors just right.

Somehow I doubt Fox is going to be going after the NSA for this "scandalous" waste of taxpayer dollars.

[Baffler]

In other news the NSA chief has built his own copy of the bridge of the enterprise for making presentations. Fully functional screens, spent a ton of money to get the "whoosh" on the doors just right.

Somehow I doubt Fox is going to be going after the NSA for this "scandalous" waste of taxpayer dollars.

Did this really happen? Is it at least a good copy? And is it Captain Kirk's bridge? Picard's? This is rather important to know.

Edit: Seems it was modeled after Picard's bridge. A waste of money either way, but I admit I would be tempted to do the same.

[GlyphGryph]

Yes, it really happened.

When he was running the Army's Intelligence and Security Command, Alexander brought many of his future allies down to Fort Belvoir for a tour of his base of operations, a facility known as the Information Dominance Center. It had been designed by a Hollywood set designer to mimic the bridge of the starship Enterprise from Star Trek, complete with chrome panels, computer stations, a huge TV monitor on the forward wall, and doors that made a "whoosh" sound when they slid open and closed. Lawmakers and other important officials took turns sitting in a leather "captain's chair" in the center of the room and watched as Alexander, a lover of science-fiction movies, showed off his data tools on the big screen.

"Everybody wanted to sit in the chair at least once to pretend he was Jean-Luc Picard," says a retired officer in charge of VIP visits.

Alexander wowed members of Congress with his eye-popping command center. And he took time to sit with them in their offices and explain the intricacies of modern technology in simple, plain-spoken language. He demonstrated a command of the subject without intimidating those who had none.

"Alexander is 10 times the political general as David Petraeus," says the former administration official, comparing the NSA director to a man who was once considered a White House contender. "He could charm the paint off a wall."

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/09/08/the_cowboy_of_the_nsa_keith_alexander?page=full

[Descan]

If they had spent that money on making an -actual- Enterprise, I'd feel better.

"We don't want to do ACTUAL space travel! But that Star Trek show, man that was good."

[Bauglir]

I... suddenly want to work for the NSA. Giving presentations. All day every day.