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N.S.A. Able to Foil Basic Safeguards of Privacy on Web
By NICOLE PERLROTH, JEFF LARSON and SCOTT SHANE
Published: September 5, 2013
1466 Comments
The National Security Agency is winning its long-running secret war
on encryption, using supercomputers, technical trickery, court orders
and behind-the-scenes persuasion to undermine the major tools
protecting the privacy of everyday communications in the Internet
age, according to newly disclosed documents.
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Associated Press
This undated photo released by the
United States government shows the
National Security Agency campus in
Fort Meade, Md.
This article has been reported in
partnership among The New York
Times, The Guardian and
ProPublica based on documents
obtained by The Guardian. For The
Guardian: James Ball, Julian
Borger, Glenn Greenwald. For The
New York Times: Nicole Perlroth,
Scott Shane. For ProPublica: Jeff
Larson.
The agency has circumvented or
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cracked much of the encryption, or
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digital scrambling, that guards global
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commerce and banking systems,
protects sensitive data like trade
secrets and medical records, and automatically secures the
e-mails, Web searches, Internet chats and phone calls of
Americans and others around the world, the documents
show.
Many users assume — or have been assured by Internet
companies — that their data is safe from prying eyes,
including those of the government, and the N.S.A. wants to
keep it that way. The agency treats its recent successes in
deciphering protected information as among its most
closely guarded secrets, restricted to those cleared for a
highly classified program code-named Bullrun, according
to the documents, provided by Edward J. Snowden, the
former N.S.A. contractor.
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The agency, according to the documents and interviews
with industry officials, deployed custom-built, superfast
computers to break codes, and began collaborating with
technology companies in the United States and abroad to
build entry points into their products. The documents do
not identify which companies have participated.
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Beginning in 2000, as encryption tools were gradually
blanketing the Web, the N.S.A. invested billions of dollars
in a clandestine campaign to preserve its ability to
eavesdrop. Having lost a public battle in the 1990s to insert
its own “back door” in all encryption, it set out to
accomplish the same goal by stealth.
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The N.S.A. hacked into target computers to snare messages
before they were encrypted. In some cases, companies say
they were coerced by the government into handing over
their master encryption keys or building in a back door.
And the agency used its influence as the world’s most
experienced code maker to covertly introduce weaknesses
into the encryption standards followed by hardware and
software developers around the world.
“For the past decade, N.S.A. has led an aggressive,
multipronged effort to break widely used Internet
encryption technologies,” said a 2010 memo describing a
briefing about N.S.A. accomplishments for employees of its
British counterpart, Government Communications
Headquarters, or GCHQ. “Cryptanalytic capabilities are
now coming online. Vast amounts of encrypted Internet
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data which have up till now been discarded are now
exploitable.”
When the British analysts, who often work side by side with
N.S.A. officers, were first told about the program, another
memo said, “those not already briefed were gobsmacked!”
Susan Walsh/Associated Press
CITING EFFORTS TO EXPLOIT WEB
James R. Clapper Jr., the director of
national intelligence.
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An intelligence budget document makes clear that the
effort is still going strong. “We are investing in
groundbreaking cryptanalytic capabilities to defeat
adversarial cryptography and exploit Internet traffic,” the
director of national intelligence, James R. Clapper Jr.,
wrote in his budget request for the current year.
In recent months, the documents disclosed by Mr.
Snowden have described the N.S.A.’s reach in scooping up
vast amounts of communications around the world. The
encryption documents now show, in striking detail, how the
agency works to ensure that it is actually able to read the
information it collects.
The agency’s success in defeating many of the privacy protections offered by encryption
does not change the rules that prohibit the deliberate targeting of Americans’ e-mails or
phone calls without a warrant. But it shows that the agency, which was sharply rebuked by
a federal judge in 2011 for violating the rules and misleading the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Court, cannot necessarily be restrained by privacy technology. N.S.A. rules
permit the agency to store any encrypted communication, domestic or foreign, for as long
as the agency is trying to decrypt it or analyze its technical features.
The N.S.A., which has specialized in code-breaking since its creation in 1952, sees that task
as essential to its mission. If it cannot decipher the messages of terrorists, foreign spies
and other adversaries, the United States will be at serious risk, agency officials say.
Just in recent weeks, the Obama administration has called on the intelligence agencies for
details of communications by leaders of Al Qaeda about a terrorist plot and of Syrian
officials’ messages about the chemical weapons attack outside Damascus. If such
communications can be hidden by unbreakable encryption, N.S.A. officials say, the agency
cannot do its work.
But some experts say the N.S.A.’s campaign to bypass and weaken communications
security may have serious unintended consequences. They say the agency is working at
cross-purposes with its other major mission, apart from eavesdropping: ensuring the
security of American communications.
Some of the agency’s most intensive efforts have focused on the encryption in universal
use in the United States, including Secure Sockets Layer, or SSL; virtual private networks,
or VPNs; and the protection used on fourth-generation, or 4G, smartphones. Many
Americans, often without realizing it, rely on such protection every time they send an
e-mail, buy something online, consult with colleagues via their company’s computer
network, or use a phone or a tablet on a 4G network.
For at least three years, one document says, GCHQ, almost certainly in collaboration with
the N.S.A., has been looking for ways into protected traffic of popular Internet companies:
Google, Yahoo, Facebook and Microsoft’s Hotmail. By 2012, GCHQ had developed “new
access opportunities” into Google’s systems, according to the document. (Google denied
giving any government access and said it had no evidence its systems had been breached).
“The risk is that when you build a back door into systems, you’re not the only one to
exploit it,” said Matthew D. Green, a cryptography researcher at Johns Hopkins
University. “Those back doors could work against U.S. communications, too.”
Paul Kocher, a leading cryptographer who helped design the SSL protocol, recalled how
the N.S.A. lost the heated national debate in the 1990s about inserting into all encryption a
government back door called the Clipper Chip.
“And they went and did it anyway, without telling anyone,” Mr. Kocher said. He said he
understood the agency’s mission but was concerned about the danger of allowing it
unbridled access to private information.
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“The intelligence community has worried about ‘going dark’ forever, but today they are
conducting instant, total invasion of privacy with limited effort,” he said. “This is the
golden age of spying.”
A Vital Capability
The documents are among more than 50,000 shared by The Guardian with The New York
Times and ProPublica, the nonprofit news organization. They focus on GCHQ but include
thousands from or about the N.S.A.
Intelligence officials asked The Times and ProPublica not to publish this article, saying it
might prompt foreign targets to switch to new forms of encryption or communications that
would be harder to collect or read. The news organizations removed some specific facts
but decided to publish the article because of the value of a public debate about government
actions that weaken the most powerful privacy tools.
The files show that the agency is still stymied by some encryption, as Mr. Snowden
suggested in a question-and-answer session on The Guardian’s Web site in June.
“Properly implemented strong crypto systems are one of the few things that you can rely
on,” he said, though cautioning that the N.S.A. often bypasses the encryption altogether by
targeting the computers at one end or the other and grabbing text before it is encrypted or
after it is decrypted.
The documents make clear that the N.S.A. considers its ability to decrypt information a
vital capability, one in which it competes with China, Russia and other intelligence powers.
“In the future, superpowers will be made or broken based on the strength of their
cryptanalytic programs,” a 2007 document said. “It is the price of admission for the U.S. to
maintain unrestricted access to and use of cyberspace.”
The full extent of the N.S.A.’s decoding capabilities is known only to a limited group of top
analysts from the so-called Five Eyes: the N.S.A. and its counterparts in Britain, Canada,
Australia and New Zealand. Only they are cleared for the Bullrun program, the successor
to one called Manassas — both names of an American Civil War battle. A parallel GCHQ
counterencryption program is called Edgehill, named for the first battle of the English
Civil War of the 17th century.
Unlike some classified information that can be parceled out on a strict “need to know”
basis, one document makes clear that with Bullrun, “there will be NO ‘need to know.’ ”
Only a small cadre of trusted contractors were allowed to join Bullrun. It does not appear
that Mr. Snowden was among them, but he nonetheless managed to obtain dozens of
classified documents referring to the program’s capabilities, methods and sources.
Ties to Internet Companies
When the N.S.A. was founded, encryption was an obscure technology used mainly by
diplomats and military officers. Over the last 20 years, it has become ubiquitous. Even
novices can tell that their exchanges are being automatically encrypted when a tiny
padlock appears next to a Web address.
Because strong encryption can be so effective, classified N.S.A. documents make clear, the
agency’s success depends on working with Internet companies — by getting their voluntary
collaboration, forcing their cooperation with court orders or surreptitiously stealing their
encryption keys or altering their software or hardware.
According to an intelligence budget document leaked by Mr. Snowden, the N.S.A. spends
more than $250 million a year on its Sigint Enabling Project, which “actively engages the
U.S. and foreign IT industries to covertly influence and/or overtly leverage their
commercial products’ designs” to make them “exploitable.” Sigint is the acronym for
signals intelligence, the technical term for electronic eavesdropping.
By this year, the Sigint Enabling Project had found ways inside some of the encryption
chips that scramble information for businesses and governments, either by working with
chipmakers to insert back doors or by exploiting security flaws, according to the
documents. The agency also expected to gain full unencrypted access to an unnamed
major Internet phone call and text service; to a Middle Eastern Internet service; and to the
communications of three foreign governments.
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In one case, after the government learned that a foreign intelligence target had ordered
new computer hardware, the American manufacturer agreed to insert a back door into the
product before it was shipped, someone familiar with the request told The Times.
The 2013 N.S.A. budget request highlights “partnerships with major telecommunications
carriers to shape the global network to benefit other collection accesses” — that is, to allow
more eavesdropping.
At Microsoft, as The Guardian has reported, the N.S.A. worked with company officials to
get pre-encryption access to Microsoft’s most popular services, including Outlook e-mail,
Skype Internet phone calls and chats, and SkyDrive, the company’s cloud storage service.
Microsoft asserted that it had merely complied with “lawful demands” of the government,
and in some cases, the collaboration was clearly coerced. Some companies have been
asked to hand the government the encryption keys to all customer communications,
according to people familiar with the government’s requests.
N.S.A. documents show that the agency maintains an internal database of encryption keys
for specific commercial products, called a Key Provisioning Service, which can
automatically decode many messages. If the necessary key is not in the collection, a
request goes to the separate Key Recovery Service, which tries to obtain it.
How keys are acquired is shrouded in secrecy, but independent cryptographers say many
are probably collected by hacking into companies’ computer servers, where they are
stored. To keep such methods secret, the N.S.A. shares decrypted messages with other
agencies only if the keys could have been acquired through legal means. “Approval to
release to non-Sigint agencies,” a GCHQ document says, “will depend on there being a
proven non-Sigint method of acquiring keys.”
Simultaneously, the N.S.A. has been deliberately weakening the international encryption
standards adopted by developers. One goal in the agency’s 2013 budget request was to
“influence policies, standards and specifications for commercial public key technologies,”
the most common encryption method.
Cryptographers have long suspected that the agency planted vulnerabilities in a standard
adopted in 2006 by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and later by the
International Organization for Standardization, which has 163 countries as members.
Classified N.S.A. memos appear to confirm that the fatal weakness, discovered by two
Microsoft cryptographers in 2007, was engineered by the agency. The N.S.A. wrote the
standard and aggressively pushed it on the international group, privately calling the effort
“a challenge in finesse.”
“Eventually, N.S.A. became the sole editor,” the memo says.
Even agency programs ostensibly intended to guard American communications are
sometimes used to weaken protections. The N.S.A.’s Commercial Solutions Center, for
instance, invites the makers of encryption technologies to present their products to the
agency with the goal of improving American cybersecurity. But a top-secret N.S.A.
document suggests that the agency’s hacking division uses that same program to develop
and “leverage sensitive, cooperative relationships with specific industry partners” to insert
vulnerabilities into Internet security products.
By introducing such back doors, the N.S.A. has surreptitiously accomplished what it had
failed to do in the open. Two decades ago, officials grew concerned about the spread of
strong encryption software like Pretty Good Privacy, designed by a programmer named
Phil Zimmermann. The Clinton administration fought back by proposing the Clipper Chip,
which would have effectively neutered digital encryption by ensuring that the N.S.A.
always had the key.
That proposal met a backlash from an unlikely coalition that included political opposites
like Senator John Ashcroft, the Missouri Republican, and Senator John Kerry, the
Massachusetts Democrat, as well as the televangelist Pat Robertson, Silicon Valley
executives and the American Civil Liberties Union. All argued that the Clipper would kill
not only the Fourth Amendment, but also America’s global technology edge.
By 1996, the White House backed down. But soon the N.S.A. began trying to anticipate
and thwart encryption tools before they became mainstream.
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Each novel encryption effort generated anxiety. When Mr. Zimmermann introduced the
Zfone, an encrypted phone technology, N.S.A. analysts circulated the announcement in an
e-mail titled “This can’t be good.”
But by 2006, an N.S.A. document notes, the agency had broken into communications for
three foreign airlines, one travel reservation system, one foreign government’s nuclear
department and another’s Internet service by cracking the virtual private networks that
protected them.
By 2010, the Edgehill program, the British counterencryption effort, was unscrambling
VPN traffic for 30 targets and had set a goal of an additional 300.
But the agencies’ goal was to move away from decrypting targets’ tools one by one and
instead decode, in real time, all of the information flying over the world’s fiber optic cables
and through its Internet hubs, only afterward searching the decrypted material for
valuable intelligence.
A 2010 document calls for “a new approach for opportunistic decryption, rather than
targeted.” By that year, a Bullrun briefing document claims that the agency had developed
“groundbreaking capabilities” against encrypted Web chats and phone calls. Its successes
against Secure Sockets Layer and virtual private networks were gaining momentum.
But the agency was concerned that it could lose the advantage it had worked so long to
gain, if the mere “fact of” decryption became widely known. “These capabilities are among
the Sigint community’s most fragile, and the inadvertent disclosure of the simple ‘fact of’
could alert the adversary and result in immediate loss of the capability,” a GCHQ
document warned.
Since Mr. Snowden’s disclosures ignited criticism of overreach and privacy infringements
by the N.S.A., American technology companies have faced scrutiny from customers and
the public over what some see as too cozy a relationship with the government. In response,
some companies have begun to push back against what they describe as government
bullying.
Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and Facebook have pressed for permission to reveal more about
the government’s requests for cooperation. One e-mail encryption company, Lavabit,
closed rather than comply with the agency’s demands for customer information; another,
Silent Circle, ended its e-mail service rather than face such demands.
In effect, facing the N.S.A.’s relentless advance, the companies surrendered.
Ladar Levison, the founder of Lavabit, wrote a public letter to his disappointed customers,
offering an ominous warning. “Without Congressional action or a strong judicial
precedent,” he wrote, “I would strongly recommend against anyone trusting their private
data to a company with physical ties to the United States.”
John Markoff contributed reporting.
A version of this article appears in print on September 6, 2013, on page A1 of the New York edition with the headline:
N.S.A. Able To Foil Basic Safeguards Of Privacy On Web.
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Readers shared their thoughts on this article.
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Greg Knight
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Note the code names, Bullrun and Edgewater, are names of US and UK civil
war battles.
I think that is pretty much an admission that these spy agencies are targeting
their fellow citizens and the political, business and academic leaders of their
fellow citizens.
I feel we are going to see the Putinization of America, where the main business
and political leaders are increasingly ex-CIA and ex-NSA.
Sept. 7, 2013 at 5:42 a.m.
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9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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Ignacio Couce
Los Angeles, CA
Who's surprised? We all would have wanted the government to break the
encryption on the message that green lit 9/11.
The issue I worry about its access, i.e., how many individuals have access to
these technologies, and who are they.
It presents an enormous potential for economic and political abuse - insider
trading, blackmail, etc.
Sept. 7, 2013 at 5:42 a.m.
Drew
RECOMMENDED
1
Tokyo
A few simple steps to protect yourself from being spied on by your
government:
1) Use a non-U.S. company for your Internet connection and e-mail service.
2) Encrypt your e-mail (e.g., with OpenGPG)
3) Communicate in a language other than English, if possible.
These steps won't provide absolute protection against snooping, but they will
make it much less likely.
Remember, too, that the NSA slides on which this story are based were part of
a sales presentation. They were intended to impress. "Gobsmacking" their
audience was just what the NSA intended. So the slide show no doubt
exaggerates the agency's true capabilities.
Sept. 7, 2013 at 5:42 a.m.
Monica
orlando
I once thought Snowden is just a man thinking he's doing the right thing. Now
I see a man who craves attention. He began with the claim of informing
Americans of govt secrets, but by putting out our security secrets, he only
harms us. He will cost the taxpayer more money to fight off new threats.
He deliberately informs other countries of everything we do. What does that
have to do with Americans privacy?
He sits back and deals small portions of his stolen documents to the world to
keep the suspense going
If he wants to expose govt secrets, than do so. Stop the nickle and dime
delivery and come out with it.
Sept. 7, 2013 at 5:42 a.m.
RuddyP10
Westchester County
I have to ask; What do you believe the NSA does? At its basic level it is an
organization of cryptographers. Whether what they are doing is right or
wrong, this what they do. The larger issue is the privatization of government
agencies that are engaged in sensitive information gathering. If money
becomes the only means of accountability then you are going to have
problems.
Sept. 7, 2013 at 5:42 a.m.
Tom Alciere
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1
Hudson NH
How does this sound? Let's suppose the feds can snoop and spy all they want.
Then they can use what they learn to find out who is selling drugs. Then the
feds can bust the drug dealers. Then, for every drug dealer they bust, the
Freedom Fighters exterminate ten federal law enforcement goons, because,
...no matter how legally they got their information ... their government never
had any right to control what drugs the citizens could use, and it is this
unprovoked violence against innocent drug dealers that is more of a problem
than, say, somebody listening to the radio and anagramming what comes over
it. The Second Amendment wasn't written for the benefit of duck hunters. Just
saying.
Sept. 7, 2013 at 5:42 a.m.
lou andrews
portland oregon
In order to see if Americans are following the law, the government needs to
break the law. Sadly, our politicians are at total ease with it being the norm.
Sept. 7, 2013 at 5:42 a.m.
Jim
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5
Littleton, CO
The elected United States government officials must uphold their oath of office
and defend the people of the United States from the unconstitutional
collection of personal information.
US citizens have an expectation, and a right, that who they communicate with
over the phone, who they communicate with on the Internet, who they
communicate with using the postal service and private carriers, and the
content of these of these communications, be private.
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The recent revelation of the NSA collecting the contents of private HTTPS/SSL
Internet information is beyond belief. The secret laws, findings, or acts that
enable this unconstitutional collection of information need to be struck down
and the perpetrators held accountable for their unlawful behavior.
Sept. 7, 2013 at 5:42 a.m.
sereneguy
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palo alto
Having worked in the radio/communications industry, and having 30 yrs ago
actually invented radio equipment to spy on the iron curtain, I'm more than
disgusted. What in the world is the government thinking to "weaken
encryption" and "adding back doors" to secure links. Do they not realize that
they are weakening the encryption and adding back doors that Russia, China,
and even Al-Qaeda could exploit?
Or do they not care, because they realize "terrorism" is a a red herring to be
able to monitor and control everyone. Or is it simply that they want to justify
the billions they spend by using the terrorist threat.
So, either they are aiding and abetting our enemies, controlling our lives, or
simply extorting tax dollars. Like I said, unsupportable and more than
disgusting.
Sept. 7, 2013 at 5:42 a.m.
Lynn
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5
S.
Republicans often wail that we need to shrink the government to a size where
it can be drowned in a bathtub - and they gleefully go about cutting social
programs any chance they have. The real power of the government is the
military and paramilitary organizations like NSA. They are the organizations
to shrink down to a manageable size so they can be put in check if they cease
to follow law. Their activities and capabilities are becoming too enormous for
Congress to oversee. Cut their budget and outlaw contracting this work out to
non-government employees (not that the NSA abides by the law).
Sept. 7, 2013 at 5:42 a.m.
Castanea Sativa
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3
USA
All these NSA revelations one after another are beginning to look like short
stories by Jorge Luis Borges in the spirit of "The Book of Sand" or "The Library
of Babel".
Many here have invoked the WWII intercepts and the clever decoding thereof,
but then the analysts had already a pretty good idea of what they were looking
for and their efforts and discoveries had a precise goal and an immediate pay
off. Saving US and Allied lives.
What's going right now does not seem to have much to do with any expression
of patriotic duty. More like some form of digital OCD which went out of
control long ago and becomes ever more efficient as the years go by and the
science and the technology progress.
Sept. 7, 2013 at 5:42 a.m.
Susan H.
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1
Pasadena, CA
The constitutional violations by the government in breaking into our personal
and private communications are horrific. Not only Fourth Amendment, but
quite potentially 1st Amendment rights could be impinged. In its singleminded quest for antiterrorism information, I don't trust the government or
the individuals involved in Bullrun to use my personal information and the
substance of my private conversations in a legal way. Why should I when the
very manner in which they have obtained the information is patently illegal. I
can guarantee anyone who thinks this is a good thing that this will create some
disturbing consequences for many innocent people and eventually create the
same kind of chill in our citizenry's willingness to speak out candidly that there
is in Russia and similar communist societies. I'm now even considering the
wisdom of submitting this comment, but I guess I'll take my chances.
Sept. 7, 2013 at 5:42 a.m.
Tina Rocha
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5
NY, NY
As an IT and code specialist 300 or so of us just got back from a symposium
where new platforms and hardware are a universe away from the current
language are being developed. This new code vault is unbelievable but is
coming to fruition. We signed agreements of confidentiality before attending
but can say it was standing room only including those from the financial
sector. A very assertive but impressive paradigm shift.
Sept. 7, 2013 at 5:42 a.m.
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1
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Jarthur
Hot springs,ar.
Wait till they have our health care records!,
Sept. 7, 2013 at 12:00 a.m.
Tim
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4
NYC
Journalism at its finest. Excellent job..
Sept. 7, 2013 at 12:00 a.m.
Daniel Malloy
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4
Boston
The NSA asked for permission to install a backdoor, was refused and did it
anyway. I would hope the American people have figured it out by now, the
government does what it wants, when it wants, to who it wants. If anyone
thinks ,"we the people" run this country they are sadly mistaken. Then again
all you "Masters of the Universes" should remember that the "nations are a
drop in the bucket" and "everything hidden will be revealed". Laugh now boys
cry later.
Sept. 7, 2013 at 12:00 a.m.
Henry
RECOMMENDED
9
Petaluma, CA
You have to be pretty naive if you are surprised by this. Do you really think
your email security or WiFi password will stop law enforcement?
This story is about CAPABILITY rather than ACTS. I expect the government to
be able to hack into ANY computer in the world, including mine, if there is
cause.
The problem is that NSA, in my opinion, NSA is misusing that capability, and I
think they should stop. Just as I don't expect NSA to sneak into my house and
search my stuff without probable cause, but I certainly expect them to be
CAPABLE of doing it if cause arises. This is no different.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 11:59 p.m.
miriam
RECOMMENDED
7
Astoria, Queens
This is the capability to spy on anyone, anywhere, without a warrant.
It's the reason for the Fourth Amendment.
Capability is not always innocuous. In the 80's, corporations wanted
the capability to close factories without notice, so that when the
workers came to work in the morning they found they were jobless. I
don't remember if that ever happened - corporations said it had never
happened, but that they needed that freedom in order to be nimble and
competitive.
Similarly, the Library Awareness Act enabled FBI agents to rifle
through patron records. The government said it had never done such
an investigation, so never fear - but it needed the freedom to do so.
Many libraries destroyed patron records rather than let them be
abused.
If the NSA needs to spy on someone for a good reason, let them get a
warrant. From a court that doesn't hand out warrants routinely.
Sept. 7, 2013 at 5:42 a.m.
Fadelff
RECOMMENDED
3
NY, NY
It seems to me that the NYT simply wanted to dump out information without
thought of our national security. Surely, we did not need to know of particular
events and what methods were used:" In one case, after the government
learned that a foreign intelligence target had ordered new computer hardware,
the American manufacturer agreed to insert a back door into the product
before it was shipped, someone familiar with the request told The Times." I am
not comfortable with the quoted paragraph--in other words, why were we told
about a specific case--that really does cross a line.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 11:18 p.m.
DK
RECOMMENDED
1
VT
There are some pragmatic measure that could at least slow down the NSA's
creeping coup d'état.
- Ban the use of National Security letters
- Make the FISA court be televised on C-Span
- Make the NSA's budget (and the budgets of all the other spy organizations)
public.
- Then cut those budgets severely.
- Make public the identity of any telecom or electronics company cooperating
with the NSA.
- Move the NSA headquarters to Pitcairn's Island
It's a start.
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Sept. 6, 2013 at 11:18 p.m.
Jshin
RECOMMENDED
5
New York
Most people's private lives are not that interesting anyway. The secrets of all
the elected officials, the Senators and Congressmen, on the other hand could
be interesting. I wonder why the politicians are not screaming bloody hell.
Ohhhhhh wait. NSA can read their emails and probably has all kinds of dirt on
them.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 11:18 p.m.
Ned
RECOMMENDED
4
San Francisco
The problem is not that the NSA & CIA have figured this out. I want them to be
able to access anything they need to in the legitimate pursuit of dangerous
criminals and enemies. The issue is what they are doing with this access. From
what I am reading, there is way too much being swept up, without any
reasonable suspicion of a particular crime or crimes. This is simply and plainly
unconstitutional. Illegal search. End of story. Write your representatives,
people.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 11:18 p.m.
DK
RECOMMENDED
2
VT
Do you recall W's take on the hostility of radical Islam? "They hate us for our
freedoms!"
Well, congratulations. They have no reason to hate us anymore. We have no
freedom. And we are not likely to ever regain it. Even if we were to dissolve the
NSA, do you have any confidence that it would stay dissolved?
And several subsidiary points:
Where is almost all of this electronic gear manufactured? Do you really think
the Chinese would be any less eager to build backdoors into hardware than is
the NSA?
and,
Clearly, the last thing anyone interested in security would do at this point is to
trust anything made or run by American or British firms. Does this not
promise to devastate American businesses with overseas customers? Did it
help the Pakistanis trust NGO's when the CIA used that cover to spy on Bin
Laden? WIll we still be happy with that scheme when smallpox comes back to
stay?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 11:18 p.m.
James
RECOMMENDED
7
Long Island
I'm impressed. I have trouble just moving pictures to snapfish.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 11:17 p.m.
David Henderson
RECOMMENDED
6
Washington, D.C.
I would be all in favor of this type of encryption breaking if I could be sure it
was directed external to citizens of the United States; however, this
administration has clearly shown that it is willing to use this technology on its
own citizens under the unlimited umbrella of "national security".
Sept. 6, 2013 at 11:09 p.m.
A. Stanton
RECOMMENDED
3
Dallas, TX
People are always asking me why the NSA and CIA have been unable to
decipher my
my emails. The answer is very simple. Everything I write in them is total
gibberish. This not only defeats the government's efforts to determine what I
am thinking about, it also keeps a safe distance between me and my wife.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 11:09 p.m.
pmcbride
RECOMMENDED
5
ellensburg wa
The part of this story that disturbs me the most is the fact that Congress
specifically forbade the NSA from doing this back in the Clinton
admiinistration, but the NSA went ahead and did it anyway. How's that for
arrogance? Let's defund this rogue agency.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 10:13 p.m.
Lynn
RECOMMENDED
7
S.
Defunding is an excellent idea. Defund the NSA. That's the only talk
they seem to listen to (irony intended).
Sept. 7, 2013 at 12:00 a.m.
RECOMMENDED
4
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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Liberty Lover
Delaware County, NY
The saddest thing about this, as I told my Congressman's aide this
morning, is that by ignoring Congressional mandate and scoffing at the
Constitution, the NSA has made itself no better than the Stasi or the
KGB, and has placed our nation on a par with police states,
dictatorships, and banana republics.
This is not what I expect of the country in which I was born and raised.
It is not what I expect of the country in whose armed forces I served. It
is not what I expect of the country whose Constitution I swore to
defend against all enemies, foreign and domestic -- at the cost of my
own life, if need be. That country's government honored the
Constitution and obeyed the will of the people as expressed through
their elected representatives.
I have never been under the illusion that my country was perfect, but
neither have I ever been so disappointed by the behavior of my
country's government. This is a travesty, an assault on freedom, an
affront to the rest of the world, and an insult to all who ever swore an
oath to defend this nation's Constitution.
-LL
Sept. 7, 2013 at 5:42 a.m.
nobrainer
RECOMMENDED
5
New Jersey
Do you seriously think organized crime would have any problems getting
access. Remember the East German Staci? Americans memories are short.
What was the real goal in all this and be sure that the people in charge don't
know either and won't admit that. power corrupts absolutely.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 10:13 p.m.
Jim M
5
RECOMMENDED
Canada
Can someone explain how this doesn't cross the line, in my eyes this pushes
the NSA into the cyber terrorist category. Government or not. In Canada I
would take it as an attack and place americans on the same aspect I place
china on our blocked list. If it was just for Americans then I would let it go as
you control your own, but if your gathering global information by illegally
hacking into systems, I would say that US has declared internet war on the
world. Spies in countries get killed for less.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 10:13 p.m.
claroch
4
RECOMMENDED
montreal
One does not spy on one's friend ... (like one's spouse!).
If the usa feels compelled to spy on EVERYONE, then it means it has ...NOT A
SINGLE FRIEND !
Sept. 6, 2013 at 9:40 p.m.
Scott
RECOMMENDED
6
Oakland, CA
This article is the riposte to those who, when asked about GWB's illegal
witetaps well after 9/11, answered "Why should I worry about U.S.
government wiretaps? I haven't done anything wrong."
Sept. 6, 2013 at 9:39 p.m.
miriam
RECOMMENDED
1
Astoria, Queens
I know I recommended this on another thread, but I'll again I
recommend this excellent article, by Daniel J. Solove: "Why Privacy
Matters Even if You Have 'Nothing to Hide.'" It is since come out as a
book: "Nothing to Hide: The False Tradeoff between Privacy and
Security."
https://chronicle.com/article/Why-Privacy-Matters-Even-if/127461/
Sept. 6, 2013 at 10:13 p.m.
Peytr David
RECOMMENDED
3
Los Angeles
Snowden, I suspect, has given away our secrets to our enemies, like Putin and
you guys want to give him a Nobel Prize?
Not in my world.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 9:31 p.m.
Ned
RECOMMENDED
2
San Francisco
The principle that folks with security clearances should be prosecuted
for leaking secrets is a good one, and Snowden must be held liable for
his acts. But in this case, while committing a crime, he has also done us
a service: Much of what he revealed demonstrates that the NSA, CIA,
etc. very may be acting unconstitutionally. This is not a simple issue. It
is possible he has uncovered crimes considerably more heinous than
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his own.
Sept. 7, 2013 at 12:00 a.m.
Kenya
RECOMMENDED
2
Florida
People should understand the Internet was never totally secure. When they tell
you the standard is 128 bit encryption, it means it takes a bigger faster
computer to break the encoding, I.e. N.S.A. or other big player/countries, not
that it is totally secure. Therefore if someone has the resources/money all
traffic can be monitored. Ask any IT person about sniffers - been around since
the invention of networks.
This should simply be about the rules and restraints and not all this shock
about "they can read my email".
Sept. 6, 2013 at 9:31 p.m.
J. Peterson
RECOMMENDED
1
New Jersey
When government agencies willfully and repetitively violate the civil rights of
the citizens - that's a crime in progress and there is nothing that can make it
anything less then a crime.
We need two things:
1.) A new Church committee
2.) An independent prosecutor.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 9:31 p.m.
Mark
RECOMMENDED
3
New York, NY
Keep sitting there America. The NSA can turn you on and turn you off. Just
look at the propaganda like "The Occupy". How many of you have the courage
of the Tunisians or the Egyptians to get on the streets and fight for your
rights?
Keep laughing
Sept. 6, 2013 at 9:31 p.m.
Joe
RECOMMENDED
4
Palm Desert, CA
Now I suppose that you want to select them?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 9:11 p.m.
Dr. Zachary Smith
Lost in Space
That the Patriot Act exists and is being used so effectively to manhandle the
4th Amendment is an outrage. Who can judge what's necessary for national
security when the violations are technical and inaccessible to even the experts.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 9:11 p.m.
joel
RECOMMENDED
3
michigan
But is the recipe for Coca Cola secure? I want to trust our government to
protect us and hope they (we) don't go too far. I don't like nukes, but we need
'em. I don't like spies, but we need 'em. We have to be willing to give up some
degree of privacy to assure that we are secure. It's perplexing.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:53 p.m.
Joe
RECOMMENDED
1
Palm Desert, CA
Would you want a security agency that couldn't crack a code?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:45 p.m.
EMIP
RECOMMENDED
5
Washington, D.C.
Depends on what code they are cracking.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:53 p.m.
Citizen
RECOMMENDED
2
Texas
No, I simply want a security agency that stays out of my private life,
obeys the laws, tells the truth, doesn't hide behind secrecy, all the time,
and doesn't use secret courts to do and justify what ever it is they've
thought up to do.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 9:11 p.m.
Guy L. Smith
RECOMMENDED
11
New York
Why would you want a security agency that's putting vulnerabilities
into the very software used by American companies, citizens, and other
government agencies who are trying to protect their assets?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 9:31 p.m.
Brian the bookseller
RECOMMENDED
8
Fort Worth, Texas
No irony here and it is understandable that PS of Massachusetts should lash
out with wild cries that the Young should grow up vibrantly with no fear of
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discovery as they sneak about with their mind-altering substances. Here in
Texas we are fabricating an Evil machine that will surreptitiously saw deep,
undetectable chasms all around the border of the State of Massachusetts so
that the next hurricane will float it far out to sea. This will save Texans the
inconveniences of secession.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:30 p.m.
MP
Florida
I suspect there is more to this and that Congress & White House have given
NSA and others them explicit or implicit approval to do this. I suspect
Congress is behind it and eventually we will find out how pervasive this spring
has been supported by politicians who seem to think they know better than the
Bill of Rights.
If facilitating hacking by our government to facilitate domestic spying is so
important, it should should have been debated in Congress and/or the Courts.
Ignoring our laws and just going ahead and doing this is wrong and it appears
that more than 1 person should be held accountable with more than a slap on
the wrist.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:25 p.m.
MP
RECOMMENDED
4
Florida
I suspect there is more to this and that Congress & White House have given
NSA and others them explicit or implicit approval to do this. I suspect
Congress is behind it and eventually we will find out how pervasive this spring
has been supported by politicians who seem to think they know better than the
Bill of Rights.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:25 p.m.
Ralph
SF
There is a basic dichotomy here that most people are overlooking. We all, or
many of us, believe in the noble principles of transparency, freedom of speech
and thought, freedom period. We believe that the basis for a strong,
democratic society is openness and paucity of secrecy. The problem is that
many things are easier to accomplish with secrecy and when you can use
secrecy in your work, you can get away with a lot. In order to maintain a
government without depending a great deal on secrecy requires extra
work---real work, careful work. We want an open society but we want
protection by deploying people---CIA, NSA, etc.---who specialize in secrets.
How can that work? It can only work if everybody---the government, its
agencies, the politicians, and the people---are on the same page and willing to
make that extraordinary effort to maintain and protect an open society. There
are simply too many people in all those areas who either don't agree or don't
care. But, for those people who do care, they must fight against these kinds of
programs and there must continue to be Snowdens and Mannings.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:19 p.m.
Lynn
S.
To all you commenters who in the past "blamed the victim" and told us all to
just become more tech savvy and use encryption if we valued our privacy so
much - what do you say now?!
The issue is restraining the NSA and rewriting laws and policies to uphold the
4th amendment. Not to mention that this domestic spying costs a fortune - the
NSA is a huge drain on society.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:18 p.m.
Lilou
RECOMMENDED
2
Paris, France
My tax dollars pay for this invasion of privacy and I am angry about it. N.S.A.
has a single-minded agenda which does not consider the First Amendment.
Evidently, transparency is not high on their agenda, either.
When will fellow-Americans break free of fear-based governance, and stop
giving up their basic rights, as outlined in the Constitution?
Writing to our representatives may have an effect. They DO count the e-mail
and letter votes and opinions on issues. That doesn't guarantee they will carry
their constituents' will to Congress.
What's the other solution? Get off the internet entirely. Social networking and
other sites will lose advertising income and hopefully, will raise a loud cry of
complaint. And I suppose, even as I write this, companies are creating more
advanced encryption to try to keep ahead of N.S.A.--at least I hope they are.
This is too much sacrifice of privacy and individual rights in the name of
national security.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:18 p.m.
RECOMMENDED
1
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Joan
California
If the other employees are like Snowden, why is anyone surprised? After all, it
takes one to know one -- to coin a phrase.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:18 p.m.
Howard
Queens
Isaac Asimov in Foundation predicted a tech savvy government agency would
run the galaxy.
Welcome to our scifi future
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:17 p.m.
Michael Branagan
RECOMMENDED
1
Silver Spring, MD
Why pay Carbonite an annual backup fee when we get NSA backups with our
tax dollars?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:17 p.m.
Peytr David
Los Angeles
Why not use Dropbox? Carbonite costs money. Dropbox does not
Sept. 6, 2013 at 9:31 p.m.
If not me then who
USA
I am amazed. The NSA has accessed and decoded private encrypted
communications of United States citizens and businesses. If I were to do this,
it would be a computer crime. Because the NSA writes their own rules, we are
to TRUST that these rules are Constitutional and legal? Not. These 'people' are
a bunch of thugs in suits that live by the creed, "The end justifies the means..."
The statements regarding liberty, tyrants and tyranny attributed to Aristotle
are very relevant to this debate.
We the people should not buy into this and no thank you, Barry Soetoro.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:17 p.m.
John
RECOMMENDED
3
Northampton, PA
This country is so ready for Rand Paul. Have you had your fill of Big
Government NOW?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:17 p.m.
Casual Observer
RECOMMENDED
2
Los Angeles
Without backdoors and lazy users of encryption procedures the NSA would
struggle to crack encryptions using it's super computers and wily algorithms.
The permutations of 64 bit keys are so big that even a supercomputer requires
much time to check them all or even half of them (the expected searches
required).
All that is really needed to secure individuals' data is to actually eliminate
backdoors and to have users follow basic procedures which assure that
decryption has no shortcuts.
While it makes the work of the NSA somewhat harder it would actually be best
if private data was secured well. The greater threat to our cyber systems is
from hackers who can introduce programs or download information compared
to the knowledge that the NSA harvests in it's broad and indiscriminate
searches.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:17 p.m.
Pilgrim
Cape
I am curious about the 1,000's upon 1,000's of contract workers doing the
dirty work for the NSA. Potentially a neighbor, friend or relative. Why has only
a handful of them come forward with these revelations of our growing
insecurity and lack of privacy? What is keeping them doing their jobs without
doubt or ethical conscience
quandaries? Fear and job security is the obvious answer but why is there not
more brave patriots among us?
Today the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights are just flaming pieces of
paper, and nobody is seemingly willing to blow them out.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:17 p.m.
ThePlainsman
RECOMMENDED
3
Virginia
It's scary to read some writers suggest rights should be a balance test between
liberty and security.
If so, we'll need amendments to the Bill of Rights and the Constitution,
designed to secure rights for the minority over the majority.
Freedom of speech -- "Congress shall make NO law" -- is not a balance, not a
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test of majority status. Freedom of association, the right to bear arms, freedom
from unwarranted search, to be secure in our papers -- these are not balancing
tests.
These are rights that attain to the benefit of even one American who might
stand in opposition to all the rest.
This is what our founders wanted, this is what governs our rule of law, this is
what it means to be American. If you think this is a balance, amend the
Constitution.
We left the Crown to form our Union to be free from others substituting their
judgment for ours on these matters. We knew this quest made us less secure
and we Americans did it anyway.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:17 p.m.
Bob H
RECOMMENDED
4
seattle
To paraphrase an American major from the Vietnam War era: It became
necessary to destroy the country to save it.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:17 p.m.
Slim_G
RECOMMENDED
4
Reno, NV
WAIT A MINUTE! It seems possible now that the NSA or any other agency
with means to decrypt anything, could quite possibly be behind stock market
flash crashes or any other stock market related "tweaking". Think about it... if
you or your organization could tweak the market or even the perception of the
market toward any fiscal advantage... wouldn't you be actively trying to do it? I
am very perturbed that any one agency or someone similar to Snowden could
access any encrypted data or network and quite easily change any data or
information stored. The advantages of "just knowing" what is on your
supposedly secure server or database for any one company could destroy your
company/business, personal life, and quite frankly everything you know and
love with the push of an "enter" button. Credit agencies, your money in the
bank, PIN numbers, and any other digital means of information are open
books ready to reaped for harvest... if it hasn't happened already. Imagine if
one man with the means to see and change any one digital aspect of your life
decides to omnisciently use this digital info against you. We are all at a serious
disadvantage. MOST DISTURBING! I shudder to think where we all would be
if data were not secure. This article, purposefully written to greater
generalities, is quite simply telling us that nothing is secure. Yes, I am fully
convinced that what Snowden revealed was a closely guarded secret. He had to
run, he knew too much, and he knew it!!!!!!!!!
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:17 p.m.
TerryDarc
RECOMMENDED
2
Southern Oregon
Yes, suppose the CIA or NSA is just a little short of cash? What is to
prevent them from manipulating accounts, markets or whatever for
their political goals. Suppose they want to bankrupt Al-Quaida and you
happen to have invested in the same instrument?
You're not a terrorist. You're just an unfortunate mushroom in the line
of fire.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:45 p.m.
NeverLift
RECOMMENDED
2
Austin, TX
Exactly what is the fuss about? Intelligence services' business is cracking
codes. Our has been at it since before the revolution. That activity saved untold
lives – some say it was even the turning point – in the European and Pacific
theaters in WWII, with Alan Turing’s team cracking the German Enigma, and
the US’s Operation Magic, assisted by the British, reading the Japanese naval
codes.
But there is a serious issue here.
The dreadfully shocking part of this story is that it was written. That codes
have been broken is the most sensitive information of all. It warns our enemy
that their messages are no longer secure; in reaction, they change their codes,
and the code breakers must start all over. Until the new codes are broken, we
are again blind and vulnerable to their most secret plans.
This is an essential activity in maintaining our security. Revealing its specifics
is, very definitively, high treason. There are many examples of how that has
been treated – within our legal system – in the past, and age has not
diminished the seriousness of such crimes. Snowden must be returned, tried,
and executed.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:17 p.m.
viator1
RECOMMENDED
1
Plainfield, NJ
Well, below are two reasons for the fuss I could find after about 10
seconds of looking. If the NSA was using it in our best interest then
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yeah, no problem. But they are not. They are using it to track potential
boy or girlfriends. They are using it as an end run around people's
rights. Their oversight, the FISA court, is nothing more than a rubber
stamp.
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2013/08/23/nsa-officers-sometimesspy-on-l...
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jennifergranick/2013/08/14/nsadea-irs-lie-a...
Sept. 6, 2013 at 9:31 p.m.
RS MD
RECOMMENDED
8
Saratoga Springs, NY
Kudos to the New York Times for publishing this information.
The NSA-CIA complex takes care of itself, and involves the military and
private contractors in taking care of that whole group. They are not primarily
interested in taking care of the American citizen.
Remember, this is the same crowd that took us into Iraq and Afghanistan.
Thankfully, we have paused before becoming involved in Syria.
Democracy involves the populace knowing what their elected representatives
are doing, and knowing what their tax-supported agencies are doing also.
We can't depend on our elected representatives taking care of us either. They
are primarily interested in getting re-elected. They don't ask enough questions,
and they waste their time doing political dances; they are afraid of people who
have been around longer, or who seem to now more about how the world
works.
Basically, I get to vote on this. I need to know what's going on to do so in an
informed fashion.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:17 p.m.
Brandon Wetter
RECOMMENDED
2
Miami, FL
The NSA will be reluctant to acknowledge the existence of open-source
encryption protocols and security measures developed by much-larger
open-source community-based projects than that which can be offered by
private enterprise here in the United States; one that cannot be threatened,
bribed, or otherwise coerced the same way a bank or a tech firm in the United
States can be. There are solutions like TOR (The Onion Router), TrueCrypt,
and other open-source, community-developed protocols that have no NSA
back-door, and the reach of the NSA compared to the broader worldwide
open-source internet cryptography community is microscopic. With
technology becoming less expensive and, as a result, more accessible and
available coupled with the inception of the open-source model, the world has a
much larger pool of networking & cryptography analysts, technicians,
engineers and programmers than the NSA or the United States government
could ever even dream of, let alone recruit. Corporations and the free-market
as a whole no longer has a stranglehold on technology as they now have been
sharing technological breakthroughs with foundations and other nonprofit
community groups that seem to be dominating what was once exclusive to
private enterprise (Mozilla Firefox, for example, comes to mind). The
worldwide technology community as a whole is a lot bigger than any
government, any corporation, or any alliance between the two; let alone one
solitary government agency.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:16 p.m.
RHE
RECOMMENDED
4
NJ, USA
These are clear violations of law.
NSA actions have violated the Fourth Amendment, eviscerated the US
Constitution, and moved the US toward police state status.
The NSA must be defunded.
NSA officials must be prosecuted. Preferably on capital treason charges.
Bush Administration and Obama Administration officials who enabled or
acquiesced in NSA vcrimes also must be prosecuted .
It is increasingly apparent that Obama's and the intelligence agencies'
shameless lies and desperate warmongering on Syria are an attempt to change
the subject. Obama and the intelligence agencies must be defeated on Syria
and then taken down.
Although I contributed voted twice for Obama and contributed twice to
Obama, I his assent to and support for NSA crimes leaves no alternative but to
seek his impeachment and prosecution on treason charges
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Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:16 p.m.
Peytr David
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Los Angeles
"Police state"? You're being dramatic
Sept. 6, 2013 at 9:31 p.m.
Peter
Austin, TX
Our Police State is rather interesting as it plays out its game plan. Under Bush
and Cheney it was all about money and how they could maximize their
incomes. There was no interest in anything else. It all came down to money.
Denial of all things scientific, cultural or altruistic, as long as they could make
more money.
Now the boss is a lawyer from Al Capone's home town. The President tells us
to trust him and his people. We see daily in your columns how badly this is
working out. This is the problem with idealists. Their ideals are fine for them,
but not for you and me. They have a right to know. But you don't. And anyone
who is an inconvenience is put away for as long as possible so that they are not
an embarrassment. So, now we have paranoid do-gooders in charge. One
almost wants the return of the quaint old days of Bush's TSA Red and Orange
alerts.
How did we get fooled into voting for this mob? I almost want the greedy
money people back. At least you knew what their angle was. And as long as you
lived quietly under a bridge with no health insurance, they left you alone. One
thing we can be sure of though is that the do-gooders will turn into raging
Bushies as soon as their time is up. Watch how they will join the lecture circuit
and write books that will bring them untold wealth.
Yes I am cynical. But to paraphrase Churchill, if you are cynical when you are
young then you have no heart. If you aren't cynical when you are old, then you
have no brain.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:16 p.m.
R. Hyre
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2
Chicago, IL
Imagine if there were another system where public trust had been so
thoroughly violated that people stopped using it.
Consider the system of commercial banks, for example. Without the public
trust that their money is being safely managed and loaned out to businesses
and individuals, all while earning interest for the depositor, commerce would
grind to a halt.
Now imagine an Internet community trying to operate without that same
trust. People need to be confident that the encryption systems they've been
accustomed to using in day-to-day life are secure.
We trust them to make sure that an adversary can't eavesdrop on their
communications OR impersonate others hasn't been subverted from top to
bottom. When the Internet server people use every day for online banking, and
the home network router they use to keep nosy neighbors and Internet
crackers from breaking into their home network.
Bruce Schneier said it best: "The NSA has undermined a fundamental social
contract."
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:16 p.m.
Carolyn
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Saint Augustine
There is no such thing as anonymity on the internet, although "anonymity in
numbers" has essentially been NSA's argument in keeping their diabolic spy
programs intact. The whole idea that my information is swept up with
everybody else's should - according to the NSA - give me a measure of comfort.
It gives me no comfort at all. The whole point of these programs is to make
sure that nobody can get lost in the crowd, so to speak. What's worse, is that with rendition still a possibility - when mistakes are made, there is no way for
people to rectify their status or retaliate. They can just disappear, or
information falsified about them.
What has happened is that the NSA has become the enemy of the very people
it was sworn to protect. It failed to find the Boston bombers, regardless of its
elaborate scheming: weakened encryptions, strong-arming companies for
complicity, eavesdropping, reading e-mails, etc. What it has been successful at,
is spying on innocents and turning American companies against Americans.
The NSA and its corporate satellites must be held accountable and their
programs severely curtailed. They need to be defunded immediately.
Moreover, foreign companies are not going to want to do business with
American tech companies, which is going to be a substantial blow to the
economy. Defund NSA now, hold hearings and get some hard laws about
privacy on the books. And get rid of FISA. Nobody needs a secret court in a
free country.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:16 p.m.
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miriam
Astoria, Queens
What a comment, Carolyn. I hope it becomes a NYT Pick.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 10:32 p.m.
lifelong Dem
Colorado
The reality is that anything on the Internet is potentially accessible at any time
and has been from the beginning. That is why this wholesale move to
electronics technology on our part as a nation is sheer foolishness. Kudos for
Snowden for pointing it out. If NSA can break a code, sooner or later someone
else can.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:15 p.m.
thomc416
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Monett MO
Amazing how low our collective intellect is regarding the mission of the N.S.A.
Do you not understand that minimum wage clerks at all of the banks are
reviewing cancelled personal checks every day? Ask Gov. Spitzer of New York
about the results of writing checks to houses of ill repute! Do you not
understand that minimum wage file clerks in divorce and bankruptcy
attorney’s offices have access to all of client’s personal financial information?
And what about the file clerks in doctor’s offices that have access to your
Viagara prescription history? Who would you rather have reviewing your
personal history and privacy issues, file clerks with no training in personal
information gathering or trained and educated professional intelligence
analysts? Unfortunately the New York Times and other socialist activists are
intent on confusing the public by comparing intelligence gathering activities
whose sole purpose is to protect our national security with the Department of
JustUs and other law enforcement agencies monitoring the public to gather
evidence of criminal intent?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:15 p.m.
Libby
U.S.
I've read through the comments here and I don't think most of the
commenters understand the enormity of this.
1. If the NSA has a backdoor to encryption, every government and crook on the
planet will soon be trying to get their hands on it. It won't be long before the
NSA's tools are widespread.
2. The importance of the security of an individual's Internet activity is
infinitesimal when compared to the importance of the security of government,
industrial, and business data and communications. If anyone gets hold of the
NSA's backdoors, government secrecy will be compromised, industrial secrets
will be compromised, the banking system will be compromised, and the
country's infrastructure (electric grid, nuclear power plants, etc.) will be ripe
for takeover.
3. In the short term, the NSA's creation of security vulnerabilities is costing the
economy billions in revenue lost to hackers. Not only are we paying more to
clean up malware that wouldn't have been able to infiltrate our computers had
the NSA not weakened security systems, but other countries will no longer be
purchasing American computer and security goods and services.
The NSA's activities are not good for this country. Think about it.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:15 p.m.
peter
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7
Boston, Ma
Furthermore, the US has a huge high-tech industry providing cloud
computing, financial transactions, networking hardware, etc. The
trustworthiness of all this is seriously undermined by what the NSA has
done. This will cost billions in lost business and countless lost US jobs
as companies stop using US vendors.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:45 p.m.
Lynn
RECOMMENDED
3
S.
In relations to Peter's comment: Stanford University GSB (business
school) made the switch to Google cloud file storage and email two
years ago to save money on maintenance of physical servers. They do a
lot of innovative prototyping and start-up activity there. I wonder if
they are questioning the wisdom of that move now that it's clear that all
their data is even more vulnerable than previously thought. Other
departments have not made the switch because of security concerns.
Sept. 7, 2013 at 12:00 a.m.
Henry
RECOMMENDED
4
Petaluma, CA
Lynn, unless you are keeping paper only files or only saving documents
on computers that have no web access, I fail to see how simply avoiding
Google will solve anything. You will still have information either stored
directly in the cloud, or on servers or computers accessible from the
internet.
The issue isn't whether someone could steal the information, but WHO
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would do it. I would be much more worried about corporate espionage
than the US govt. And in that case, Google may have better security
than others.
Sept. 7, 2013 at 5:42 a.m.
pintoks
austin
As an Obama supporter I cannot believe how we are now right back in the
George W. Bush executive mode (maybe never left it after all?), with all this
talk of bombing while the domestic surveillance machine churns on and our
civil liberties further decline.
Never would have guessed that Obama could out-Orwell George W., but he's
on the verge with all this head-fakery on red lines while Americans' privacy
quickly erodes.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:13 p.m.
Walt
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1
Wisconsin
There is no privacy on the Web. Act accordingly and be grateful if once in a
while the government does the job we pay it for.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:07 p.m.
Chris
RECOMMENDED
2
nowhere I can tell you
Please. Think about next time you make a withdrawal at your ATM.
Time, date, amount, balance, and your picture.
And you are outraged at "spying?"
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:07 p.m.
Lynn
S.
Does the ATM also access my medical records, thoughts via internet
searches, and network of friends and family? For no legitimate reason?
No, it doesn't. A false equivalence. Yes, I do think cameras on ATM are
creepy.
Sept. 7, 2013 at 12:00 a.m.
RB
RECOMMENDED
1
NY
The REAL lesson from this is that we need to make sure we have highly
intelligent people of integrity running our government and representing us.
The enemy is not government but men (and women). There will always be a
government far stronger than any individual (and for good reason); the whole
point of the US is to make that government well-run and honest. It's not to
give people cars and vacations. The whole point of the US is governance, by
the people etc. So if we keep our eye on that, that is the true issue -- not all the
bells and whistles the government uses and creates. And I want to just say
Thank God (and the US electorate and Constitution) we have a president like
Barack Obama leading us. A person of true integrity and massive intelligence.
Our second Lincoln, for sure. (Albeit he is no FDR.... but one can't be
everything.)
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:06 p.m.
Walker Rowe
RECOMMENDED
1
Santiago, chile
Encryption works by trying to solve the 300-year old problem of how to
determine if a number is prime. The NSA has not solved that problem; if
someone had, it would be a history-making result, widely-published in
mathematics journals. The NSA computers guess at the solution trying every
possible answer. Nothing technical about that.
Edward Snowden said it himself how to beat the NSA: just pick a very long
number as the key. It could take even the fastest computer years to determine
how to factor that.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:06 p.m.
Murphy's Law
Vermont
So, what people see in the movies is true, are they leakers?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:06 p.m.
JeanValJean
NYC
All named after Civil War Battles. How telling. Yes, Indeed, the NSA has
declared War on the American People. I guess "Safety and Security" only
applies to the Federal Government, not the People who are supposed to be
"Governed with the Consent of the Governed"...KTSG...
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:57 p.m.
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hawkeye
Lees Summit, MO
There are two critical fallacies in the debate surrounding the information this
article reveals. First, the choice between security and privacy is a false choice -check with the people of Boston. Also, remember, the folks at the NSA were
doing their thing well before 9/11. How'e that work out? The problem with the
NSA is that they really don't play well with others. The second issue is that the
"government" isn't doing this, a semi-private, largely unsupervised agency is.
Whatever illusions we might have about our government -- of the people, by
the people ..., the concepts of "top secret," "eyes only," and similar tripe have
erased the checks and balances concept so dear to our "Founding Fathers."
Yes, folks, check with your history books and look who came to our shores first
-- puritans who couldn't get respect in Europe in the 1600s. They're still here
and so worried about sex that they can't make policy any longer. We elect
officials based on their stand on abortion, not whether they care about the
people they represent, the constitution, the infrastructure or anything else.
Everyone is an "enemy." Most of all, the rest of us.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:52 p.m.
Roger
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Michigan
There are a couple of separate issues here. Should the NSA do what it is doing
and is the present situation is acceptable?
I would venture that America and any other country has a right to defend itself
and this includes espionage and many of the activities that the NSA
undertakes.
The present situation is not acceptable because (taking a leaf from the judicial
system) justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done. It's the last
bit that is missing. In the necessity for so many actions to be carried out
secretly we have also allowed the oversight of the NSA and other bodies to be
done in secret. It also seems to be the case that the NSA has taken on some
powers that have not been granted to it probably because they could get away
with it.
The public cannot be told the details but the rules, limitations and oversight
should be discussed openly in Congress. If it had been, there would have been
no reason for Snowden to have sacrificed his career. By doing what he did, he
has allowed a long overdue public debate to take place.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:42 p.m.
Joe
Ketchum Idaho
And Obama is all for this why?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:41 p.m.
NeverLift
Austin, TX
Exactly what is the fuss about? Intelligence services' business is cracking
codes. Our has been at it since before the revolution. That activity saved untold
lives – some say it was even the turning point – in the European and Pacific
theaters in WWII, with Alan Turing’s team cracking the German Enigma, and
the US’s Operation Magic, assisted by the British, reading the Japanese naval
codes.
But there is a serious issue here.
The dreadfully shocking part of this story is that it was written. That codes
have been broken is the most sensitive information of all. It warns our enemy
that their messages are no longer secure; in reaction, they change their codes,
and the code breakers must start all over. Until the new codes are broken, we
are again blind and vulnerable to their most secret plans.
This is an essential activity in maintaining our security. Revealing its specifics
is, very definitively, high treason. There are many examples of how that has
been treated – within our legal system – in the past, and age has not
diminished the seriousness of such crimes. Snowden must be returned, tried,
and executed.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:41 p.m.
Guy L. Smith
RECOMMENDED
1
New York
Spying on foreign governments is one thing. Spying on our own citizens
is something else entirely. Beyond that, sabotaging encryption systems
that are relied upon by American citizens and businesses is simply
outrageous. If any treason has occurred here, it's on the part of the
NSA.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:17 p.m.
rjs7777
RECOMMENDED
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NK
There will be a statue of Edward Snowden in Washington, DC (who will be an
immortal US icon) within 50 years. And none of Obama.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:39 p.m.
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Peytr David
Los Angeles
Want to bet?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 9:31 p.m.
dlh211
Las Vegas, NV
I'm not sure I know where to start with this information. On the one hand, it is
imperative in this global environment that the government do what it takes to
protect Americans. On the other hand, it seems ridiculous that guidelines such
as HIPAA exist which require the medical professions to follow strict
guidelines on privacy of patient information when apparently the government
has access at any time. And who are these "government" people that have
access to our private health records all the time.
When it comes to Google, Microsoft, Facebook, etc. these companies are being
sued left and right for their handling of consumer information and
overstepping privacy. I suppose its okay for the government but not for anyone
else. I am not sure that ALL of our private information is that relevant to
terrorism and I certainly do not condone "bullying" companies into breaking
their own Terms of Service with no knowledge to their customers/users.
This is such a complex issue with Americans. The whole notion of privacy is
one the government has invaded since the beginning; opening mail, listening
to phone calls. And Americans seem to possess a double standard that is
perhaps human nature. Spy on my neighbor to keep me safe but don't you
dare spy on me.
Everyday clients tell me they are "afraid of social media because of putting
their information out there". Really? Really? Social media isn't the problem,
it's much bigger than that. Let's talk about this.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:39 p.m.
miriam
Astoria, Queens
J. Edgar Hoover could only dream of the surveillance technology we have
today.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:39 p.m.
Steve Goodin
RECOMMENDED
1
34N, 118W
Under the disciplinary rules for attorneys in most American jurisdictions and
under the American Bar Association "Model Rules" a lawyer has a mandatory
duty to preserve and protect the confidences of a client. Now that the
information in this article has been published and is (constructively, at least)
known to entire world, if the attorney and client communicate with each other
by email or other means where the communication is read or listened to or
stored on a third party's hard drive for future review by a third person (or
computer program) that is a stranger to the attorney-client relationship, (1) is
the attorney subject to bar discipline, and (2), more importantly, has the client
waived the client's right to keep related communications with the attorney
confidential (and inadmissible at trial) under the rules of attorney-client
privilege? Of course, the "privilege" rules do not apply to communications
where the lawyer and client are cooking up or concealing criminal or
fraudulent conduct, but the rules are designed to prevent even the inadvertent
(as in negligent) disclosure of client confidences. So, three guesses about what
this does to client confidentiality in the legal arena. And did someone say
something about somebody being a professor of Constitutional Law? At what
law school was that?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:39 p.m.
linzt
RECOMMENDED
5
PO,NY
The abuse of a government agency ( NSA) is outrageous, dishonest, and
criminal. Lies over Lies. More secrets to be open, and this is only the
beginning. The unscrupulous and arrogant attitude make me disgusted with
this nation under devils.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:35 p.m.
Psmith
RECOMMENDED
1
WA
Short of a revolution, this problem is not going away.
I don't have and will not carry a cell phone. I use the internet sparingly and
email rarely. When I'm not working, I work in my garden or I put aside
vegetables that I've grown. I figure doing this is much more productive than
reading and worrying about our political system which it seems is under the
control of lobbyists. Too bad, once upon a time I thought we all made a
difference. To know this is tax payer funded is doubly infuriating! I wish
someone would organize a march on Washington before the cold weather sets
in. I think congress needs to see us in the streets to realize how upset we really
are.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:34 p.m.
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blasmaic
Washington DC
My accounts were hacked several years ago, and a neighbor who work on
Capitol Hill was able to get me reimbursed through a special fund for
Congress's and other VIPs. She said it was top secret, but with all the new
transparency I thought it would be okay.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:33 p.m.
BP
USA
Scary, very scary.
Good think Manning and Snowden are out of the government and there is no
possibility someone else like them will ever corrupted be this absolute
power...Right?
Why would some 3rd rate bureaucrat want to play God with virtually all of the
secrets of the entire country (or world)?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:30 p.m.
Casual Observer
RECOMMENDED
2
Los Angeles
The Congress under Clinton made truly hard to crack encryption largely illegal
so that the NSA could selectively monitor whatever it needed, so how come the
big surprise that they can crack all the encryption techniques in use, now?
In addition, the technology used on the internet developed from the open and
simplified systems developed for desktop computers, which mostly did not
incorporate any security protocols in their designs.
So who is surprised by this state of affairs? People who never bothered to ask
any questions, that's who.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:22 p.m.
joe
ny
So many salient points have already been made by a host of brave people in
this comment thread. Their outrage and perceptive insight into the
implications of this revolution is almost cause for hope.
The game, however, is over. No individual technology company will ever be
given the right by the courts to deny the NSA access to their backdoor key in
the pursuit of a suspect. Giving the NSA the ability to spy on an individual will
ALWAYS mean giving them the ability to spy on everyone. No one can, from a
practical, political or conceptual standpoint can watch over the activities of the
NSA. They answer to no one. The game is over. Telecommunications
companies promise empowerment while secretly compromising our privacy.
The internet is dead. It is now the tool of tyrants. This comment, like all other
digital interaction, must now self-destruct.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:21 p.m.
Guy L. Smith
RECOMMENDED
2
New York
There is still hope, but it lies in open-source solutions. Collaborative,
open development of software and hardware can keep oversight in the
hands of citizens. It would require turning our backs on commercial
software and developing hardware that can be verified after purchase.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:17 p.m.
Libby
RECOMMENDED
2
U.S.
The country had a public debate about inserting backdoors into encryption,
and the NSA lost. Still the NSA went ahead with its nefarious activities in
cracking encryption. Moreover, it has failed to anticipate the possible
unintended consequences of its actions: untrustworthy agents will get their
hands on the NSA's encryption cracks; countries and businesses will no longer
buy U.S. computer products or services; U.S. consumers will be the victims of
malware, costing the economy untold billions of dollars. The NSA is a rogue,
out of control agency that fails to understand how a democracy works. Heads
need to roll, and budgets need to be cut severely.
In addition, the actions of the U.S. companies that have rolled over so easily
for the NSA need to be examined. If they are selling security products that are
deliberately hobbled, that's fraud. I'm sure that various conspiracy charges
also apply. Throw the book at them.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:21 p.m.
Nguyen
RECOMMENDED
7
West Coast
Let's focus not on the fanfare of machinery but the Wizard of Oz behind every
knob, every button. Tell that to your obsessed children. I'm sure it's partly
because of lack of leadership (aka a being) in a very free, seemingly open world
due to its shear colossal power of virtuality. Yet the skies are full of "Clouds,"
as if there are invisible bubbles for every modern Nirvana. For the very few
benefits, we don't mind the excess noise and the Incognito Big Brother, or do
we?
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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But it's harder to put a name on every Wizard of Oz than to get lost in the
anonymity inside the digital forest. I know because I am constantly being
warned by others not to display my full name/location on my NYT profile,
including my own wife who probably could use the NSA data herself to her
advantage for her job. Billions of dollars lost from digital theft have not
prevented us from going back to gold coins. We still text and send silly images
of ourselves.
Another case-in-point: I had a conversation with a "hardware engineer." His
task was to design a hardware that comes with an entirely new operating
system created by the company so no hackers can (yet) learn the codes. So I
asked, why not catch the thieves and prosecute them?
It's like a hunter mentality setting up traps. The human condition has been
hard-wired to learn to avoid the traps, rather than to go after the hunter all
together. I supposed deeply rooted in our conscience we are all "hunters" in a
digital Utopia.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:17 p.m.
Libby
RECOMMENDED
1
U.S.
Makes me wonder what the NYT's criteria are for "picking" comments.
Apparently intelligibility isn't one of them.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:17 p.m.
dbemont
RECOMMENDED
2
Albion, NY
In my mind, the overarching story here is that elements within our
government do not consider the citizens to be sovereign. When told no by
elected representatives, they go ahead and do it anyway, because they know
they are right.
Even while recognizing the reality of foreign threats, at the end of the day, this
seems the larger threat to America. It's like a gradual, unannounced coup,
which, among other things, gives credence to all kinds of extremists and
conspiracy theories.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:17 p.m.
LOL JUST LOL
RECOMMENDED
4
USA
And when Congress authorizes military intervention in Syria against
the wishes of 90% of the public, this truth will be laid bare.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:17 p.m.
toom
RECOMMENDED
4
germany
maybe I will only pay cash, disconnect from the internet and hide my money
under the bed--in gold coins.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:11 p.m.
J.Stan
RECOMMENDED
1
Ann Arbor
"The abuse of power never leads to wisdom."
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:11 p.m.
AS Roma
Roma
N.S.A....WASTE of tax money payers
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:10 p.m.
Liberty Lover
RECOMMENDED
3
Delaware County, NY
Executive orders, NSA, secret FISA courts... When did this country's
government become a cabal?
-LL
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:10 p.m.
mike
RECOMMENDED
6
NYC
So if any of my accounts is hacked and I am robbed, scammed, etc. CAN I SUE
THE NSA FOR BREAKING THE SECURITY ??
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:10 p.m.
Roy Shane
RECOMMENDED
5
Tn
Simplify.......Is hacking a crime or not?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:09 p.m.
Alex
RECOMMENDED
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New York
The issue isn't what the NSA is doing. It's that the public hasn't been given the
option whether to approve it or not, by voting in legislators to pass laws for or
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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against mass surveillance. It's up to the voters to decide the appropriate
balance between security and liberty, not for government officials in closed
rooms to pick.
For security reasons the public clearly can't be informed about every little
detail, but they do have the right to know the broad strokes of what the
government is doing so they can make an informed decision.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:09 p.m.
Guy L. Smith
RECOMMENDED
1
New York
Actually, we did get to vote. The rejection of the Clipper Chip is an
example. The problem here is that the NSA went ahead and did the
same thing in a different way.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:17 p.m.
Shane
RECOMMENDED
3
New England
It is heartening to see the NY Times report this travesty and the many readers
whose comments reflect a justifiable fear that our government has gone way
too far.
There is no question in my mind that this and other NSA activities are
unconstitutional and, in fact, criminal. Sadly, both parties are complicit in the
debacle.
I can only hope against hope that a candidate emerges who is willing to put an
end to our burgeoning police state before it is too late.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:09 p.m.
dave p
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1
palo alto, CA
Cloud storage is both popular and useful, a product offered by Microsoft,
Amazon, Google, Dropbox and many others. NSA should enter the game.
Customers don't even have to upload their data; the NSA already has it. All
they need offer is download capability at a competitive price. They even have a
great slogan "Security is our middle name".
Or perhaps they already are in the game under a different name?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:09 p.m.
Peytr David
RECOMMENDED
2
Los Angeles
Do you realize how much data is out there? No one is looking through
your email. There's simply nothing there of interest
Sept. 6, 2013 at 9:31 p.m.
Thor
Seattle
This might save the post office. An era of handwritten letters may return,
forcing the NSA to get out the old steam pots and highly dextrous hands.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:08 p.m.
Eric
baltimore
The real issue is not that the government is spying, but that they know more
about us than we do about them. If things were balanced - if everyone knew
about everyone equally - the potential for abuses would be greatly diminished.
I believe we need laws and financing to build an NSA-style intelligence
capability that is directed towards monitoring our own government. Every
conversation, email, action, plan, meeting, etc. of any government official
should be made available to the public for scrutiny. This will be the best way to
ensure continued freedom and democracy. Right now, too much power and
information is being concentrated in too few hands. The abuses are inevitable.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:08 p.m.
James
RECOMMENDED
2
PA
Not being a terrorist or lawbreaker, I don't have anything to hide from Uncle
Sam. So any of the info he gathers from me is just wasting space in memory
banks.
What >>does<< irk me, however, is why all the geniuses are working hard to
break encryption methods INSTEAD OF HELPING IMPROVE THINGS SUCH
AS THE PROCESSING OF V.A. BENEFITS!
Seriously, billions of dollars spent on cracking codes and installing "back
doors" and it still takes many months for a military veteran, who sacrificed for
his country, to get a disability claim processed!
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:08 p.m.
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9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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bluegrass
kentucky
This is pure evil. We cannot trust any organization on the planet having this
level of power. The temptation for abuse is too great.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:07 p.m.
Dennis
RECOMMENDED
2
Connecticut
If you don't think the government is your enemy, rest assured they believe you
are.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:07 p.m.
Brad Howard
RECOMMENDED
1
Bellingham, WA
How fitting that the names for both the NSA and GCHQ programs are named
after civil war battles, where we turned on one another...
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:07 p.m.
Kati
RECOMMENDED
1
WA State
...and in spite of all that they couldn't stop the Boston marathon murders, even
though as the media reported the govt had been warned by the Russians twice
about the elder brother and, I seem to recall, that brother had sent out e-mails
or done searches inquiring on how to build a bomb.
From what I've read, the NSA was busy at the time spying on the Occupy
Movement.
This is so very sad....
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:07 p.m.
Ventura Capitalist
RECOMMENDED
2
Los Angeles
I'm sure this is quite useful to the DNC.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:07 p.m.
Crypto Savvy
Here
It is reasonable to develop encryption-cracking technology. But some of what
the NSA has done is plant weaknesses in encryption products used for
legitimate uses. That is an appalling and irresponsible weakening of our
security which exposes us all to danger.
In the quest for control and power the agency appears to have abandoned its
primary mission of ensuring our security. Worse than ironic.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:07 p.m.
TerryDarc
RECOMMENDED
2
Southern Oregon
This article does not address, but we would all be interested in the question:
How safe is e-commerce? My bank account? My 401k? My credit card
information?
Thanks to the NSA, I believe the answer is: not very. The only reason crooks
have not made more use of the back doors and weaknesses inserted with great
deliberation by the NSA "for-our-own-good" is that they are not yet up to
NSA's level of sophistication. But that time will come and when it does, the
entire e-commerce, worldwide dependence upon the internet, and every
banking transaction will come crashing down around our ears.
That will not be a pretty picture but will we have been made safe or at least
safer "for-our-own-good" against Al-Quaida and the Russians and whoever
else the NSA has a mission against? Probably not.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:07 p.m.
Adrienne
Boston
How many times have I said no to browser or security add-on programs that
loaded themselves anyway, and annoyed when I am required to agree to the
main program "phoning home" about my use of their product. Facebook,
Yahoo, Google, any number of sites are being roundly criticized for mining
users data. Why are we not really screaming about this heinous invasion of
equipment and privacy?
Let's be real about the fact that almost at every turn, somebody is selling our
intimate details without our permission. I'm not going to get my knickers in a
twist about the government using it to fight crime if nobody is interested in
addressing the big fat elephant sitting right in front of us.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:07 p.m.
AMM
New York
It is actually way too late to put that genie back into the bottle. What the NSA
can do, the Chinese can do as well, so can the Russians, the Indiands, the
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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Israelis - all of them and more. There is no more privacy. It's gone and it will
never come back.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:06 p.m.
Nelson
Colorado
I just finished an excellent book called 'The Utah Code Breaker" that talks
about how the NSA is doing this exact thing at their new data center in Utah.
Its frighteningly realistic and freaky, considering the author wrote about this
months before Ed Snowden even came out with the leaks. I'd recommend this
book to anyone who wants to learn how the NSA is reading your emails.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:06 p.m.
Bonwise
Davis
I'm grateful the N.S.A. is doing a superior job to keep us safe. Clearly,
intelligence is not game show to like or not, we have elected leaders to judge
and coordinate security. What we need is not a sensationalist but an ethical
media.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:06 p.m.
Bill from NYC
NYC
Was this news? Do you really believe your information is safe on the internet?
The scary part for me if you know how to crack encryption then you are in a
position to develop untraceable communications even from the government
you are working for because you can develop encryption methods that cannot
be cracked.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:06 p.m.
Wendyloch
Santa Cruz
This should not shock a public all too eager to live online. We are plugged into
a public space, and despite passwords and encryption, it has always remained
open to whatever prying eyes are clever and/or malicious enough to look
around. Hacks and corporations have known and profited from it for years. I
do business online, and despite the enormous convenience of it, I've never
been anything but reticent about the process. In terms of private
communication, wake up folks; the internet is not the best place to tell a
secret. While I'm not thrilled about the NSA's advanced ability to snoop, like it
or not, it carries benefits in a world increasingly vulnerable to cyber-terrorism,
just as it carries deep concerns for private citizens in a democracy. I hedge my
bets and go by the old credo: don't say anything in public you wouldn't want
published on the front page of the New York Times.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:06 p.m.
c harris
RECOMMENDED
3
Rock Hill SC
The NSA is a steam roller. There is apparently no limit on their activities. They
have hypnotized President Obama. They have the Congress eating out their
hands. They are quite simply an out of control rogue elephant. The wonders of
the internet and the new communications technology are being degraded by
the prying eyes of an alliance of big gov't and big corporations. There is no
doubt that the NSA has become a proprietorial operation with giant
corporations stuffing their pockets with tax payer money. All this with no
mission.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:51 p.m.
Brian
RECOMMENDED
1
MD
All I can say is: What do you expect? Quit whining and learn to live with it. All
you will do by investigating the NSA is weakening our intelligence services.
The reason we live in our great society is that we have such people watching
our backs. Enjoy the limited freedoms we have. Some day, we will be under
some country's control who is not going to permit the freedoms we now enjoy.
This type of publishing of our intelligence community's secrets will be the
cause. STOP IT!
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:46 p.m.
ArtM
RECOMMENDED
1
New York
Why does this surprise anyone?
Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Given no restrictions, no oversight and no consequences the NSA has decided
the easiest way to fight whatever it is they consider evil (don't assume your
definition of evil is the same as theirs) is to have the absolute ability to
eliminate any semblence of privacy
This is not new news. History proves this past repeats itself. The only
difference is by breaking internet security, government now has the ability to
easily wield total control over its citizens, all under the guise of making us
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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safer.
It is so easy to erode the rights we have through our Consitution. It is even
easier to volunteer to give them up because "they" are the problem.
Unfortunately, they are you.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:46 p.m.
Citizen
RECOMMENDED
2
Texas
With the utmost sincerity here, can anyone out there please tell me why Mr.
Clapper has not been charged with lying to congress? The same goes for the
Director of NSA. Congress has set a precedent in they don't charge either one
of these individuals. Others, in the future, that are charged with lying, can
simply say;
"You didn't charge them, don't charge me, thank you very much."
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:45 p.m.
Manic Drummer
RECOMMENDED
4
Madison, WI
And what precisely will the American people do about this? Nothing, because
they don't care that they're being spied on, let alone that their tax are paying
for it. Another good reason to hate Americans. Disgusting country, I hope it
dies soon! I hate you all!
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:45 p.m.
miriam
Astoria, Queens
All those of us who are protesting here and elsewhere, do you really
believe that we don't care that we're being spied on? Not one of us?
How do you know?
You indicate an American location. If you're an American, do you hate
yourself?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:16 p.m.
Free Bear
RECOMMENDED
1
NY
Let us just accept the inconvenient truth:
there is a god in the internet who sees everything and has the power to destroy
anything.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:45 p.m.
Independent Voter
RECOMMENDED
1
Los Angeles
I am, steadily and surely, coming to despise, even loathe, my country. America
is no longer what we thought it was, it has become the Soviet Union of the
modern age. All those paranoid ranters who warned us about endlessly
encroaching government and told us not to trust it - not ever - not under any
circumstance - were not crazy, they were prescient and right.
Is it any wonder the number of extreme militia organizations is expanding
across the country at record pace, and that people are arming themselves
against the day the the black helicopters arrive at their doors?
America has become a paranoid nightmare where liberty and privacy are a
joke, where Big Government peers without restriction into our bedrooms, our
offices and our computers and records everything we say, think or do, not to
protect us, but to keep us under their thumb and give them the capacity to
control us from the day we are born until the day we die.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:45 p.m.
rjs7777
RECOMMENDED
5
NK
May I suggest you oppose specific, criminal people and operational
employees/teams inside the US federal government? People who ought
to be rotting in jail? That's not the same thing as despising your
country. Give yourself some credit.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:11 p.m.
Independent Voter
Los Angeles
rjs: I find it exceedingly difficult to distinguish between my government
- we, the people, ARE, supposedly, our government - and my country. I
live in a country, not inside the federal government, and it is my
country that has become an Orwellian nightmare of invasion, intrusion
and spying,
I would, for example, loathe North Korea and not only it's government
had I been forced to live there, because the North Korean's, wittingly or
not, allowed their government to become what it is.
My country, America, has, wittingly or not, allowed the slow and steady
erosion of liberty and personal freedom to happen. God knows we were
warned, and we, as a country, did nothing.
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:35 p.m.
Qwickie
RECOMMENDED
1
NY
Typical Big Brother government. I might as well have voted for Romney.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:44 p.m.
miriam
RECOMMENDED
2
Astoria, Queens
What I said during the campaign: two words: Supreme Court. The next
time a Justice dies or steps down, do you want another Scalia or
another Sotomayor? If we get the former, we will get an impregnable
majority of reactionaries. Goodbye, whatever justice we have.
I see that Republicans aren't the only ones who don't do nuance.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:12 p.m.
cyclone
RECOMMENDED
1
beautiful nyc
Bull Run and Mananas are the same American Civil War battle, one is the
name by the Union and the other by the Confederacy. If I'm not mistaken, it
was the first battle of the war and a Union defeat! Why these were chosen as
the project names needs to be decrypted.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:44 p.m.
Abby
RECOMMENDED
4
Tucson
Did anyone notice their Mircosoft updates taking eons to download and install
the first two months after this reveal began? How much did that cost US?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:34 p.m.
Bert Floryanzia
Sanford, NC
Hey NSA, evil empire much?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:34 p.m.
Nick
RECOMMENDED
2
Denver, CO
That's it. I'm creating my own language. Go ahead and decipher that.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:34 p.m.
DAG
RECOMMENDED
3
NYC
This is a complex issue and it's not only that their are many sides to the
debate, but it's also that opinions change based on the latest news.
If we experience another 9/11 in the U.S., or something worst, no one will be
arguing for stricter privacy laws. But then, since memories are short, a few
years later privacy will take center stage again.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:34 p.m.
Ranjit Vadakkan
RECOMMENDED
1
New York
"Trust, but verify" is a simple, yet powerful paradigm - especially in a
democracy. Do you expect the NSA to trust people blindly if it cannot verify
their behavior? So while I admire their "snooping" capabilities, the only issue I
have with them has to do with checks and balances that they've put in place to
ensure that these powers are not misused. Systems designed by humans are
inherently biased and I can only hope that the NSA employs a panel of level
headed individuals to uphold fairness and justice - naive, I know - but I can
sleep better assuming that.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:34 p.m.
vintoad
Albuquerque, NM
Anyone who's worked for a national laboratory here in NM & has had access to
the more "avant-garde" research efforts in information science (much of it
published in obscure but available, unclassified annual reports) has had quite
a good idea that this encryption-cracking was transpiring. So to add insult to
injury: our tax dollars funding these laboratories --- who supposedly do
research for the public good --- were funding research that many of us see as
violating our Constitutional right to privacy, hardly in the interests of public
good.
This is what happens in a "secret democracy," (HA) where our Congressional
reps are A] not really informed about the NSA's activities; B] vote along party
or political-pressure lines subject to lobbying; C] show not very much
expertise about the subject and/or rely on staffers who are not so great at
explaining the nitty gritty of complex topics; and D] waste their time voting
umpteen times to destroy the new healthcare law.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:34 p.m.
RECOMMENDED
3
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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Jon Chinn
Metropolis
Long past time to eliminate the NSA and the other anti-democratic elements
within the U.S. government. End the National Security State and the
surveillance state.
This mean you NSA and CIA. We are going to get rid of you and all this bogus
secret government that has NO place ina democracy. Period.
Read THAT, NSA
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:34 p.m.
JAN
RECOMMENDED
2
Marin County, Ca
Is there any wonder Obama couldn't get a Mother's Day resolution through the
Congtress? For better or worse he is the main man when it comes to NSA
activity. If he didn't know about their invasive activity, he should have.
As far as his Syria rocket strikes, he may as well give that idea a long rest. The
American Public have lost faith with a President we thought was a clean break
from the Bush administration. The President hasa simply allowed the same
toxic programs to flourish.
I voted for him twice and can tell you I am really disappointed in a man I
thought would lead us onto a better day. Dreams do die hard....
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:34 p.m.
Realist
RECOMMENDED
3
Ohio
Anybody who complains about any of this while using social media, email, or
web browsers is at best naive, if not hypocritical. The convenience of the
digital age cannot be separated from its transparency. It is a technical
impossibility, and an economic dead end. Live with it.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:34 p.m.
Grossness54
RECOMMENDED
1
West Palm Beach, Florida
Democracy, American-style: Every four years we get to choose a new Big
Brother.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:34 p.m.
jsmeader
RECOMMENDED
1
amherst, ny
It is good to see that 'yankee ingenuity' does still exist.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:33 p.m.
James.B
RECOMMENDED
1
USA
While I understand the importance of cryptology to national security, the fact
that they are using it on and against their own populace will serve to
undermine consumer and investor confidence. 128 bit encryption has become
the standard for websites that process credit card transactions and other
sensitive data. If the technology to decrypt these data exchanges exists and is
available to contractors then it is reasonable to assume that it will at some
point be available to hackers or thieves as well. If the third party vendors have
built in back doors to their security products (for any reason) then how can
consumers trust these vendors or their products?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:33 p.m.
Paul Lang
RECOMMENDED
2
Melrose, MA
"NSA Foils Much Internet Encryption" We certainly expect so! And applaud
efforts to change "Much" to "All".
White collar crime, fascism (homegrown and otherwise), smuggling (money,
drugs, WMR), and reactionary religious killers depend on "communications
privacy".
Loyal, law-abiding citizens (broadest sense) expecting "Privacy" on the
Internet or Telephone are fools to think that precluding NSA access will save
them from evil schemers and doers, or that NSA surveillance poses a threat to
them.
The non-loyal, non-law abiding dearly hope that NSA will be handcuffed so as
to provide them secure room to operate.
People promoting "Privacy" over surveillance and protection from the evil via
the Net need to be questioned about their priorities, their motives, and their
beliefs about the dangers of this world and whom and how to trust.
Paul Lang
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:30 p.m.
RECOMMENDED
1
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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Globalctzn
Northern CA
How did this tracking/spying ability help the children who were gassed in
Syria?
How can or has this ability been used to influence our elected officials or even
the voting process itself, think secret back doors and electronic voting
machines?
If the 4th amendment is not valid for our own citizens what does this say
regarding our government's respect to the rights or privacy of innocent
citizens belonging to any other nation or the daily official or personal
communications of their government officials? What right do we have to
consider ourselves as Americans so important that no single law abiding
person or persons residing outside our country is to be afforded privacy in the
name of security for our nation. America-centric is not my idea of an example
of world leadership by democracy. Or should we call it Terror-centric?
Perhaps our government should instead be spending these millions on beefing
up the privacy of our global information systems so others of less "noble"
intent cannot accurately imitate the activities of our very own NSA. Those
might be well spent tax dollars in the name of national security and may even
provide employment or economic opportunity/advantages for our nation.
Please consider these questions and those of others, spend some time
reading/researching/compile your thoughts and be sure to contact your
elected representatives and share your personal views.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:25 p.m.
miriam
RECOMMENDED
3
Astoria, Queens
Edward Snowden and Malala Yousafzai should be joint recipients of the Nobel
Peace Prize this year.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:25 p.m.
Attilla7
RECOMMENDED
2
NY,NY
Does anyone rember the "Achille Lauro" (sic) terrorist attack in the '80's?
Oliver North led the group that captured the terrorists involved. He had the
NSA tap Hosni Mubarak's presidential office phone in Cairo.
We knew what flight they were on and the airliner was intercepted by F-14's.
This NSA issue is ALL old news.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:24 p.m.
Mark
PA
What worries me the most is that what we see in this article may only be the
tip of the iceberg... My other thought is that all this has less to do with
international terrorism, and more to do with setting up a surveillance state to
help manage our post-neocolonialist decline...
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:24 p.m.
R. Iyengar.
RECOMMENDED
4
Wilmington, DE
Our government, the great protector of our constitution and civil liberties has
literally shread our constitution, and all the sophisticated and intelligent
people in this country are silent. Well! Well!,Well!!!. We used to tell the rest of
the world what a great constitution our Founding Fathers wrote, and which
has stood the test of time. We criticise other countries for the lack of "freedom
of expression" Now, our own "freedom of expression" is under the confines of
our freely elected government, or is that really free. Welcome to the world of
the Matrix III, IV, or whatever.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:22 p.m.
miriam
RECOMMENDED
1
Astoria, Queens
"all the sophisticated and intelligent people in this country are silent."
Yes, all this outcry is from coarse and stupid people. Or from
foreigners.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:32 p.m.
Peytr David
Los Angeles
"figuratively shred ..."
Sept. 6, 2013 at 9:31 p.m.
DontBeABully
TX
Pay attention to the word "coerce" and think about the definition.
The NSA is so *dangerously* powerful that it can control and overthrow the
U.S. government. Any government. With all the information the NSA already
has stored, the agency can blackmail any official and any lawmaker. In any
country.
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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The NSA has health, banking, and "dirty laundry" information about almost
everyone on the planet. If the NSA doesn't like what a person says or does, the
agency can just pull up a list of that person's darkest, most private secrets. If
the NSA can't find anything on that person, the agency can then look for dirty
laundry on that person's immediate family member(s).
If the NSA needs more votes in their favor from Congress (budget, more
authority, etc.), it can look for the number of votes they need by going through
their database to find information to blackmail a few lawmakers. Just enough
members to get their "requests" approved. And we know that many of our
politicians already have troubles anyway:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_federal_politicians_convi...
Think about this.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:21 p.m.
miriam
RECOMMENDED
5
Astoria, Queens
For all we know, President Obama may be among the blackmailed.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:33 p.m.
EFBarasch
Sac City
Now all any hacker has to do is hack the NSA and they have access to all the
online information on everyone in the entire world and on every computer
system linked to the Internet.
Not only is Snowden a hero, he should get the Noble Prize in public service.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:21 p.m.
Bud
RECOMMENDED
2
Montgomery, Alabama
"And they went and did it anyway, without telling anyone"
It is important to focus on one single fact: these people are criminals under US
law.
The idea that government agents with "security clearances" are thereby
entitled to violate the fundamental law of the land and statuatory laws passed
by the Congress is anathema to the Constitution.
Liberty is impossible without assurance of privacy. That assurance is provided
in hard copy by the Constitution. Those provisions aren't up for debate.
If these assurances are undermined by agencies directed by political
appointees acting in secret based on secret interpretations of (often-secret)
laws and regulations, the Constitution is effectively suspended with the willing
complicity of all three branches of the federal government.
What citizens will decide (likely by inaction) is whether they are willing to live
in a security state acting solely on its own authority and directly contrary to
Constitutional restrictions findamental to preservation of a free society and
consistent with the express will of a free people.
I repeat again: these people are factually criminals under US law. Nixon said
about criminal acts performed on his authority: "if the president does it, it isn't
a crime."
If that is so, Nixon did nothing wrong and should never have been driven from
office. Otherwise, the president now in office and making exactly the same
claim should be.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:21 p.m.
Abby
RECOMMENDED
5
Tucson
Of the Five Eyes, two are already blackened. New Zealand has Kiwis Gone
Wild, and the UK foolishily thought this metadata concept would never be
revealed.
The Kiwis got caught listing journaists with terrorists for US to spy on for
them. Then the committee tasked to plug that leak admitted to deleting an
email sent by a contractor containing emails belonging to MPs and a reporter.
Oppps.
That sounds like two possible fouls with the spy system and tampering with
evidence to me.
But the UK...Why did the PM's email come out of Brooks' BlackBerry like a
metadata file? No content. In 2011, NO ONE could explain how a BB could
produce such a bad image. Until we learned what metadata was. No content.
Did the police, who had possession of that device prior to that imaging failure
switch the Tempora metadata file with the PM's full content email and think
NO ONE would ever find out?
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:14 p.m.
Dr. Jones
RECOMMENDED
1
South Bend, IN
Somehow naming these spying programs after Civil War battles does not
reassure me that they are not being used by Americans against Americans.
Irony much?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:14 p.m.
Jim
RECOMMENDED
4
Ogden UT
If the NSA is so good at foiling encryption methods, maybe they could figure
out an easy way to track telemarketers who spoof phone numbers.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:14 p.m.
Fat Cat
RECOMMENDED
4
Somewhere in a high mountain cave
The biggest threat to American citizens and the USA are it's very own
politicians in DC. This and the lack of participation and attention from it's
voters.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:13 p.m.
PS
RECOMMENDED
2
Massachusetts
A question. Is the NYT looking into what tech companies worked with the NSA
and provided entry points into their products? it would helpful to know what
those products are.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:13 p.m.
JnJ
RECOMMENDED
2
NM
So the NSA and presumably contractors like Booz-Allen and their emplyees
like Snowden are privy to your financial transactions and the bank data, like
account numbers, that accompany those transactions.
Now, we know that there are "rogue" agents out there like Snowden (Snowden
himself being proof of the rogue agents), and even under the threat of
punishment for treason they do not honor secrecy. Will they honor the sanctity
of your bank accounts?
Can one of the police state enthusiasts tell me how this falls under "if you have
done nothing wrong, you have nothing to worry about?"
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:13 p.m.
John
RECOMMENDED
3
PA
Good. This is what we are paying them to do. If they were not able to break
encryption THAT would be a story.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:13 p.m.
Steve Singer
RECOMMENDED
2
Chicago
When thinking about spy agencies operating in secret with unlimited budgets,
their operations legally unrestrained -- like Hoover's F.B.I. during The Horror
Years (1947-1975) -- assume the worst because, that way, you will never be
disappointed.
Assume they are copying all electronic communications; that a dossier about
you containing data from every available source (e-mails; landline and
cellphone voice calls, faxes and texting; Facebook, LinkedIn and Plaxo
especially) grows without you being afforded any practical legal protections;
that any private contractor working for the spy agency can examine it at will;
that claims about all this being no threat to privacy are trade-craft meant to
mislead. Assume all that; also, that someday some of this data will become a
weapon used against a rival politician or difficult person to extort something of
value, or force a change in behavior; or embarrass them; or create the
appearance that a crime has been committed ("Whitewater"). Assume a
special prosecutor will alter some data to suggest guilt or turpitude where
none exists because (misquoting Lord Acton) "power corrupts, and absolute
power corrupts absolutely".
Anyone who has studied the Clinton presidency understands this perfectly.
The N.S.A. and its sisters will "destroy the town in order to save it", borrowing
that classic Vietnam War conundrum; sacrifice what makes America
exceptional to make it safe from terrorists without realizing it, or giving it a
second thought.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:11 p.m.
miriam
RECOMMENDED
6
Astoria, Queens
When Bob Woodward was writing one of his books he used a computer
that was not connected to the Internet. Smart man, that Woodward.
And if anyone says that Woodward's a political sellout, I'm not talking
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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about that. I'm just saying he's smart.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:34 p.m.
Robert
Mass
The US Government has obviously committed major crimes against its own
people. In our digital culture, the illegal tapping of citizens private information
is not only Unconstitutional and against everything that the USA stands for, it
is equivalent to the Syrian government using chemical weapons against its
own people. In the Syrian's case the people were subject to death and
horrendous pain and suffering. In the US NSA case, millions and millions of
Americans no longer have privacy and the US Government has become Big
Brother. This is an Orwellian nightmare. Who will be held accountable for
these crimes? More so, will the American people band together and demand
that these injustices are corrected?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:11 p.m.
Isabella
RECOMMENDED
2
Weston MA
Thank you, Edward Snowden, for exposing the revolting activities of our
government. When will we go beyond expressing our revulsion and revolt
against it?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:11 p.m.
ED
RECOMMENDED
3
Wausau, WI
The mission of the NSA is to provide the goverment with electronic
intelligence from any source at any time lawfully. We must stress LAWFULLY.
AS we all know congress addressed this issue after watergate thus the
institutionalization on the FISA court, which is overseen by the supreme court,
specifically, the chief justice. In addition congresshas a separate oversight
comittee. Thus, all three branches of government have overview over the NSA.
THough data gatherring is not covered, actual listening to specific
conversation are covered by warrants. In my opinion that is plenty of oversight
for what is supposed to be a secret endeavor. Furtheremore this is not new, the
government has always had the power to open any mail or intercept any phone
call, again under warrant. During the cold war and assuredly as we speak, the
NSA spiked underwater cables that allowed it to spy on virtually all of the
worlds communications, since that was international that is formal spying.
Unless you consider the CIA, FBI and the rest of the alphabet soup unnecesary
since the worl is a friendly place, stop the whinning please. NOTHING NEW
HERE JUST INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES DOING THEIR JOB. Unless I see
black helicopters flying overhead to arrest people for excercising their
constitutional rights, the system is working exactly as intended.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:03 p.m.
greeneyes76941
RECOMMENDED
1
Texas
Power corrupts as it always has. That's why one of the most brilliant collection
of minds ever wrote our Constitution as it did, dividing power, setting up
limits on each branch.
If only we could return to a time when the Constitution was respected &
followed! But until we (the informed voting public) demand it of our "leaders",
it won't happen.
As Ben Franklin said "those who would trade freedom for security deserve
neither."
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:03 p.m.
YouNo
RECOMMENDED
4
NoWayLand
... and lose both.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:08 p.m.
007
RECOMMENDED
1
Chantilly, VA
Thar 5/8ths rule, a brilliant afirmation of liberty.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:10 p.m.
miriam
Astoria, Queens
The Framers worked hard to make the new government tyranny-proof.
Trouble is, no political system is tyranny-proof.
As for the 3/5 (not 5/8) compromise, there was a big irony in that. The
southern states wanted slaves counted as full persons. The northern
states, where slavery in the full legal sense was either nonexistent or in
decline, was for not counting slaves, because counting people who were
not considered human for any other purpose was an obvious ploy to
increase representation in Congress. That situation ended with the
Reconstruction amendments; what happened when de jure slavery was
replaced with de facto slavery is another chapter in American history.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:17 p.m.
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Tom
denver
Snowden's is the gift that keeps on giving.
Thank you Edward...some of us love you for it.
Tom Rutter
Denver
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:02 p.m.
Joseph Huben
RECOMMENDED
8
upstate NY
This is an inevitable outcome of concentrated power. A government that
sacrifices the liberty of its citizens to protect that liberty has betrayed those
citizens. A matter of degree.
So long as we have governments that consider history from the perspective of
Darwinian survival imperatives we are in danger of war and annihilation. All
people and nations create narratives about themselves and their likely survival
as compared to others. This empowers them to take measures and behave in a
manner that complies with that narrative. Now we are confronted with a stark
reminder that our narrative is entirely contrived and that it is skewed so as to
favor an entitled few. Furthermore, we are predisposed to imagine that we are
one of the entitled few. This moment of wakening, this brief glimpse at the
reality of the illusion provides an opportunity to discard the next most likely
scenario: war. In regard to freeing ourselves from the behavior demanded by
this narrative we can choose to do something entirely different than what our
reflexes tell us to do, like maneuvering in a skid
Revealing that a secret way of hiding secrets was secretly decrypted by a secret
agency is not a boon to our real and imagined adversaries. It is likely that they
anticipated this behavior. Likely, it was also secretly anticipated by all of us
who express outrage that our secret agency would do this....to us. This all
seems so childish unless, like children we proceed to war, to end the story.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:02 p.m.
Bri
Columbus Ohio
Who would have though! A secret agency is able to encrypt secret messages!
Or wait, isn't that what they are suppose to do? Nothing is safe on the Internet,
never has been and never will be. I believe it is continuously monitored all
over the world by agencies like the NSA or Internet Activists and Hackers.
Let me do the math, we have app. 300.000.000 cell phones in USA. An
estimate of 188 Billion text messages are send per month. Almost every
household has numerous smart phones, laptops, computer and email
addresses. Same goes for Companies and their Employees.
So we assume all the informations are being read and controlled? May I ask
how many people are working for the NSA?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:55 p.m.
David Leith
RECOMMENDED
3
Amherst MA
Am I correct in surmising that if most of the world's email is now encrypted in
SSL and if the NSA is permitted to store all encrypted email as long as it
wants, then in effect the NSA has permission to store most American's emails,
if it should choose to, until it decides to decrypt it, which it almost certainly
can?
It already knows the headers - now it can hold the rest of the email for as long
as it chooses to and then decrypt it.
True privacy is gone.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:55 p.m.
Abby
RECOMMENDED
2
Tucson
I'm off to meet my new family doctor, NSA. Can I request paper, or is that a
gigantic tip off? Hope to see you sooner than you see my colonoscopy. Having
filed medical records, I can tell you, flora is facinatng. It literally floresses.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
DW
RECOMMENDED
1
Philly
Oh, maybe it's just time to get offline. It's been fun for a decade or so, but
maybe it's time to get back to taking walks or reading a book or knitting, and
consider Web surfing and chatting/blogging etc. sort of like cigarette smoking
was before they figured out it would give you cancer, a fun way to pass the
time that we now realize wasn't good for us. For news, there's always the old
print newspaper, or the radio.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:50 p.m.
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steve
asheville
Encryption may be defeatable by adequately powerful tools (and guile), no
matter how clever the algorithm, perhaps.
But, if many people wish to oppose this universal electronic surveillance
strategy, it seems to me that a habit of routinely sending phony messages for
the NSA waste public resources on, could discourage this.
Imagine if the load of "garbage" delivered to the NSA were increased by three
or four orders of magnitude (or more if necessary).
This might demonstrate the stupidity of their brute force approach.
I have no objection to the agency seeking "threat" info; I support it. However,
the approach they have selected seems both dumb and amoral.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:50 p.m.
miriam
RECOMMENDED
1
Astoria, Queens
As an earlier story reported, the Post Office probably isn't steaming
open your letters yet, but they are tracking who is sending letters to
whom, and when. So the the NSA can learn that you're corresponding
with Mr. or Ms. Awful, but the strange secrets you're hiding in those
envelopes remain secrets, unless the envelopes pique someone's
curiosity.
But if the USPS goes under, some of us will miss it. It gives us at least a
modicum of privacy.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:17 p.m.
ROB B
RECOMMENDED
2
SF
Good.. if NSA did not have this capability and there was another terrorist
attack or similar against the US there would be political hell to pay and
EVERYBODY would be asking why the NSA didn't have the information to
protect the homeland .
If you don't want your stuff looked at then use the post office !
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:50 p.m.
Citizen
RECOMMENDED
1
Texas
I'm sure there is some over zealous group of people in the government
that are reading all our mail also. Why does the USPS take a picture of
every piece of mail they handle; for a scrap book?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:12 p.m.
SalinasPhil
Salinas, California
The future of our nation is being seriously threatened by our own government.
The warnings of Eisenhower have never been more appropriate.
"A vital element in keeping the peace is our military establishment. Our arms
must be mighty, ready for instant action, so that no potential aggressor may be
tempted to risk his own destruction...
This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms
industry is new in the American experience. The total influence — economic,
political, even spiritual — is felt in every city, every statehouse, every office of
the federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this
development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our
toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our
society. In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition
of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military–
industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power
exists, and will persist.
We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or
democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and
knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial
and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals so that
security and liberty may prosper together."
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:49 p.m.
Aaron
RECOMMENDED
2
Boston, MA
Maybe I'm missing something here, but isn't this exactly what we expect the
NSA people to do for a living? What we pay them to do, in fact?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:47 p.m.
Jim
RECOMMENDED
2
Albany
This is a potential bad news for software companies.Why? class -action
lawsuits may be filed against them for knowingly selling defective products to
consumers because they collaborate, inform, and give keys to the NSA secretly,
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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without legally informing the consumer in the licence agreement.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:46 p.m.
SMaguidhir
RECOMMENDED
8
US
All this clandestine spying by the government on its own citizens is seriously
making me question my stance on gun control.
So if the NSA or whomever can access this information to glean intelligence
can they also insert intelligence?
( By the way, the assertion that the NYT will never share my account details
when I sign up for an account look a little redundant at this point.)
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:46 p.m.
SCH
RECOMMENDED
5
New York
Frankly, I am pleased to know that our country has this capability.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:45 p.m.
Bobbz
RECOMMENDED
1
Gilroy, CA
I suppose that Snowden can look forward to having the author of this article as
a cellmate.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:45 p.m.
BillyD
RECOMMENDED
1
New Jersey
If it is technically feasible to break encryption (and it obviously is) , sooner or
later some smart boys and girls will do it - no matter how much it infuriates
high-minded NYT readers. I’m glad the NSA did it first (before, say, Chinese
government hackers.)
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:44 p.m.
Katherine
Florida
As my tekkie physicist son said, "When the ACLU and the NRA have joined
forces to oppose you, you know you have done something that is just
(expletive) un-American.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:37 p.m.
miriam
RECOMMENDED
10
Astoria, Queens
Who says no one's complaining?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:18 p.m.
alur
RECOMMENDED
1
las vegas
I'm glad we have people in the government who are competent enough to do
this because usually the private sector has the monopoly on the best people in
a given industry.
That said, I don't like losing my privacy in a George Orwellian-like Big Brother
atmosphere. It's not funny because what was predicted in the novel is exactly
what's happening, and worse, it's acceptable and legal. That's scary, sad, and
indicative of our complacency and lack of control over misplaced power.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:35 p.m.
SF expat
London
How much has the NSA's budget been cut by the sequester? Clearly not
enough.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:35 p.m.
Citizen
RECOMMENDED
1
Texas
I'll bet not by one cent. They of course are far too important to have to
put up with anything like a sequester.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:13 p.m.
Ros
Nj
Every person has secrets. We have all said or done things that we wish we
could take back. We all have medical issues and some are very private to us.
This is my biggest fear, that our information is stored and then can be used to
smear or blackmail us at a future date. This is virtual gold mine to those in
politics that the politicians want to go after. Labor, civil rights and
investigative reporters can all be smeared at a moment's notice. This is how
the collection of data will chill the functions of an open society. When we fear
retaliation for using our right to peaceful protest and advocacy, we were
doomed as a republic.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:34 p.m.
RECOMMENDED
6
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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Mike
NYC
BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING!!!!!!!
It's utterly outrageous that this rampant trampling of one of the most basic of
liberties, PRIVACY, is being subverted. "But it's for your protection!" Really?
No thanks. If dismantling and invading basic privacy, without any real legal
restrictions, in the name of national security is the price we must pay for
safety, the Al-Qaeda's of the world have already won!
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:34 p.m.
Stuart Lob
RECOMMENDED
5
New Orleans
Surprisingly, I am less upset by this news than I would have expected.
Most of the encrypted communications I do are financially related. I am more
amazed that my entire financial situation and history is up for instant and
automatic evaluation, as happened recently when I applied for a promotional
Discover card at a Wal-Mart check-out station. The cashier congratulated me
on my strong credit. I look at my credit report every year, but with each
viewing I never lose the skeeved-out feeling that every banker and creditor can
see all of it. Even Wal-Mart cashiers get a two-line summary version, helpfully
printed on a receipt slip, when customers apply for a credit card with a $25
rebate.
I also know that with the stroke of a judge's pen, every single account with
which I interact via encrypted communication is open to the court system.
If theft or fraud based on broken encryption becomes an problem, that's a
bottom line cost issue for the banks. They would fix it--quickly.
As someone who works daily with data and computer networks, I am
confident that secure socket SSL transactions are not suddenly up for grabs.
But I am also under no illusion that anyone with sufficient interest or legal
authority can easily take an unencrypted sip from the other end of the hose.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:34 p.m.
RP
RECOMMENDED
1
SF
"N.S.A. lost the heated national debate in the 1990s about inserting into all
encryption a government back door called the Clipper Chip.
“And they went and did it anyway, without telling anyone,”"
Oh, I'm sure they told a few people. The President definitely & some ranking
members of Congress probably. Presidents Clinton, Bush & Obama
Do the NSA, Congress & the President actually work for us, as a democracy is
supposed to be?
Or are we all simply serfs living in an oligarchy?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:32 p.m.
MLSullivan10
RECOMMENDED
3
WA
For all those trolls and supporters out there, did you not see that a foreign
country's nuclear department was hacked through this system? So what's to
stop someone from doing this to us? So you don't care about where all this
could lead and most likely will some day? Chilling.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:31 p.m.
Andy Hain
RECOMMENDED
5
Carmel, CA
I think the NY Times has it right... the US Government is completely out of
control and should have its budget cut 25%... it's about time for another tax
cut. Where is W, now that we really need him?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:31 p.m.
Sternlight
Los Angeles
The issue has never been police powers; they already have the guns. The issue
has always been control. Who watches the watchers? What would such power
lead to in the hands of an unscrupulous governance? Even the current
administration is completely untrustworthy ( or incompetent, which comes to
the same thing) as shown by Benghazi, the IRS scandals ( plural), the FISA
court saying the administration is out of control, politically inspired Justice
Department activity, and who knows what other scandals these are suggestive
of.
There's an old saying in the intel community: Once is happenstance; twice is
coincidence; three times is enemy action.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:31 p.m.
RECOMMENDED
1
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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PS
Massachusetts
I wonder if there is any sleeping beast to wake. Americans are so digitally
distracted, stressed, indifferent, confused (case in point: Syrian rebels vs govt,
who do we support?), worried,and numb that NSA or the feds probably don't
worry about action against them. 700+ comments on the NYT? Meh. ACLU
lawsuits? Potential mosquito. The NSA misdeeds are so deeply entwined with
federal and state official business, it would be extremely hard to prove wrong
doing in a courtroom (which is, IMHO, an endangered outpost of justice
anyway).
Enter Snowden. I read/was told that one of the greatest strengths of the
American military/mind is that it is unpredictable. It is unpredictable because
an individual will take action alone. Though generally a functioning unit, at
times an individual will do something outside of the plan, something
dangerous and seemingly stupid, but also brave and ultimately for the good of
fellow Americans. It is the spirit of individuality that allegedly runs so deeply
in our being. (Ironically, it is not how the miltary trains soldiers.) Snowden
was that individual this time, and what he began is only beginning to be
understood.
But the 700 posters here are not enough. To me, this seems a moment in
history when we must wake our neighbors, put down the pitchforks and pick
up not the musket (sorry, born to the image of Minutemen) but the pen, the
phone, the idea that citizens can stop unwanted surveillance. Ideals might still
wake us up.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:31 p.m.
MC Gallion
RECOMMENDED
2
Indianapolis, IN
It will be necessary to review the thoughts of "Brutus" who warned that a
federal government empowered by the "necessary and proper" and the
"supreme law of the land" clauses would annihilate all the liberties of the
individual. The National Security Administration exercises power, it seems,
without limitation. It is able to "wait upon" us at the toilet, and it does not
leave us alone even to load the dishwasher, washing machine, or to cut the
grass; the agency goes with us to major, minor, and little league games; it
knows what route we take to get to work, and it knows when we decide to miss
work and go fishing; it can monitor us at home, "watch over" our movie
purchases, wait on us to order a pizza, and "follow" the pizza delivery to our
front door, determine when we have finished eating our pizza and drinking
our soda; it does not sleep when we do, but it knows when we do; the NSA has
become our most faithful domestic partner; it records each period, dash,
comma, and emoticon, and stores all of our symbolic representations in its
vast memory. It is perched on the head of every person waiting for the day that
it can say: Do you remember the time that you sent your friend a picture of you
on vacation? And we will say NO!; it will say, WE DO!
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:29 p.m.
YouNo
RECOMMENDED
4
NoWayLand
Agreed, but I find less reason to be afraid when you and these others
speak. These paranoid ultra-authoritarians are the minority, and even
with their technology, they are fewer.
As it stands We The People still make the final decisions.
I say Constitutional Convention.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:07 p.m.
Citizen
Texas
If this information released by the Times about the actions of the National
Security Agency doesn't fundamentally anger and dismay the American citizen
and the citizen's of the world, then, apparently, nothing ever well.
The NSA is nothing more that a collection of common thieves, liars and
stalkers. They have no leadership. They answer to no one. And, they obviously
consider them selves above and beyond the law.
Congress is just as guilty because they have condoned these actions for years.
The President of the United States has condoned these actions by lying to the
country and to the world.
We continue to sink further and further into a cesspit of lies, corruption and
thievery.
What a poor example we are setting for our children and the rest of the world.
Heads need to roll over this. Congress needs to stop this as soon as possible. If
they can't the people need to stop this. We can't get much lower.
What a joke we have become. No wonder the rest of the world hates us and no
longer respects us. We deserve to be treated like the pariahs that we have
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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become.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:29 p.m.
LT
RECOMMENDED
2
Springfield, MO
"Intelligence officials asked The Times and ProPublica not to publish this
article, saying it might prompt foreign targets to switch to new forms of
encryption or communications that would be harder to collect or read. The
news organizations removed some specific facts but decided to publish the
article because of the value of a public debate about government actions that
weaken the most powerful privacy tools."
Let's see..."government actions that weaken the most powerful privacy tools"...
you mean like the powerful privacy tools that are used by those who are
plotting to do us harm? Yes, it's so much better for the public to be aware of
every single action the government takes to keep us safe. I mean, really, why
would we want to gather intelligence in secret, anyway? That sentiment would
be just dandy, if only we had no enemies. But by all means, let's do whatever
we can to stop it.
You'd think the NYT is determined that we have no intelligence services.
It's not about what they do to collect information - it's about what they do with
the information they collect. There is NO indication in any of these revelations
so far that any law-abiding citizens have been targeted by the NSA or that any
of us have suffered any ill effects from its operations. Frankly, my dears, they
don't give a damn about you and me.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:25 p.m.
YouNo
NoWayLand
You know LT, if you weren't so invested in disturbing other countries
for your safety and business gains, perhaps some of those 'enemies'
would be allies, or perhaps just trading partners?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:13 p.m.
Alexander Flax
Potomac, MD
It is amazing that the fact that NSA and its counterparts in virtually every
other country seek to find means to " break" codes evokes such surprise.The
history of World War II is replete with instances of such activity/ Japanrse
diplomatic codesawere decryoted even before Pearl Harbor ,Japanese Naval
code breaking contributed to American victoury at the Battle of Midway, and
the exploitation of the German Enigma system.That is what agencirs like NSA
are set up to to do do and we should be pleased when ours do it well. In every
case mere disclosure of + the fact of + success in breaking the code wouuld
have nullified the advantage gained.
What has happened since WW II and the advent of the Intermet is that private
and commercial communications and data have come to be encrypted by
codes equivalent to those used by governments , and non-state actors in
international conflicts use the same communications channewls, protected by
the same bulk encryption as private, commercial , and many government
entities. Existing mechanisms of oversight and legal review are inadequate to
deal with the potential threats to privacy vand civil rights that may resut from
even legitimately-targeted code breaking or encryptio-evaision techniques. But
the detailed deliberation and resolution of the issues cannot be in open public
debate. Perhaps a super inspector general reepoorting to Congress and
empowered to appear as advocate for civil rights before the FISA Court could
do the job.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:24 p.m.
Sheldon Bunin
RECOMMENDED
1
Jackson Heights NY
Let me get this straight; government and industry are working together to
secretly infringe upon the constitutional rights of Americans and have been
doing it for years and in effect constructing a key hole, listening device, camera
and recorder in what we have been assured by computer and software makers
is safe from the prying eyes of government at will and without a warrant.
The reason? To keep us safe from the bad guys and what the public doesn’t
know won’t hurt us.. After all if you don’t know that your rights have been
infringed on, how are you hurt? Well if you don’t know you have a fatal and
inoperable cancer, what difference would knowing about it make?
You can see why the government wants to put whistle blower Snowden in a
bottomless pit as an example. Under all of this is the message that only fascism
or fascist tactics, with the all knowing and all powerful secret police can keep
us safe. Don’t ask. Relax, Big Brother is on the job. The tuna fisherman are
netting too many dolphins and need rules and oversight. The NSA is over
funded. They are doing things we do not want. Funding is their oxygen. They
are on an oxygen high. It has been preparing for a future dictatorship. We
need to add some democracy and law to the mix. Chase the bad guys leave
John Q. Citizen alone. No national data base.
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Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:23 p.m.
J.
RECOMMENDED
5
Maine
How did I guess that there would be another Snowden leak this week? One has
only to look at the timing of major leaks after Snowden’s initial leak about NSA
surveillance of Americans.
1) the leak about the USA breaking into Chinese university computers during
the Chinese leader’s first meeting with Obama
2) the leak about Medevev’s e-mail when Obama was trying to negotiate with
Russia about Syria;
3) the leak about US surveillance of communications in France and Germany
when Obama was scheduled to pursue trade talks with Europe
4) the recent leak about eavesdropping in Brazil and Mexico before Obama’s
planned visits with those leaders
5) and yesterday, the leak about the NSA’s ability to crack encryption when
Obama is in Russia at the G-20 meeting
This pattern looks like a concerted effort to embarrass Obama and to
undermine his and the nation’s credibility and ability to negotiate with foreign
powers. It all makes me wonder about Snowden’s motivation. Is he solely
concerned about the privacy of American and world citizens or is he trying to
sabotage Obama as President and disrupt American foreign policy? One has to
ask whose interests that would serve.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:23 p.m.
Daniel
San Diego
He and his administration, like recent past ones, deserve not only to be
embarrassed but to be thrown out for what we are learning about
thanks to "criminals" like Snowden.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:52 p.m.
YouNo
RECOMMENDED
3
NoWayLand
Or it's the other way around.
These documents were exposed months ago now, but NYTimes is only
just revealing them while we are distracted with Syria...
Wag the Dog much?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:46 p.m.
pam
RECOMMENDED
2
princeton NJ
So what is immune from the NSA's oversight and potential meddling?
Nothing. The NSA basically owns anything it wants. Think about it. They can
read anyone's emails, see anyone's transactions, know virtually anything about
anyone. But it's not just knowledge. They have the ability to manipulate data
as well. So who do they own?
Politicians? Sure, no problem. Check.
Financial institutions? Piece of cake. Check.
The military? Now we're getting somewhere. Check.
And do you really think that under these circumstances anything can be done
to limit their actions? I have serious doubts. Let me just point out gently, as I
don my tin foil hat, that the software that runs our electronic voting machines
is no more secure than anything else.
The NSA operates beyond the law. They can do virtually anything they want
from here on out.
The ballot box? Easy as pie.
Democracy? Check mate.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:20 p.m.
Susan Nicholls
RECOMMENDED
8
Vancouver, B.C.
I find it a bit ironic that as an American citizen, it is illegal for someone to
open my snail mail but not my email.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:20 p.m.
Ed
RECOMMENDED
7
inbetween
It's impossible to eliminate this cat and mouse game of developing codes and
figuring out ways to get around them. It's been going on in one form or
another for thousands of years. It's something humans do.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:20 p.m.
YouNo
NoWayLand
Does that require that US Citizens should be sponsor, or be target of
their own?
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Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:16 p.m.
Jim V
RECOMMENDED
2
Phoenix
Is it not entirely clear to us that the Constitution is deemed irrelevant and
completely disregarded by the concentration of power masquerading as a
"constitutional republic?"
Chilling to say the least is their in-house usage of Civil War battles to describe
their different projects.
I've seen and heard enough; we must restore representative government, that
is, take it away from the directives of 35,000 oily K Street lobbyists/operatives
for the financial aristocracy.
At the same time our constitutional rights are restored, it would also be
refreshing to have a foreign policy that is the will of the people.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:19 p.m.
Antonio Ruiz
RECOMMENDED
1
madrid
The obvious solution is not to write anything important in the web. If you want
to communicate a secret, do it surrounded by thousand people at the rush
hour in the metro.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:19 p.m.
michelle
Rome
Back to pen and paper folks!!
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:18 p.m.
Ed
RECOMMENDED
2
inbetween
As I understand it, quantum computing will render all current encryption
approaches useless.In fact, that is the bigger story.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:18 p.m.
Dr. D
San Francisco, CA
This is outrageous. We need legislation to stop this invasion of privacy or it
will kill the internet for all business transactions.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:12 p.m.
cfc
RECOMMENDED
4
VA
I have always considered that the NSA would have backdoor to FB's facial
recognition software... access to the command line API's. It's just logical due to
all of the available info coming to light. I'm sure the coercion process is very
simple... like, cooperate with this simple request or face daunting regulation
down the road.
These revelations will surely throw a wet blanket on the earnings of the US
tech sector. How on earth are they going to sell business services to a global
market, given these circumstances?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:12 p.m.
agathis
RECOMMENDED
2
Philadelphia
Look, encryption is never anything but a stop-gap. Over time, all encryption
systems fail and fall to new techniques, faster hardware, and other new
developments. And so we need to constantly come up with new systems and
keep our hardware upgraded. In the end, if governments want to read our
data, all they need to do is put a gun to your head. Encryption is a delay,
nothing more.
And so our over-reliance on encryption we think is secure has made us lazy.
For a long time, we've simply assumed that the vast amount of internet traffic
is enough to keep the Feds from invading privacy. We should have known
better before, but now there's no excuse. We need new, open-source
encryption techniques that are free from the government's regulatory leverage
on large corporations. Microsoft, Google, anyone with large business concerns
in the US is vulnerable to government regulatory pressure. They are not
reliable sources for data protection. If we can't rely on them, then we must rely
on ourselves.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:12 p.m.
Ava Mortenson
Pacific North West
United Parcel Seevice the bug brown truck guys have implimented a new
procedure for tracking a package.
I dare you to take a moment to register with UPS - as I dud this week simply to
view how my child's necessities of underpinnings tracked across America from
Nordstrom's.
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Be prepared to be staggered by the emotional journey of the four questions
UPS asks you to answer from the answer list provided.
For me, the entire name of my father with his birth month and more. Now I
understand how a mere minth ago a package I had shipped by UPS took itself
to my firmer husband"s home whim I divorced in 1990.
UPS are you complicent in this as well ?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:12 p.m.
Ava Mortenson
RECOMMENDED
2
Pacific North West
My comment is .... UNITED PARCEL SERVICE AND NSA ?
Having a package sent and UPS knows your parents birthdates is
creepy ....
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:11 p.m.
vaporland
RECOMMENDED
1
Denver, Colorado, USA
To the person who commented "Read your history books folks":
Snowden's revelations have shown us that, 4th Amendment to the
Constitution not withstanding, we are not "secure in our persons, houses,
papers, and effects".
There was a very good reason our revered founding fathers put the 4th
Amendment in the US Constitution.
It used to be 'redcoats' breaking down doors and riffling through papers. Now
they sneak in, unseen and unobstructed. Pretty cowardly, in my humble
opinion. They also seem to have no problem with lying about it, under oath, to
Congress.
You know Congress, that august body tasked with overseeing the other
branches of government. The ones who work to insure that "Government of
the people, by the lobbyist, for the 1%, shall not perish from the Earth".
For those who say "Google, Facebook, et al. already know everything about us,
why not also the government, what are you worried about?" - last time I
checked, DisneyCorp can't put you in jail, but give them time. DMCA? MPAA?
RIAA?
So many people died to preserve our rights to privacy, and so many today are
ready to expose themselves, fully naked, to faceless bureaucrats.
For perspective, may I suggest 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' by George Orwell. (Do
they even read that in high school anymore in America? I bet they do in
Russia.)
Next, review President Eisenhower's Farewell Address. He saw it coming, all
the way back in 1959.
Paraphrasing Walt Kelly of "Pogo" fame: The terrorists have won, and they are
us.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:12 p.m.
phil morse
RECOMMENDED
7
cambridge, ma
The obvious solution: encrypt reams of gibberish that include a few choice
words like bomb, and attack, and Times Square, and throw in the bill of rights.
Garbage for the NSA to choke on.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:12 p.m.
Rob W.
RECOMMENDED
3
St Louis, Missouri
BBC's domestic (UK) News Channel just read report on this New York Times
story and on the report by the British newspaper The Guardian. They also
included an interview with one of the computer encryption experts who
confirmed that the details alleged in these articles are probably fairly accurate.
Those of us in the field already had an idea that this was probably the situation
if we weren't involved in the projects directly.
As far as our banking details, I think most Americans and Brits don't really
need to worry on a practical level whether our governments can break the
encryption, they're not going to steal our money or our identity and that does
not mean the usual unethical hacker without a rooms full of supercomputers
and the huge resources of the United States government, of the British
government and of some private contractors can do the same thing.
Lesson here: if you're going to do some illegal activity, it's probably best not to
do it by cell phone or at least one registered in your name, email, magic jack,
Skype, text message or anything else that modern society considers convenient
and relies on computers or internet technology or the cloud. Better yet, "don't
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do the crime if you can't pay the time to do it".
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:08 p.m.
Lizardo
Prague
Almost ten years ago the Russian government mandated that all ISPs in
Russia add a black box to their systems that would allow the FSB/SVR to
eavesdrop one everyone using the internet in Russia. The west howled about
the invasion of privacy and undermining of civil society.
The FSB must be laughing it's collective (a)ss off now. We don't do these
things in isolation, other societies watch the standards we set. That's one of the
reasons that the Patriot Act was so horrible, every bad government in the
world saw it as us admitting that rule of law was nonsense.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:08 p.m.
ibeetb
RECOMMENDED
7
nj
But this is their JOB! This proves they are GOOD yet sloppy with what they do.
Not saying I agree, but if they can do to us, they can successfully to enemies,
no?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:01 p.m.
db
West
Why would anyone think that subverting security, to make security products
less secure so that the government can crack them, makes society more
secure? This is so far beyond the realm of logic and reason, that I can think of
no reason for why so many people on this site think that, other than they have
some sort of vested interest in saying it... and the same applies to the editors of
NYT for picking them too... This is madness.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:01 p.m.
JPM08
RECOMMENDED
4
SWOhio
So, will this ever stop, or will we be at the mercy of the government forever?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:00 p.m.
Rakhmetov
New Mexico
So why is organized crime still possible? With all this power to monitor
communications and break encrypted messages it should be impossible for a
criminal network to conspire.successfully.
Let me guess. If the FBI broke up all criminal networks it would have revealed
to foreign governments that their communications were insecure. Better to let
the criminals operate than to reveal this secret. Failure to act when action is
possible is dereliction though, isn't it?
All right, so now the foreign governments know it anyway. Can we look
forward to a major war on crime? I doubt it. Eliminate all the criminals and
you have eliminated the need for a big FBI.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:00 p.m.
miriam
RECOMMENDED
1
Astoria, Queens
In the not-so-distant past, some of us pointed out that we show the
importance of privacy every time we put a letter in an envelope. Well, the
Postal Service is not yet steaming open our letters, but the NSA is "steaming"
open our electronic envelopes.
And now the USPS is in trouble. A Republican relative of mine says that some
people will not rest until all communications are electronic.
Left-wing radicals in the early 50's knew that their phones were tapped. We
too are in a Pastor Niemoeller moment: First they came for the terrorists ...
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:59 p.m.
Nancy
RECOMMENDED
5
Great Neck
Reading this New York Times article again along with the articles in The
Guardian, I am appalled at the abuse of civil liberties at the NSA and by
administration directors of the NSA. This is abusive and frightening beyond
and intolerable in a democracy. President Obama is supposed to know and
care about the Constitution but I am vastly disappointed in the President.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:58 p.m.
redmanrt
RECOMMENDED
3
Jacksonville, FL
'But some experts say the N.S.A.’s campaign to bypass and weaken
communications security may have serious unintended consequences."
Unintended? Don't make me laugh. The government won't need the IRS to
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take our money, or probably doesn't need it already.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:57 p.m.
FO
RECOMMENDED
1
Philly
I think there is a perspective missing to the arguments I have read. The NSA
may have access to many of our communications, but the statistics are
overwhelmingly against your specific data being cracked and used in a way
that affects your interests. Your data is only relevant in the context of your
world. To put that data together and use it against you means you are being
targeted specifically. Unless you are important enough to gain the focused
attention of an NSA analyst, they don't care about your specific information.
Us Americans have a natural inclination to get wrapped up in a perceived
potential threat and overlook the details or relevance of that threat being
realized. A good example is the level of fear people in the middle of the US,
especially in small to medium cities, had about foreign terrorist attacks in their
cities after 9/11. First, the shear resources and logistics required to pull off the
attacks are surprising, albeit not impossible. Second, terrorists are out to send
a message. Unless you are one of the big cities, it is highly unlikely terrorists
are going to focus on your town. Last, we are far more likely to be threatened
by homegrown terrorists who are unbalanced people who will attach
themselves to any cause they deem fit to act out their anger. I believe those
personalities are best managed by a healthy community and society.
Now the news is out in the open we can't ignore it, but step back and gain
perspective before getting upset.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:57 p.m.
GG
RECOMMENDED
6
NYC
We HOPE the NSA only uses the information they've gathered to
specifically target someone "important" enough to garner the attention
of an NSA analyst. But my question is why do you trust them to be so
vigilant with your information? We already know they're liars. And we
already know some NSA analysts have abused this information by
spying on love interests. Who's to say where it will snowball from
there? Perhaps this information will be used to prosecute political
enemies. Or gain information the analyst could pass on to family
members for insider trading purposes. There's just too much potential
for abuse. I fear your trust in the NSA to do the right thing with the
information they have is misguided.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:13 p.m.
John Chas
RECOMMENDED
1
Southeast Michigan
The perspective is simple, if I'm a environmental or labor activist or
advocate for internet privacy I can be a NSA target, we've seen the
national security argument abused since the idea of national security
came about, it has been, will be and now is being abused and with that
step back and new perspective I'm suitably upset.
Sept. 7, 2013 at 5:42 a.m.
mbosco
dayton oh
No wonder Obama wants to hang Snowden for treason. I hope the Russians
can provide him a decent life in his self imposed exile. Even before reading
this article I was angry Now I am outraged. How can Obama walk around so
smug playing the role of an esteemed leader of the "free" world? After the lies
that have abounded here, he wants us to let him bomb Syria based on
"trusting" him to guarantee the data supporting his politics? We are all
walking around naked with absolutely no defense against the prying eyes of
the government But the government is cloaked in secrecy they feel absolutely
justified in, in the name of national security. These actions have effectively
annulled the Constitution. The rights and freedoms guaranteed in that
document are mere illusions. Our government lets us pretend to pursue
happiness in a free and democratic country. If this weren't so sad, it would be
laughable that our government so completely fooled us. Again, than you, Mr
Snowden.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:48 p.m.
Marg
RECOMMENDED
7
Australia
Why don't the people of USA all start sending emails all over the place using
words that the NSA are dredging for, send millions and millions of them every
day, none of them threatening or breaking any laws but with enough necessary
words, country names, common names of people in the countries the US
hates, names of weapons, military establishments etc. etc. and totally inundate
the NSA with garbage. Give them something to do trying to suss out that the
hidden messages are.
Sounds like the US postal service will start growing again, over the counter
bank transactions will increase and people will once again start having
relationships with the people they deal with and the unemployment rate would
drop as people do the work computers, who put them out of work in the first
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place, are used less and less.
Thank goodness for the Snowden's and WikiLeaks of the world. If the USA
kept out of other people and countries business more often there would not be
the need for the paranoia that it suffers over its "security". Problem is the US
economy has relied on wars to produce income for so long the governments
don't know how to run without them.
The US is turning into the nosy neighbour that no-one wants to talk to or have
living in their district.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:48 p.m.
EMIP
RECOMMENDED
3
Washington, D.C.
"Sounds like the US postal service will start growing again"
One wishes it were that simple. Unfortunately google "US Postal
Service Mail Cover" and you will find out differently.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:44 p.m.
Publius
RECOMMENDED
1
New York
"Over the counter bank transactions will increase." Why bother? Surely
the NSA can read the records from the bank's internal computers. No
bank keeps paper ledgers--it's all electronic.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:52 p.m.
dion
RECOMMENDED
2
romania
"A security issue has been identified that could allow an attacker to remotely
compromise a computer running Microsoft® Windows® and gain complete
control over it. You can help protect your computer by installing this update
from Microsoft. After you install this item, you may have to restart your
computer."
I've got tons of these automatically installed on my system. Have they (NSA &
Micro$oft et all) in fact gained "complete control", updated systematically,
over my machine, via this method? Is there a way to break free of it?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:48 p.m.
RP
RECOMMENDED
4
Brooklyn, New York
Who is the enemy here ? From my point of view, the government is the enemy
of all of its citizens. Body pat downs, scanners, stop & frisk, electronic seizures,
firearm registrations etc all in the name of safety. Big Brother is here. The real
terrorist is our own government. Warning levels, "internet chatter", attack
potentials and similar bull are generated to make us fearful and surrender our
liberties. The original terrorists are rolling in laughter, they have won. " I know
not course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death ! "
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:43 p.m.
Steve Singer
RECOMMENDED
2
Chicago
When it comes to government agencies whose operations are cloaked in
official secrecy, whose budgets are for all intents and purposes unlimited and
whose mandate is, practically speaking, legally undefined -- like J. Edgar
Hoover's F.B.I. during The Horror Years (1946-1975) -- assume the worst and
you'll never be disappointed.
Assume they are copying anything communicated electronically.
Assume a dossier is being compiled about you containing data downloaded
from every available resource that you, and others, utilize to communicate or
socialize (e-mails; cellphone voice calls and texting; Facebook, LinkedIn and
Plaxo updates especially).
Assume that American intelligence officials' denials of their invasive overreach
are merely tradecraft, ruses meant to divert attention and mislead.
Assume that somebody in power, with authority, might use this enormous
mass of harvested data against you someday; to create the appearance that a
crime has been committed although none was; to fabricate the appearance of
guilt although none exists; the underlying logic unimportant. Misquoting Lord
Acton, "power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely", and that will
be reason enough. Power creates its own logical imperatives, as anyone who
has suffered an encounter with an overzealous policeman can attest.
The N.S.A. and its sister agencies will put paid to the American Democratic
Experiment in the name of making America safe, without giving its
destruction a second thought.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:43 p.m.
Citizen
RECOMMENDED
5
Texas
That's one reason NSA built their new facility in Utah; to hold all the
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collected data for future exploitation and use. Be wary, very wary
indeed. To those of you that say you have nothing to hide; just reread
the excellent article above by Steve Singer.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:31 p.m.
Cassandra
RECOMMENDED
2
Central Jersey
This is what an article looks like when a newspaper puts profit over national
security.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:43 p.m.
sk
RECOMMENDED
1
Somewhere in America
Times, you've gone too far. These activities are well within the traditional,
lawful and proper role of the NSA. Revealing the extent of NSA's success is
dangerous, wasteful, and threatens our security.
The prior Snowdon leaks revealed wrong-doing, domestic spying, or excesses
by the NSA; this time, you reveal NSA's doing its job well. Prior reports and
commom sense had already made clear the NSA attempts to do these things,
and sometimes succeeds. Revealing details of how siccesful they have been
does not add much to the public debate, but could weaken our security.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:43 p.m.
akwils
RECOMMENDED
1
New York
Snowden should be awarded the medal of congress and Obama should be
impeached
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:43 p.m.
Machinist
RECOMMENDED
2
Teeside England UK
PBL What have you to hide?
It is the elected Government of your country you are worried about? I for one
need to trust my government on security, and i do not mind them poking there
noses in my privacy, i have nothing to hide, i pay all my Tax. I would not like
anybody else doing it though, i have the Law on my side as far as government
is concerned. As long as you are a Law abiding citizen, i can find no problem,
and i would like my government to find Terrorist, Foreign Spying on
government & Companies, Criminal behaviour. This to me is worth a loss of
privacy to the Government only. What i do not like so much is the likes of
Google companies getting it!
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:43 p.m.
Lawrence Siden
Ann Arbor, MI
"Just trust us."
I think we have all heard that one before.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:44 p.m.
SMaguidhir
RECOMMENDED
6
US
Machinist, you live in one of the most watched countries in the world,
you have a head of state that is not elected, you have truck billboards in
the streets advising foreigners to go home, your government security
division is a subset of a foreign power, they are trying to regulate the
press and your government has a history of interring its citizens
without trial.
No worries there.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:10 p.m.
wuffah
RECOMMENDED
3
CA
If you've done nothing wrong, and have nothing to hide, why do they
need to spy on you?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:15 p.m.
Ed Bloom
RECOMMENDED
2
Columbia, SC
I know it's a cliché but it's appropriate here: Oh my god! Once in a blue moon,
the conspiracy theorist are right.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:42 p.m.
miriam
RECOMMENDED
3
Astoria, Queens
If ever the sensible people are the ones who wear tinfoil hats, I won't be
surprised. Not after this.
Sept. 7, 2013 at 5:42 a.m.
Steven
Michigan
funny how people like to worry about the little things that don't much matter
in life. Unless you got something to hide ( like hiding money so you don't have
to pay taxes ) then you do have a reason to really worry and you brought that
on yourself. Otherwise, I am not concern that my government has that ability
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and in some sort of way, I am pleased that they do have that ability for our
protection
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:42 p.m.
EMIP
Washington, D.C.
Until one day some unscrupulous Administration decides to dig up dirt
on you or your family because it suits their political purpose. And the
records are kept indefinitely.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:43 p.m.
Lawrence Siden
RECOMMENDED
4
Ann Arbor, MI
Like you've got nothing to hide?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:44 p.m.
Cormac S.
RECOMMENDED
2
Manhattan, NY
Any citizen that is willing to give up any amount of liberty for any amount of
safety deserves to be neither safe nor free.
A paraphrase of Patrick Henry, one of our more radical founding fathers. As
we give over liberties and rights to our government, we weaken our
democracy. This is the terrorists winning the war, people!
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:42 p.m.
David
RECOMMENDED
3
Brooklyn
By breaking the encryption codes we rely on to keep us protected, the NSA has
now complied a database library that increases our vulnerability to attacks.
Standing on the shoulders of that database which turns all our efforts of
encryption into yesterday's news, other brainy scientists from anywhere can
more easily take control of every aspect of our way of life.
If the NSA had let this part of their charter alone, we would have been better
off. This is not the first time we have seen that the NSA is a rogue agency that
takes it as its right to betray our trust. I am sure Oliver North, John
Poindexter, and Robert McFarlane are smiling in approval.
Insulated from the consequences of their decisions, the NSA habitually
dismantles the Constitutional right to privacy and makes it more necessary to
bear arms as a means of last resort so we can protect ourselves against our
protectors. By doing this they have, once again, crossed the line that delineates
the parental role of government from one where abusing the innocent is the
only rational means for protecting them, in the name of "for their own good."
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:42 p.m.
piet hein
RECOMMENDED
3
Rowayton CT
Not a cynic or am I ? Guess they are doing their job. Wish they had done it
before 9/11 or Saddam's imaginary weapons of mass destruction evidence.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:42 p.m.
s. berger
new york
more and more dangerous. Orwell was off by just one generation. who is
watching these people who are spying on us?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:41 p.m.
Guy L. Smith
RECOMMENDED
3
New York
The people who are spying on us are watching themselves. This
constitutes "oversight" these days.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:44 p.m.
EMIP
RECOMMENDED
2
Washington, D.C.
The more I read about the invasion of American citizen's privacy, the more
appreciative I am becoming of Edward Snowden's sacrifice of his future for
making us aware. The question is what will our elected members of Congress
do? If the past is prologue, little if anything.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:40 p.m.
bob tarver
RECOMMENDED
6
indianapolis
what if the China based hackers hack the NSA? All will be lost.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:40 p.m.
Guy L. Smith
RECOMMENDED
1
New York
Well, if the China-based hackers are really soldiers in the United States
Cyber Command running attacks through the TOR network, that would
be some first-rate government incest.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:45 p.m.
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
N.S.A. Able to Foil Basic Safeguards of Privacy on Web - NYTimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/us/nsa-foils-much-internet-encryp...
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John
Houston
Is the NSA also capturing all electronic financial transactions as well? If they
could get the main phone service providers to provide their information,
wouldn't it be as easy to get financial information from the top ten or twenty
(or all) banks and credit card companies? After all, keeping track of financial
transactions could certainly be argued as a weapon against the "war on terror".
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:40 p.m.
Abby
RECOMMENDED
2
Tucson
If it's packaged into a bundle of light, they got it.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:46 p.m.
Robert Sewell
RECOMMENDED
2
Tennessee
So, being a hacker/computer cracker is legal for our government, but of
course, not the average Joe. I guess murder and theft are kosher also. Oh, of
course they are. Silly me.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:40 p.m.
miriam
RECOMMENDED
3
Astoria, Queens
Well, as Richard Nixon told the late David Frost ...
Sept. 7, 2013 at 12:00 a.m.
Cassandra
Tucson AZ
the new Nixons...
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:40 p.m.
Yiannis
RECOMMENDED
4
Minneapolis
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Who watches the watchmen?
Regardless of how each one feels about this, NSA may be involved in illegal
activities. And what direct, immediate leverage do citizens have to protect
themselves against such illegal activities?
Thanks to NYT for bringing this to light. Now we all have to demand of our
elected official to create appropriate checks and balances.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:40 p.m.
Peter C
Ottawa, Canada
Thankfully, the primary algorithms used in cryptography did not originate in
the United States. Advanced Encryption System (AES) is from the
Netherlands. The key Elliptic Curve Cryptography implementations are owned
by a Canadian company and the algortihms known as RSA and Diffie-Hellman
were both pre-invented, though not disclosed, in the UK. The belief that the
NSA can stay ahead of the game in algortihms sounds like mis-information to
me. They can however infiltrate the operating systems which can then deliver
the keys to whoever wants them. Why else do I need security updates etc.
every couple of days? Only until a Chinese or Indian or from wherever
operating system supersedes. Then where is our information going? As ye sow,
so shall re reap etc.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:40 p.m.
Charles Buck
RECOMMENDED
2
Grand Rapids, MI
There's just one more encryption system undiscussed in this article about NSA
encryption cracking: electronic voting machines. Has the NSA been
researching and exploiting the encrypted reporting of voting machine tallies
for any elections within or outside the United States.
I am reminded of SmartMatic president Antonio Mujica's inspiring comments
on the eve of Argentina's 2004 national presidential recall referendum
conducted nationwide on Italian touch screen voting machine that were
repurposed lottery machines.
"This is the same encryption used by New York banks to transfer million dollar
amounts to banks in Hong Kong through public telecommunications
networks, and that’s something that happens every day in the world, and there
have been only a couple of cases in the past 40 years of data being
intercepted."
Where does that confidence stand today?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:39 p.m.
Guy L. Smith
RECOMMENDED
5
New York
Who needs to compromise voting machines when you can compromise
the candidates? Blackmail and extortion are easier to achieve and don't
leave pesky evidence in the form of audit trails.
Note that I *do* believe that voting machines have been compromised
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
N.S.A. Able to Foil Basic Safeguards of Privacy on Web - NYTimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/us/nsa-foils-much-internet-encryp...
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(Diebold was the eye-opener), just not by the NSA.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:17 p.m.
Tom Brucia
RECOMMENDED
2
Houston, Texas
Can an agency that allowed Edward Snowden both access and knowledge of
this capability be relied on to keep details from international criminal
networks? It seems arrogant and stupid for NSA to assume that it has not been
penetrated by folks willing to make hundreds of millions of dollars (billions?)
by passing the technical details on to global criminals greedy for access to
banking information that travels around the world electronically.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:39 p.m.
Roy Shane
RECOMMENDED
2
Tn
Hacking is ay its core a kind of theft. Simply put hackers are thieves. Further
because its done remotely from a distance ans surreptiously it is also cowardly.
Now without a doubt the NSA/FBI are a hacking crew.
Thr question before us now is do we acquiesce to our govt becoming thieves
and cowards.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:38 p.m.
Jacquelinn Woods
RECOMMENDED
1
Minnesota
All these Clipper chips are in everybody's television, X boxes, etc. that you
have connected to the Internet. You now have zero privacy in your home
because your government worker neighbor has full back door access using the
Clipper chips. There is no longer the requirement of requiring a need to know,
the right to know and the clearance to know for gaining access to private data.
Even if your television is plugged in and turned off, your government worker
neighbor is still watching everything you do in the privacy of your house.
All these companies who conspired with NSA can be sued in federal court and
a case can be maintained with NSA as a state actor. Therefore, all anyone has
to do, through the FOIA, is acquire proof that their privacy was taken without
a FISA court order authorizing it, and they have a case in good standing.
Since all Americans who use the Internet have been potentially violated, this
certainly appears like a class action lawsuit.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:38 p.m.
Abby
RECOMMENDED
2
Tucson
The UK police excused sitting on a sack of thousands of hacking victims
rather than pursue the thieves by saying the telephony companies could
NOT assist them in that investigation which would require enormous
effort for little return. They lied. They likely didn't investigate because
it would have demonstrated they CAN follow the trail of the intrusions
of persons, and each offense. Couldn't let the SECRET get out, so the
organized criminals got police protection.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:07 p.m.
Paul the confused
RECOMMENDED
2
San Francisco
Why doesn't NSA start offering off-site back-up services for a fee? Since they
are already archiving and decrypting everything, and they must have a
dynamite search and retrieve function, this could be a great revenue generator.
After all, who do you trust - a cloud service that promises security while
providing the info to other agencies, or NSA, which is so secret they won't tell
anyone anything?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:38 p.m.
Mats Stenfeldt
RECOMMENDED
1
Sweden
I have been working in the field of cryptography and information security
since 1994 for the Swedish company Protego and have invented some patented
encryption technology. I’m always surprised over the naïveté of even
“professionals” in this field. Many is mostly interested in implementing cheap,
easy to use,seamless and sadly enough breakable encryption.
If one where to examine the “slow death” regarding the nineties clipperescrow debate and quick abandoning of the defense thereof by major
intelligence agencies, one have to wonder what happened. Had GCHQ and the
NSA changed there minds and given up on reading other peoples emails? Why
was NSA deeply involved in propagating for the new AES standard of
encryption?For making it harder for them to read email?
No sensible government should use a cryptographic algorithm developed by
another country for sensible information if they want to keep it secret. I have
clients that only uses “one-time-pad” encryption for there sensible
information.This type of encryption is provable unbreakable.
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
N.S.A. Able to Foil Basic Safeguards of Privacy on Web - NYTimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/us/nsa-foils-much-internet-encryp...
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I suspect a major algorithmic break has been achieved against both public key
cryptography and/or standard symmetrical ciphers. Once some people
thought that they could keep the physics beyond the atomic bomb secret.I did
not work then and it will not work now. What other country will rediscover
this next?Is they as honorable as the Americans and the British in only using
this information in regards of protecting us from terrorism?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:38 p.m.
Robert Coane
RECOMMENDED
1
Nova Scotia/New York
Anything left to look at, Big Brother?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:37 p.m.
bk
RECOMMENDED
2
nyc
Our basic freedom has been sacrificed to protect our country, and are being
told it is either/or. It is incumbent upon our government to find a way to
preserve our freedom AND protect our country from terrorists. They are
supposed to do both.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:37 p.m.
David Roy
RECOMMENDED
5
Fort Collins, Colorado
The scope, the reach, and the gall, of the National Security Agency is appalling.
The word 'privacy' can now be counted as an archaic concept, once touted by
citizens and government alike as an ideal that both civilized and dignified.
Our planet, and our lives; are they simply resources to be mined and
controlled, or will 'we' ever have the opportunity to have lives that aren't
monitored, lives that aren't tracked, lives that are lived now with the threat of
what displeasing those who listen and watch us might mean.
We are not safer. We are not freer.
We are tethered - whether we want to be, or not.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:36 p.m.
Wolfegang
RECOMMENDED
3
Detroit
Freedom can only exist within the confines of a set rule, otherwise it's not
freedom, its chaos.
Likewise, the way I see it is that a personal or corporate security can only exist
within the confines of a set rule, otherwise we are simply turning the lights
out, a pitch black darkness that gives unlimited opportunities for criminals to
do as they please. This to me, is also chaos.
I'm not so sure that it's a bad thing for our government to exert its will to
ensure that the lights stay on, giving good visibility for our government to
discern the right from wrong, the ability to counter criminal activities in real
time as they materialize.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:36 p.m.
German
RECOMMENDED
1
Eve
And the NRA is worried that the government is coming to get their guns. If
only the world were that simple.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:36 p.m.
T.S.P.
RECOMMENDED
2
SF, CA
Any program developed after PGP2.6.2, is suspect, and should not be used in
an attempt to secure privacy for yourself or for y our business and/or for
matters of communication amongst yourself and others. All new encryption
programs after PGP2.6.2 are suspect for having been compromised and for
having a backdoor built into them! This has been known throughout the
privacy industry since the early 90's.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:36 p.m.
RECOMMENDED
some random person
farawayistan
2
This looks like it could have some high external costs.
The article didn't specify much about the security flaws, but I imagine that by
deliberately having security flaws and backdoors in products, good security
(against any attacker) becomes harder and much more expensive.
It allows industrial espionage for those with contacts in the US government,
against those without contacts, foreign or domestic. Obviously this is not a
very good competetive environment and also might cause an unfair wealth
transfer in the US' favor at foreigners' expense.
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
N.S.A. Able to Foil Basic Safeguards of Privacy on Web - NYTimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/us/nsa-foils-much-internet-encryp...
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Perhaps the reason the US hasn't broken the monopoly of several technology
companies is because the NSA has good relations with them and want to use
the monopoly to crush (especially foreign) competitors so that key products
are only produced in the US were the NSA can influence them. Of course,
monopolies bring costs for the consumer.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:35 p.m.
Smc
RECOMMENDED
5
Bluestate
Why is Snowden's former employer Booz Allen allowed to continue operating?
We should sue them out of existence. This leaked technology will be
mainstream in 5 years and then no one in the helpless herd will be safe.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:35 p.m.
Nick
RECOMMENDED
4
Miami
Just a thought, maybe there was manipulation on voting machines, there were
so many reports on election time about people voting for a candidate and then
seeing a change for the other. No more pregnant chads ?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:35 p.m.
Abby
RECOMMENDED
3
Tucson
Having just gorged on a season of "Scandal," I'd say the Data Barons
can't keep their mouths shut.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:44 p.m.
Tom Davis Jr
Bayside, NY
A system is only as secure as its weakest link and if the internet's security is so
easily exploited and done so from the beginning, the logic alone dictates there
is NO SECURITY in digital communications.
You got to admit, the approach is brilliant. By establishing the "holes" early on,
the growth and expansion will already be there. They have, in essence, written
in a genetic flaw into the DNA of digital communications and merely have to
look for the results when wanting to exploit it at any time in the future.
My question is how many of all the incessant updates are due to their fiddling
around?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:35 p.m.
Guido Filippa
RECOMMENDED
3
Buenos Aires
I dont really understand why there is so much talking about this subject?
Wasnt it obvious that this was going on?
I think its even necessary for the US government to have this kind of
surveillance programs. The important aspect of this is HOW they use it. Dont
you think China, Russia would hesitate to use this kind of power? And I bet
they would not use it in the right way.
Thinking about stoping this programs is naive. This gives US gouberment the
possibility to be ahead of so many things THAT ARE VERY IMPORTANT to
national security. The point of the disscussion should be centered in HOW to
generate tools or whatever so ensure the right use of this force. That is
important.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:34 p.m.
zezee
NYC
What is "the right way"?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:34 p.m.
Jillthecatt
RECOMMENDED
1
Chicago, Illinois
This isn't necessarily a bad thing. All this means is the same thing I have told
my clients for the past ten years. "Don't put anything in an email or a text that
you would not want to be posted on a billboard in front of your house." This is
information that flies through thin air. How could we ever believe that it was
secure from anyone who really wanted to look at it? I find it it far more
disturbing that internet service providers use my internet purchasers and
inquiries to tailor advertising pitches to me on every website I visit. Dr. David
Hawkins said that everything we hold secret in our hearts is painfully obvious
to everyone anyway so subterfuge, or anything short of living a completely
honest life is pointless and foolish.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:34 p.m.
Abby
RECOMMENDED
2
Tucson
That's why I don't bother to use advanced security. I assumed Norton
was spying on me from the gitgo. But they did behave strangely lately. I
typically get notice of only cookie crumbs being brushed off, but the last
time...Norton advised me I was enjoying intursions by the hour. That
sounds familiar.
I'm an open book. And I still want to know why the PM's email came
out of that blackberry like a metadata file, GCHQ.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:45 p.m.
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
N.S.A. Able to Foil Basic Safeguards of Privacy on Web - NYTimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/us/nsa-foils-much-internet-encryp...
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gregwood
ny ny
One would certainly hope that the NSA had these capabilities. As for the
armchair revolutionaries concerned that their ruminations concerning the
unfairness of capitalism, or the fact that they wrote off their dog's new collar
on their income tax, your fascinating existence will probably not attract their
attention. There are hundreds if not thousands of madmen vitally interested in
blowing you into atoms, or any other of hundreds of things that would gravely
inconvenience you permanently that these patriotic people are concerned with
finding out about and preventing first.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:33 p.m.
zezee
RECOMMENDED
1
NYC
You don't know who the secret police will come after next. That's the
problem: it's secret.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:35 p.m.
Getreal
RECOMMENDED
1
New Jersey
And how much insider trading has been going on?
Meanwhile back at the NSA.
"Hey Joe, I've got another hot tip for you!"
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:33 p.m.
Abby
RECOMMENDED
4
Tucson
Who knows when there's a great opportunity to be expoited within this
network? For Private Equity eyes only?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:46 p.m.
Jallard
Portland, OR
I find it disturbing laughable that some people here in the comments actually
believe that what the NSA is doing to protecting “this country’s national
security.” When the NSA speaks of “national security” who are they really
speaking of? Surely they do mean for the protection of its citizenry. How pray
tell is spying on us protecting us. Who is the NSA really protecting should be
the question. What exactly is the government afraid off? That WE THE
PEOPLE might someday soon exercise our Constitutional Right to oppose and
topple our own government. Is that why all of the federal agencies have
militarized themselves? I believe our government is more afraid of us than any
known terrorist group. However, apparently I am the only one that thinks this
is the case: And, I am but one man.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:33 p.m.
Abby
RECOMMENDED
3
Tucson
In an attempt to sooth the ruffled feathers of the Germans, Cameron
told them the UK only spies for security, terror, organized crime and
the UK's economic well being. Well, NSA can drive a Mack Truck
through that last item, no?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:46 p.m.
Donald2
US
Is this a secret? Of course not.
Should US do this? Of course not.
Should other countries follow the example of US and do the same? Of course
not.
Shoud US get angry if other countries do this to US? Of couse US will be angry.
Pathatic.
Should the leadersr in G20 meeting talk about this? Waste of time.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:33 p.m.
Sukebewestern
RECOMMENDED
1
California
OK, so, how many of our credit card numbers does Snowden and his comrads,
then and now, from sifting through amazon.com. And, while China and
(supposedly) the majority of the middle-east are constantly hacking away at
the NSA and their ilk, when will they have that info?
Perhaps it time for sears to dust off those catalog printing presses.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:33 p.m.
Michael S
Wappingers Falls, NY
The NSA works with security product vendors to ensure that commercial
encryption products are broken in secret ways that only it knows about. There
is even evidence of a back door in Windows. Basically, the NSA asks
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
N.S.A. Able to Foil Basic Safeguards of Privacy on Web - NYTimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/us/nsa-foils-much-internet-encryp...
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companies to subtly change their products in undetectable ways. Free open
sourced encryption software is much more difficult for the NSA to monkey
with. If nothing else the Snowden revelations should destroy the commercial
American security software industry!
A simple technique the bad guys use to avoid detection is to encrypt and
decrypt messages on a computer that never has been connected to the internet
and transfer it to or from an internet connected computer with a thumbstick
for transmission. There are so many simple ways to sidestep the NSA that one
wonders whether the NSA is only setting traps for amateurs.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:05 p.m.
Tom Moore
RECOMMENDED
2
Annapolis MD USA
Did anyone really think that an organization with the resources of the NSA
could be prevented from penetrating any conceivable encryption? Just as the
individual citizen cannot possibly build a fortress that will keep the police or
military out, neither can we possibly wall out our own government. We can
run, as Snowden did, but we cannot hide. Only law and the bill of rights
protect us, and that's where we must focus efforts to, in Obama's words,
"balance security with privacy".
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:54 p.m.
Guy L. Smith
RECOMMENDED
1
New York
The problem we are facing is that arguments for this kind of
surveillance follow the form of "it's justified because it's legal," while
the reason it's legal is because someone wanted to justify it. The Shirky
principle springs to mind: "Institutions will try to preserve the problem
to which they are the solution."
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:07 p.m.
Genetic Speculator
RECOMMENDED
1
New York City
For me, it's easy to be conflicted by the revelation of how successful the NSA is
at spying. One the one hand I am proud of my fellow American's ingenuity, but
on the other I am disappointed by the utter failure by the people tasked with
guarding our rights. Perhaps Congress should subcontract the representation
of citizens to a more efficient technocratic bureaucracy. Because they just can't
compete.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:54 p.m.
Southern Boy
RECOMMENDED
1
Spring Hill, TN
As I have commented in the past regarding this topic, as long as you are not
communicating with the terrorists, the you have nothing to worry about.
Also I watched "9/11 Timeline" the other night on FOX. Every time I watch
something about 9/11, I am thankful that we have programs such as those run
by the NSA. I had a couple of neighbors, at the time, who died at the Pentagon.
In fact, I could have been there that day.
As far as I am concerned, this country needs to do more to stop terrorism.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:54 p.m.
PS
RECOMMENDED
1
Massachusetts
To many of us, unwanted surveillance by a government on its citizens is
a form of terrorism.
As for the totally weak argument about doing no wrong = no worries,
who decides what is right or wrong when you have a govt that, by
default, threatens privacy and freedom of speech? Are you really that
happy to live in that womb?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:46 p.m.
zezee
RECOMMENDED
3
NYC
Who determines who is a "terrorist"?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:03 p.m.
J. Cornelio
RECOMMENDED
3
Washington, CT
Here's a sure-fire way to eliminate the US budget deficit---have the NSA start
a website where you can go to find out what your neighbor, boss, lover, kids or
anyone else does on-line.
With the number of eyes that would attract, ads would top super-bowl rates.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:53 p.m.
Blue State
RECOMMENDED
1
here
I'd rather have my freedoms back than live in the greatest nation, the world's
policeman, the target of all envy and hatred, the most heavily armed. Can't we
go back to being plucky little innovators, please?
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
N.S.A. Able to Foil Basic Safeguards of Privacy on Web - NYTimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/us/nsa-foils-much-internet-encryp...
53 of 165
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:53 p.m.
Abby
RECOMMENDED
6
Tucson
I'm with you. Keep the health insurance, O. Who wants to live a longer
CHEAPENED life? Beam me up, Patrick Henry.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:47 p.m.
Marcel Sislowitz
New York, NY
In 1996, the American health care community was introduced with great
fanfare to The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
Physicians and ancillary personnel were required to attend seminars on all
aspects of patient confidentiality. This included the requirement mandating
the installation of approved (not inexpensive)encrypted software in computers
used for storing and transmitting patient information and billing. Dire
warnings were made, promising severe consequences to those medical
personnel who through carelessness or design might reveal sensitive data to
unauthorized parties.
All seems like a bit of a joke now.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:53 p.m.
Sheryll
RECOMMENDED
10
Los Angeles
Is anyone else experiencing the circumstance of feeling reluctant to write any
criticism of this US government? I used to feel free to express my opinion, at
NYTimes.com or anywhere. The fact that I can't, is a sorry commentary on the
current state of affairs: the arrest of whistleblowers without investigation of
what they're blowing the whistle on, spying on mosques and protests, massive
surveillance of everybody with the support (coerced or willing) of our service
providers, shaky lines by surveillance agencies between safe-guarding our
human rights and fascistic, compulsive, paranoid mucking about with our data
and our lives.
It makes me very sad to know our Constitution is being ignored and I actually
don't live in the land of the free.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:52 p.m.
Abby
RECOMMENDED
6
Tucson
I've detected a sever uptick in gallows humor. I'm just glad to know my
asides to the snoops were well founded. Right, NSA?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:50 p.m.
Peytr David
Los Angeles
Do most Americans have any idea just how much data is floating across the
Interent at any time? It is staggering in the same way that numbers generated
by astrophysicists about the number of atoms in the universe are staggering.
My point is that even if decrypted, the ability to search for that needle in a
haystack for that tiny bit of data is actually more like searching through a
universe of haystacks even with powerful computers. By the time "they",
whoever "they" are, finds that bit of data it will probably be of little use.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:52 p.m.
Abby
Tucson
I read that only 2.9% of the net is communications. The rest is porn,
and streaming services. But that 2.9% is still gigantic even with all
those suspicious updates. Hope that stalker is strong enough to hold up
those clouds, which Snowden says are the worst for storage security.
The golden geese are at RISK! Thanks for nuttin', NSA. HONK!
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:50 p.m.
Nii
NY
The NSA is a friend and not a foe of the American people. what do you expect?
those in technology or studied computer science understand that any
transaction is viewable by many more than just the intended recipient.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:52 p.m.
JnJ
RECOMMENDED
2
NM
The point of encryption and the integrity of digital commerce depends
on only the sender and recipient knowing of the content.
This isn't about seeing your dirty laundry. This is about potentially
having access to your bank account. Even if the NSA is your friend, are
the contractors and their employees your friend?
Is Edward Snowden, who was an employee of a contractor, your friend?
What if Snowden were indeed a bad guy? What would he do with your
bank account?
You can't apologize away these intrusive actions of the NSA for ever. At
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
N.S.A. Able to Foil Basic Safeguards of Privacy on Web - NYTimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/us/nsa-foils-much-internet-encryp...
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some point their capabilities will be to your detriment, whether that is
the policy of the NSA or not.
You heard it here first.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:14 p.m.
Guy L. Smith
RECOMMENDED
1
New York
Right, because all of my "friends" monitor everything I say and do.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:34 p.m.
zezee
RECOMMENDED
3
NYC
I do not believe the NSA is a friend of the American people.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:07 p.m.
r.thomas
RECOMMENDED
4
castro valley, ca
It is clear to me now that Snowden is a traitor and should be put on trial.
Exposing government internet surveilence capabilities in its attempt to thwart
terrorist attacks, is not in the public interest or exposing wrong doing. This is
akin to publicizing that the Allies had obtained the German encription
machine and could begin reading Axis messages during WWII.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:51 p.m.
JnJ
RECOMMENDED
2
NM
"Paranoid NYT readers?"
Is the NSA paranoid for breaking the integrity of digital commerce?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:18 p.m.
sundog
RECOMMENDED
3
washington dc
Yikes! Who knew there were so many paranoid NYT readers? Proof? When we
compare NSA to dictatorships, complain because the NSA is unelected (yet
doing the job it is designed to do, protecting the nation from harm), and
actually believe the NSA is interested or even has the time to be monitoring
the average US citizenn.... there you have it. Code breaking is nothing new and
neither is the Ingternet. A simple "Thank You, NSA" will suffice.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:51 p.m.
Guy L. Smith
RECOMMENDED
3
New York
"protecting the nation from harm" by compromising the security
protocols we use to protect our online traffic? That sounds more like
"causing the nation to be harmed" to me.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:34 p.m.
Ajinson
RECOMMENDED
3
York, Pa.
To me, this is just another case of big brother is watching you, the government
will not be satisfied till the know how many hairs you lost in the shower this
morning. Big government constantly tramples the constitution and there
seems to be little if anything we can do about it.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:51 p.m.
Guy L. Smith
RECOMMENDED
2
New York
Let's stop promulgating the idea that we're facing a choice between freedom
and security. This is a choice between freedom and being a superpower. The
purpose of these surveillance organizations is to protect the state, not the
people. As long as the debate is being framed to suggest that these programs
are for the protection of individuals, these programs will continue.
Stop asking yourself if you can accept a loss of freedom for the sake of personal
security. Ask instead whether you can accept a loss of freedom for the sake of
protecting government agencies.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:51 p.m.
Dane
RECOMMENDED
6
Pennsylvania
Forget about Obamacare -- it's the NSA that the Republicans should push to
de-fund.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:50 p.m.
Guy L. Smith
RECOMMENDED
6
New York
Why limit it to Republicans? This could be a bipartisan effort.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:43 p.m.
Steve Bolger
RECOMMENDED
1
New York City
There is no way for anyone to be sure that any data processing device is free of
trap doors the way software and silicon compilations are sold today.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:50 p.m.
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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Lee43
Rochester
Well, there goes the internet. In typical fashion our government saves the
village by destroying it. It won't be long before the techniques for breaking the
encoding programs leaks out and our wonderful "series of tubes" becomes
nothing more than a party line that anyone can listen in to.
Recent events show the NSA can't keep a secret. So I don't expect that
something that will give you a licence to steal will stay under wraps for long. If
the NSA can do it, then the crooks won't be far behind.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:49 p.m.
caseycw2004
RECOMMENDED
4
memphis
Everyone involved in the NSA needs to be court martialed and tried for
violations of the 4th amendment.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:49 p.m.
John
RECOMMENDED
4
PA
They should get commendations for doing the incredibly difficult job
they are tasked with by the United States.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:14 p.m.
Chris Stock
Granby, CT
"The 2013 N.S.A. budget request highlights “partnerships with major
telecommunications carriers to shape the global network to benefit other
collection accesses”... So, like good little German soldiers, Microsoft, Google,
Yahoo, Verizon, AT&T all say "we were only doing our jobs?"
A free society cannot cede its privacy and all of its information to the
megalomaniacs that run the government and these companies. Come what
may, I would rather have freedom than the so called "protection" we get from
the Oligarchy of government spies.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:48 p.m.
Andy Hain
RECOMMENDED
4
Carmel, CA
I seriously doubt that all this is true. It's much more likely that the NSA and its
employees, as well as its sub-contractors and their employees, angling for
increased budget allocations for the NSA and its programs, have planted some
critical misinformation.
Isn't this the tack every logical person takes? "Hey, I'm important, I'm
successful at my job, and I deserve more money and power." Yeah, right.
25 to 30 years ago the political catch phrase was "trust, but verify." Where's
the verification now? Meanwhile, the NSA budget continues to balloon.
Another day, another bubble.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:47 p.m.
JnJ
NM
And why would the NSA plant misinformation that would turn many
American taxpayers against them?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:21 p.m.
Bill San
RECOMMENDED
1
Tokyo, Japan
Is this any surprise? What do you think happens when you click "close" on an
advertisement? Do you not think a cookie gets sent to track where that came
from? Just because you said "close" doesn't mean that no one's tracking where
you browse or what you watch. Whether it's the N.S.A. or a capitalist "sales"
person......
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:47 p.m.
Guy L. Smith
RECOMMENDED
1
New York
Except that a "capitalist 'sales' person" doesn't have the ability to enact
a tyranny.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:14 p.m.
sharinlite
RECOMMENDED
1
Orange, CA
Well, it took a bit over 100 years but the Progressives have just about taken
care of any freedoms we could count on...nothing is sacred....nothing or no one
is safe...if they get to make or change rules to suit then Welcome to 1984!!
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:47 p.m.
Paulo Ferreira
Afghanistan
The NSA can hack into computers? Thank you for telling us the minimum that
the NSA SHOULD be able to do. After all, this is what the Agency is there for.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:47 p.m.
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3
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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judiann1
The Great North Woods
You don't have to hate your country to hate your government. I see signs of the
multitudes coming together to save what I and millions love. "There is a crack
in everything" and that is how the light got in and I'm not talking about the
modified light..
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:47 p.m.
Loyd Marlow
Maine
Anything that can be programmed can be hacked. Anything that can be
encrypted can be broken open. Internet security is a laughable term. Nothing
on the internet is truly secure. What is surprising is how many people don't
seem to know this?!
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:47 p.m.
Pimil
RECOMMENDED
1
California
Properly implemented encryption, using a good algorithm, can't be
brute-forced without taking billions of years.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:14 p.m.
John
PA
It is amazing how little most Americans know about the things that
make the nation they live in great.
When the NSA was created in 1940s it was tasked with sigint. SIgnals
intelligence. That means gathering information that is transmitted
through electronic signals. First it was telegrams, radios and
telephones. Then satellites and undersea fiber optic cables. Now it is all
those things and the internet. Part of that mission has ALWAYS been
breaking encryption since governments, spies, foreign defense
corporations, and of course terrorists and criminals, do not generally
send messages unencrypted. We have super computers today
BECAUSE the NSA developed them for the specific task of breaking
encryption. That is the origin of most of the computer technology we
base our civilian devices on today. It is also part of the source of the
creation of the internet (ARPNET) during the Cold War.
If you think that the United States should flail blindly around without
intelligence on other nations and non governmental actors, you are
both a fool and free to try to get congress to eliminate our intelligence
apparatus. Try to convince people who know better that we should not
gather intelligence. By all means, knock your diapers off, kiddies.
NSA EXISTS to break encryption. The only story here would be if they
were not.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:22 p.m.
Michael F
Yonkers, NY
Most transparent administration in history.
How long are we going to put up with this?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:46 p.m.
PS
RECOMMENDED
6
Massachusetts
Good question. Next one is, what do we do?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:31 p.m.
Michael F
RECOMMENDED
2
Yonkers, NY
Vote smart next time from the local level on up. Demand real debates
and not just a few of them. The state of Nebraska uses a single
legislative body and it non-partisan. Nobody runs on a party.
Partisanship is at the root of the problems in this country.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:35 p.m.
Brian the bookseller
Fort Worth, Texas
I'm just a tired old guy with nothing of interest to anyone coming or going in
my e-mails. Unless NSA is tipping off the democrats about my political
observations and the IRS comes calling.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:46 p.m.
PS
Massachusetts
Brian - what about the young growing up without the freedoms we did?
You might be tired but they should be vibrant and able to pursue a life
without govt. surveillance. Ironic that you are a bookseller. Got any
Thoreau?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:35 p.m.
RECOMMENDED
3
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
N.S.A. Able to Foil Basic Safeguards of Privacy on Web - NYTimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/us/nsa-foils-much-internet-encryp...
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blasmaic
Washington DC
Sensational news, but still no law-breaking. Snowden must say who broke the
law and who failed to act when presented with information about lawlessness.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:46 p.m.
Guy L. Smith
New York
Doesn't matter if it's law-breaking or not. Laws can be created to make
anything legal (or illegal). That's what authoritarian states are all about.
The concern is not whether the government is breaking laws. The
concern is that the government is developing ubiquitous surveillance.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:22 p.m.
Tac
RECOMMENDED
1
Nyc
This makes privacy-related FTC consent orders look meaningless.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:45 p.m.
ppt
RECOMMENDED
2
usa
Our GOV didn't build those record keeping buildings for nothing, did they?
Welcome to the "New World" like you used to read about long ago about no
more
security of ANY kind; in my opinion that is, as the politicians say;-)
What was fiction is now reality;
Have a fun day, no matter what;-)
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:45 p.m.
nadia bess
RECOMMENDED
1
Mount Pleasant
Beginning 2000? You really need some shores in your brain.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:45 p.m.
arp
Texas
Dear N.S.A.
Thank You!!!!
China.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:45 p.m.
recox
Princeton NJ
My immediate thought also was China. We can now assume that those
seemingly random attacks on minor U.S. companies or systems were
actually the Chinese military testing different security weaknesses,
courtesy of the NSA. So now the question is, when all of those
weaknesses are added up, does that point to what China is really after?
Perhaps entry to the NSA's key room?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:34 p.m.
RDA in Armonk
NY
Quite a few years back I hired a someone to work with me on a software
project. This fellow saw conspiracies everywhere and was convinced that the
government was promoting the Data Encryption Standard (DES), used in the
SSL protocol, because the government and only the government had the
computing power to defeat the encryption method.
So my colleague wan't being paranoid after all. I wasn't too riled up over the
government's collecting telephone metadata. News that the N.S.A. can
eavesdrop on SSL connections, however, infuriates me. The government
foisted a major deception in telling us how we could be safe and secure when
all the time they knew it was just the opposite. This was reprehensible and
must be investigated by Congress.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:45 p.m.
si
RECOMMENDED
5
nc
I am proud of the work the NSA has been doing for many years safeguarding
us from terrorist attacks. People who are shocked and dismayed are naïve.
Think it over.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:45 p.m.
LT
RECOMMENDED
1
Springfield, MO
This is a big surprise? Isn't this what we want our spy agencies to do? In the
pre-internet days they broke codes, which we thought a fine thing. Now they
break encryption. It's the same thing - the only difference is that more of us
are using codes for non-nefarious activities - activities that I'm pretty sure the
NSA. is not interested in.
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
N.S.A. Able to Foil Basic Safeguards of Privacy on Web - NYTimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/us/nsa-foils-much-internet-encryp...
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Too bad they didn't break Snowden's encryption before he leaked to
Greenwald.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:44 p.m.
miriam
RECOMMENDED
2
Astoria, Queens
Most online encryption used by individuals and businesses is like the
envelopes around letters. Think of the government steaming open
everyone's letters.
And as I said, just wait until another J. Edgar Hoover comes along.
Remember the blacklists?
Sept. 7, 2013 at 5:42 a.m.
JD
Germany
Leaks slow to a trickle
the media moves on
The public back to sleep
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:44 p.m.
RFR
RECOMMENDED
5
Wash DC
And this is why "cash" transactions are at an all time high and the start-up
"Post All Notes" a paper-based courier service is attracting thousands of
customers each week. The government is forcing companies with proprietary
information to move back to Pre-computer days in order to keep their
technology secret.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:44 p.m.
GSS
RECOMMENDED
2
Bluffton, SC
Why the big deal. According to a lawsuit in California, Google opens and reads
all g-mail. They claim it is perfectly legal, because "they tell you this" in their
incomprehensible policies. Maybe somewhere NSA has done the same thing.
Quit being so naive folks, especially where politicians are involved.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:43 p.m.
Guy L. Smith
RECOMMENDED
2
New York
Whether something is legal or not is irrelevant; laws can be created that
make anything legal. Fascist and authoritarian governments are all
about adhering to the law. To argue that legality is the litmus test is
disingenuous.
The concern is not one of law but one of freedom. Ubiquitous
surveillance is a tool of tyranny, and as such should be treated with
extreme skepticism. I have not seen any compelling reason to believe
that these tools serve to protect American citizens. Rather, they are
tools designed to protect the state itself.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:49 p.m.
Matt
RECOMMENDED
3
NYC
This article makes it sound like email was secure to begin with. By default,
email is unencrypted and very much prone to snooping - you can't consider
email to be even minimally secure unless you encrypt it yourself. Also, it's very
easy to make email look as though it were sent by someone else.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:43 p.m.
Guy L. Smith
RECOMMENDED
1
New York
This article is not about email. It's about HTTPS (via SSL) and VPNs.
These are technologies that are supposed to be secure. They are the
things you rely on when performing financial transactions online or
when you log into your companies private network, for example.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:14 p.m.
Ginny
RECOMMENDED
4
SC
With every other country in the world working hard to do this; and many
already doing it, is it not important that we know how as well? Or even get
ahead of it?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:43 p.m.
Guy L. Smith
RECOMMENDED
1
New York
Except that the NSA deliberately weakened published security
standards used by American citizens and businesses in order to "get
ahead of it." They actually weakened American security.
Read that again: they WEAKENED American security.
This is not the behavior of an institution determined to protect
Americans.
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
N.S.A. Able to Foil Basic Safeguards of Privacy on Web - NYTimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/us/nsa-foils-much-internet-encryp...
59 of 165
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:55 p.m.
kafantaris
RECOMMENDED
3
USA
What's the surprise here?
Supercomputers have cracked code from the outset. This is why we build
them.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:43 p.m.
Guy L. Smith
RECOMMENDED
1
New York
The surprise is that so many Americans seem willing to sacrifice their
personal freedoms for the sake of a nebulous entity called America.
This is supposed to be a government of the people, by the people, and
for the people. It is entirely possible for America to exist on those terms
- as a state that is subordinate to the people. That's not what we're
seeing. It appears instead that people are subordinate to the state. This
should be upsetting.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:11 p.m.
Ken
RECOMMENDED
2
MT Vernon, NH
It looks more and more like the NSA is a compulsive hoarder.
Like those shows on tv where the house is jam packed with junk that the
psychologically disturbed person insists that they can't do without.
Eventually, as the hazard to others of collecting so much junk in one place
becomes evident, the American people, acting as health inspector, will have to
come in and clean them out. It will take a politician of strong principles to
reduce the hoard to what is actually necessary for daily living and to eliminate
the cockroaches.
In the mean time, it is our tax dollars being wasted on amassing the junk
collection.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:43 p.m.
Steve
RECOMMENDED
4
New Jersey
Athough I question the integrity of those who disregard their promise to keep
these matters confidential, I am glad to hear that our NSA has developed this
level of sophistication. We can be confident that the security services of
countries that would do harm to our citizens are working to become just as
proficient. This is a significant national security issue. While I appreciate
concerns expressed about potential mis-use of this private information (ie, if
someone like Snowden decides to use this informaiton for personal gain) but
there is always that risk when the wrong people are entrusted with
information. There certainly are mechanisms that can work to detect misuse.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:43 p.m.
Guy L. Smith
RECOMMENDED
1
New York
You approve of the fact that the NSA deliberately introduced flaws into
security protocols and published those protocols, claiming they were
secure, so that they could then compromise the communications of
anyone who used those protocols? Keep in mind that we're talking
about protocols that are used billions of times per day by American
citizens, businesses, and government agencies.
The NSA compromised the very systems to which foreign nations are
trying to gain access, and you are "glad to hear that our NSA has
developed this level of sophistication."
Even assuming that this is being used *exactly as intended* it still
constitutes a greater threat to American interests than anything it
supposedly protects against.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:24 p.m.
jalexander
RECOMMENDED
3
connecticut
All you need to know about the NSA and encryption can found in the story of
Whitfield Diffie, a Jamaica HS and MIT graduate, who worked with Martin
Hellman to develop the fundamental ideas of dual-key, or public key,
cryptography. They essentially broke the monopoly that had previously existed
where government entities controlled cryptographic technology and the terms
on which other individuals could have access to it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitfield_Diffie
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:42 p.m.
Guy L. Smith
New York
And if the NSA has broken Diffie-Hellman key exchange then any
protocol which depends on it is compromised - and a lot of protocols
depend on it.
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
N.S.A. Able to Foil Basic Safeguards of Privacy on Web - NYTimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/us/nsa-foils-much-internet-encryp...
60 of 165
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:33 p.m.
A. Stanton
RECOMMENDED
1
Dallas, TX
The best way to use the internet is to assume that everything you put up there
is being read by someone else. Make sure you use a lot of phony names, send
out bunches of cat pictures and articles from Drudge. Above all else, make
certain that everything you write is boring. The guys at the CIA and NSA can't
stand boring.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:41 p.m.
Guy L. Smith
RECOMMENDED
2
New York
Are you kidding? They're mathematicians. For them, "boring" is an
interesting challenge.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:33 p.m.
Oscar
MI
We were a free country, once.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:41 p.m.
Lucille Hollander
RECOMMENDED
6
Texas
There is a lot of debate, and rightfully so, about the NSA, privacy, security, and
so on; and whether the NSA is entitled to collect all of our personal
information.
Disturbingly, there is little concern about what happens when someone does
to the NSA exactly what they are doing to us, and finds a way to break in to
their security and collect all of their stored information.
Information is like a gun in a safe, or microbes used for biological warfare in a
locked refrigerator. It is subject to theft and misuse.
NSA purports to have our best interests in mind. Whether or not that is so is
open to debate. But inevitably their store of all of our personal information
will be compromised, and the new owner of that information may not have any
good intentions at all.
.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:41 p.m.
Guy L. Smith
RECOMMENDED
4
New York
We don't have to worry about anyone breaking into the NSA. According
to the article, the NSA has already compromised the security protocols
that we depend on every day. Nice gift to our enemies.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:33 p.m.
EDP
RECOMMENDED
2
NYC
"the new owner of that information may not have any good intentions
at all"
Are you suggesting that Wikileaks doesn't wish to see the United States
prosper?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:34 p.m.
V P Kochikar
Bangalore
Staggering to know that what was suspected by conspiracy theorists and
fantasized by thriller writers is actually true - the US intelligence fraternity
really does go to incredible lengths to snoop on the world's communications to the extent of sabotaging standards and planting "vulnerabilities" in
commercial software !
I for one always believed such allegations were the figment of the imagination
of various people (usually motivated by anti-American sentiments). But it now
appears they were right (assuming, of course, the documents showcased by
NYT are genuine).
Incidentally, the top-secret budget document speaks of "consumers and other
adversaries" - Freudian slip ???!!
ON a different note, I also believe the NYT on its part should not be so hasty to
showcase to the entire world documents that, for better or worse, the US Govt.
has labeled top-secret. Is the paper motivated by national interest or just
journalistic fervor?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:41 p.m.
Guy L. Smith
RECOMMENDED
1
New York
Why did you stop short in your reasoning? If the "conspiracy theorists"
were right about the extent to which our security has been
compromised, why aren't they right about the threat that the
government poses to ordinary citizens (oops - "consumers and other
adversaries")?
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
N.S.A. Able to Foil Basic Safeguards of Privacy on Web - NYTimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/us/nsa-foils-much-internet-encryp...
61 of 165
I applaud the NYT and wish this story was getting more attention than
Syria.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:34 p.m.
dubious
RECOMMENDED
3
new york
This is a rogue government and what can you do - nothing. I read during the
Republican convention here in NYC they rounded up and arrested all
protesters as they exited their buses. A rogue government.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:41 p.m.
Jon
RECOMMENDED
2
London UK
Any organisation which becomes too powerful, however benign and
well-intentioned its origins, will inevitably start to act immorally and can then
no longer be trusted. The use of cryptography in the World Wars was limited
to the objective of wining those wars; here there seems to be no limitations at
all.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:41 p.m.
A Wilco
RECOMMENDED
3
Vermont
"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary
Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." Ben Franklin
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and
effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated..."
Fourth Amendment United States Constitution
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:41 p.m.
01000101 01110101
RECOMMENDED
6
Brasil
Becarful what you write... They can erase your e-mail and bank account.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:41 p.m.
Andy W
RECOMMENDED
4
Chicago, Il
Many seem to think that terrorists, drug lords, white collar criminals and
enemy states all suddenly deserve their privacy. Modern technology has
provided even the least sophisticated hostile organization with an
unprecedented ability to conceal dangerous activity on a global scale. The
NSAs primary job is to peel back that veil. They are code breakers and
communication specialists by trade and design. Decrypting information has
always been part of their primary mandate. If you desire to stop or distract the
NSA from doing it's job, be prepared for the eventual consequences. There is a
good chance they will be severe.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:41 p.m.
Hal
Arlington, VA
"A 2010 document calls for “a new approach for opportunistic decryption,
rather than targeted.” By that year, a Bullrun briefing document claims that
the agency had developed “groundbreaking capabilities” against encrypted
Web chats and phone calls. Its successes against Secure Sockets Layer and
virtual private networks were gaining momentum."
The government itself--every agency of the government--relies on SSL and
current VPNs to protect the confidentiality of its own internal
communications. If the NSA can break SSL and VPNs, then that means that
others can break them as well, which means that internal government
communications are no longer secure, which is a big problem for the
government. The government itself has an inherent interest in being able to
employ encryption technology that the NSA *can't* break, as long as they care
about *others* not being able to break it. This is a case where you can't have
your cake and eat it too.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:41 p.m.
truthlord
RECOMMENDED
4
hungary
I wonder if the revelations about this level of spying and lack of secrecy
regarding Americans ,may not be a good thing for a reason not mentioned in
the article or any of the comments I have seen
The fact is that one of the main characteristics of being American is ones belief
in ones'freedom ' as an individual.Ones sense of liberty is ones sense of oneself
as a 'free' separate individual and this sense of individuality is closely
connected with ones sense of personal privacy.Americans feel this far more
than other people I suggest,far more than the British who live in a country that
has had an effective intelligence service since Elizabeth I ,Shakespeares
time..and even in the days of the American colonies ,I suspect that everyone
getting off a boat in New York was checked to see that they were white ,spoke
English and were Protestant
The British have known this for a long time.They know that their Lords and
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
N.S.A. Able to Foil Basic Safeguards of Privacy on Web - NYTimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/us/nsa-foils-much-internet-encryp...
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masters want to know everything thats happening on their great estates etc
Accordingly the British are not worried about 500,000 CCTV cameras in
London alone. The Germans ,who lived through a terrifying political era may
be concerned but not the British
If Americans now realise that their' chest out 'Im an American and Im
free'nonsense is really just a fantasy it might bring them down a bit ,remind
them they are not so special after all and produce a much more balanced
approach to the world in general that would be a very good thing
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:41 p.m.
miriam
RECOMMENDED
1
Astoria, Queens
So how do you explain that on the European Continent, where there is
no tradition of American-style hyperindividualism, you find greater
legal safeguards for privacy than you find here? And how is it that
Germany, of all countries, is angry at us for our surveillance state?
Germans who know their national history know about the
totalitarianism their country has experienced.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:52 p.m.
miriam
RECOMMENDED
1
Astoria, Queens
Sorry, mea culpa, you have explained. I can say only that NSA spying is
no cure for American hyperindividualism, and part of Orwell's
inspiration for his terrifying vision was the contempt for freedon shown
by fellow radicals who were toeing the Stalinist line.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:08 p.m.
RFB
NY
Our Enemy the NSA
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:41 p.m.
gary
RECOMMENDED
2
belfast, maine
At least this provides for full employment of a small subset of particular
geopolitical groupings across the face of the human experience. I do long for
those days when a visit to a local barbershop or breakfast coffeklatch provided
enough thought-provoking discussion of current events to last for minutes.
As the saying went - if a conversation was had in the wilderness, and no-one
was apparently near enough to overhear it, did it occur?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:41 p.m.
b_smark
RECOMMENDED
1
VA
"I would strongly recommend against anyone trusting their private data to a
company with physical ties to the United States."
Techies working as Wal-Mart greeters now know who they can blame.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:41 p.m.
All American
RECOMMENDED
2
ask the NSA
I can assure you that the NSA, CIA, FBI or any of the US government agencies
does not care about the majority of your transactions on the internet or
anywhere else and is not even looking at them. They are looking for harmful
activity against the country or our allies, if you are not doing anything you
should not do then stop worrying if you doing it then I hope they catch you..
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:41 p.m.
Guy L. Smith
New York
How about this. I'm concerned that the programs that the NSA has
implemented can compromise the 1% of the population that controls
money and politics. These people can be subject to blackmail and
extortion as a result. Even if I am not directly targeted by the NSA, the
people that I vote for or do business with could be. That affects me,
regardless of how small a fish I am.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:34 p.m.
deloprator20000
RECOMMENDED
3
SSF, CA
The names the NSA gives these programs are interesting, "Bullrull" or
"Manassas", trying to contextualize their efforts as if they are in the civil war
and they think they are the "North". The problem is that their intentions and
behaviors mirror the actions of the Old South far more than the North, spying
on innocent people, starting wars under false pretenses, manipulating the
media, effecting a quarantine on the entire population. It seems that they are
more interested in protecting the interests of the wealthy elite than of the
majority of the population.
The fact is that they can no longer rationally justify their extreme efforts and
the more it simply becomes a last attempt by the elite to hold on to power by
any means necessary.
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
N.S.A. Able to Foil Basic Safeguards of Privacy on Web - NYTimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/us/nsa-foils-much-internet-encryp...
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Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:37 p.m.
SF expat
RECOMMENDED
2
London
Manassas/ Bull Run was a huge win for the South. Manassas is a few
dozen miles from DC and the North was petrified that the South would
advance, capture the capital, and it would be game over within a few
weeks of the war's beginning. Possibly the significance of the name is
actually 'Beware'.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:31 p.m.
miriam
Astoria, Queens
And denying freedom to an entire population - that's what the
Confederate cause was about.
In W.E.B. Du Bois's words, it was the freedom to destroy freedom.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:08 p.m.
JackieTreehorn
RECOMMENDED
2
San Francisco
As an IT professional, I can tell you that once you join the digital grid, you lose
all privacy. It's not "hacked" , it's just so accessible...
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:37 p.m.
kathleen
RECOMMENDED
16
Cambridge
> The National Security Agency has secretly circumvented or cracked much of
the digital scrambling that protects global commerce, e-mails, phone calls,
medical records and Web searches.
Seems we had better re-name it the National Spying Association.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:37 p.m.
MIchael Stamm
RECOMMENDED
2
Concord, NH
Good! Period! Its not about your J. Crew account. Its about protecting us. Of
course our civil liberties are being reduced. That's the way war works. Of
course we'd like to have both full civil liberties and safety. That's not the way
life works. My God!
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:32 p.m.
Safe upon the solid rock
Denver, CO
George Orwell had it right. Is anyone else outraged or surprised?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:32 p.m.
suprabrew
RECOMMENDED
3
Totalitarianville
"...“leverage sensitive, cooperative relationships with specific industry
partners” to insert vulnerabilities into Internet security products."
Read it between the lines: Your anti-virus software was written by the NSA.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:32 p.m.
Technic Ally
RECOMMENDED
6
Toronto
This very much parallels the use of doctors purportedly immunizing
while really searching for bin Laden.
And the fallout regarding vaccinations in that part of the world.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:41 p.m.
HSmith
RECOMMENDED
3
Denver
Last I heard, we do have a few constitutional provision about this, ya? One day
the court might rule that classified programs are a threat to the constitution no matter what they are, and that a future Snowden cant be prosecuted. What
a mess that will be. And with him an international celebrity, will there be more
like him? The over reach of the NSA dooms it to such possibilities.
Someone without classified access could find much of that information too.
One can hear what the NSA hears because receivers radiate energy. And if
something tangible is done with that info, you know the NSA has it. Like black
holes and Hawkins Radiation, the Agency is going to leak, one way or another.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:32 p.m.
Brad Windley
RECOMMENDED
1
Tullahoma, TN
The unethical and over-reaching nature of the NSA and the current
Administration is like a pot of feces. It just keeps bubbling and stinking! All
must realize that Orwell’s predictions have come to pass and nothing, I mean
nothing, that you do, say, watch, or write is protected as private any longer.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:32 p.m.
RECOMMENDED
2
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
N.S.A. Able to Foil Basic Safeguards of Privacy on Web - NYTimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/us/nsa-foils-much-internet-encryp...
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AnonByRight
Richmond, VA
I see physical courier services becoming a hot growth industry soon.
Banks are knowingly compromised? That’s quite a large fraud.
The Guardian/New York Times piece could possibly become the most
important journalism article in history.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:32 p.m.
Technic Ally
RECOMMENDED
5
Toronto
Thank Edward Snowden.
And God bless Putin.
Although I don't believe in either of them.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:41 p.m.
miriam
Astoria, Queens
I'm not sure what couriers are allowed to send, but the USPS will brook
no competition in letter delivery. If you want to send a paper letter
outside the usual Postal Service channels, you'll have to enclose it in a
parcel, pay a steep price, or do as the ancients did: send the letter with
a trusted mutual friend who just happens to be going that way.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:09 p.m.
Cedarglen
USA
This is not new news.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:24 p.m.
Guy L. Smith
New York
Actually, it is.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:40 p.m.
Patrick
RECOMMENDED
2
Long Island NY
Technically, the employees of the N.S.A. are Burglars.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:24 p.m.
wonderfully
RECOMMENDED
5
la
At what point do we finally reign in these NSA outlaws?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:24 p.m.
Lynn
RECOMMENDED
5
S.
Dear Mr. President,
The abuse of privacy rights by the NSA on US citizens is a far more urgent
human rights and freedom issue than chemical weapons used in a civil war in
Syria.
Please forget about Syria and spend your energy addressing the NSA
crimes...in this country.
Listen to the public on this - No to Syria; Yes to privacy and not being spied
on. Stop demonizing whistleblowers who are the true heroes of democracy.
Thank you.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:24 p.m.
Tim Miltz
RECOMMENDED
4
PA
I suppose the brighter side of this is that a new service industry offering better
encryption to consumers will likely emerge...
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:24 p.m.
Mark Kaskin
RECOMMENDED
2
Middle America
Great, so now this will drive US citizens to flock to software and hardware
made in countries that are least likely to cooperate with NSA. I would rather
have MY private information subject to Chinese or Russian decryption than by
the US, as my concern is how the government that I am subject to the
jurisdiction of is far more of a threat to me than China or Russia by having
access to my information. China or Russia will not sic the IRS, ATF, FBI, DEA,
ICE, DHS, or any of a dozen other jack-booted Federal agencies on me. Only
the USA can do that to me.
The next Cisco, Microsoft, and Google will be in China. Russia, or Iran. The
countries least likely to cooperate with the USA. At least for individual, retail
users - but I suspect many companies will look for equipment and software
from "safer" alternatives in more trustworthy countries like Switzerland,
Iceland, or Brazil.
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
N.S.A. Able to Foil Basic Safeguards of Privacy on Web - NYTimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/us/nsa-foils-much-internet-encryp...
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Way to destroy the US tech sector, NSA!
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:24 p.m.
angel98
RECOMMENDED
6
New York
One can only but imagine what your computer camera sees and who is tapping
into the feed.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:24 p.m.
John
RECOMMENDED
2
CA
The NSA is doing exactly what a good intelligence agency should be doing. The
NY Times on the other hand has committed treason by disclosing intelligence
methods to our adversaries. Hopefully the news media will be held
accountable for their actions.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:21 p.m.
Michael S
RECOMMENDED
1
Wappingers Falls, NY
What the NSA is possibly doing is destroying a big chunk of the
American economy far more effectively then any terrorist. Why don't
you save the chest thumping flag waiving until you can point to some
successes that would even begin to justify this reckless sabotage of the
internet. NSA is big on budget and short on results.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:33 p.m.
Guy L. Smith
RECOMMENDED
4
New York
The NY Times is doing exactly what a good news service should be
doing. The NSA on the other hand has committed treason by
promulgating compromised security protocols that American
businesses and citizens depend upon for protection. Hopefully the
espionage establishment will be held accountable for their actions.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:41 p.m.
Keith Henson
RECOMMENDED
2
somewhere
I don't think you have it right. Can you point me to a web site that talks about
4 GB drives having 400 GB?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:21 p.m.
Michael S
RECOMMENDED
1
Wappingers Falls, NY
What we may be witnessing here is a virtually unfettered and unsupervised
government agency destroying American dominance of the internet and the
worldwide web. Who would use an American based server or American
security software if they could turn to a privacy protected country like
Germany for this?
This has happened before when the government banned the export of software
with strong encryption - American software manufacturers lost overseas
business to foreign companies until the ban was rescinded. Now using the
internet as a secure, cheap and quick way for accessing business records may
be collateral damage to security agencies run amok.
Meanwhile, Al Qaeda seems to be doing very well operating out of mud huts in
remote locations, sidestepping the NSA through the use of couriers - just like
Bin Laden did. Small wonder NSA hasn't made any big announcements of
terrorist captures or plots foiled - a men getting on a plane and handing
someone half way around the world a thumbstick can defeat $50 billions
worth of signal intercept programs! Don't forget that Snowden was able to
remove all of the NSA secrets and deliver them to journalists on four laptops.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:21 p.m.
Apeon
RECOMMENDED
6
Washington
I have a computer that I use for the tithing records for my church---guess
what---the ONLY time it was connected to the internet was when I registered
it. It, and it's programs will never be updated----so as long as it works, I am
the only one that will have access----when it quits, we will start over.......
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:18 p.m.
Amala
NYC
Just watched an episode of SCANDAL from 2012 wherein an NSA employee
fakes being a whiste-lblower so he can steel the spy software and sell it to the
highest bidder. I am no fan of the NSA's invasion of privacy but I wonder how
much ideas from this particular show influenced Snowden - if at all.
In any case, we have been aware of warrantless wire-tapping since after 9-11
and The Patriot Act. Get it all out. Get it out of our system for all to see. What
will we do about it? How will we respond?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:17 p.m.
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
N.S.A. Able to Foil Basic Safeguards of Privacy on Web - NYTimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/us/nsa-foils-much-internet-encryp...
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New Yorker
NYC
The world has gone insane. George Orwell was right. If you have never read
the book 1984, you should get it from Amazon this very moment. I have never,
ever been a conspiracy theorist, but this changes everything. The locksmith
told me the lock I bought was the best in the world, now it seems like everyone
has a key.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:17 p.m.
CD
RECOMMENDED
3
Austin
OK, now Snowden is a patriot.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:17 p.m.
Susan
New York
Shut down this agency now. The NSA has no right to exist as far as I am
concerned. As long as it stays open and active, it is dangerous. This is what
Edward Snowden was telling us. Shut it down now.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:16 p.m.
Adriano Koehler
RECOMMENDED
3
Curitiba, Brazil
Well, americans, when you're not welcome when traveling abroad, please
remember your government is responsible for that, ok? You crack all security
codes all over the world, how can you wish to be considered friends? Oh, by
the way, democracy means "by the people", so we understand you've chosen
the people who are surveilling us. So, please, don't complain.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:14 p.m.
Andy Hain
RECOMMENDED
2
Carmel, CA
We'll still welcome you here on the Monterey Peninsula, one of the top
US destinations, Adriano, and you won't regret it. Stop by for a visit.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:31 p.m.
Orwellian
Northwest
When will this President of the United States, a Harvard trained lawyer &
former US Constitution Harvard Law School professor bring the same level of
concern about protecting the domestic legal rights & liberties guaranteed by
the US Constitution to every single US citizen, man, woman & child; that he
has spent on concerns about human rights in the Middle East ?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:14 p.m.
Romy
RECOMMENDED
4
CLT, NC
I'm sad, disturbed and heartbroken over this latest revelation. Maybe this will
be good news for the postal service. Or is the NSA going to start going through
mail now, too? Shameful.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:14 p.m.
Pat Choate
RECOMMENDED
3
Washington, Va.
Why does Congress permit this violation of America's basic rights to privacy?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:14 p.m.
RECOMMENDED
Guy L. Smith
1
New York
It's simple. The federal government is concerned with protecting
America instead of protecting Americans. The United States is treated
as an entity in its own right, entitled to greater protection that the
individual people who live within its borders. This is why nationalism
and jingoism are antithetical to a free people.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:41 p.m.
Deep South
RECOMMENDED
1
Southern US
Congress is in cahoots. They fund it, and have for the last 40 years.
Congress is complicit, despite their protests.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:34 p.m.
Howie Lisnoff
RECOMMENDED
1
Massachusetts
The NSA spies on the communications of ordinary Americans, whether that
communication be by computer or phone. The director of national intelligence
(sic), James Clapper, lied about the latter in testimony before Congress.
Edward Snowden looks more and more like a national hero, while James
Clapper committed perjury!
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:06 p.m.
jetmerlin
RECOMMENDED
7
Los Angeles
Hey, folks, why not just stop saying, thinking, or writing things you're
ashamed of? Wouldn't that be a lot easier?
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
N.S.A. Able to Foil Basic Safeguards of Privacy on Web - NYTimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/us/nsa-foils-much-internet-encryp...
67 of 165
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:03 p.m.
Andrew D
Macon
I guess I didn't need to bcc the NSA on all those emails after all.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:01 p.m.
David H. Eisenberg
RECOMMENDED
5
Smithtown, NY
"I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!"
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:01 p.m.
Scott Morgan
New Jersey
I have long suspected a wide range of suspects – the Russians, the Chinese,
and as it turns out – our own government of inserting all sorts of
vulnerabilities into Wondows and other PC based encryption and antivirus
software.
To me it's pretty simple: do I want a computer running DOS (really CPM) or a
highly refined UNIX, with its own encryption and anti-viral programs. A
closed system greatly limits the opportunity to throw sabots into the works.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:57 p.m.
JeffB
RECOMMENDED
1
Plano, Tx
How is Congress not now liable if it does not now act for violating the 4th
Amendment?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:57 p.m.
J
RECOMMENDED
6
Brooklyn, NY
I am starting to think Snowden may indeed be a hero.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:57 p.m.
Adrianne
RECOMMENDED
8
Massachusetts
Anyone who trusts the NSA, remember, they contracted Snowden. Who knows
who else they've given access to. They don't seem to be very good judges of
character.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:57 p.m.
Stuffster
RECOMMENDED
3
NY
Medical records? Really? I guess that NSA doesn't have to abide by HIPAA like
the rest of us peons, then? There has to be a limit to this.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:57 p.m.
Patrick
RECOMMENDED
4
Long Island NY
May I suggest everyone take up a radio hobby? Citizens band radio is cheap
and fun and you don't need a license. Google it. Learn about it. You'd like it.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:57 p.m.
BrianL
RECOMMENDED
3
Toronto, Canada
The big problem is an agency required to report to others has lied continually
to those with oversight or withheld information. No government agency
required to report to another should ever do this as it is an intentional breach
of both the letter and spirit of the law. Those responsible should be at a
minimum be sacked with loss of any benefits and/or prosecuted.
Congress represents the people and when the executive lies or with holds
information that Congress is by law required to receive, the Constitution is at
risk.
As the weakness of the reporting and oversight control is now public, the
solution is to go back to the drawing board and create a system that can be
reported out to the people publicly and also errs on the side of
CONSTITUTIONAL CONSERVATISM and not push the envelope that to so
many citizens looks like a Constitutional violation of Due Process. As a lawyer,
I especially am concerned with the court structure established under the law.
While Congress is permitted to create them under the Constitution, the powers
and Constitutional protections and concepts must be part of that including an
adversarial process where the accused can confront the accuser. The Special
Court is not adversarial and even mandating a guardian ad litem as we know
generally does not protect those orders are sought against.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:57 p.m.
Ferrington
RECOMMENDED
1
Boonville
Maybe the people so opposed to the NSA's efforts should make certain that
folks like the late Bin Laden can be assured of secure communications.
Perhaps the NYT and Snowden can lead the effort.
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
N.S.A. Able to Foil Basic Safeguards of Privacy on Web - NYTimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/us/nsa-foils-much-internet-encryp...
68 of 165
The Fourth amendment should apply to them too.
We evidently betrayed our principles when we broke the German and
Japanese codes in WWII.
We won't make that mistake again!
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:54 p.m.
Animedude5555
RECOMMENDED
1
at my computer
I guy further down the page mentioned that this isn't an end to all encryption,
and he's right. Here's why.
First off I'm going to be using scientific notation here, because these are
REALLY large numbers. Scientific notation works like this 1.23E30 means,
1.23 * 10^30, which is one point two three times the quantity ten to the power
of thirty.
A standard encryption like AES uses a 256 bit key. That means the number of
possible combinations is about 1.16E77. This is a number that starts with 116
and has 75 zeros after it! That is HUGE. And even if the correct key was only
one thousandth of the way through the number of possible combinations, that
is still a HUGE number of keys to have to test in order to finally find it
(specifically it is 1.16E74 combinations). Now if you assume there is a super
computer that can test 100 trillion combinations per second, it will still take
that computer 1.16E60 seconds. This is 3.68E52 years! Considering that the
length of the universe is only 14 billion years old, that means the calculations
of this super computer based encryption cracking effort would take 2.63E42
times the current age of the universe!
In other words a generic statement that the NSA can now crack encryption, is
a VERY false generality. Even if they found a technique a trillion times faster
due to some exploit, it would still take an insanely huge number of times the
current age of our universe to crack. For all practical purposes, most
encryption is still UNCRACKABLE.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:43 p.m.
Guy L. Smith
RECOMMENDED
2
New York
Most encryption is SSL or VPN. Those are the protocols that the NSA
has compromised. How it's been compromised is irrelevant. You're
making the mistake of assuming that the NSA has used a specific
approach (brute force or a linear optimization to brute force) to crack
these algorithms. In fact, the article mentions several approaches that
have nothing to do with brute force (compromising keys and publishing
weakened standards).
Additionally, there's no need to crack AES, for example, if you can
crack Diffie-Hellman and read the AES key directly. Diffie-Hellman is
based on modular exponentiation, which is based on the supposed
difficulty of factoring large numbers - which has become less and less
difficult as more and more research has been published. Break the
key-exchange protocol and all of the symmetric ciphers are broken,
regardless of how "strong" the math says they are.
The biggest mistake you can make when implementing or analyzing
security protocols is to trust that a component is "uncrackable." These
systems are cracked all the time in the real world. The reason they're
cracked is because the people who implemented them made
assumptions about how they would be attacked; assumptions which
turned out to be false. The reality is that SSL and VPN are
compromised. You cannot assume that the techniques used to
compromise them do not translate to other problem domains.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:29 p.m.
Animedude5555
RECOMMENDED
1
at my computer
Actually Diffie Hellman is secure if a VERY large number is used, for
example a 4096 bit key. Factoring large numbers is to Diffie Hellman
what Brute Force is to symmetric cyphers. It's the simplest method of
attack. Unfortunately this means that a sufficiently large key for Diffie
Hellman (even if it's faster to crack than brute forcing a symetric key
cypher) is still going to take many years to crack (even if it is within a
human life time), which means that for all practical purposes any info
they may glean from it will be old and useless (ie, a terror attack will
probably have already occurred before they find the plans for the terror
attack).
Sept. 7, 2013 at 12:00 a.m.
william walker
georgetown guyana
Hold on , this is a story based on documents leaked by snowden, who ur own
editorial described as having certainly committed criminal acts? Such
hyprocrisy
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:43 p.m.
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
N.S.A. Able to Foil Basic Safeguards of Privacy on Web - NYTimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/us/nsa-foils-much-internet-encryp...
69 of 165
OldDoc
Bradenton, FL
Where does all of this illegal snooping end? Does Big Brother really exist?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:43 p.m.
ndean
RECOMMENDED
3
Rye Brook, NY
Not much time before the NSA puts Congress out of business.
Still time for Congress to put the NSA out of business.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:43 p.m.
Siamak
RECOMMENDED
5
California
No it is too late. Dont you see the Congress is a representative of NSA.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:50 p.m.
Ben Ryan
RECOMMENDED
1
NYC
Well, that was most rude of them, don't you think?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:42 p.m.
wut
RECOMMENDED
4
.......
Wut. If I want to hide my internet activity, now I can't. You should have an
option. And what is up with that name? bullrun? Anonymous, do something.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:42 p.m.
jelia
RECOMMENDED
2
USA
Disgusting news. Orwell wept.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:42 p.m.
Cocoa
RECOMMENDED
6
Berkeley
If the US government spent half as much time and money fixing the education
system, or the economy, or throwing bankers and corrupted financialists like
Corzine in the cooler or ANYTHING like they spent hiring and building up the
NSA we would be in great shape.
Looks like it's not an implementation problem to overcome the impossible-just
a priority for government. So far, all these mathematicians who are cracking
code and other baloney have been wasted. Can't they make a flying car, world
peace or free energy?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:38 p.m.
Siamak
RECOMMENDED
5
California
Well they never do. Because if they do as you said then the people will
become smart and will stop them bringing down the foundation of the
secret government.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:50 p.m.
Carolyn Egeli
Valley Lee, Md.
How can one trust the internet at all? Might be time to give it up. Ignoring an
industry is a sure fire way to make it obsolete. I listen to the highway here and
wonder about the loss of nature. Children in college now, a friend who is
adon't remember at all what nature is...too much of it has been lost. I've
learned to forage...plenty of food everywhere I've discovered. It is interesting
that we work so hard for what is right outside our doors if we let the weeds
grow some. I did look up the weeds on the internet. Buying books about it on
the internet too. Seems like a good idea to stock up!
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:38 p.m.
John
RECOMMENDED
1
PA
If NSA cant crack encyption they are not doing the job we pay them to do.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:38 p.m.
Jim
Dallas
It's called treason.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:38 p.m.
Jeff Duncan
RECOMMENDED
1
SF, CA
What prevents someone in the NSA from intercepting, for example, corporate
earnings information prior to its public release and using that information for
profit or selling that information to interested parties? “Hey I got a buddy at
the NSA” says the hedge fund investment banker…. you fill in the rest of the
conversation. The risk of hackers compromising a company’s network to gain
access to financially sensitive information will always be there but in such a
case, the company would, presumably, notice the compromise and alert the
investing public accordingly. But what prevents the next Snowden-level
analyst from surfing a company’s email about their next merger & acquisition,
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or the promising test results of a new drug compound, etc. and then buying
option contracts that lets them (or their friends) profit significantly while the
rest of us are in the dark thinking that it’s a level playing field as we invest our
401k’s?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:37 p.m.
geoff
RECOMMENDED
37
new york
Further, the NSA surely would be able to produce information about
tax scofflaws at any level who have hidden assets to avoid US taxes.
Finding out who, where and how much would be child’s play to the
NSA.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:34 p.m.
Ule
Lexington, MA
Someone set up us the bomb.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:37 p.m.
Stephen
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
It used to be that the walls had ears, then it became big brother is watching
you. Now words fail me.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:29 p.m.
mr.feldman
RECOMMENDED
3
Kingston, NY
If NSA is doing it now, how long do you think it will be before lots countries
are doing this?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:23 p.m.
RECOMMENDED
Richard Huffman
2
Alexandria, VA
The real shocker would be if other countries weren't.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:50 p.m.
JTReyn
RECOMMENDED
1
Sarasota FL
I believe innovation will create more tools for hiding, but also for seeking. We
can't get discouraged by this arms race, however. Stick to the plan. Make
yourself as small a target as possible. A problem that won't go away is that,
with data stored in public cloud services, a third party has access to your files
and can give them away without your knowledge or permission. Plus they keep
backup files forever, even if you delete your files and close your account.
The only real solution is to get a private cloud, like a Cloudlocker
(www.cloudlocker.it) that works like a cloud service but stays at home where
they still need a warrant to look inside.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:12 p.m.
Terry
The Bronx
So then this is the new cryptography standard: Build a key that the
government can't crack.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:11 p.m.
FreddieBeach
Fred NB
Makes one wonder if they arranged back doors in voting machines too.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:11 p.m.
ed2001
RECOMMENDED
9
Kelso, WA
Nice. When the New York Times finally gets hold of some of Snowden's
documents, he's no longer a leaker but "a former N.S.A. contractor."
Sept. 6, 2013 at 1:46 p.m.
EDP
RECOMMENDED
7
NYC
The US and British governments can break encryption? Fantastic! I would be
dismayed if they couldn't.
Should come in handy on those docs retrieved from Greenwald's boyfriend.
Where is the story here, exactly?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 1:46 p.m.
garfieldsam
RECOMMENDED
1
Seattle
Is it clear whether or not this is even legal? From what I understand it's illegal
to access information on another private network, but of course the NSA is
exceptional. Has the FISA court ruled that the NSA has the equivalent of a
blanket warrant to collect data from any private network it chooses?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 1:46 p.m.
RECOMMENDED
1
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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Red
Uptown, NY
If the NSA stopped this and a terrorist attack happened, most will vote for
more governmental power. I'm sorry.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 1:45 p.m.
RLS
RECOMMENDED
1
Virginia
The NSA failed to thwart the Boston attack and the attempted Times
Square bombing. Common sense says that looking for a needle in a
haystack and piling on more and more hay is counterproductive.
Deputy Director John Inglis recently admitted before Congress there is
NOT EVEN ONE CASE that the NSA can definitely point to that shows
information from the dragnet surveillance thwarted a terrorist attack.
In the run-up to 9/11, the Bush administration was repeatedly warned
by top CIA officials about the danger that Bin Laden posed, suspicious
activity at a flight school should have raised red flags, and the warning
of the August 6, 2001 presidential daily brief, "Bin Laden Determined
to Strike in U.S." was ignored. They failed to “connect the dots.”
The NSA has been trying to take credit for thwarting two terrorists
plots involving Najibullah Zazi and David Headley. But the evidence in
these cases shows that traditional investigative work, old-fashioned
tips, and conventional surveillance techniques led to the investigations.
NSA Surveillance Played Little Role in Foiling Terror Plots, Experts Say
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/12/nsa-surveillancedata-terror... front:network-front aux-1 top-stories-1:Bento box 8
col:Position1:sublinks
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:25 p.m.
s
RECOMMENDED
5
us
Conclusion: The NSA is way over-funded.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 1:44 p.m.
Patrick
RECOMMENDED
8
Long Island NY
Credit where credit is due, to the New York Times, for being more honest with
the American people than our own government.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 1:42 p.m.
Andy Hain
RECOMMENDED
8
Carmel, CA
Really.... you believe everything you read? The NY Times has never
made a mistake?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:31 p.m.
snowyphile
Jemez Springs, NM
Thus, our savings aren't secure. Someone will vacuum them all away.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 1:42 p.m.
anthonyRR
RECOMMENDED
2
Portugal
For those with a moderately good understanding of security engineering it's
not much of a novelty,but for the large majority of the public this could
eventually seem worrying.Security and cryptography are not the same
thing,cryptography builds on top of many other systems and any serious
flaw,bug,intended weakness with any of these systems is potentially
damaging.If you use a flawed operative system it's irrelevant how good is your
encryption because at any time spyware can be injected and send keys and
data back home,and be aware even so-called secure,audited systems can have
zero-day weaknesses,if you are a valued target it's better for you be offline
most of the time and get back to old school
communication.Good,audited,published protocols,ciphers are relatively
secure because many cryptographers around the world are studying them
every day and if they detect any weakness their professional reputation would
improve,the implementations are the problem.In the post-Snowden age there
is a comprehensible doubt about everything that comes from the U.S. in terms
of computer security (hardware/software),guys responsible in the
N.S.A.,government should think about the damage they are doing to related
american companies.There will always be intelligence services,we can't be
innocent,but there is time and space for intelligence,and time and space for
privacy,we don't spy within our friends houses(In Germany,Brasil etc.
government,companies are securing their methods to counter this).
Sept. 6, 2013 at 1:42 p.m.
Neil
RECOMMENDED
3
New York
Obviously NSA is out of control.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 1:42 p.m.
RECOMMENDED
8
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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Hal
Chicago
Either Mr. Obama didn't know about this, or he did. I'm not sure which
frightens me more.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 1:42 p.m.
Sancho
RECOMMENDED
9
New York
NSA surveillance is only one aspect of a broader effort, one that includes, for
example, stop-and-frisk and spying on Muslims in New York.
Similarly, efforts to silence NSA whistle-blowers are only one manifestation of
a general assault on free expression taking place around the country. That
assault includes the arrest and prosecution of protestors who write anti-bank
slogans on the sidewalk with chalk in San Diego and elsewhere. It also
includes the police manhunt for an artist who created fake “NYPD drone” ads
here in New York.
And, before I forget, it includes the prosecution of a sharply ironical academic
whistle-blower here in New York who sent out revelatory “Gmail confessions”
in the “name” of an influential university department chairman. For
documentation of this exemplary case, see:
http://raphaelgolbtrial.wordpress.com/
I could easily provide a much longer list. Need I mention the prosecution and
suicide of Aaron Swartz, and the problem posed by the lack of proportion in
our criminal justice system in general?
All of these interrelated phenomena manifestly contribute to furthering the
passivity of the public in the face of the development of an authoritarian
society where our conduct is controlled by the state under the pretext of public
order, and merely focusing on isolated aspects of the phenomenon obscures,
rather than clarifies, the true, unified nature of what’s happening.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 1:42 p.m.
Takenitez
RECOMMENDED
14
Thailand
Firefox has an application called "TrackMeNot" that sends bogus search
queries to Google and Bing, etc. Now we need "NSASpyMeNot."
Osama bin Laden gave an interview in which he said that his goal was to "turn
America into a shadow of itself." Anyone listening? (besides the NSA)
We need to go back to the good-old-days of respecting the law and following
the Constitution (while we still can). Self-interest is driving the guardians, and
their greed is turning out to be greater than everyone else's desire to be free
and communicate freely. By all means let the NSA do its job. It would have
been nice, for example, if that HF message about Pearl Harbor could have
been broken prior to the Japanese attack. So let the NSA prevent Pearl
Harbors by listening to foreigners. But do not let them turn into an inward
looking Russian style spy agency. It will not turn out well, and the wise leaders
of the past all knew that. Other nations cannot control their security state, but
the US should be able to if enough people are informed and angry about it. The
Congress, those people the NSA lies to on a regular basis, is holding the US
from the brink of becoming unrecognizable.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 1:42 p.m.
RECOMMENDED
Christopher Hobe Morrison
3
Lake Katrine, NY
As far as I can see, the only thing encryption does is flag what you write for the
security services without keeping them from reading it.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 1:41 p.m.
Joe Van Steen
CA
The irony, it seems to me, is that if the NSA were focused on helping
Americans keep secrets with strong encryption, AND had the agency been
smart enough to encrypt their own documents, Snowden would be running
around with a set of computer files with undecryptable, randomized bits and
none of the agencies secrets would be getting published in the papers.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 1:41 p.m.
Brian Ferrier
RECOMMENDED
3
Toronto
I am not a techie and need some help.
If Joe is correct, shouldn't heads be rolling right now?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:48 p.m.
David
RECOMMENDED
1
not behind the wheel
“leverage sensitive, cooperative relationships with specific industry partners”
These "Industry Partners" should be identified (help me here please Mr.
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Snowden), boycotted, sued if possible, and run out of business. I'm not
shocked, but I am disgusted.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 1:41 p.m.
Andy Hain
RECOMMENDED
3
Carmel, CA
With this information now public, you'd think that anyone involved in
anything illegal would stop, wouldn't you? Maybe now the neighbors will keep
the noise down.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 1:36 p.m.
A. Taxpayer
Brooklyn NY
There is no first amendment in America anymore, the terrorists are winning
by getting America to change its principles while at the same time some in
government are advocating attacking another country.
Yesterday we heard that many elected officials may decide for war even though
those they represent are against attacking Syria. It time for direct voting by the
American people via the internet, Facebook, Twitter, etc to eliminate
violations of the Bill of Rights, the inside deals with corporations, the pork, the
spending, etc. Let's make government more accountable to the people.
Lastly it is clear we need a president for domestic issues and a foreign policy
minister for foreign policy, as few individuals have enough experience an d
more importantly the time. This way jobs, education , climate issues, etc can
stay at the top of the president's priorities and the issue with allies, etc can be
addressed by the minister Changing the constitution should not be just the
privy of politicians but of the people, for the people and by the people.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 12:48 p.m.
Paul Cohen
RECOMMENDED
6
Hartford CT
Something has to be done to dismantle this entire underground, uncontrolled,
ungoverned, extralegal monster (NSA, CIA, and all the other spying and
stealth killing agencies).
If the NSA can coerce corporations to give up information to enhance their
spying on American citizens then it’s not a leap of logic that they can coerce
citizens as well. I certainly do not want to travel, all expenses paid, to one of
many beautiful overseas vacation facilities hosted by the CIA to enjoy the
experience of enhanced interrogation techniques so highly recommended by
John Yoo.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 12:47 p.m.
Einstein
RECOMMENDED
16
America
This is an incredible article that must have been very difficult to put together
and write.
Thank You New York Times!
Sept. 6, 2013 at 12:23 p.m.
Maurice Shufelt
RECOMMENDED
10
USA
Indeed! I'm in agreement with Einstein.
The more I learn about what the NSA actually does, the more I believe
it's where the nation's most paranoid go... to work. (instead of going to
get therapy.)
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:08 p.m.
RLS
Virginia
The NSA wants it all!
Our founding fathers knew that power if it could be abused would be abused.
Whistleblower Russell Tice told RT the NSA tapped the phones of prominent
figures ten years ago.
The NSA, using satellite technology, spied on political, military and senior
government officials, the Supreme Court, news organizations, multinational
corporations, financial institutions and law firms.
Colin Powell, Judge Alito, Senate candidate Barack Obama, General Petraeus
and their family members are some of the figures that were targeted.
Tice’s interview with RT:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6m1XbWOfVk
“I noticed that the intelligence community is not being hit with the sequester.
Well how is that possible? Is there some kind of leverage being placed on our
three branches of government to make sure the intelligence community gets
what they want? In other words, is the intelligence community running this
country?
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“[While the country has a history of spying,] what’s different about this is the
Orwellian scale. This is the everything scale. This isn’t just Richard Nixon
going after a few enemies. This is everybody and everything and now NSA is
literally tapping every communication in this country – content not just
metadata.
“That is Orwellian and that is the trademark of a police state.”
Sept. 6, 2013 at 10:33 a.m.
Ariel
RECOMMENDED
22
Israel
I do not think that people in the US understand and appreciate how the
phenomenal mathematical and technological achievements of the NSA can
help make the world a safer place for all of us. Privacy is an important issue
but its not a license to do crime, the only issue that should be addressed is
governance on how this data is used and that should be addressed by the
legislators and legal systems, so that a movie like Enemy of the State can exist
only in Hollywood. These latest exposures are now undermining these
achievements and nullifying them causing billions in tax payer $ to go down
the drain.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 10:12 a.m.
Rob W.
RECOMMENDED
7
St Louis, Missouri
Arial, I make my living in information technology and
computer/network security both in software development and by
operating networks and providing hosting.
those of us to use and develop this technology professionally on both
sides of the legal spectrum, and understand that I am on the legal side
of the spectrum, already know or assumed much of what was discussed
so eloquently in the New York Times article. It doesn't really
undermine the efforts of the NSA and private contractors, private
companies like the one I work for, because we know that the other side
knows what we do and we know what they do. The community of
traditional spies and electronic "spooks" is a relatively small one
compared to the rest of the world in which people physically live.
I told in on nerd colleague, someone who's not really into computers,
that what people had to realize is that we are already in world war 3
and it's being fought online.
I'm not happy about the invasion of my privacy, but I accepted as the
reality of this century, & I really don't care if yours is invaded to keep
me safe. Lol! And to see that's the problem because ultimately that's
how most people feel except for idealists who live by unrealistic, but
highly moral positions.
Your response is naive naive because you actually believe that the laws
passed by politicians, who do not understand and cannot use the
technology in the way that we computer nerds can, would really change
or control such programs.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:57 p.m.
Rob W.
St Louis, Missouri
I'm in the IT business. We should all be aware that all US Internet traffic is
monitored as was publicly discussed in a PBS program several years ago. I
automatically assume that the government does in fact hear all my phone calls,
read all my emails, see what I might do over an encrypted VPN in the United
States, etc. It's important to know if that doesn't mean that they're doing
anything with it, just that they have it. As I understand, phone calls are only
listened to in to by hunan beings when certain keywords are uttered
Years ago many would have called this paranoia, but I think we're beginning to
see that its not "1984" is here folks it's a fact of life and just like London's huge
number of CCTV cameras see most everything, privacy is a thing of the past.
We allowed that even before those horrible events years ago when we as a
people or through our politicians decided safety and security first. That meant
liberty and privacy had to go, because you can't have both absolutely securely.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 10:12 a.m.
James
RECOMMENDED
5
Williamsburg, VA
The NSA can foil internet protection products? As an important arm of this
country's security apparatus, I would hope there abilities would extend that far
at least! There are people out there that want to kill us. The NSA is trying to
protect us. There is no information whatsoever that the NSA is involved in any
activity of even the least degrading nature to our individual liberties. None.
The U. S. is safer and more secure because the NSA is very, very good at what
they do.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 10:12 a.m.
RECOMMENDED
1
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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petermmartin
Grapevine, TX
Astounding! The biggest hacker on the planet is the US government embodied
in the NSA!
The US government itself is systematically violating the Fourth Amendment
on a 24/7 basis.
When someone makes a phone call or sends an email, the NSA is
systematically searching, recording, and watching you.
Fourth Amendment rights are not allowed at the discretion of secret
government agancies and secret courts. The Amendment exists to prevent
government, military, and police agencies from seaches without a warrant
issued upon probable cause.
I say dismantle the agency and fire the lot of them.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 10:12 a.m.
John Plotz
RECOMMENDED
20
Hayward, California
Speaking as someone who voted for Obama twice -- the second time against
my better judgment -- I think maybe it's time to think about impeachment. Or
is the President completely outside the law?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 10:12 a.m.
AnonByRight
RECOMMENDED
10
Richmond, VA
This is not a Presidential issue. The President has NO control over the
NSA. It has been like this forever. The agency operates outside of the
normal court system. Obama has probably learned about all this stuff
with Snowden just as we have.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:32 p.m.
C
RECOMMENDED
3
us
John, you think the President alone is behind this and that a simple
impeachment would solve everything? John, John, John........
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:57 p.m.
Citizen
RECOMMENDED
2
Texas
C,
No the president is not alone in all this NSA dilemma, but you have to
start somewhere; why not with him. At the end of the day, he's the man
in charge right now. He needs to be the first of many that need to be
brought to account over all of this.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:41 p.m.
Cedarglen
RECOMMENDED
1
USA
Does this surprise anyone? It should not. NSA has been reading our domestic
only electronic messages and data records for some years. Few have made an
issue of it because few have anything worth hiding from them. Those few who
have information, data, conversations that they believe in need of protection
from the NSA, most often already have the means to protect those things.
Frankly, such protection is not all that complicated. For those with a perceived
need, a good place to start is to avoid email and telephone for the information
that needs protection - and that means ALL of the time. We don't really know
what NSA does with their 'take,' but you can bet that they never discard any of
it. That they are a "Foreign Only" collector or honestly adhere to their
Congressional mandate is little more than a very sad joke. They have it and
they keep it. All of it.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 10:12 a.m.
rafa
RECOMMENDED
5
Argentina
Another thing the article does not mention, and we seem to be forgetting is
that the actual code breakers are not in the NSA but in one of its consulting
companies. Snowden was not an NSA employee, he was working for Booz
Allen.
If Booz Allen has access to the emails of every senator and probably the
President how can one be sure that they are not using this information for
their own benefit? (i.e. maintaining those juicy contracts)
Sept. 6, 2013 at 10:12 a.m.
Jonathan Saltzman
RECOMMENDED
13
Santa Barbara, CA
It just gets worse and worse. And yet the powers that be are doing absolutely
nothing to stop the NSA.
How about this: (1) Congress defunds NSA entirely, and boots it out of
existence.
(2) Voters, in turn, vote out every Representative and Senator who votes to
renew the Patriot Act.
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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Just get rid of it all. No good has come from this (in spite of assurances from
Obama et al that "one or two" terrorist actions have been prevented.)
Doesn't anyone care about the First and Fourth Amendments anymore? (I
know no one in the Obama Administration does.)
Disclaimer: I voted for the sucker twice. I Am A Fool.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 10:12 a.m.
JHG III
RECOMMENDED
13
Washington DC
Really? How much dirt do u think NSA has on Congressional
Members?
NSA is the new 300 Gorilla.
And it sits wherever it wants.
America, Love it or Leave it, period
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:57 p.m.
janjake
Boston
With all the security compromised just think of another Snowden who, having
access to
otherwise hard to come by information decides to make it 'public' for profit,
i.e., sell it to the highest bidder.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 10:12 a.m.
Erik
RECOMMENDED
8
Sweden
All those movies where the intelligence communities can do anything with
citizens and their identies online is obviously true. I'm very discouraged by
this information and I'm sure NSA isn't the only organization that has this
capacity - only NSA is so much more powerful. In Sweden our NSA, FRA, is
tapping e-mails and gathering digital data - to what extent we don't know
because we have no Snowden here yet.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 10:12 a.m.
DazzRat
RECOMMENDED
7
USA
Responding to Tony in California -- your argument amounts to "the
government 'created' the Internet, therefore don't complain when the
government usurps and infiltrates all Internet activity and uses private info
without warrant or warning."
That's silly. That's like saying, "government funding helped forward
electronics engineering and digital communications, therefore all electronic
and digital communications are the property of the government, and the
expectation of personal privacy and security from unwanted prying is
therefore N/A."
Or like saying, "the trees used for making paper grew within the boundaries of
a given country, therefore everything written on paper -- no matter how
proprietary or personal in nature -- is within the providence and allowable
scrutiny of the established government of that country."
It just ain't so.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 10:12 a.m.
Caminsky
RECOMMENDED
6
New York
When you have a government that is more interested in bombing other
countries, a media more interested in making it happen and a major part of
the population asking for justice on the wake of major internet surveillance
and spying at the domestic level, while completely being ignored by most of
their representatives in congress I can certainly say: There is something wrong
with this country.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 10:12 a.m.
kakorako
RECOMMENDED
22
nyc
nsa invested billions of dollars 9no wonder US is bankrupt) in order to spy on
its citizens..ridiculous when criminals or thopse from other countries either
would use different language or mix it with codes etc..never be able to figure it
out..Ridiculoussly laughable this nsa is wasting our resources to find out what
we buy online or read..haha what else would they be able to find which porno
sites each senator visits. what a waste of money.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 10:12 a.m.
RECOMMENDED
3
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John
Minn.
Which is worse: Surveilling your own citizens or gassing them? I'm not sure I
have the answer.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 10:12 a.m.
3
RECOMMENDED
Rev. E.M. Camarena, Ph.D.
Hells Kitchen, NYC
It is not a zero sum game. Both are heinous.
http://emcphd.wordpress.com
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:18 p.m.
j. von hettlingen
Switzerland
Michael White of the Guardian said that The New York Times will be covering
the NSA stories, after the British newspaper had been intimidated by GCHQ,
the British equivalent of NSA.
Alan Rusbridger, the Guardian editor said GCHQ security experts marched
into their office and oversaw the destruction of hard drives in their basement
just to make sure "there was nothing in the mangled bits of metal which could
possibly be of any interest to passing Chinese agents".
He also said: "We will continue to do patient, painstaking reporting on the
Snowden documents, we just won’t do it in London.”
Sept. 6, 2013 at 9:57 a.m.
Rob Campbell
RECOMMENDED
4
Western MA
THAT IS THE PROBLEM, the NYT headline says it all...
"N.S.A. Able to Foil Basic Safeguards of Privacy on Web"
Emphasis on "BASIC"
All that does is catch the innocent, anyone who knows a bit more than
"BASIC" safeguards, such as terrorists, criminals, foreign covert operations,
and on and on... is unaffected by the NSA.
Let's face it, it is our money they are spending, and if we don't try and control
how they spend it- nobody will.
THEY ARE WASTING MY TAX DOLLARS.
And?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 9:46 a.m.
Charles
RECOMMENDED
6
Slough, UK
The NYT is verging on treason by publishing this article.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 9:09 a.m.
Carolyn
RECOMMENDED
1
Saint Augustine
The NYT is anything but treasonous. The real treason here has been
committed by a select few in the government, the NSA and its corporate
parasites. Obviously, your opinion of what happens in America is not
relevant if you are a British citizen, albeit I think you don't represent
the true spirit of the British. Nevertheless, for your edification, there is
a reason why our founders fought the Revolution. We don't like
monarchies, autocracies or totalitarianism. We are the land of the free
and intend to keep it that way.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:41 p.m.
Charles
RECOMMENDED
2
Clifton, NJ
Very fine reporting by all but imdignancy towards the NSA is not logical. One
encrypts information to ensure confidentiality (also integrity) but it is
incredibly naive to think that only the NSA is responsible for cracking the
security. The real message is that there is a limit to security. The NSA has.big
computers and world expertise in cryptography.
It's a little like the nuclear weapons debate. The US could unilaterally
eliminate it's arsenal, as idealists wouldnhave it, but would one trust others
with a nuclear capability?
An issue is, however, the NSA's involvement in people and processes where
they demand the involvement of corporate structures in bypassing
confidentiality. That's "not fair" and smacks of an orchestrated violation of
privacy rights.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:50 a.m.
Citizen
Texas
Do any of you people, any of us, realize what the government and the NSA is
doing to all of uis? It's nefarious, it's dishonest and it's diabolical to say the
least. Those of you that claim that you are doing nothing wrong, are so in
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denial and so misguided, that it borders on the pathetic. The government is
using you and all of us because they can, because they are answerable to no
one. The president has lied about what NSA has done. Clapper is a senile liar
that doesn't even know what he is saying from one day to the next. The
director of the NSA, a general in the Army, is looking for his next promotion,
and will say anything to gain that goal.
We, the American public, are being used on a daily basis by our own
government; and the saddest part of all of it, is the fact that we have fallen for
all of it, hook, line and sinker.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:33 a.m.
Marc S. Lawrence
RECOMMENDED
18
Chicago, IL
The NSA and GCHQ are engaged in outrageous, unlawful conduct.
The world owes Edward Snowden a debt of gratitude for risking his own
freedom to reveal this criminal behavior.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:33 a.m.
C. Whiting
RECOMMENDED
32
Madison, WI
As this article makes clear, using an assumed name on this comment board to
air your more strident concerns about our government's overreach of powers
does not shield you in the least from the cold prying eyes you are protesting.
So, as I see it, you have two choices:
A) You can silence yourself, as the former Senator Joe McCarthy would
heartily recommend or,
B) You can shout from the rooftops that this, and every other ugly betrayal of
the public trust will not stand in a government established of, by, and for the
people. This beautiful, sacred idea may be under every kind of attack these
days, but we must ensure that it does not perish from the earth.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:33 a.m.
dbh
RECOMMENDED
23
boston
Not worry, Clapper and Alexander have told us that the NSA does not spy on
Americans.
Step one, they have to go.
We must reclaim our democracy. Any member of the House or Senate who
embraces the NAS (Rogers, Feinstein, and their ilk) must be removed. If your
senators or representatives oppose controlling the NSA, replace them with
people who will protect democracy.
This should be the ONLY issue in the next elections. If we do not have a
democracy, then nothing else one can debate would matter at all.
Save America before it is too late.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:33 a.m.
jenniferlila
RECOMMENDED
23
los angeles
I agree. This needs to be issue one.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 10:12 a.m.
J. Teller
RECOMMENDED
6
New York, NY
Yes! And right alongside it the other number one issue: the endless,
global wars.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:43 p.m.
reap
RECOMMENDED
2
nyc
I wish this much passion was devoted to stop and frisk.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:33 a.m.
db
RECOMMENDED
6
west
Maybe it will be... like the straw that broke the camel's back. We'll see.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:08 p.m.
cbl
RECOMMENDED
1
Washington DC
The NSA breaking through a 128-bit encryption of my personal bank and
financial records is a whole lot scarier than its ability to see my cat videos.
Why bother with a search warrant now?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:33 a.m.
RECOMMENDED
18
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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agmndg
Austin
If you're interested in secure privacy, you can always develop your own
nonstandard encryption system and share it with your friends. Although good
ones are not so easy to develop, such nonstandard encryption schemes can be
very strong, and they're not commonly used enough to make them an
attractive target. With encryption as in many other things there is danger (not
safety) in numbers.
You would encrypt your plaintext off-line and convert it into printable
characters (in much the way that MIME works, for instance), e-mail it via your
browser, and the party at the other end will be able to decrypt it using her key.
My scheme encrypts seven bits at a time with backtracking. It is called
Septembrini, after the character Settembrini in Magic Mountain by Thomas
Mann. Readers may recall that the number seven figures prominently in that
novel, and that Hans Castorp had to be corrected that the name was
Settembrini, not Septembrini.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:33 a.m.
gik
RECOMMENDED
1
mke
Sounds easy. I guess it is time to get that graduate degree in computer
science.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:41 p.m.
Sukebewestern
RECOMMENDED
1
California
clearly, we have become the enemy.
espionage breeds paranoia; its the cocaine of governments. And, eventually,
when there are no expected results from that espionage, the gov turns on its
own people, suspecting that the problem; the threat, must be within.
I've never written anything like this before, but it seems that our government
is becoming a danger to us. It's making new external enemies who were once
allies. For example, we've had minor issues with Brazil. We've had strong,
positive alliances with them: They fought with us in WWII, The US recognized
their independence and we've come together on issues like AIDS.
Now, even they're angry with us. 'us'.
I suppose one could say that this is this generation's 'Hoover moment'. But,
and perhaps it's because we have more information that we're supposed to, it
seems far more insidious and vast.
The US played this game with Russia, with old-school rules. Now, the older US
is being played by street thugs; it's wallet being emptied. Iraq being the first
round of this game, where we called in all our chips from England and really
really wasted that relationship and cache. Clearly.
The gov seems to view oil as its 'big bills' in this game; instead of us. We are
the small change; inconsequential to the game. Oil, and the bankers who
insidiously manipulate its value and users; that seems to be worth it all, right?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:33 a.m.
lfeldman
RECOMMENDED
7
Chicago, IL
The U.S. Congress has accused Chinese Internet hardware manufacturers
(specifically Huawei) of installing backdoors into their equipment that could
be exploited by the Chinese government. U.S. manufacturers have long used
that argument to sell against Chinese (and other international) competitors,
saying that U.S.-based networking equipment could be trusted. Now, we've
learned that at least one major U.S. networking company has deliberately built
backdoors into their equipment at the behest of the NSA. In addition, the NSA
has corrupted the encryption standards adopted by NIST and ISO. What, then,
are the grounds for the U.S. to object to foreign networking equipment, or the
reason for any foreign business or government to use U.S. networking
hardware or software?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:33 a.m.
Sukebewestern
RECOMMENDED
15
California
Or, how much in payoffs and kickbacks is that US company getting.
Well, we should assume, 'are those'.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:54 p.m.
Brooklyn Traveler
Brooklyn
I don't understand all the commotion about this.
Google, AoL, Yahoo!, Microsoft and most of the internet providers go through
every email every day in order to shovel half-baked promotional offers at you.
It's what you give up for free email and millions of dollars of technology that
delivers whatever it is you want to say to whomever you want to say it to.
Most of us don't say much of consequence so it is our penalty for "free fries if
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you buy a Big Mac now."
The NSA really couldn't give a FF about most of us. We are mundane and
boring and they could put us under a microscope and nothing remotely
threatening would ever surface - if it did, it would be protected by due process.
They're looking for people who want to fly planes into buildings in support of
wacko ideology.
If doing that prevents another 9/11, have at it.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:33 a.m.
Mark Kaskin
RECOMMENDED
3
Middle America
Google and McDonalds do not have the ability to send heavily armed
paramilitary to break down my door at 4AM and imprison me while
confiscating my assets.
Only the government can do that. IRS, FBI, DHS, ICE, DOJ, etc.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:24 p.m.
Bates
RECOMMENDED
1
MA
Well if they are looking for people who "... fly planes into buildings..."
they have a pretty bad track record. They missed four on one day in
September 2001.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:41 p.m.
TD
RECOMMENDED
2
Dallas
Let's hope that the Russians are not capable of cracking the encrypted
messages that they are bugging at the G20 in St. Petersburg this week!
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:33 a.m.
Garak
RECOMMENDED
2
Tampa, FL
Under what legal theory can the government force a private company to give
the NSA its own private back door?
I'll bet the former Stassi is drooling with envy.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:33 a.m.
Kevn M
RECOMMENDED
9
Castro Valley
Time to take a fresh look at the Postal Service. It's not instant, but....
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:09 a.m.
RECOMMENDED
17
READ ALL 4 REPLIES
Bates
MA
I read that the postal service is copying every address it comes across
for the intelligence services.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:41 p.m.
Sukebewestern
RECOMMENDED
1
California
actually, they're already going through your mail. read about it some
time ago.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:54 p.m.
C
us
Yes, Kevin...we will become the new generation of belles lettres...to
each other...or observers of life, set to verse, pressed in a treasured
book, discovered upon our deaths. The heights from the
depths!...thanks to the END OF PRIVACY!
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:08 p.m.
MF
RECOMMENDED
1
NYC
1984 had arrived sometime ago so why people are shocked is surprising.
Financial institutions know and share every facet of your financial life when
you use credit cards, cash cards and electronic banking. Your health records
are reported into a central data bank by insurance companies. Your smart
phone has a GPS in which you can easily be tracked. Even EZ Pass in the
metropolitan area keeps records on your travel. Notice when you do a search
on google all of a sudden you start gettting advertisements on your computer
related to that search. Sorry to say the NSA is just another chapter in George
Orwell's 1984.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:04 a.m.
Grace
RECOMMENDED
9
NY
Who is in charge here... meaning in America. The citizens or "the
government." It used to be they were one and the same, at least in theory.
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Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:04 a.m.
Justin Thompson
RECOMMENDED
20
Tifton, Georgia
Technologically, this is an incredible achievement. From a privacy standpoint,
it is more than a little distressing.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:04 a.m.
Jack O'Hanlon
RECOMMENDED
7
San Juan Islands
Now you all know: any computer or device linked to any sort of local network
that has a wide area network connection is a de facto "open network."
If you have something important you want to protect, you can't use any
network with any link to any other network.
Essentially, what this all means is that the Internet and everything attached to
it has become a threat to anyone who uses it for any reason.
Consider the economic repercussions of that. Some might call it "digital
armageddon."
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:04 a.m.
DJC
RECOMMENDED
14
West Hollywood
Privacy is gone. Every aspect of your life is known. It's amazing how right
under everyone's eyes this has happened. From your bank account to your
private emails they can take a peak anytime they want. Do I trust the
Government to use this power wisely, of course not. It's to much power with
no control. Several years ago no one knew a thing about you. Now between
people giving out their private information on the Facebooks of the world, and
the Governments ability to know your every move, we will someday yearn for
when we truly had privacy .
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:04 a.m.
Henry Lieberman
RECOMMENDED
8
Cambridge, MA
There's another huge civil liberties problem here: the fact that our judicial
system allows the corrupt practice of "plea bargaining" in criminal cases.
Scenario: A person is accused, perhaps wrongly, of a crime. Law enforcement
wants the accused to plead guilty, "to save the state the expense of a trial" (=
risk the state will lose the case because of lack of or invalid evidence). They dig
up whatever dirt or suspicion they find on the person, and use it to blackmail
the accused into pleading guilty. They can make false promises about the plea
bargain which the accused has no recourse to enforce. No lawyers, warrants,
judicial review or anything else involved.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:04 a.m.
hdb
RECOMMENDED
23
Tennessee
I always thought Edward Snowden was a whistleblower, but I too have been
"gobsmacked" by the astonishing reach of the NSA's spying. I can see why he
felt that people needed to know what is going on. I wonder how many
employees knew as much, but didn't think US citizens needed to know or were
too scared to leak the info (for good reason).
And now that we know that our government is capable of acting in such bad
faith, I wonder what else we don't know, not just about the NSA. There's no
telling what our government might be hiding from us. Just as Google turned
its back on "Don't be evil", the US has turned its back on "government of the
people, by the people, for the people."
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:04 a.m.
greg
RECOMMENDED
31
Norwich
Sounds like they are undermining the security of communications of
everybody but our real enemies.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:04 a.m.
TimoW
RECOMMENDED
16
State College, PA
These high-handed tactics of larceny and extortion without limit make my skin
crawl. This is what American exceptionalism has come to, I guess.
Here's hoping that the spirit of democracy and rule of law, based on the
Constitution can somehow be restored. If it cannot, then woe to us.
My gratitude to Edward Snowden grows by the day.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:01 a.m.
Gene Amparo
RECOMMENDED
24
Sacramento, CA
When I go to a bank, an airport, a train station or even a 7-Eleven store and I
see surveillance cameras, I feel safer because I am neither a bank robber nor a
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terrorist. No one records surveillance videos to spy on me. They exist to catch
criminals and to deter them from committing a crime. I feel the same way
about NSA surveillance. The NSA does not have enough resources to spy on
me, or any of the 314,000,000 American citizens specifically. You have to get
the NSA's attention by making frequent phone calls to Yemen or sending email
messages about bombing a subway station or hijacking an airplane. Otherwise
your email or phone call merits no one's interest or attention.
All this outrage and indignation over Snowden's revelations which the
Guardian has milked for all its worth seems almost amusing considering all
the private information Americans reveal in their YouTube videos, Facebook
pages, tweets, email and cell phone messages. Yes, the NSA computers read
your email, as does Yahoo Mail and Google G-Mail. The NSA does so to protect
you from terrorists and Yahoo and Google does so to tailor ads more
specifically to you. None have the interest or the manpower to spy specifically
on you.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:01 a.m.
RECOMMENDED
some random person
6
farawayistan
Of course the NSA is not interested in the average nobody. They use the
gathered information only if you are/when you become important.
Because of the secrecy and lack of public oversight, there is nothing to
guarantee that they will use the information on "important" people for
legitimate purposes, rather than furtherung their own agenda. Just
because they say they use the information to catch "terrorists" doesn't
mean they do. And they don't have a stellar record with truthfullness.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:44 p.m.
Sukebewestern
California
Well, there's always outsourcing.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:33 p.m.
Emil Wisekal
Setauket, NY
Yet in China, anyone sending digital communications can fully expect
that their government is reading and acting on the information. A
knock at their door minutes before they planned to leave their home to
meet someone they just e-mailed, that is proof.
All of us everywhere can be a target of surveillance.
Speak face to face if you want privacy. Only write in an e-mail what you
can afford to be public.
Banking and medical records are potentially public, in this era of
NSA-strength decryption. That bothers me most.
I already expected that my privacy was compromised. Sadly.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:36 p.m.
ManfredVR
Crakkovia (Tom Hanks City)
I think the following, the NSA can invest millions of dollars in protection tools
for security, which can not foresee is how human beings react, which is
unpredictable and notions of justice as several current cases reported private
information, while this happens there will be no tool that can protect
information, just a profitable business for the companies that provide these
temporary services, a move more pieces in chess. Keep going.Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:01 a.m.
BillyD
RECOMMENDED
1
New Jersey
"Only a small cadre of trusted contractors were allowed to join Bullrun. It does
not appear that Mr. Snowden was among them, but he nonetheless managed
to obtain dozens of classified documents"
And took them to Russia! If this is not a definition of traitor, I do not know
what is.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:01 a.m.
Winstonia
RECOMMENDED
4
Around
As we learn more and more about our Government's immense reach and
information gathering capabilities, I am convinced that the greatest threat to
our civil liberties comes from Within.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:01 a.m.
Jim
RECOMMENDED
19
Los Angeles
Hasn't espionage and all its accoutrements always been a very dirty game?
Isn't that what draws millions of people to read spy novels and watch the films
based on them? It's the moral ambiguity of the spy business that fascinates us
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and makes us wonder, "what would I do?" Such news, while very disturbing,
shouldn't really be surprising to anyone. The question is, how do we reconcile
this escalating invasion of privacy with the necessities of espionage since 9/11?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:01 a.m.
RECOMMENDED
Rev. E.M. Camarena, Ph.D.
5
Hells Kitchen, NYC
"Hasn't espionage and all its accoutrements always been a very dirty
game?"
Hasn't crime always been illegal?
http://emcphd.wordpress.com
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:34 p.m.
Internet Security?
New York City
As a developer of secure document collaboration systems for global
enterprises, the creation of the backdoors described by the Snowden
documents create huge commercial problems for our clients as well IT service
providers.
The unintended consequence the article refers to could include billions of
dollars a year in internet services business lost because we can't represent to
our clients that their data is safe... and it makes a mockery of ISO encryption
and security standards that have been "finessed" by the NSA.
And I'm not addressing the individual privacy rights concerns... this is just bad
business, and very short sighted with the potential of causing more harm than
any single terrorist attack... just imagine these access keys and vulnerabilities
falling into the wrong hands.
The NSA in the name of strengthening national security has instead
diminished our internet security infrastructure with immediate and long term
impact to our commercial and national security interests, which is a disservice
to our country.
What a mess...
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:01 a.m.
Bayou Houma
RECOMMENDED
27
Boston
Interestingly, President Clinton wanted the N.S.A.to break the law against
domestic spying for no lawful reason and without a warrant. The revelation
ought to give pause to Hillary for President supporters. If politics has little
relation to morality, power for the sake of power seems to have none
whatsoever. And the Clintons have a marriage that seems all about enlarging
their power. With Hillary in the White House, again, Bill should have a free
hand to expand our N.S.A domestic spying programs.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:01 a.m.
Alex
RECOMMENDED
10
PA
I'm surprised at the extent of hostility toward NSA in the comments. For me,
security trumps privacy every time. I will happily trade government access to
my personal info for government protection against being blown up. Thanks,
NSA, keep up the good work..
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:01 a.m.
JY
RECOMMENDED
1
USA
Apparently, you disagree with the Founding Fathers and the 4th
Amendment. Do you want to repeal the 4th Amendment? Because your
statement is tantamount to eviscerating it.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:18 p.m.
Susan
New Jersey
Anyone who thinks that the internet is safe or protected not only from the NSA
or other prying eyes has really not been paying attention. The internet is
inherently and inevitably incapable of being anything but vulnerable to spying
should be obvious even to the most naive among us.
This does not absolve the government from its misuse but . . . does any of this
come really as a huge surprise? After all where is the outcry against the
aggressive and pervasive not to say predatory spying that goes on by all
companies every time we make a purchase online.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:01 a.m.
BillyD
New Jersey
"If it cannot decipher the messages of terrorists, foreign spies and other
adversaries, the United States will be at serious risk, agency officials say."
I felt pride for the NSA when I read this article. Keep up the great work! Am I
worried that my, say, booty call message will end up in their hands? Not in the
least! The truth is that my communications (like those of other commenters
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here) are utterly unimportant! Those who think that the NSA pays even
slightest attention to their dreary electronic missives are just kidding
themselves (or suffering from delusion of grandeur:-)
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:01 a.m.
Deborah
Watsonville CA
Appalling to grasp the scope of this and even more appalling to see how many
of those commenting think this is just fine even though from the article it
appears that some even if not all of these activities were/are illegal.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:01 a.m.
Michael G
RECOMMENDED
10
San Diego
Clearly the US government has assumed the role of "local parents," which is
somewhat similar to the powers schools have over students. Schools think they
have certain obligations to protect the students, who are minor children. Of
course the difference is we are not children.
The people who are the most determined to keep things as they are, the same
people who hate Mr. Snowden the most, have made it quite clear that they.
like Assad, are in the game for keeps, will make no changes except cosmetic
and, like Assad, the only way to change things is to change them. Certainly the
top of this long list of bad guys is the president, the Chief Justice, the heads of
the national Security Committees and the NSA.
How can the American people redress this violation of constitutional rights?
Clearly the avenues of disbarment and impeachment are useless. Too many of
the perps have friends ion congress. The only way is to recall those who can be
recalled and keep on demanding the impeachment of the president and
disbarment of the chief justice. These might not work but it is good to l the
president and chief justice know what we think of them. Maybe we will get
lucky and the ACLU will find a reason to bring criminal charges (violation of
oath) against the chief justice.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:01 a.m.
miriam
RECOMMENDED
2
Astoria, Queens
"In loco parentis" means "in the place of a parent." (I'm tempted to
think it means crazy parents.)
And does it make so much of a difference that we are not children - "of
course," as if everyone agreed on this? Multitudes of parents, even as I
write this, are going NSA on their children. The columnist Ellen
Goodman called them black helicopter parents (parents who are like
black helicopters, not helicopter parents who are black), and warned
that when the children grow up they may have been "trained by Big
Mother to accept Big Brother."
My late mother didn't prevent me and my sister from being home
alone; she taught us to be safe when we were home alone. Let parents
teach children to be safe online.
"Recall those who can be recalled": the NSA's abuse of power is a
problem at the federal level, not at the state level. Officials in the
federal government, like members of Congress, cannot be recalled,
even if they're from states that have the recall for state officials.
Sept. 7, 2013 at 5:42 a.m.
A Reader
San Francisco, CA
Since our own government does not listen much to its people concerns about
the right to privacy and respect it might be time to use a different language to
get through. Given that money seems to rule every aspect of the world these
days let's use the same language, a language that sends a powerful message
and seems to be universally understood. A consumer boycott of corporations
(Google Facebook and the like, closing accounts) and also of communication
devices like smartphones (the perfect citizen bugging device) , security
software, computers, wifi related products and other related items would send
a clear, peaceful yet powerful message, one which can't be ignored so easily.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:01 a.m.
SouthTexas
RECOMMENDED
4
South Texas
It makes me sick in my stomach when I think about the depths of illegal
behavior and unconstitutional activity that the Government has gone to in the
name of National Security. I mean it really physically nauseates me.
All life has risk and risk will never be completely mitigated. When we willingly
give up basic Constitutional liberties in the name of risk mitigation the end of
American culture, as has been classically defined, can not be far behind.
The New World was discovered by risk takers. America was settled and built
on risk. Now society seems to think we are better off without risk. We have
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become weak and overwhelmed by self-induced fear. By Nature's law, it is only
a matter of time, before our American culture withers and dies.
Strength is not proven by how many people you can kill with sophisticated
weaponry. Strength is proven by how you manage your fears.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:01 a.m.
C Huang
RECOMMENDED
7
NYC
Anyone remember the scandal around China and Yahoo, when the Chinese
government got Yahoo to disclose information on a Chinese journalist that led
to his arrest for disclosing Communist Party documents to a Chinese website?
http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/yahoo-scandal-when-the-west-...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shi_Tao
Governments are going to use the Internet to spy, just as individuals do it on a
much smaller basis by googling people they are dating and looking up
neighbors' property values. The debate over privacy is legitimate, but I don't
feel surprised and threatened by anything Snowden has revealed, because I
assume that all governments are attempting to "spy" on one another as well as
individuals, including their own citizens, to protect their countries' interests. If
Snowden believes in what he is doing, he should come back and stand trial. If
he is convicted, I doubt he would be subjected to forced labor as the Chinese
journalist was.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:01 a.m.
Marc S. Lawrence
Chicago, IL
In your mind, Snowden should stand trial. But what about intelligence
chief James Klapper, who lied to Congress?
Snowden has done the people of the world, including you, a big favor.
You should be thankful to him.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:44 p.m.
American Mom
RECOMMENDED
2
Philadelphia
A very ordinary American family with many dear friends in Europe, we have
seen the number of friends abroad (friends of many decades) willing to
correspond with us at all, plummet in the past two months, and specifically,
since it became apparent that all of our communications on the internet and
telephone are monitored.
I can only imagine what it must be like for foreign businesses (any and all),
especially from the countries of our allies, whom we have relied on for so
long...
...to have to make decisions about whether or not to continue their relations
with the United States at all, given these conditions (cf. final paragraph of
article).
Dear President Obama:
Please explain to America now, how the realities described in the article above,
can be anything but extremely harmful, for our standing in the world?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:01 a.m.
BrianL
RECOMMENDED
11
Toronto, Canada
For those who espouse that we should get over it and the government is not
interested in us doing most things. Go back to the early 1900s when the tax
return served only a single purpose, collect taxes from the few rich persons.
Then taxation expanded to the middle class, then the lower class, then
Congress started social engineering, then government aid to the poor, then
used to offset certain liabilities such as child support, then expanded to
criminal investigations as the I.R.S. and treasury reached agreements to
deliver taxpayer information to other agencies while continuing to maintain
your information is subject to privacy rules, that they continually eroded. Now,
they cross reference passport applications to tax data and even do it going
through immigration. Also, they use statistical data and even disclose publicly
tax data of corporations and not-for-profits. All the time telling us our tax
returns are subject to privacy laws to protect us.
Imagine what it will do when it has a collection of all this other data on us. Or,
what could happen if another such as J. Edgar Hoover ascends to a position of
similar authority as he had or a government or officials start acting as
McCarthy or, the President decides to go after a political foe. This is not
fantasizing as these have all already happened and if we do not learn from
them, history will repeat and we never learn as centuries of history has proven
so many times.
Our forebears distrusted gov't, we should.
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Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:01 a.m.
weiyanal
RECOMMENDED
3
Singapore
All this information would not be public without Snowden or the likes, who
sacrifice their freedom for the sake of others freedom to know.
In the multi-faceted cyber warfare between states that are sometimes all too
petty, and have little concern for the layman or average person, these are
information that will never be divulged to us, without which individuals with
conscience we will never know.
What Snowden have done to let the average person know is nothing short of
commendation.
There are ways to secure a country without at the same time compromising
certain basic liberties of the people, all the more so if knowledge is
monopolized by the few who have the expertise to control the flow and
discovery of information.
There are boundaries to security, and then there are boundaries.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:01 a.m.
gomez
RECOMMENDED
6
bronx, ny
What do we have here?
1. NSA (US gov) covertly influencing our elected officials to weaken encryption
policies and prevent privacy,
2.covertly buying from the same private corporations the NSA is supposedly
protecting, their complicity in infecting the electronic products we buy from
them,
3.covertly using the 'intelligence' they gather, supposedly to protect the
'homeland', for civilian 'criminal investigation' of regular American political
dissenters, you know, your typical TPartier, 'liberal', 'leftist' or 'white
supremacist'. In other words, everybody.
It would be OK to 'spy' on our 'foreign enemies'. But that has nothing to do
with demanding from our elected officials to sabotage our right to privacy.
This is beyond right to privacy. This is fascism, this tyranny, big brother...
Some of the comments in this site leave me colder than this article itself. The
refusal to see the implications of the denunciation here is simply....I'm out of
words.
I guess we do have the enemy within. We buy the WMD fiction twice, we are
glad that the NSA can do this...that's the enemy within: ignorance.
http://thecitywidementalhealthproject.wordpress.com/
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:52 a.m.
John Dingler, artist
RECOMMENDED
4
Rome, Italy
There is no proof that getting rid of the 4th Amendment has made Americans
safe.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:52 a.m.
John Dingler, artist
RECOMMENDED
7
Rome, Italy
There is no proof that the Congress' and the NSA's getting rid of 4th
Amendment protections has made Americans safe.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:52 a.m.
Steve Orr
RECOMMENDED
2
Findlay
Can someone generate an estimate of the aggregate benefit of prevented
terrorist attacks to the real damage that has resulted from "privacy
infringements" ?
Who has been harmed as a result of "privacy infringements" and to what
degree?
How many terrorists have been killed off by drones as a result of credible
intelligence gathering activity?
We live in a technological world. We're not going backwards either.
To suggest that terrorism is historic is misguided.
To suggest that electronic surveillance is not helpful in an intelligence effort is
likewise misguided.
Do you really think the NSA would single out certain individuals and
purposefully disclose their "private" information to another party so as to
result in intentional harm? Is there any evidence that this behavior is endemic
and intentionally harmful and/or directed? Does the NSA and "the
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government" promote targeting of specific individuals so as to cause them
harm? Please provide specific cases and citations.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:52 a.m.
EssDee
RECOMMENDED
1
CA
You have no electronic privacy. Business communications related to strategy
or product development are at risk. Malicious government employees or
contractors can intercepting and sell them to the highest bidding competitor.
Encryption only alerts the watchers to look harder and decrypt it. The USG has
the keys to every encryption program ever written and has backdoor access
through every firewall and security program ever developed.
US corporations who do not secure their communications are guilty of
corporate malfeasance for putting their investors at risk by their failure to
prevent third parties from intercepting their communications.
Individuals should realize everything they do electronically; voice, video,
email, or text, is intercepted and stored.
If you think USG actions are constitutional violations, be assured that there is
a classified body of law that negates any constitutional protection you think
you have. You're just not allowed to know about it.
Communicate at your own risk. You have zero privacy. Everything you say or
write electronically is recorded, stored, and made searchable. Any USG
employee or contractor has access to every one of your communications,
searches, bank account information and passwords.
They can destroy you at will. That is the truth.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:52 a.m.
AR
RECOMMENDED
2
New York
For all those who, from the messages I read, seem to be freaking out that
somehow NSA, through its ability to crack the encryption mechanism, is able
to read their e-mails- Hey Your e-mails are not encrypted in the first place. I
don't encrypt my e-mails either, and NSA can read them all if my words can
put them to sleep when they had a bad day. Because of Snowden we know that
the US and may be UK have this capability. This in no way means Mr
Snowden's would-be-countrymen and their KGB units and the Chinese are not
trying to crack the code (unless they too have already done so) and that they
have not been reading our unencrypted e-mails. I am glad to know that the US
has this capability .. Can you imagine how we would have felt that ten years
since we come to know that only Chinese have been cracking the encryption
and know all our secrets and the US did not even try?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:52 a.m.
Observer
Washington, D.C.
Good thing China doesn't condition its loans (financial aid) to us on our
compliance with our own democratic norms.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:52 a.m.
Jerry
RECOMMENDED
4
Rahway, NJ
How complete is the inferred Constitutional freedom of the press? Could "The
Times," after publishing this article, be opening itself up to civil suits brought
by victims of the next successful terrorist attack? Could victims plausibly
contend the newspaper alerted terrorist organizations to the means by which
the U.S. and British governments would have otherwise thwarted their
attacks?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:52 a.m.
Rev. E.M. Camarena, Ph.D.
Hells Kitchen, NYC
That is funny! A constitutional right, listed at the top of the Bill of
Rights, is now merely "inferred"? (I realize that you mean implied, but
education is at a premium these days so we will let that pass.) Do you
also consider the 2nd Amendment a mere inference?
http://emcphd.wordpress.com
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:35 p.m.
Howard
RECOMMENDED
1
Columbus, Ohio
No more evasions President Obama. No more double speak. The USG and its
surveillance minions have lost all credibility. Enough is enough. Stop the lies.
Is this country a democracy or not?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:52 a.m.
RECOMMENDED
1
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David F
West Des Moines, IA
The NSA needs to explain how they can be sure that they are not making it
easier for the Chinese and others to loot our valuable intellectual capital.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:52 a.m.
ChangeBack
Here, Now.
I think we all knew to what extent our intelligence service eavesdrops, and
what their capabilities are didn't we, and that they go beyond where they
should legally go? All Snowden did was to confirm it. he's not the bad guy, he's
a whistle-blower.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:52 a.m.
SavageNation
RECOMMENDED
1
Taxifornia
Spying Inside America on Americans is domestic spying. Spying is either
sedition or treason.
Anyone recall what the USA has done in the past with domestic spies and
people who commit treason?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:52 a.m.
TomMariner
RECOMMENDED
4
Bayport, NY
Am I missing something? Items marked "Secret" seem to be appearing on this
and every other blog and in every intelligence agency in the world.
I'm guessing that since some government contractor with an ego problem stole
documents we are just abandoning our entire intelligence / classification
system?
Yeah, I get it that everybody is upset that their privacy could be compromised.
But as of now, our entire method of finding out what bad guys are doing is
gone! What is next is another 9/11 and we won't see it coming. Not just
because one agency that knows doesn't talk to another -- but because nobody
in the US knows -- and if Israel or the UK or France knows, they won't tell us a
nuke is on its way, because if we are too stupid to protect our own secrets,
what will we do with theirs -- and they DO care if somebody wants to take out
their homeland.
It sure looks like that Snowden has unraveled the trillions of dollars we spent
since 9/11 finding out what our enemies are planning -- and we are playing
nice to the country that holds him and begging them to play nice with a social
group who may visit.
We deserve everything we're going to get!
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:52 a.m.
The Clintidote
RECOMMENDED
1
far, far from New York, thank God
It's getting more and more difficult to identify the most serious threats to the
American people. Thanks, democRats.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:45 a.m.
johnne
RECOMMENDED
2
Providence, RI
Interesting. One has to wonder if the government's prior knowledge that this
article was coming led Obama either yesterday or the day before to say he was
open to new legislation limiting the NSA.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:45 a.m.
Clouddancer
RECOMMENDED
7
Istanbul
Thank you New York Times for shouldering this burden.
It is very important for freedom of speech and the right to information that
this matter is debated. Informed citizens make for a stronger nation.
I hope America has an honest debate on this and I sincerely believe that the
US will come out much better because of that debate.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:45 a.m.
dairubo
RECOMMENDED
10
MN
So, the NSA has the capacity to determine the outcome of U.S. (and foreign)
elections by bypassing the encryption of computerized voting. And they want
to keep that capacity secret. Should we trust them?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:45 a.m.
kabosh
RECOMMENDED
21
san francisco
How utterly appropriate that the programs are named after civil war battles:
our government is waging cyberwar on us.
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Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:45 a.m.
Stephen
RECOMMENDED
18
Toronto
The timing of this overture by the N.S.A. is interesting, but until the heads
start to roll, I bet the dead surveillance czar is still going to be roaming around.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:45 a.m.
Ray Russ
RECOMMENDED
2
Palo Alto, CA
Can someone please tell me why Edward Snowden is considered a traitor for
revealing the emerging truths about the Big Brother Surveillance Complex
that's whittling away at damn near every reasonable expectation of privacy
that I as an American once took for granted?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:45 a.m.
Alex
RECOMMENDED
36
PA
I can tell you, Ray. I'm grateful for protection against terrorist attacks,
and Snowden's actions compromised our surveillance programs and
made you and me less safe. His actions aided those who might attack
the US. This reportedly was not his intention, so he may not technically
be guilty of treason, but the effect is the same.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:01 a.m.
alexalive
taipei
He's not a traitor, its just that he should have followed the law to draw
attention to this. There are other ways of doing things.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:04 a.m.
Marc S. Lawrence
Chicago, IL
I consider Snowden a hero.
Not everyone is a lemming.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:45 p.m.
BrianL
RECOMMENDED
1
Toronto, Canada
Interesting that as this issue ramped up, suddenly Syria and gas attacks
appeared. Have you noticed that each time over the years when something
happens at home calling government into question, some foreign issue arises
diverting our attention and media's.
Not trying to trivialize what is happening in Syria, just an observation.
Especially when the US sites that there have been ongoing attacks for the past
couple of years but only now is it a major issue.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:45 a.m.
yamanote
RECOMMENDED
12
Maui
Great job by the NSA to allow a junior contractor employee get access to the
most covered inner secrets. Should have spent some of those billions on basic
operational security.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:45 a.m.
CassidyGT
RECOMMENDED
4
York, PA
Absolute power corrupts absolutely. I don't care how much oversight goes on.
History teaches this very powerful lesson and we would do well to heed it.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:45 a.m.
checkengine
RECOMMENDED
12
hanover
It is interesting to read so many comments that roundly condemn the
government under aliases (when there are any) that are so transparent that
Radio Shack rejects could figure them out. Whatever else the NSA has done, it
does not seem to have stifled dissent.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:45 a.m.
JerseyJeff
RECOMMENDED
2
New Jersey
You can think what you like, but to me this sounds like the NSA is doing what I
would expect in the signals intelligence battle between encryption and code
breaking and it sounds like the US could be doing an AMAZING job at it and
currently is holding the upper-hand in code breaking.
I actually think this release of information is a shame and a disservice to US
security and intelligence capabilities. I'm confident you can be quite sure our
rivals and enemies have similar methods or using whatever unknown edge
they have created.
I actually feel a bit of pride in our signals intelligence community for getting
such an edge, but we unfortunately can't be sure of the advantage the NSA
might have because we only have exploited leaks from the United States.
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It's a shame our human intelligence capabilities haven't been as stealthy or
effective as our signal intelligence, but that is probably the result of asking the
CIA to go from a intelligence to paramilitary focus.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:35 a.m.
Pimil
RECOMMENDED
2
John
The NSA has exposed the US to considerable danger by compromising
encryption software. Corporations in the US rely on encryption to protect
financial transactions and intellectual property. Critical infrastructure in the
US relies on encryption for protection. By introducing backdoors into
encryption software, the NSA opens the door for foreign governments or
motivated hackers to attack these communications.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:35 a.m.
Dman
RECOMMENDED
14
wcil
This is spun as the NSA looking for terrorists. I just got one question. How
many terrorist use bank accounts, emails, and cell phones to plot against the
USA? Sure that's why we are getting spied on.
Or is it so when all hell breaks lose in this country like say a 21st century
revolution, they will have access to every form of communication available
plus your bank account and your satellite link automobile also.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:35 a.m.
Bill Pieper
RECOMMENDED
12
Taiwan
"So the real question now before Congress recurs: how is it possible that the
peace-loving citizens of America, facing no industrial-scale military threat
from anywhere on the planet, find themselves in a constant state of war? The
answer is that they have been betrayed by the beltway political class which is
in thrall to a vast warfare state apparatus that endlessly invents specious
reasons for meddling, spying, intervention and occupation." - David Stockman
(9/4/2013 lewrockwell.com)
All these agencies need to be broken up and defunded. But that will never
happen, at least not until enough Americans demand it. The last person to
seriously consider this was JFK. I guess he learned his lesson.
Not only are they creating the "turnkey tyranny" Edward Snowden warned
about, but they, or individuals in these organizations, are front running
markets with the ultimate insider information illegally taken from emails and
other communications that were previously assumed to be safe because they
were encrypted.
How can anyone that is not within the grasp of this sociopathic "national
security" culture justify anything they are doing? This, and everything else
they do, has nothing to do with real security, certainly not security for most
Americans. They do not work for most Americans, as Mr. Stockman stated,
they work for the beltway political class and the vast warfare state. This must
end.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:35 a.m.
Steve
RECOMMENDED
12
Western Massachusetts
These revelations bother me. Not on a personal level - I'm not doing anything
to attract the attention of the NSA. But this idea that the U.S. has the moral
authority to break into anybody's private communications for our "national
security" is wrong and damaging to our country in the long run. We might
think we're holier than the all the other people on the planet, but they have
just as good a rationale to believe they are the holiest.
What would happen if we spent billions and put the smartest minds to work to
resolve conflicts rather pursue policies that create adversaries?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:35 a.m.
Jackson Squire
RECOMMENDED
6
Louisiana
This is an example of a government agency actually being competent in their
jobs when there's been a longstanding showcase of government ineptitude.
Well, they're not only competent they excel in it. It's sad that it has to be
something like this that shows it.
It makes me sad to see people here who think the public knowledge of this is
somehow bad for national security. Screw national security. I'd rather be
disintegrated in a nuclear bomb blast by terrorists than have my rights
violated by my own government. People who think we should have to trade
our rights for security are cowards, and if they're American they're a disgrace
to this country and its ideals.
We have a problem where today everyone has encrypted data, and eventually
if in-progress standards are adopted everything we do online will be
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encrypted. We, the people, will have to demand our representation lend us
their ears. There needs to be public hearings on this NOW or we start
demanding impeachments by petition. To hell with Syria, we have our own
problems to sort. Leave Syria to the UN.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:35 a.m.
hdb
RECOMMENDED
7
Tennessee
Not so sure about the competence since Snowden was able to take so
much data. And these capabilities didn't prevent the Boston bombing.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:33 a.m.
ed g
RECOMMENDED
1
Warwick, NY
"War is Peace." "Freedom is Slavery" "Ignorance is Strength" are the
summation of "1984" by George Orwell.
1984 would be recommended reading to learn where we are headed except we
have already, passed there. Reality is always more imaginative than fiction.
George would be delighted.
As stated for the last several years by this poster, it matters not who are elected
because in the end they do as they are told. And the tellers are the military
component of the industrial-military complex Ike mentioned as he exited the
White House. The rationale for war (i.e. the script, message,) disguised as it
can best be done is always wrapped in the flag, motherhood, apple pie and
G-d. But despite the American human fodder whose lives are sacrificed, war
never works. In the end war destroys the fragile democracy we want to believe
still exists.
It doesn't exist and never did.
The 1%-ers of the 1790's completed the power and control switch from George
the 3rd and put the white male slave and land owners nominally in charge. As
with the dinosaurs of the distant past, the little financial and wealth
manipulator mammals on the developing shadows of Wall Street came into
their own, mostly because of their support of wars to control wealth and
resources and not democracy.
There are in the minds of many justifiable wars. There are none although
WWII surely came close. But WWII was the result of WWI aka as the The War
to End All Wars.
Do we follow Jesus, Buddha, Gandhi or Big Brother?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:35 a.m.
BrianL
RECOMMENDED
3
Toronto, Canada
While decryption goes back to almost the beginning of written
communications, we created a new relationship between society, individuals
and government not previously in place and the past does not justify the
present situation. The basis of the Constitution was to give the Federal very
limited authority and powers and if the powers not given to it, then they were
reserved to the States and people. According to the Supreme Court and the
Constitution not all reserved rights were enumerated in the Bill of Rights and
one of them was the right to privacy and freedom from government intrusion;
a logical extension of due process. If government wants to intrude, it must give
notice, provide due process and allow the citizen an opportunity to contest the
intrusion. There is NO authority or justification to violate this mandate,
especially as it was a precondition to the States and people to agreeing to the
creation of the Federal government.
The government must get back to a balance between security and individuals'
rights and freedoms. This includes the public's right to know, not to mislead
those with oversight or those it serves, the citizenry, and adhere to the spirit
and letter of the Constitution, the contract between the people, the States and
the Federal government.
It is one thing to keep silent as to a matter and another to mislead and lie; the
former may be acceptable while the latter, never.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:35 a.m.
steve hunter
RECOMMENDED
2
seattle
The NSA spying on not only it own but also the entire world, the relentless
pursuit of Assange and Snowden, the torture and prosecution of Manning,
drone attacks and now the proposed invasion of Syria. I voted for Obama twice
but I'm beginning to wonder if he has become so paranoid that he looks under
the bed each night.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:35 a.m.
Tony Z
RECOMMENDED
6
New York, NY
Perhaps, but why do you think Obama or any president for that matter
controls what the NSA does?
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Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:04 p.m.
rena
brooklyn, ny
As with phone and social security numbers, mailing and email addresses that
are obtained, shared and sold without the owners' permission it is inevitable
that our more detailed personal and private information gathered by the NSA
will follow the same course. Someone will make money circulating and
distributing that info for profits.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:35 a.m.
Patrick
RECOMMENDED
2
Long Island NY
I would venture to say, this is why the Syria Hysteria is occurring, because this
disclosure and others regarding wrongdoing by our government would have
enraged the American public. The Syria Hysteria is probably a diversion away
from internal discord. There was no outrage over the Egyptian massacres of
roughly equal numbers of people, and no contrition from our leaders for their
invasion of our privacy. I'm grateful for this article. Thank you.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:35 a.m.
Patrick
RECOMMENDED
8
Long Island NY
This is why I love America. Because I can write this in freedom knowing
everyone besides the government will read it too. At least we still have
the freedom of discontent. Thanks NYTimes.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:08 p.m.
Jack Meoph
santa barbara, ca
The more information released, the more Snowden looks like a patriot. The
NSA, and the rest of the US intelligence community, is out of control. Nothing
you put on the internet is safe. Whatever accounts you have, close them. Do
not use "the cloud" to store any information. The US government has taken a
means to enlighten the entire world, and turned it into an ugly, sinister form
of control and deceit.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:32 a.m.
PacRim Jim
RECOMMENDED
15
USA
I would be quite surprised if quantum computers more advanced than those
commercially available weren't in use at the NSA.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:32 a.m.
Someone
RECOMMENDED
1
Northeast
Damn, I'm impressed! And glad they're on it because I do believe the race is
on, and we'll be very vulnerable if we're not doing this. All the same, this
seems like a good argument against electronic medical records and having any
kind of important or personal information communicated via the internet or
stored on a computer.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:32 a.m.
RECOMMENDED
Marc S. Lawrence
2
Chicago, IL
I guess you'll be canceling your Internet service, then?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:45 p.m.
jerryacoleman
Virginia
On one hand, it is easy to be indignant and outraged, but no one should be
surprised about this.
In fact, this kind of think has been alleged for years. We just now have
confirmation.
http://blogs.techworld.com/war-on-error/2010/12/the-openbsdback-door-is...
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:32 a.m.
Leopold
RECOMMENDED
2
Reston, VA,
I always assumed, and it is widely known, that NSA can break any encryption.
The fact that the spy agency deliberately and extra-constitutionally subverted
computer security standards after failing the push through its ill-conceived
Clipper chip in the 1990s is chilling. As the article states, this is the Golden Age
for spying, and the end of constitutional democracy unless we resist this attack
on privacy and the subversion of the 4th amendment. Thanks to the Times for
exposing this shocking abuse of power.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:32 a.m.
the doctor
RECOMMENDED
6
allentown, pa
How far does this go? Snowden's treasure confirmed that the phone
companies are working side-by-side with NSA officials in spying on us. Here
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we have confirmation that the NSA is working with unnamed technology
companies to provide backdoor entry points into their encryption products...
How many more unholy alliances are out there between the government and
publicly-traded communication and software firms?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:32 a.m.
richard schumacher
RECOMMENDED
2
united states
It's a pity that the Three Letter Acronym services (TLAs) will not share what
they know with regulators and law enforcement to solve ordinary crimes.
Reducing corruption, corporate crime and organized crime would be
significant even if only partial compensation for the universal loss of privacy.
There are no secrets in a village. Welcome to the global village.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:32 a.m.
TB
NY
As disturbing as it is to consider the government having the ability to
compromise security, if they have this ability wouldn't others, too? That's at
least as disturbing. And that includes other sovereign powers, insurance
companies and other business and organized crime. When the government
thinks it has created private back doors into the data they are delusional to
think they will stay private forever.
Twenty years ago the idea of listening to every communication wasn't possible
and wasn't necessary. Why is it more necessary now just because it's more
possible?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:32 a.m.
DupedCitizen
RECOMMENDED
1
USA
I have servied my country (USA) in the miliatry and the civilian agencies all
my life. I have paid my taxes and contributed to this society and economy in
significant ways. And this is what I get in return?
I now have NO trust in the US government. It is too big and too powerful.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:32 a.m.
Paul
RECOMMENDED
2
North Carolina
Eric Blair (a/k/a George Orwell) was an absolute genius. That he so clearly
and accurately foresaw the future from the perspective of the 1940s is
incredible. It's already trite to say that our world has become "Orwellian," but
articles like this take the triteness out of it and shine a spotlight on the biting,
horrible truth. I've spent a lot of effort getting myself removed from Google
searches. Now I find that my efforts hardly hit even the tip of the iceberg if my
financial and medical records are accessible by the U.S. government. What
guarantee do I have that there's not another leaker in the government who's
willing to sell prospective or current employees' medical and financial records
to employers? To landlords? And so forth. Stores have known about our
buying habits and interests for years---another "1984" scenario. Taken
together with the cruel, destructive politics of the tea party Republicans,
American society has truly become an Orwellian, Darwinian hell.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:32 a.m.
Terry
RECOMMENDED
5
Nevada
The truth is that many with power and authority abuse it, often for what to
them seem like a good reasons, sometimes for clearly inappropriate reasons.
There is likely little qualitative difference between the scruples of those
working for the NSA and other public officials. We all know that many public
officials abuse their authority on a daily basis. Why should we assume NSA
employees would be different? They may well be worse.
When there is no effective oversight abuse is more likely and more extreme.
So the NSA's ability to bypass or break encryption is probably already being
used for improper purposes. In divorces, custody battles, for extortion or other
criminal purposes. By those who have legitimate access to this capability and
by those to whom it is supposedly barred but who have gained access through
"connections."
The erosion of freedom begins at the margins and works toward the center.
Yes, most Americans today have little to fear from this sort of technology.
That's the logic officials are trying to use to placate public concern. "We're not
reading your email." But that's a false comfort. History is replete with
examples of where that changed over time.
We need a robust intelligence program to protect our freedoms from overt
attack from without. But along with that we need a much more robust system
of oversight to limit the damage to our civil liberties that results when this sort
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of power and authority is used to attack our freedoms from within.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:44 a.m.
nikip
RECOMMENDED
76
Atlanta, GA
So not too long ago, the US government said that no one in the US should buy
networking equipment from Chinese companies because it might contain
secret spyware that would send confidential information the Chinese. Now
we're learning that networking equipment from US companies contains secret
spyware that sends confidential information to the US government. And one of
these countries is allegedly a totalitarian dictatorship and the other is allegedly
a free democracy? Does anyone know which is which?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:43 a.m.
DaveAgain
RECOMMENDED
22
Oregon
"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary
Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." - Benj. Franklin
We're well beyond that point now, and people are still arguing as if we're just
approaching it up ahead. The Forefathers would be absolutely shocked at the
extent to which the governments have intruded, with us sitting obediently by.
Can't wait to see what's next, and hear the complicit complain about it.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:43 a.m.
Citizen
RECOMMENDED
5
Texas
I was born in 1949. Harry Truman was President of the Untied States. That
fact didn't mean anything to me until much later when I could read and study
the history of the United States. What I have learned is thus: Harry Truman
was the last decent president this country has ever had. I'm convinced he was,
before, first and for most, he never wanted the job in the first place.. From
Truman on, it's been a steady decline to what we have today; basically nothing
at all. We are being lied to, spied on, and losing freedoms and rights on a daily
basis, regardless of which political party is in office. Big money speaks louder
than votes. We have become the laughing stock of the world....we rename
French Fries Freedom Fries. Only very troubled peopled would even bother to
come up with that definition, let alone make the change. We have become a
shadow of what we were in the past. We have no leadership. We have no goals.
We have no aspirations. We are a lost generation in search of an identity, a
life, a reason to be here. Perhaps, it's time for us to step aside. We've shot our
bolt. We have nothing left to offer.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:43 a.m.
DavGreg
RECOMMENDED
13
Marion, AR
What this details is an agency out of control that willfully went against the will
of the American people, the guidelines of Congress and the President, the laws
in effect by an agency cloaked in secrecy and given an almost open ended
budget. The do needs to be taught the meaning of heel, and suffer a house
cleaning which should include formal censure, prosecution, withdrawal of
security clearance and a lifetime ban from involvement in intelligence
operations.
As one who once held a security clearance during my military service I
understand the need for an organization like the NSA, but I also understand
the extreme danger an almost unaccountable spy agency, cloaked in secrecy,
presents to democracy. The hubris and cavalier attitude toward the rights of
citizens to privacy is disturbing and disgusting. We owe a debt of gratitude to
Ed Snowden. We also need to haul the lying General (NSA Director Alexander)
who has violated his oath of commission, the US Constitution and perjured
himself in a public Congressional hearing to account and for a Court Martial.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:43 a.m.
Tim Miltz
RECOMMENDED
7
PA
I think it's time we stopped being concerned with national security
And started being more concerned with international security.
The NSA is a private interests group but to one nation, and cares not about the
damage it has done to world governments around the world who do use
Microsoft.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:43 a.m.
bigducklings
New Zealand
Now it all makes sense when people were making noises about danger of using
Chinese manufactured telecommunication hardware a while ago in Australia
and US.
At the time I thought it was just paranoia mixed with a bit of xenophobia. Of
course it isn't: NSA and its ilk tapped into communications exploiting the
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vulnerabilities in US manufactured hardware for quite a while, so naturally the
Chinese can do exactly the same thing to Chinese hardware, and therefore it is
not safe to use Chinese manufactured hardware.
Now I think it is safe to say hardware manufactured in US OR China is not
secured, period.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:43 a.m.
Voltaire
RECOMMENDED
4
East of Seoul
Intelligence community is in issue all over the world. National Intelligence
Service (Korean CIA) has upstaged NSA in this game. It flouted the
constitution and body politic of the country in muckraking designed to arouse
a red scare toward last presidential election, aggressively involved in smearing
of the opposition. I wonder how many of the posters here are intelligence
details. There are many on Korean websites. They at least were campaigning
for the conservative candidate. I doubt they are not.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:43 a.m.
RG
upstate NY
If nothing else, recent massive disclosures make it absolutely clear that the
Government cannot keep secrets. Can we trust the government and every
member of its vast army of poorly vetted information specialists not to sell the
information they collect to the highest bidder or get hacked in turn?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:43 a.m.
Dave
RECOMMENDED
1
Mineapolis
I am not surprised, but as they say, build a 100 foot wall, and someone will
build a 101 foot fence. I can easilly see a return to a much more simplier form
of communication, with hidden meanings inserted into normal text. Example:
"it's raining", or "the dog is sick" could be code for somethimg else.
At the heart of it all lies the human side. We've already seen what can happen
when one individual decides to go public. It's bound to happen again. What
will be revealed next time, or to whom, is anybody's guess.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:43 a.m.
Keith Henson
somewhere
I happen to be a hardware engineer and tend to think in terms of hardware
solutions. There is a kind of encryption that NSA should not be able to break
no matter how long they work on it, a onetime pad. They are used for
diplomatic transmissions. The problem is that the key material is the same size
as the transmitted messages.
With 64 GB memory sticks for $20, the media isn't that expensive. What is
needed is a device that generates random numbers, from a noise source, or
better, radioactive decay and writes the numbers to a pair (or more) of USB
sticks. So when you open an account with a stockbroker, they make a pair of
these sticks right in front of you. Later sticks need to be a special design that
erases after being read out. That prevents black bag jobs from being effective,
and it makes sure that messages NSA saves can't be read out by grabbing one
or the other of the two sticks. The sticks should have random visual patterns
used on warheads that can't be duplicated. That prevents the stick from being
intercepted, copied and the copy sent instead. If you get one through the mail,
you take a picture of the patern and send it back to the originator
To get started ordinary memory sticks could be used with a program in the
computer that erases the used part.
I could design this gadget, but I have other fish to fry and no need to have NAS
on my case. Perhaps it will be done open source or Phil Zimmerman might
commission it being made (in China of course).
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:43 a.m.
RECOMMENDED
Animedude5555
1
at my computer
Sorry but you can't wipe a flash drive. Successive writes are not done to
the same spot. A microcontroller in the device causes different parts to
be written to, and remembers where it is using another memory chip.
So if I write the value 0xff to the address 0x0f134a80 and then I write
the value 0x00 to the same address, it will actually write it to another
bank of memory leaving the first bank exactly as it was, then another
memory chip stores the remapping info so it knows when reading it
how to find the correct info for that address. Only after 100 or so writes
does it reuse the same exact memory point. So a 4GB flash drive has
like 400 GB of memory, but only any 4GB are accessible at a given type.
This is done to preserve the life of the device. Flash drives are read by
applying a voltage to a transistor, and written by applying a higher
voltage. It has memory electrically in the same way that a copper wire
bends mechanically. If you bend the wire to far it will stick in that new
position. However if you repeatedly bend the wire at the same spot
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repeatedly, it will eventually break. Same thing with the flash memory.
Eventually a transistor overused with write operations will burn out.
In terms of security, this means it is VERY hard to overwrite the same
memory location. When you write random data to the area you want to
erase it doesn't go to the same location on the chip as the first write
operation, so the data is NOT overwritten, and CAN be retrieved later
by spies!
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:35 a.m.
Keith Lewis
RECOMMENDED
1
Atlanta, GA
The debate here should not be about what capabilities the US government has,
but how it uses them. I honestly don't want to know about the NSA's
capabilities, as long they are not being grossly abused.
A good corollary to the NSA is the US military. The armed forces have all kinds
of weapons and technologies that could be used to coerce and kill American
citizens. Drones could be used to hunt down political dissidents in our
country, and poison gas could be used to suppress political uprisings.
However, the US military does not use their weapons like this, and most
citizens understand that a strong military armed with these weapons is
actually in their best interest because it keeps our country safe.
What I do have a problem with is one individual who self appoints himself to
be "protector of the world." One man should never disclose this kind of
powerful information on his own inclination, for the exact same reasons that
no one man ever has all the keys in the nuclear missile silo. There are too
many ramifications, both good band bad, that need to be weighed in this kind
of disclosure.
I understand that people are concerned about their privacy, but releasing this
kind of information may have unintended consequences that Mr. Snowden
does not fully appreciate or understand. Maybe the Iranians will switch their
encryption algorithm after reading this article, and then we will be in the dark
on their nuclear program until a bomb hits one of our cities.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:43 a.m.
gomez
bronx, ny
I don't know which one blows me away: the vastness of the actual control and
power our military/corporate government has and exercise over each one of
us, or the depth of the ignorance of our citizens to understand the implications
of this article.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:43 a.m.
knockainey
RECOMMENDED
6
Ottawa Canada
In my case - the ignorance. However my generation are not so good at
this encryption(?) and most of us don't care if you read our mail.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:04 a.m.
wisconsin
rhode island
Our government is at it again. When weapons become obsolete we will simply
transfer the billions we spend on them to cyber "wars" equipment. And these,
like real wars, will be unwinnable also, because everyone has now and will
have the technology for it. Does the government think we didn't suspect they
were spying on us already? When I want to speak confidentially to someone
the last place I do it is on the internet, ever since it's creation I always assumed
it was an unsafe place and now we see how unsafe it is. And I'm just a private
citizen. Other governments no doubt have this technology and are doing the
same thing. Does our government just assume that no one, including our
enemies, is taking precautions to guard against agencies like the NSA.? What
will be hilarious, although we'll probably never be told of it, is when the NSA is
hacked. That will no doubt happen too happen too.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:43 a.m.
Keith Henson
somewhere
There are federal laws that require certain classes of information such as
health records and financial records to be kept secret. Communication with
doctors and stockbrokers was supposed to be safe with secure sockets layer.
Now we find that NSA has broken the encryption and presumably reads their
contents.
Doctors, patients, banks, stockbrokers and their customers are not going to be
happy about this. They can't use encryption to protect those records in good
faith knowing what has come out and that NSA reads it all.
In fact, the lot of them are now open to being sued if they continue to use these
broken encryption methods.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:43 a.m.
RECOMMENDED
1
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Richard S. Wheeler
Livingston, MT
The pervasive surveillance state will drive the American people underground.
Transactions will be in cash or gold or barter. People will communicate by
means less vulnerable to snooping. I am reminded of Italy in times past, when
a large part of its gross domestic product was off the books because of
bureaucratic excess.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:43 a.m.
CS
RECOMMENDED
3
MN
I understand that since 2001 everyone from the President on down in the
intelligence, defense, and law enforcement communities have been terrified
that another attack of the 9/11 scale would occur on their watch. I understand
that the motive that got this ball rolling was to avoid being blamed for a
second failure. Fine.
However, once this ball was rolling, the point became thoroughness for the
sake of thoroughness. That meant knowing absolutely everything about
absolutely everyone -- and I don't use the word "absolutely" lightly here.
Once you have data, the temptation to use it will eventually overwhelm any
motives of restraint or legality. And succumbing to temptation could lead to
either top policy-makers or rogue individuals to use it for purposes other than
terrorism prevention.
It is easy to imagine this data being used to blackmail officials in other
governments to gain compliance with U.S. government wishes.
Further, it is easy to imagine a smear campaign of leaked information being
waged by a rogue individual or even high-level officials (as under Nixon) to
discredit activists or opposition candidates.
If not for Snowden, we would wonder how someone managed to supply the
NYTimes or FoxNews (depending on party in power) with damning emails
revealing the private foibles of influential public figures and opposition
candidates.
We are not all criminals, but we have all said something embarrassing in (what
we thought was) private. We now know the NSA knows.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:43 a.m.
Nancy
RECOMMENDED
2
Great Neck
Thank you New York Times and Guardian and ProPublica. This is what
courageous and profoundly important journalism is all about.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 1:16 a.m.
Max
RECOMMENDED
48
Dana Point, CA
I'm pleased we have such really smart people on our side and working in a
well-funded environment. If we weren't at the forefront of decryption and
code-busting some other nation would be. For all the NSA's faults I'd prefer
them to be the leaders in this field rather than our competitors and enemies.
The digital domain is a fallen world - nothing will change that, and in such a
fallen world it's eat or be eaten.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 12:53 a.m.
Castanea Sativa
RECOMMENDED
5
USA
The NSA employs many thousands of people, quite a few participated in this
encryption cracking business (or were aware of it) and nothing ever truly
transpired before this Snowden business. This is incredible. Very high caliber
IT specialists and top notch mathematicians. High flying intellectuals them all.
And somehow they kept quiet. What extraordinary methods does the NSA use
to ensure this level of loyalty from its employees?
And in the end a relatively low level employee who knew about all this (how?)
told the truth (or more likely just a part of it). Human nature is even more
complicated than I thought. I am sure that many HR managers (among many
others such types) would love to know how the NSA proceeds.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 12:53 a.m.
DaveAgain
RECOMMENDED
3
Oregon
Coercion, arm-twisting, threats of lawsuits and jail-time, maybe even
"the death penalty"? All the things it is immune to, and many of which
if a citizen were to make the same kinds of threats, would lead to jail
time for the citizen. It's not loyalty, but fear of the consequences, and
the tying of ability to earn a livelihood with oaths of secrecy, no matter
how wrong they may seem or in fact be. It happens to some extent in
the civilian world too.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:43 a.m.
RECOMMENDED
1
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Leisureguy
Monterey CA
Considering what they know, I assume they kept quiet because they
knew all their communications were being closely monitored: the
panopticon, when even if no one's looking, you can never be sure. And
Snowden pretty much accepted that his life would be ruined if he
revealed anything, so he might as well reveal everything.
Of course, some of those may have indeed raised an alarm, but they
went through channels, as President Obama said they should. And we
never heard a thing, did we? (Or do you really believe that in all those
thousands, none raised an alarm?)
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:32 a.m.
Animedude5555
RECOMMENDED
1
at my computer
Not everyone was so loyal or afraid of the consequences. Snowden
leaked it all.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:33 a.m.
Red
Uptown, NY
I still find it weird that Edward Snowden provided these documents in the
name of "freedom" but now resides in the homophobic, big-brother-watching,
Assad-backing state of Russia.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 12:53 a.m.
RECOMMENDED
9
READ ALL 6 REPLIES
Marc S. Lawrence
Chicago, IL
Ironic it is.
But what other options do you think Snowden has, beyond prison in
the United States?
Meanwhile, Intelligence Chief James Klapper lied to Congress, and we
hear the sound of crickets.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:11 p.m.
klm
RECOMMENDED
1
atlanta
It's not like Snowden had a choice. You can bet if he returned to the
U.S., he would disappear into someplace like Guantanamo. I'm grateful
to him and I hope our government never gets its hands on him.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:47 p.m.
Citizen
Texas
Well Red, it beats staying here and being tortured, and of course he
would have gotten a really fair trial. We'll all thank him someday, if
we're all around long enough to do it.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:10 p.m.
Ed Bradford
Pflugerville,Texas
Can any ol' terrorist just write a plain text note to his friend, encrypt it on his
computer using PGP technology and then just send it to his friend as an
attachment? Will the NSA be able to discover what is inside such a bundle if
the author chose a 25 word complicated password? Just wondering.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 12:53 a.m.
Animedude5555
RECOMMENDED
1
at my computer
No they won't. It will take a length of time equal to trillions of trillions
of times the current age of the universe to crack it.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:45 a.m.
Gary
New York, NY
Maybe the NY Times can assign David Pogue to author a special series on data
encryption for the layman, to reconsider all of these generalities into specific
details that would more usefully inform the general public. I for one found this
article riddled with ambiguous statements and generalities that create more
questions than answer them.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 12:53 a.m.
Geoffrey James
RECOMMENDED
6
toronto, canada
The phrase that springs to mind is "all-spectrum dominance." This is what the
US wants -- spending as much as the rest of the industrial world on arms -and now trying to know everything and to leave no secret untapped, But the
problem is that the appetite for power and control does not abate. The security
apparatus in America is huge and opportunistic, militaristic in nature, but
deeply embedded in the mossier side of corporate capitalism. Patriotism is
invoked, but there is money to be made here, and lots of it. Ed Snowden, of
course, worked for Booz Allen Hamilton. Booz Allen Hamilton is
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majority-owned by the Carlyle Group and made more than $5 billion last year.
The dream of having access to everything has its dark side, and also its pitfalls
-- witness the remarkable courage and resourcefulness of one rather low-level
Booz Allen Hamilton employee. I take my hat off to him, and to the Times and
to the Guardian. I suspect that there is a lot more we need to know.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 12:53 a.m.
Peter Sisson
RECOMMENDED
26
New York, NY
For goodness sake, the government really doesn't care that you visited a porn
site or have a terminal health condition. Get over yourselves. You are not that
interesting to the NSA. What is important is that we give our government the
tools to protect us from attacks, which they've done perfectly since Sept 11.
Only when plots go undetected and people start dying will people realize what
Snowden has done. I was marginally supportive of his efforts, but now he has
crossed the line. This will drive terrorists completely underground and we'll
know nothing of their plans until after the bomb explodes and people die. I've
done a 180 on Snowden as a result of this. He's an enemy of the state and we
need to bring him to justice.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 12:53 a.m.
RECOMMENDED
8
READ ALL 7 REPLIES
Dead Meat
Anytown, USA
Do the words "sycophant" or "totalitarian" mean anything to you? I
hope someone will still be around to defend you from the camps after
you've stood around and expressed your approval when all of the other
"enemies of the state" were loaded into boxcars and shuttled off to
re-education camps. This is how it begins: the systematic labeling as an
enemy of one group after another that dares to speak up. We may not
be "that interesting" right now, but do you really believe that they've
made it possible to access every stitch of information about every
individual if they don't eventually plan on using it? You will become
"interesting" when your ideals diverge from the ideals of the state. Then
all of that uninteresting information they've been keeping about you
will come in very, very handy. Keep whistling jolly tunes, stooge, and
hope that nothing you do arouses suspicion in your friends, neighbors
or the state. And for God's sake, please hope that someone who is
willing to stand up sees that moment when you are whisked off of the
street and into the back of that van where you will be transported to a
lonesome, damp place and coerced into confessing each and every
crime they want you to confess to....
Sept. 6, 2013 at 10:12 a.m.
David Salazar
RECOMMENDED
1
Los Angeles
Ok, but if you visit a PETA site or maybe Al-Jazerra English site, the
government would be interested. What about the future when a
government decides what is a terrorist organization such as they had
done once with the African National Congress. In a democracy Peter,
the people are suppose to be able to decide what level of surveillance
THEIR government is allowed to have over them and by a proper
judicial review. Your statements about plots going undetected and
people start dying have been used by the Stasi, KGB, and any other
secret agency in that government.
Where do you draw the line Peter? Please enlighten the readers.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:24 p.m.
klm
RECOMMENDED
1
atlanta
Yup. The government prevented the Boston Marathon bombings,
various school shootings, and so on. I feel so safe now.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:06 p.m.
ProAmericanVet
Athens, GA
Unfortunately this is the end of freedom of speech and freedom of thought. As
citizens we have already abdicated freedom to protest (another thread some
other time) without being put on the FBI, NSA, CIA, etc. watch lists. The 2nd
Amendment is the last true right but it was there to protect us from
overreaching tyrannical governments. However, so many other circumventing
laws have been passed in that regard that the 2nd amendment is useless.
The progression of losing our freedoms has been ongoing for decades. The
Clintons and Bush's effectively sped up the process and using 9/11 as an
excuse we have killed the light that is America.
We are truly an Empire with an Emperor who expects blank checks for war at
his discretion. Sad, but we need as Americans to come to term with this and
support the reality that the Grand Experiment is gone and now we are just a
Grand Empire.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 12:53 a.m.
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DaveAgain
Oregon
Good to know at least a few people feel the exact same way. Now it's
just a matter of convincing all the partisan-lovers, and there's a lot of
them. Been trying to convince folks of this for decades without success.
I guess you either see it or you never will because it's a threat to core
beliefs which many are not willing to face.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:04 a.m.
w.corey
Massachusetts
The reality of it is there are now an unknown number of sleeper AQ cells in
this country. As long as our "enemies" hold life less dear than we, as a society
do, they have a huge trump card, they aren't afraid to die. So long as there are
agencies whose purpose is to protect US Citizens, they have to also have the
ability to look at other's in this country. We're no longer protected by oceans.
Clearly snowden has gotten his 15 mins of (in)fame. That does not mean
everything out of his mouth is gospel. Just as there are those that say "Stop
talking about SEAL team 6", we, which is the say the media, must stop talking
about the NSA. In both cases their success is because they work and use
methods which are secret.
So let's all get over there is a collection, by phone number, of to what other
phone number at what time and for how long a connection was made (nothing
more than the phone company has. Keep in mind to, all those photos you
upload to Facebook, they get run through facial recognition too.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 12:53 a.m.
jelia
RECOMMENDED
3
USA
The biggest sleepers, it seems to me, are the American public.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:55 p.m.
Retired Law Prof.
RECOMMENDED
1
Minn.
Are all the commenters here who so bitterly rail against what the government
is doing in this area, prepared to answer the following simple question? Is the
present Administration (incl. the President) responsible for the continuation
of these activities and practices? If you are not able to give a "yes" or "no"
answer to this question, then for the sake of your intellectual honesty you
should keep quiet on this subject.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 12:53 a.m.
DaveAgain
RECOMMENDED
1
Oregon
I have another question, professor. Under which branch of the
government do the NSA and CIA fall? The Executive, Legislative, or
Judicial? Whichever one it is (I somehow don't think it's Congress or
the Courts), that is the branch responsible for not only the continued
practices, but the fast-expanding ones. These have taken place under
both Republican as well a Democratic presidents.
Stifling freedom of speech, or suggesting that people keep quiet on the
subject if doing no one but the government any favors.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:32 a.m.
Here we go
RECOMMENDED
1
Georgia
what, pray tell, is "intellectual honesty"? Is it different than "honesty"?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:24 p.m.
JJGalacki
RECOMMENDED
1
Los Angeles
I am often disheartened by how many people are so willing to throw away their
freedom and the vital 4th Amendment for "security". So many of the letters
here take the NYT to task for printing this article, as they prefer the proverbial
head in the sand approach. It reminds me of the title and thesis of German
social psychologist Erich Fromm's book "Escape from Freedom" wherein he
theorizes on why human beings are so drawn to totalitarian governments. I
would posit that the exponential growth of the national security state is a far
greater threat to the USA than any individual Al Qaeda attack. Of course, that
assumes that one considers democracy to be a vital component and reason the
USA exists. While I have long been disenchanted with Republicans, Obama's
institutionalization of Bush's security policies, his persecution of whistle
blowers, etc. and the national Democratic party's overall approval or at least
quiet acceptance of such policies, I see no alternative, no viable protector of
liberty in our political system. If it hadn't been for a few individuals of
conscience like Snowden (and for that matter Manning too, even though her
example is fraught with complications that obscure her essential and profound
morality) That leaves only The People to raise a fuss... though from the
security first dissenters, that's not to be expected? Unless of course they aren't
all real and are NSA plants - we're in a world where what did sound paranoid
suddenly becomes plausible.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 12:53 a.m.
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GjD
Vancouver
I have zero faith that the application of these products will be limited to
terrorists. Today's NSA toys will tomorrow be used by "Sheriff Bob" and
"Prosecutor Ray" to hack into attorney-client communications involving
simple domestic crimes, or by divorce attorneys and their private investigators
to search out assets or vulnerabilities, and then by Google and Facebook
advertisers to review the contents of my hard drive in order to conveniently
send me more targeted advertising. I know a few people who refuse to use a
computer. At one time I believed they were wackos. Now, I am not so sure.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 12:53 a.m.
jenniferlila
RECOMMENDED
38
los angeles
I am buoyed by the intelligence of NYTimes readers. If it weren't for
commenters such as GjD, and his/her assessment that the "application
of NSA surveillance tools will not be limited to looking for terrorists,
but will be harnessed by Sheriff Bob and Prosecutor Ray to hack into
attorney -client communications involving the most minor of crimes...
Well I would be in a deeper state of despair.
Thank you NYTimes for the hard work and courage to keep these
stories on the front page, and thank you NYTimes commentators for
articulating your outrage.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:05 p.m.
Robert Remple
RECOMMENDED
3
San Francisco
The Allies were able to defeat Germany in World War II in large part because
they had cracked the Enigma code and could read many of the enemy's
communications. It also was critical that they convinced the Germans that
their Enigma code was safe, so they would continue using it. There is a lot of
fascinating history about how the British and American governments and
military protected their secret, namely, that they had cracked the German's
secret code.
The lesson to be learned, I think, is that our government should not
necessarily reveal the full extent of their capabilities in code breaking. I'm glad
there was no public discussion of the code breaking success at Bletchley Park
during WWII.
We are not in a World War now, of course, but many of the same principles
apply today.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 12:53 a.m.
CassidyGT
RECOMMENDED
2
York, PA
That may be so, but there existed a formal declaration of war which
allowed .gov to basically whatever it wants. That is why a declaration of
war can only be enacted by congress and has a formal ending. In this
case, we have no declaration and so GWOT can go on forever. Indeed, it
will go on forever.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:32 a.m.
Russ George
San Francisco
The most obvious and insidious opportunity for these "secret" agencies with
access to everyone's "private" communications and data is to engage in illegal
insider manipulations in the stock and financial markets. With such
information, even meta-data, they can at will choose to use their "insider"
knowledge to influence or manage financial transactions with enormous
returns at no risk.
Given the clearly blatant disregard for our system of law and order that is now
apparent, courtesy of heros like Snowden and Manning, I cannot imagine that
anyone thinks the insider knowledge is not being used to by these black
operators and their co-conspirators.
US courts have for decades repeatedly convicted and imprisoned people who
have made use of "insider" information in all manner of stock and financial
markets. An "insider" is clearly defined by the courts as being "anyone aware
of material non-public information" who engages in financial actions related
to said insider information.
Big Brother is not only watching he's utterly undermined and destroyed all
faith and confidence in our constitution and our so called democratic republic.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 12:53 a.m.
Patrick
RECOMMENDED
20
Long Island NY
I have nothing to hide, and I don't break the laws, however excessive they are,
but I would kill anyone who invaded my home. So now, the authorities invade
your home without breaking down the door. So who is the real enemy of our
nation?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 12:49 a.m.
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Ros
Nj
We all have things to hide, you are naive to think there is not
information that can be used against you by the government. You are a
human rights or environmental activist? You work for a political rival
or have a nasty divorce? Bet you there are many reasons for keeping
your private life all to yourself
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:57 p.m.
RichardHenryLee
SC
I think the one thing that we must all acknowledge, is that Edward Snowden
revealed that the American people are no longer in control of their
government.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 12:49 a.m.
Red
RECOMMENDED
48
Uptown, NY
People who think Snowden "revealed" things clearly weren't following
the Patriot Act.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 1:45 p.m.
michael sangree
connecticut
"The National Security Agency is winning its long-running secret war on
encryption!" Really? To me it sounds as if the privacy of ordinary users (eg,
most of us) is severely at risk, but surely not that of any competent criminal,
terrorist or rogue state. Brute force doesn't do a darn thing to 64-bit
encryption, not unless the target has taped the passwords to the side of his
monitor.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 12:49 a.m.
John Burke
RECOMMENDED
2
New York
" If [NSA] cannot decipher the messages of terrorists, foreign spies and other
adversaries, the United States will be at serious risk, agency officials say."
That is all the Times needs to know to stop its irresponsible collaboration with
the defector-fugitive Snowden and a foreign, leftist newspaper. Revealing
secrets about NSA's code-breaking capabilities goes far beyond any justifiable
journalistic inquiry into abuses. It's hardly an abuse for NSA to ensure it can
decrypt al Qaeda messages or those of any foreign target. Whether the
messages are encrypted using a traditional code or encrypted courtesy of
Yahoo or Google is irrelevant, if the target is legitimate. Indeed, it's absurd
even to imply that there is something wrong about NSA having this capability.
If the agency did not have it, it would be open to charges of massive
incompetence.
It should be obvious that the rise of al Qaeda -- a small, disciplined group in
Afghanistan or Yemen able to plan and mount or inspire attacks on Americans
inside the US and anywhere in the world -- coincided with the rise of internet
communications and cell phones. It would have been vastly more difficult for
KSM to have plotted 9/11 had he been obliged to rely solely on copperwire
phone systems, satellite-based calls, radio broadcasts and the mail. In any
case, communication by any of those means would have been easy to intercept
and a cinch to decrypt. But the 9/11 conspurators used Yahoo Mail, internet
chat rooms and cell phones.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 12:49 a.m.
D Mockracy
RECOMMENDED
3
Montana
No matter what drove Ed Snowden to his present position, one thing open for
discussion is the balance on the scales of national security and the
constitutional rights of our countries citizens. If a wide area capture of
information by our national intelligence agencies produced such a great wealth
of information on suspected terrorists why did the plot on the Boston
Marathon evade the security community even after the information provided
by the Russians?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 12:49 a.m.
John Burke
RECOMMENDED
8
New York
Because the FBI didn't thoroughly investigate the leads they had on the
Boston bombers. Had it done so, it might well have needed these NSA
capabilities to roll them up.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:43 p.m.
Jim
RECOMMENDED
1
Virginia
Not to belabor the point, but the sources used shape the story. They believe
that there are back doors and the story reflects that belief accurately. That all
these outsiders believe this does not make it right, however. So the story can
be accurate reporting and still wrong.
And that means that foreign encryption products are no safer than US
products - perhaps even less secure, for obvious reasons. If you don't need
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back doors to break in. But it's a comforting illusion.
Time to re-read the Enigma story.... no back doors there, and it was still
broken.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 12:49 a.m.
AMR
RECOMMENDED
3
Emeryville, CA
Is our species now so enthralled with itself that we pin our very survival on
constantly observing each other? Are we so foolishly self-centered that we will
permanently lose sight of all that is not our own creation? Of course we are all
afraid. Of course we would like to be safe and secure. But what became of
courage? Do we really think some secretive and war-addicted institution we
build will save us from ourselves?
Facebook and Twitter and Cell Phones and the rest allow us to send out our
precious information, and our drones and spy machines and secret agencies
retrieve and analyze it. But I wonder how different all this is from (other) apes
examining feces. Is there some great end that results from all of this
interconnection, some brave new species, some hybrid techno-homonid? Have
we already leaped across that chasm?
Are the great spy networks the large-scale equivalent of our body's immune
system? In their efforts to protect us, have they instead infected us with
auto-immune disease?
Or is the current spy craze just a modernr permutation of an old pattern of
reliance on a priesthood to handle the "real" information, to dispense
meaning, and to centralize power?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 12:49 a.m.
Sonny Pitchumani
RECOMMENDED
5
Manhattan, NY
Obama said today that the fact we can do certain things because of advance in
technology does not mean that we should do those things.
Looks like Obama became aware of what NSA is doing by reading the Times
and Guardian reports.
The danger is, what the NSA is capable of doing, other hackers are equally
competent to do, and our government may be subjecting itself to the same
vulnerabilities that the citizens are.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 12:49 a.m.
SteveBrant
RECOMMENDED
2
Los Angeles, CA
Our leaders are so smart they have come close to destroying the Constitution.
Don't they all take an oath when sworn into office to "preserve and protect" it?
Now, if they were *really* smart, they would use innovation and systems
thinking to eliminate the root cause of terrorism... not try to stop it so far
"downstream" of where it starts. Where is Buckminster Fuller when we need
him?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 12:49 a.m.
Siamak
RECOMMENDED
4
California
Well, it sounds like every American major Internet company is transformed to
an extension of the government spy agency. This is a text book definition of
the dictatorship.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 12:49 a.m.
michael
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new york city
I don't understand why this 'debate' hasn't focused on the fact that if Snowden
had this degree of access to secrets so do thousands of other functionaries in
the system--employees of government and also of private contractors. Of these
thousands many are sure to have been compromised; a proportion are
certainly spies, a proportion are certainly tipping off hedge funds and banks,
some are blackmailing or settling scores. etc. etc.
Snowden is unique not in the range of his access but in the quality of his
character and his conscience.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 12:49 a.m.
Matt
RECOMMENDED
11
NH
If the NSA were directing its efforts exclusively against foreign targets, then I
would be at the head of the cheering section. But this article and other recent
revelations have documented that this is not the case. Indeed, if a foreign
country were directing its efforts against American citizens in the United
States, we would consider it an egregious violation and take action against the
perpetrators. Unfortunately, it seems more accurate to say that the NSA has
declared war against American citizens.
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:53 p.m.
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Animedude5555
37
at my computer
Problem is so many foreign enemies are now in the US as sleeper
agents, waiting for the signal from overseas to strike. Only with a wide
net of info gathering is there even a CHANCE to intercept this "attack
signal" and stop the attack before it is carried out. If the NSA does away
with this program, we will ALL be at risk. However I do recommend to
anyone engaged in private communications that are NOT criminal in
nature, to increase the length and complexity of your passwords so as
to foil any chance that your communications may be decrypted by the
NSA.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:09 a.m.
Dodurgali
Blacksburg, Virginia
Right or wrong, true or false, our government is telling us to make a choice
between privacy and security. If you want privacy and restrict government
from spying on you and everybody else, it cannot protect you against terrorists
and other presumptive enemies.
Throughout history, dictators, emperors and their alike have presented two
choices to their subjects. If you want freedom and privacy, there is a price to
pay: you will be hungry and insecure. If you want yourself and your family to
have jobs, full stomach, and security, you will have to give up your freedom
and privacy. When presented with these choices, unfortunately, the majority
has given up freedom and privacy for economic and physical security. That is
why we still have dictators, oppressive governments and the NSA.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:53 p.m.
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Victor Edwards
Holland, Mich.
You have to love a country where its enemies [like you] are allowed to
opine openly against that same country. What good, I ask, is privacy if
there is no country to be private? There are no absolutes, folks, though
you continue to hope there are.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:44 p.m.
Jerry Engelbach
Pátzcuaro, México
The government is not telling us to make a choice.
It isn't giving us a choice.
The Bill of Rights is in serious danger.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:31 p.m.
Chris Miilu
Chico, CA
The Boston Bombers were not caught before they killed and maimed
people in Boston; however, they were tracked? by the FBI and
Homeland Security. So, how did spying work out for Boston?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 10:13 p.m.
KINDELAN
ISSAQUAH, WA
There's a terrific, human, absolute solution to these creeps messing with our
lives, our privacy & our rights, don't use a computer, or write emails, or use a
phone for anything but our own language signals, for instance, "It's a nice day
on C-hill," meaning let's have coffee at Starbucks on Capital Hill regular time.
Imagine the personalities of this band of data thieves, in school they were the
little creeps nobody liked or wanted to hang with. They're no doubt
overweight, unhealthy, bad breath, impotent, natural liars, self-righteous,
pseudo moralist but think they're good guys and girls, with the guys having
about a 200 level of testosterone (Viagra candidate, which won't help since it's
said Viagra is only mechanically inclined to help, not passionately). Need one
say more? Lots more. This type of behavior demonstrates a great need for
encouraging intramural sports & inoculating kids with a passion for playing
sports, eating right, going green & clean, minding their own business & never
finking on anyone be it enemy (anyone deemed popular by this gang of misfits
would be a target they'd love to cripple), can you imagine what kind of parents
this rabble had. Christians I'd bet, & so drab & dull even the sound of their
voices would put one off or asleep. It's a strange dilemma we have in the U.S.,
the most awful, unattractive dullest of us, rejected & ignored, are getting even,
they have recruited psychopaths as their leaders to mess with our lives. Send
them all packing.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:53 p.m.
Leisureguy
RECOMMENDED
5
Monterey CA
The NSA is out of control, and by forcing compromised security on the
Internet, it has taken a gian step toward weakening an important utility. I'm
afraid the US government is now positioning itself against the public---indeed,
against any part of the government that is not in the Executive Branch.
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Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:53 p.m.
Animedude5555
RECOMMENDED
28
at my computer
By undermining the internet security it may end up undermining its
OWN security, and end up on the RECEIVING end of a hack attack or
of its own info being decrypted by enemy forces.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:09 a.m.
Taoskier
RECOMMENDED
2
Lafayette, LA
The article stresses technology. However, it only hints at the importance of
social engineering, for example where the government leans on American
companies for information. Why use brute force for info when you can just ask
for it ? The last time I got hacked somebody convinced me he was a legitimate
technician. He wasn't. So then I bought a book on hacking (to see how to
defend against it). I was surprised to learn that many hackers rely on the
tendency of other people to be trusting.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:53 p.m.
Terrence
RECOMMENDED
6
Maryland
I am disgusted with the NY Times running this article based on Snowden's
dubious material. Intelligence has been kept secret in the US beginning with
George Washington for a reason, our survival. Most people are narcissists and
their only interest is themselves. They have no interest or understanding as to
why the National Security Agency (NSA) worked to access encrypted
information. Terrorists who plan to murder millions of Americans using
weapons of mass destruction use encryption to make and execute their plans.
If the NSA revealed what it accomplished in protecting us then our enemies
would know better how to murder us. By necessity, intelligence agencies must
not reveal what they have done and how they did it. Necessary secrets and
silence leave room for opportunists to destroy our capabilities. The narcissist
citizen who imagines the government is fascinated with their personal data
can't stand the idea that outside forces have to protect them; they do not want
to see an external world. They don't care to look outside their neighborhood.
The WWII generation is dead; the next generations choose phantasy. The New
York Times makes money through entertainment; it is just another
international corporation that doesn't care what it destroys as long as they
earn greater profits.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:52 p.m.
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Josh
Oregon
Who incited the hatred of Americans to begin with? Look no further
than our own foreign policy that has run roughshod over so-called bad
guys for decades. So you think it's a good idea to continue empowering
such a government to keep you safe?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 1:42 p.m.
Ricky from Louisiana
New York
How's the weather in Fort Meade today?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 1:44 p.m.
Terrence
RECOMMENDED
1
Maryland
P. Law Snowden ended up with this data in Russia - why should I
believe what he is issuing? He went to Russia, not a free nation. What
Snowden says about himself is not believable; his resume, etc., doesn't
make sense. How he got whatever he has is anybody's guess. The
intelligence community can not comment on this.
I believe that between the NSA lawyers, executive branch, et al, that no
one violated the constitution. The NSA is heavily regulated and the
news shows Congressional reviews, etc. Your elected officials must keep
most of this secret or we leave the country open to disasters. This is
how a working representative-government system performs.
IMO the government has no interest or legal ability to intrude into your
life. They collect metadata to protect us. They must be able to break
codes to find out what terrorists plan. If they do those jobs then the rest
follows.
Incidentally, I am shocked by most of the comments. It seems to me
very few people understand the international electronic world. They do
not get that the Chinese and Russians are hacking our businesses and
government. The NSA has a huge responsibility and tasking, I just hope
that this lunatic Snowden didn't detract from their work. The
newspapers who run these stories damage the country.
Sept. 7, 2013 at 5:42 a.m.
tilliesmom
rochester new york
Why is it okay for the New York Times to publish this article when Snowden
has been roundly condemned? Is that not hypocritical? What will be done to
curtail the NSA? Or are we just expected to accept that this is the way things
are now, that this spying is non-negotiable?
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Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:52 p.m.
Craig
RECOMMENDED
4
Springfield, MO
In the Soviet Union a person could not have a private conversation without
fear of the government listening in. Bugs were everywhere. People were
routinely disappeared by the KGB with no control by the citizens over this
practice. We considered this a police state and condemned such practices
loudly, and even fought wars to stop the spread of the ideas and ideals that
fostered their growth in the world.
We now live in a USA that bugs its own citizens far more effectively, and with
the Patriot Act, our government has the power and the court's sanction to
disappear people at will.
And as one reader points out in another set of comments, the most
conservative of our politicians, Fincher, is paraphrasing the same biblical
aphorism as V. Lenin: “He who does not work shall not eat”
I'm just saying we went to a lot of trouble for nothing. We could have had this
system a long time ago and saved a bunch of lives in Korea and Vietnam in the
bargain. I seriously cannot believe the ho hum attitude I hear in these
comments. Stalin would be proud.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:49 p.m.
Mack
RECOMMENDED
63
Los Angeles CA
Let's applaud the NSA for work well done.
Very significant credit for Allied victories in World War II went to US, UK, and
allied codebreakers and crypto folks. A good part of this work began before the
commencement of hostilities.
Today,we face a variety of national and subnational enemies. The weapons of
war have become commodity items like cellphones and portable computers.
Cyberattacks and other warfare are waged by the movement of electrons.
Unless our intelligence agencies can intercept, analyze, and read machineto-machine and encrypted communications, we will face the daily risk of
another Pearl Harbor or 9-11.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:49 p.m.
P.Law
RECOMMENDED
4
Nashville
No one disputes having the NSA to guard against enemies. We dispute
having it turned against us, "we the people."
Sept. 6, 2013 at 10:12 a.m.
Josh
RECOMMENDED
1
Oregon
Not if we aren't meddling in the lives of other people. When you try to
control others, they fight back.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 1:44 p.m.
Thingumbob
Baltimore, MD
Sounds like a virtual criminal enterprise to me.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:49 p.m.
HC
RECOMMENDED
27
Mount Prospect
Next thing we will hear is that NSA has put spy chips in all personal computers
so they can catch terrorists.
If I remember correctly we didn't have trouble finding Osama because his
communication was encrypted by a communication encryption software.
And so the CIA continues to use more tactical measures to fight against
terrorist threats and less of good old fashion investigation work that actual was
used to catch Osama, from what I read.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:49 p.m.
Agape
RECOMMENDED
3
NV
"Next thing we will hear is that NSA has put spy chips in all personal
computers"
That's already happened. Didn't you read the article?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:52 p.m.
Animedude5555
RECOMMENDED
10
at my computer
It happened once, but only once.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:04 a.m.
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Rob DL
Connecticut
I want NSA members, members of Congress, members of the hypocritical and
feckless Obama Administration, and those in the private sector who were not
coerced to go along with this assault on the American people, TO GO TO JAIL.
But, instead of talking about this mass collaborative crime, most of the nation
is debating (24/7!) whether to bomb another Middle East country to save the
credibility of an American President and a government that has already lost
credibility at home!
America is being destroyed by other Americans, and one of the many tragedies
is that those responsible may not even know it.
The biggest threat to the United States is not a loss of credibility over a failure
to bomb another third world country(absurd!); the biggest threat we face is
not even from a terrorist organization. Our biggest threat comes from other
Americans who have betrayed the trust of the American people and hijacked
the very institutions that are meant to serve and protect us.
The United States has lost it's face. The American people have become mere
stooges under a government that represents freedom and democracy in name
only.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:49 p.m.
ThisIsNotJohn
RECOMMENDED
41
Santa Monica, California
"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose
our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." - Abraham
Lincoln
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:45 a.m.
Agape
RECOMMENDED
2
NV
NSA failed to find the tens of millions of US credit cards compromised about a
month ago.
NSA failed to see the chemical weapons moving around in Syria (CWs have
satellite signatures).
NSA fails to identify solid threats and leads so it resorts to capturing
everything as proof of its viability.
What's it good for?
NSA has no real oversight because we have a congress ignorant of what it does,
and doesn't seem to care.
NSA is run by a military general who ALSO runs the US Cyber Command,
which also failed to do the three things above, and who has his own army,
navy, and air force. [Google: Bamford Salon July 2013 General Keith
Alexander]
NSA is run by a military general with dual commands who apparently does not
answer to a US President, which is problematic because of the separate
military forces.
Why?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:49 p.m.
Citizen
RECOMMENDED
28
Texas
Because the NSA is, and always had been, an entity unto itself since
1952 when it was established. They are arrogant and think that they
don't have to answer to anyone. They hide behind national security by
classifying any and everything. The General in charge, is answerable to
the Pentagon first and foremost. This agency should be run by civilians,
not the inefficient military. The National Security Agency is basically
run by a bunch of thugs, stalkers and perverts, than think nothing of
spying on their fellow country men because they can. They lie, cheat
and steal on a daily basis because no one is going to call them on it or
make them answer for their actions.
They need to be made accountable to the people, or they should go
away.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:35 a.m.
mike
chicago
If any of you are in doubt about what this means , what it means is this.
Our government no longer feels bound by law. They will break it as they please
and say "It's OK, it's for your own good!".
Translated that means they no longer look at us as citizens with a right to
object, they regard us as a king does his subjects. We exist only to do as they
will.
The immense irony of the fact that this occurred under a supposedly Liberal
Democratic President is heartbreaking.
The only real question now is when and how do we put a stop to it.
If we let it continue we may all live to see the end of the Republic.
They'll still call it that , just like North Korea and China and Russia.
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:48 p.m.
ForeignNational
RECOMMENDED
28
Not USA
It's with bitter irony that I type this comment with the full knowledge that it
can be traced to my home address at the whim of whichever NSA analyst that
deems me a foreign person of interest as I am not protected by any American
amendments. Oh wait...neither are Americans.
When will you wake up America and Britain and realize that if you do nothing
about this now, some day the slippery slope will become reality and your
children will ask you why you sat by and watched their freedoms erode before
your eyes. Why won't you do anything? Won't someone please think of
children!
A monitored person is not a free person.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:48 p.m.
End-the-spin
RECOMMENDED
25
Twin Cities
The NSA? No, Booz-Allen-Hamilton.
What in the world is a corporation with international interest, majority owned
by the Carlyle Group, doing managing and running these systems?
Could certain Booz-Allen contractees have divided loyalties, extra incentives or
second agendas while handling this information?
Ed Snowden joined Booz-Allen for the sole purpose of getting inside the NSA.
Snowden didn't go through the FISA Court to obtain the mountains of data he
possesses.
Let's face it. Washington is owned by the corporations and this is a reason
why, and why government, and in particular our national security should not
be privatized.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:46 p.m.
Josh
RECOMMENDED
20
Oregon
Because then, heaven forbid, someone might eventually bring it to
light? The fact that Snowden wasn't one of the power-worshipping
technocrats ringleading this disaster seems lost on you.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 1:44 p.m.
Tom Alciere
RECOMMENDED
1
Hudson NH
How much of this will be used to mold a society favorable to the enemies of
liberty?
You apply for a liquor license. The bureaucrats look at your attitude on
underage drinking based on NSA-decrypted emails and message board posts
and turn you down because you support somebody buying for people under 21.
Enemies of liberty, people with an attitude supporting the drinking age, get
the licenses and make money, which they can invest in campaign donations for
candidates who support this hate crime. Elections will be influenced.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:46 p.m.
Paul Cohen
RECOMMENDED
8
Hartford CT
Shush… listen… did you hear that? I hear the rhythmic tap of what sounds like
goose-stepping… look, a formation of soldiers with jackboots… what’s going
on?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:43 p.m.
flyfysher
RECOMMENDED
21
Westminster, CO
Let's assume for a moment that Coca-Cola has electronically transmitted its
'secret' formula to one of its producers/subsidiaries outside of the country.
Is this a private communication? No, because there is no expectation of
privacy when going through a third-party.
Is this communication subject to a Fourth Amendment warrant? No, because
it is an international communication.
Get me the Coca-Cola formula. A tweak here and a tweak there and I'll become
wealthy and retire.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:42 p.m.
br
RECOMMENDED
5
midwest
It is not the fact that the NSA has been snooping like this that is disturbing--in
this day and age, it would be surprising if the government wasn't spending a
lot of money and twisting a lot of arms to defeat encryption technology. The
disturbing part is how the government has lied about it. Time and again, the
government has lied until, thanks to Snowden, it could not lie anymore. That
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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the government at this point, after all these lies, would ask that this story not
be published because of security concerns is laughable.
Obama has said he welcomes the conversation. Well, then, let's have a
conversation. But let's first bring Snowden home, without fear of prosecution.
You can't have an honest conversation when the person who forced the issue is
in the crosshairs of prosecutors who threaten a life sentence. But the
government here has never demonstrated an interest in honesty, has it?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:41 p.m.
RECOMMENDED
234
READ ALL 5 REPLIES
scsmits
Orangeburg, SC
Uh, what exactly are the lies that you're so worked up about?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:01 p.m.
miriam
Astoria, Queens
How can Snowden come home without fear of prosecution? Whatever
promises the U.S. makes to lure him back can always be broken.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:11 p.m.
JWM
RECOMMENDED
1
dallas, tx
You are aware that he broke multiple laws? He should get free ticket
home cause the stuff he stole is interesting to us?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 10:32 p.m.
R.S.
Los Angeles
So this is how Big Brother actually looks. Just as in Orwell's prescient book,
perpetual war and every citizen watched.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:41 p.m.
Mike Owens
RECOMMENDED
48
St. Louis MO
What worries me most about the NSA is they had a low-level contractor who
had access to all this secret information. They actually trusted the guy? On
what basis? Why didn't NSA compartmentalize?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:41 p.m.
Josh
RECOMMENDED
3
Oregon
Oh good, so your take away is that they need to make it more opaque to
scrutiny by those who are supposedly in charge so that their abuse can
continue in secret.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:45 a.m.
Linda
Virginia
And then the Chinese will crack open the NSA databanks like a walnut and
thank them for gathering all this information and storing it in a convenient
place for them.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:41 p.m.
jan
RECOMMENDED
11
left coast
Why are these illegal activities by the NSA allowed to continue?
Where is the RICO action DOJ?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:41 p.m.
Josh
RECOMMENDED
13
Oregon
Why would the President's crony go after... the President's other
cronies?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 1:44 p.m.
Great Lakes State
Michigan
They are standing next to the NSA, holding hands.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:24 p.m.
Hank
RECOMMENDED
1
Newark, DE
And how much of this with corporate collusion? I can't believe this massive
intrusion could be done without it.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:38 p.m.
Mary
RECOMMENDED
5
Los Angeles
So, the N.S.A. is out among us playing nasty games! Seriously, I find it odd
that there is so much worry about this when Amazon and Facebook know us
all so very well! Moreover, if the N.S.A. is so clever, why don't we know more
about what Assad is up to? Further, are we so silly as to believe the we are the
only nation who has such capabilities?
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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For those of us old enough to remember Mad Magazine..recall Spy vs. Spy.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:37 p.m.
Javier
RECOMMENDED
4
Spain
It is so disheartening to realize that most well meant people here just don't
care if non US citizens are spied for no good reason. All of a sudden, the U.S.A.
look just as menacing as Russia or China or just about any other dictatorship
in the world. Wow.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:37 p.m.
BL
RECOMMENDED
12
CA
That's why US was so afraid of Huawei entering the US server market. Because
US had so many times accused Huawei of being connected to the Chinese
government, they would never be able to target communications through
Huawei hardware without being pushed back. Maybe the best protection of
privacy here is to let Huawei be a major hardware provider in the US.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:37 p.m.
Your Name Here
RECOMMENDED
4
Chicago
Edward Snowden "inserted invulnerabilities" into the NSA and only good
things will come of that.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:37 p.m.
Jason N.
RECOMMENDED
1
New York
No offense, but how is this news?
I find myself astonished that anyone would be astonished by this.
Who in heaven's name has faith in online privacy, or government or corporate
restraint in this day and age.
The security cameras are installed. The supercomputers are computing. It's
never going back. This is the way it is, now and forever.
Who doesn't know this yet?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:36 p.m.
Josh
RECOMMENDED
5
Oregon
Thanks for that. You may have accepted your prison long ago, but
others believe in freedom.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 1:45 p.m.
farseas
RECOMMENDED
2
San Francisco
It's silly to believe that the NSA and the CIA will forever be able to defeat all
encryption technologies. As this article points out, much of the success in
decryption came from getting access to encrypted documents shortly before
they were encrypted or after they were decrypted.
We must be careful to not believe such inflated descriptions of the all powerful
US intelligence agencies. They are NOT all powerful and US enemies will
always find ways to defeat them.
We are never going to attain world peace by spending billions on defense and
related activities. If you doubt that, think about how easy it is for one
individual working alone to create a lot of destruction. No amount of defense
spending can stop that.
We are reaching an age where knowledge is growing so rapidly that our ability
to destroy ourselves is getting easier and easier for individuals to obtain and
exploit.
Instead of trying forever to expand our defense abilities, we need to think
about what we can do to bring peace and justice to the whole world. The
answer will come from the heart, not from the head.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:35 p.m.
Josh
RECOMMENDED
3
Oregon
So maybe we should be working on creating fewer enemies rather than
how we can keep the wars going without repercussions.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:45 a.m.
Jack
RECOMMENDED
2
New York, NY
And they're trying to prosecute Snowdon? Or should that be thought of as
persecute Snowdon? Would we have become aware of any of this internal
spying on American citizens in the most indiscriminate mannerif Snowdon
had not outed the NSA data collection activity?
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
N.S.A. Able to Foil Basic Safeguards of Privacy on Web - NYTimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/us/nsa-foils-much-internet-encryp...
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Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:35 p.m.
Tim
RECOMMENDED
6
sausalito, ca
Until 20 years every phone call, letter, telegram or radio transmission was in
the clear except spies and baddies. The government with a search warrant
could easily monitor all our communications.
Now we expect our every communication to be encrypted and entirely secure
and are shocked to learn this isn't so.
We now find ourselves back where we were 20 years ago: the government can
easily listen in on any conversation it wants.
Shocking when read in this context, but the world has not really changed:
governments can and do monitor the communications they want or need.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:34 p.m.
Lego
RECOMMENDED
2
New York,NY
If the NYTimes knows which protocols and standards have been hacked and
the methods for doing so, it should disclose that information to the public
immediately. Failure to do so only results in a public who cannot know what
communications are secure and what are insecure, isn't that what the NSA
wants?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:34 p.m.
Boobladoo
RECOMMENDED
3
NY
Hey, it's your government. We've been spying on everybody and are storing
the data in case we want to build a case against you in the future. We can take
things out of context, etc. We've basically rendered the Constitution a dead
letter. We can disappear you, really, if we want. The sequester cuts are falling
as we pump 85 billion in virtually free money to Wall Street a month. 97% of
new jobs are part time and 60% of those are low wage. We're still shipping
jobs overseas apace. We're gutting the social safety net.
...Oh, and we want to start another war for humanitarianism and freedom.
Please give us your support.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:32 p.m.
Vic D
RECOMMENDED
16
Dallas
It's easy to understand there are threats to the US, but the NSA has taken this
too far. Protections against unreasonable search and for free speech, basic
rights are being infringed by those who say there MAY be a compromise at
some point in the future. Only one more question to ask.... Who is monitoring
the monitors of the monitors?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:32 p.m.
No Cloud
RECOMMENDED
4
USA
This breach is closely related to the major driving force behind "Cloud
Computing" - the government and corporations want all your data stored
online, not for our convenience, but for theirs.
"Cloud Storage" is being sold to the masses as a convenience, but the REAL
reason is so various govt. and private sector agencies can harvest your
supposedly-secure personal information and either hold it hostage until they
a) force you to buy "updates" to keep you personal records active (in the case
of software companies), b) target you (in the case of marketing an research), or
prosecute you (in the case of the NSA).
Mark my words, it will start as a hunt for terrorists.. then organised crime,
then sexual predators.. then tax-dodgers... and by the time they come for YOU,
there will be nobody left to stop them.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:32 p.m.
Uga Muga
RECOMMENDED
10
Miami
Over and beyond Cloud storage, the very moment a computer device is
connected to the Internet, any data on it and its programs are
immediately available for intervention and manipulation. There's no
such thing as a secret particularly a well-kept one. Just ask the NSA.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:46 p.m.
Terry
RECOMMENDED
5
British Columbia
To all the apologists who decry Snowdon as a traitor and claim the
government is merely doing their job to protect us, let me point out first that
'the government' has outsourced much of this work, to third-party companies
that hire thousands of employees. That one such sub-contracted employee,
Snowdon, saw fit to alert the citizenry as to what was happening in their
names -- and was able to do so without being detected by bringing to light a
huge cache of intel and documents -- merely begs the question: how many
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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other third-party employees have truly more sinister motives to exploit
information the come across. And if such secret employees are involved in
illegal actions for their own profit or political or religious motives, would we
ever learn about it? Would the companies to whom government subcontracts
learn about it? Indeed, does the government know about and sanction every
action taken by every sub-contractor in its name? With so many secret
subcontractors and so many layers of secrecy, is basic, efficient oversight even
possible? I seriously doubt it. In any case, we'll never know. Nor will anyone
else.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:31 p.m.
Pete from NYC
RECOMMENDED
4
NY, NY
I had a criminal case where wiretapping was allegedly used, despite that I'm a
US born citizen. It's sad that I thought I could communicate with my lawyer
via email and then encrypted email, but clearly even that is not allowed under
NSA's regime.
I asked the lawyer to file my birth certificate with the NSA and report to the
Judge, but the lawyer refused, and "just" got the case dismissed (and sealed).
It is horrendous that life in America has come to this.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:29 p.m.
Winston Smith
RECOMMENDED
2
el cerrito ca
can the American People come up with a class action suit on this one? what
the heck is going on here? and who are the people that are doing the spying?
they stand a chance of going to jail. following orders will be their excuse.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:29 p.m.
Tom Alciere
RECOMMENDED
2
Hudson NH
They needs to use the one-time pad and simpler technologies that are harder
to sneak flaws into. The one-time pad can be generated by using bitmap
photos of sand for random digits, and scrambling those. The problem is that
it's a hassle and the correspondents would et lazy and sloppy
--NSA: The only government agency that listens to the American people.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:28 p.m.
Citizen
RECOMMENDED
4
Texas
Tom Alciere,
Your statement, "NSA: The only government agency that listens to the
American people." You certainly got that right. Our president and the
congress certainly aren't listening, are they?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:10 p.m.
Tbone
New Jersey
I really can't believe people are so surprised that this is happening. It has been
happening for years and years. It just became easier with the advent of digital
communications....vastly easier.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:25 p.m.
Ralph
RECOMMENDED
4
SF
Folks, it is the inherent nature of the NSA and all similar organizations,
especially Homeland Security, to "do what it takes." That means total
disregard for the law as written and the law as intended. The US Constitution
isn't even "just a piece of paper." The NSA is not a humane, fair play
organization. It will cheat, lie and steal to achieve its objectives. If you think
otherwise, well...Don't ever forget the old song about the woman who saves a
dying snake, only to be bitten by the snake when it gets better. As she dies, she
asks the snake why it bit her and the snake says, "well, after all, I am a snake."
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:24 p.m.
Charlie rhymes with
RECOMMENDED
7
Raleigh
Every time I see someone who agrees with the NSA approach I am reminded
that ALL power is or will be abused, so be careful what power you create.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:22 p.m.
This Old Man
RECOMMENDED
8
Canada
How is this news? When has it ever been otherwise? It's just because it goes on
in our time that we think it's so special unique nefarious or whatever
overheated rhetoric we choose to employ in our righteous indignation. What
phoney piety. It's our conceit. We live in blissful ignorance. Next.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:21 p.m.
RECOMMENDED
3
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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Keat
Colorado
This is the Civil Rights issue of our time: the American people deserve a
government which respects the Constitution and the 4th Amendment right to
privacy. Democratic society cannot function unless the people feel their
private information is secure from government snooping. The fear of being
subject to unconstitutional forms of government surveillance could have an
insidious effect on the willingness of the people to dissent when faced with
injustice.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:19 p.m.
Josh
RECOMMENDED
19
Oregon
Maybe that's what is going on with these people who are supporting
this regime.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:33 a.m.
John Link
New York, NY
And what part of the Constitution authorizes the U.S. government to spy on its
own citizens?
The following contains a disagreement of subject and verb:
"Many users assume — or have been assured by Internet companies — that
their data is safe from prying eyes, including those of the government, and the
N.S.A. wants to keep it that way."
That should be "data are". The word "data" is plural.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:19 p.m.
Charlie rhymes with
Raleigh
This has become a rogue agency and should be disbanded.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:19 p.m.
GeniusIQ179
RECOMMENDED
8
SLO, CA
The NSA has had over a month
to use their Paper Shredders,
and to Hide their Programs.
They know the Congress is inept
and cannot even snif out the corruption.
They ignore the Congress and their
long terms plans move ever forward.
45 years ago the research and design
of today's NSA was begun.
There were Crazy Conspiracy Theorist's,
who claimed the government's dark secrets
were going to destroy our nation.
We all laughed, and forgot what they said.
Guess what?
..They didn't lie.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:19 p.m.
Vox
RECOMMENDED
9
NY
What I find particularly staggering by this disclosure -- apart from the NSA's
rogue element and intrusiveness on citizens noted by others-- is not so much
that the NSA DID / is still doing this, but that they CONCEALED (i.e. lied
about) this... YET AGAIN!
So the NSA is shown to have again REPEATEDLY MISLED the American
people, and its elective representatives, and we only have Edward Snowden -labeled a "traitor" by these same peeping rogue law-breakers -- to thank for
bringing this to the PUBLIC'S attention?
THAT'S mind-boggling to me!
WHERE are the guardian's of the people? WHO advises and consents to this?
It's one thing for the NSA to spy on threats, WITH the advice and consent of
our elected representatives! But it's quite another for them to act like some
rogue free-agent outfit and mislead the American people and Congress about
all this!
The REAL question is: WHO'S DRIVING the ("security") BUS?
"We don't spy on American citizens" Clapper, who blatantly lied to Congress?
Some OTHER SECRET back-room spy-master? Shouldn't we at least KNOW
THAT? (And of course much more, in a democracy.)
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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Not only does the NSA want to deceive foreign threats, the apparently wants to
deceive law-abiding US citizens:
"Many users assume — or have been assured by Internet companies — that
their data is safe from prying eyes...the N.S.A. wants to keep it that way."
Big Brother! Right out of 1984? And that too was "for the good of the nation
and its people"! BAH!
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:19 p.m.
MKM
RECOMMENDED
9
New York
When Obama said he was going to have the most transparent administration
ever I did not think he meant via leaks.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:18 p.m.
diva
RECOMMENDED
3
long island ny
I still don't think anyone should be praised for breaking their agreements
when they work for an agency like the NSA. I haven't seen anything but our
country doing the best it can, trying to stay within law, to protect us. I
expected Congress, that dysfunctional institution, to do the oversight. Not a
arrogant citizen who on his own broke his agreement with the NSA and
decided what we needed to see! What gave him the right to do this? I have
seen more harm than good from his decisions. there could have been a better
way to bring what he found so upsetting to light than the way he did it.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:18 p.m.
Peter Giordano
RECOMMENDED
2
Asia
The day I started using email all those years ago I realized that NOTHING
about it could be private. The NSA may be unpleasant and perhaps doing
something illegal but the indignation from news agencies, pundits, and
politicians is simple opportunism.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:18 p.m.
RECOMMENDED
Marc S. Lawrence
1
Chicago, IL
I couldn't disagree more.
The idea that the Bill of Rights means nothing is unacceptable to me.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:46 p.m.
david Brown
RECOMMENDED
1
Los Angeles
The Hedge Funds and Wall Street Rich are no doubt lining up to pay for
"Insider Information" from the select few that have access to all those hacked
Company's Trade secrets. At the very least the Insider few will become active
investors. Now if the NSA would just release the fews investment portfolios the
many could also climb onto the gravy train.
And, how do you guarantee that one of the few won't sell gleaned secrets to an
American adversary for millions of dollars. Far from protecting us, the games
that the NSA is playing threatens us all.
On the other hand, this could be salvation for the Post Office and purveyors of
carrier pigeons.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:15 p.m.
Phil C
RECOMMENDED
9
Austin, tx
Are there not people in politics and government who are already bending the
electoral process to diminish their opponents? Think what they will do if, or
should I say when, they get control of this NSA information stream.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:14 p.m.
James T. Kirk
RECOMMENDED
4
Kabul
So, here's something to be curious about....do the NSA technocrats move from
government to private business? Do they have an edge over others because
they have inside information?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:14 p.m.
Marc Schenker
RECOMMENDED
8
Ft. Lauderdale
I haven't read anything in the comments section that suggest people know
what's going on here: the full and final realization of Big Brother, not the one
in 1984, the new one where the NSA becomes the DEA becomes the
corporation looking to spy on its customers. The fourth amendment is over
and done with. Every American should know they are watching us in every
way possible. Thank you Congress, Obama, Supreme Court. I feel sorry for the
children who will grow up in it's full fruition. .
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:13 p.m.
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Marc S. Lawrence
Chicago, IL
Don't forget to thank George W. Bush and Dick Cheney while your at it.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:48 p.m.
alexander hamilton
new york
It is past time for the American people to take back their government: Halt all
domestic NSA surveillance immediately, while a non-military-industrialcomplex independent panel goes over every single activity, top to bottom, of
this rogue agency.
Fire all private contractors. National security should be handled only by
politically-accountable federal agencies and their employees. Fund and
promote legitimate national security activities. Un-fund and forbid spying on
American citizens without a warrant. Period. If the NSA doesn't like the 4th
Amendment, they can apply for Russian citizenship and move. Or go to jail.
Abolish the secret court, and put all requests to invade American privacy in
front of a federal judge where the citizen resides, and make the Department of
Justice a mandatory party, representing not the NSA, but the interests of the
citizen.
I'm tired of hearing an unelected and unsupervised bunch of bureaucrats
telling me they have secrets they need to keep from me, while collecting my
e-mails and telephone calls. My business is none of the government's business.
And secrets are to kept from the enemy! Unless the NSA views the American
public as the enemy, in which case storming its offices and burning them
seems entirely appropriate.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:13 p.m.
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Grace
NY
Thank you. Really, most of the readers are like, "they know what they're
doing." I'm with you.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:16 p.m.
Desmo
Hamilton, OH
Hey Alex! When does the storming begin and are you going to lead it? I
want to bring my camera.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:12 p.m.
Steve B.
St. Louis, Missouri
Thank you for putting it bluntly. The NSA is anathema to the American
way of life. It must be deconstructed. Mr. Snowden would be lauded by
our founding fathers. The NSA would never have been given a seat at
the constitutional convention. It should be given no voice in the
national debate regarding the question of its continued existence.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 10:32 p.m.
Applecounty
United Kingdom
In the UK it has become quite a regular thing to find easy stories in the media
highlighting the costly incompetent blunders surrounding public sector
computer systems. Most of them designed by the private sector specialist
companies, who appear quite happy to inflate their bottom line from the
public purse.
Perhaps from now on we should just stand in awe and marvel at the
accomplishments of our new unelected, and apparently unaccountable,
masters as they divest us all of even the illusion of privacy.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:11 p.m.
Lawrence Clarke
RECOMMENDED
6
Albany, NY
What do our Senators and Congressmen think about all of this?
Does the NSA brief them on these items?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:10 p.m.
Bob
RECOMMENDED
2
New Jersey
In the current world situation, I do not object to NSA scanning mail for
security purposes. But I feel strongly that to destroy individual internet and
computer protection goes well beyond "national security." .
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:10 p.m.
Steen
RECOMMENDED
3
Mother Earth
I have lived in the country of the former USSR. I never thought these words
were to cross my lips, but I actually feel Relatively safe now fro prying eyes.
The key word here is of course Relatively.
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Back in the US, back in the US back in the USSR.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:09 p.m.
Tommyboy
RECOMMENDED
1
Baltimore, MD
Isn't that what they are supposed to do?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:09 p.m.
Barbara
RECOMMENDED
4
L.A.
They are supposed to protect us from having to live under a
government that would monitor every breath its citizens take. They are
supposed to protect us from people who do what they are doing!
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:32 a.m.
ricst
Incline Village, NV
If the NSA forces Intel and AMD and chip makers of mobile device CPUs into
the PRISM program, then all encryption is effectively backdoored. Once the
NSA has private access to these CPUs, it can read everything on the system
including all messages before encryption and after decryption. This is a
capability that even STASI couldn't dream up.
No device or system on any Internet connected network will be protected from
NSA intrusion and electronic privacy - already severely wounded - will be
totally destroyed.
And what happens of what is left of democracy in the United States? Gone
forever, replaced by a full-on authoritarian government until such a system
collapses.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:06 p.m.
David
RECOMMENDED
6
Davis, CA
Am I the only one who wonders a little more balancedly now how Americans
should view the actions of Mr. Snowden? Seems more nuanaced and less
straightforward to me. And I can understand him being terrified what the US
government might do if they catch him. And I usually consider myself a
conservative....
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:04 p.m.
Joe Worker
RECOMMENDED
8
Bay Area, CA
Scary but I'm glad the NSA and its British counterpart are trying to stay ahead
of the power curve. Yes, we must uphold everyone's (present in the US and the
UK) rights under the US and the UK Constitutions but if you are not a bad
"guy" or engaging in unlawful actions, why worry. We must all compromise
our liberties so that another 911 won't ever happen anywhere.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:04 p.m.
P.Law
RECOMMENDED
2
Nashville
A terrorist attack is a very low probability event. It is not worth the
certainty of compromising our freedoms.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:14 p.m.
Iowan
RECOMMENDED
17
mississippi, iowa
Were is in the United States of America that I can go to live and not be
subjected to this authoritarian police state? What color is the state there?
Purple?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:01 p.m.
iHeartChinese
RECOMMENDED
6
New York City
Some might be disturbed, but they shouldn't be ruffled too much. It is no
surprise that the government is bending (or breaking) the rules in the name of
our protection and wellbeing. It's been going on since time immemorial and
will continue long after we're all dead. The U.S. gov't is not the only one doing
it by the way -- other governments are fierce competitors in the same "cyber
race among nations" and the results can have tangible consequences for U.S.
interests. This is a competition in which the competitors are essentially forced
to compete at gun point -- i.e. the consequences of non-participation are too
high. So everyone needs to step off of their high horses and stop the blame
game. Instead of blaming, we should be finding an acceptable and reasonable
solution that tackle the obvious quandaries without hampering our
clandestine organizations' abilities to stay competitive.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:00 p.m.
frank1569
RECOMMENDED
2
Dallas, TX
Why is everybody so upset?
As soon as We The People kill and/or capture every terrorist, terrorist
associate, evil doer, bad guy, militant, and freedom-hater, the NSA (and 17
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other intel agencies, and private contractors, and local law enforcement,) will
stop illegally spying on all of us to protect all of us.
Just a few more years, tops.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:00 p.m.
Steen
RECOMMENDED
13
Mother Earth
frank1569 I love your sarcasm
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:27 p.m.
Steve
RECOMMENDED
4
Calgary, AB, Canada
Define 'a few'. Not in my lifetime.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 9:11 p.m.
Daniel DeGrandpre
Vancouver, Wa
Well I guess they got it pretty correct in the Jason Bourne movies after all.
We've also seen the same scenario they used against Snowden; being a wacko,
stupid or a misinformed flunkie; played out in movies. Discredit the leaker,
remember the Will Smith movie? They did everything they could think of do
get this man in jail. The scary thing is that though they portrayed this guy as
low level contract employee, it seems that he got hold of considerable amounts
of information. How easy might it be for someone with an agenda to cause
great harm, create political mischief, the possibilities are as limitless as are the
secrets that are uncovered. J. Edgar may be made to look like a school boy by
comparison. Who can say it hasn't already happened?
I could understand the NSA coming up with ways to counteract what other
nation's capabilities are and ways to fight terrorism, etc., but these guys sound
like kids in a (secrets) candy store. However, unfortunately, the Boston
bombers proved that these secrecy nuts aren't miracle workers, just nuts who
have forgotten, or worse, don't care about our constitution.
My mom used to tell me and my siblings that if we didn't want something
disclosed to simply not put it in writing.
So let's ignore the man behind the curtain, or is it men now? We're already
ignoring global icecaps melting!
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:59 p.m.
Isaac
RECOMMENDED
5
Los Angeles CA
When the NSA pays contractors to pay hackers with GEDs $200K to help with
"national security," you can't be surprised when they start hacking. We're
doomed.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:59 p.m.
P.Law
RECOMMENDED
2
Nashville
Snowden's the one who *revealed* the hacking of our privacy and
constitutional rights, not caused them.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:15 p.m.
Ken Belcher
RECOMMENDED
4
Chicago
If the government has put back doors into the computer boot software then we
can't even use stronger encryption techniques - they will be able to capture
keystrokes directly from the keyboard, and to modify any operating system we
load as it is booted up to ensure we can't put in safe code either.
Our newer vehicles are computer controlled too. When the code gets updated
anyone who can break the encryption can put in the logic they want. That
would enable someone to use the vehicles as weapons. Of course taking
control of chemical or nuclear plants is much more serious, and any internal
safety control that is dependent on code rather than being hard-wired can be
defeated by an unauthorized update.
If I enabled immigrants to transfer money to (possible terrorist) groups at
home without going through "secure" commercial channels I would likely be
prosecuted. Who will be prosecuted for enabling foreign governments and
terror groups to control our infrastructure?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:59 p.m.
21hgmj
RECOMMENDED
1
New York
If Georges Orwell would be alive today, he would be amazed how right he was !
"big brother" is probably reading our comments... Have fun boys !
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:58 p.m.
shstl
RECOMMENDED
6
MO
So the NSA can access pretty much everything that's digital, and the whole
purpose of their activities is to stop those who would harm our country, and
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yet we STILL don't have any prosecutions for the economic collapse?? There's
not enough evidence, they say, and now we know that's a complete farce.
Because if the NSA can track the calls & emails of foreign presidents (!), I'm
pretty sure they can gather intel on the Wall Street terrorists who took our
whole system down.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:58 p.m.
Frank
RECOMMENDED
14
San Diego
I have to break it to you gently. Wall Street and friends already own the
government. They decide who gets elected, make all the major
decisions and are untouchable. The America you remember, seeking
truth and justice, no longer exists.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:35 p.m.
Bill Eisen
RECOMMENDED
14
Manhattan Beach
As the NSA continues to circumvent or crack much of the encryption and
digital scrambling that guards global commerce and banking systems and that
protects our privacy our data becomes more and more vulnerable to private
hacking by whomever. (Many vendors don't even maintain customer banking
and credit card info for fear that it could be compromised by hacking.)
So if we are to maintain any degree of privacy we must keep our guard up and
continue to keep assessing the security of our private data.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:58 p.m.
blgreenie
RECOMMENDED
1
New Jersey
The authors of this piece appear to be journalists. I'd appreciate a discussion
of these findings by an impartial expert in the field of encription. Such a
discussion could put into perspective just what dangers ordinary, law-abiding
citizens may face. Without that, I'm surprised but not hugely alarmed.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:58 p.m.
jcadams
Northern California
Here's the problem area that no one is focusing on. With the growth of the
government-military-industrial-surveillance complex we in America now have
ex-NSA and ex-CIA intelligence specialists who retire and/or leave the NSA,
CIA, etc. and migrating to-well paying positions at private surveillance firms.
And those firms, in turn, will contract with private corporations. Is there really
an effective "firewall" between the data and tradecraft secrets developed by the
NSA, CIA etc. from also migrating to these private for-profit and hired-gun
corporate intelligence? If my corporation has a patent, trade secret, or
important legal battle with a competitor corporation --- will my privileged
legal and confidential legal and financial communications be safe from hired
ex-CIA and ex-NSA operatives? I don’t think so. And if there are any doubts on
this suggestion take a read in today’s Guardian about the curious case of
Barrett Brown. Mr. Brown is an activist journalist who got legally embroiled
with an investigation into one of these private surveillance corporations. Now
he’s got a gag order from a federal judge in Texas on the matter. In effect, we
now have a journalist who can’t even report on the subject matter of his
reporting efforts. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/04/barrettbrown-gag-order-us-...
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:57 p.m.
02Pete
RECOMMENDED
9
Delmar, NY
The public disclosure of this information, whether by Edward Snowden or the
New York Times, does nothing to protect Americans' personal privacy, and a
great deal to damage U.S. national security.
While collecting large quantities of information, U.S. intelligence agencies
access and analyze only a very limited portion of it, do so in cases where
potential threats to national security are identified, and do so under the
supervision of the FISA Court. There is no legitimate reason for anyone,
regardless of identity, profession or business, to use encryption to try to
prevent U.S. intelligence agencies from analyzing potential threats to national
security.
As few if any foreign intelligence agencies, never mind private parties, have the
NSA's capabilities to decrypt encoded messages, there is little if any reason to
fear that the encryption or coding of commercial messages such as those used
to transmit banking or credit card transactions, or of professional messages
such as those used to transmit medical or legal records, would be exposed by
NSA access to any greater risk of being accessed by other parties.
The Times seems to be under the impression that it should publish without
hesitation all information of any kind that it obtains, without regard to the
potential for severe damage to national security. It is reckless and
irresponsible of the Times to do so, and it endangers all Americans.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:56 p.m.
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Absolute Relativity
Pittsburgh, PA
If the encryption works, what the NSA is doing should be theoretically
impossible. Given that it isn't theoretically impossible means that a
weakness in the system exists which foreign intelligence agencies
and/or criminals stealing banking information are likely to exploit as
well.
The NSA needs to publish the vulnerabilities they know of to help US
business protect themselves.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 10:13 p.m.
Steve B.
St. Louis, Missouri
No. The willingness to concede that collection and eventual analysis of
personal, private information by government agents, who are willing to
lie to congressional oversight committees, is what truly endangers all
Americans. If the government wants to erect firewalls to keep out
known or suspected foreign cyber threats to our infrastures, fine. But
that does not require that the government retain the capacity to snoop
on its own citizens unless specifically authorized by a court to snoop on
specific citizens reliably known or suspected of involement in a
criminal enterprise.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 10:32 p.m.
John Chas
Southeast Michigan
What is truly reckless and irresponsible is your mindless cheerleading
for the surveillance state, the idea that this capacity is not or will not be
abused is naive and unsupported by history. Also the statement that no
one has a legitimate reason for not wanting the NSA spying on them
goes to that old and still untrue bromide that you don't have nothing to
hide if you ain't doing nothing I don't approve of. Police states conduct
widespread surveillance of their citizens and everyone is presumed
guilty until proven otherwise and even then they are still guilty of
something even if its just objecting to police states.
Sept. 7, 2013 at 5:42 a.m.
JBaku
US
If the N.S.A can do it, do you think other governments (China, Russia, etc.) are
in the dark. Just think of all laptops, phones, etc. manufactured in China...
back doors anyone...
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:54 p.m.
ripconstitution
RECOMMENDED
7
Dallas
The Guardian article on this same subject includes another document which
refers to "The consumer and other adversaries..." Nice to know we are an
adversary.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:54 p.m.
KL
RECOMMENDED
12
NYC
I've no illusion that the NSA or anybody else in the other countries is caring
for one's privacy. Can they all be exposed, not just this country, but
everywhere, so we all can see how much our lives are compromised?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:54 p.m.
Max
RECOMMENDED
4
Jersey
I am astonished at the certainty that K Liu ascribes to the opinion that some
codes remain and will remain unbreakable. The same was initially claimed for
the (now) standard 125-bit encryption people use to shop on line or deal with
their financial institutions. The claim preceded the publication of the paper
entitled Polynomial-Time Algorithm for Breaking the Basic Merkle-Hellman
Cryptosystem. Clearly, brute force is not the only way to break a code. And
things have come a long way since that paper was published in 1984. Advances
have included the marketing of the first quantum based computers which, for
certain operations, are anywhere from 30,000 to 40,000 times faster than the
most powerful machines now used by the government. These machines are
just in their infancy. PGP is nowhere near immune since part of its structure
depends on Merkle-Hellman type keys. Be sure, then, that the fundamental
right to privacy will only be protected by a public committed to it rather than
by technology.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:54 p.m.
Eimar
RECOMMENDED
4
Eugene
These programs will severely hurt our ability to export technology. I am COO
at an Internet company that visualizes big data from customers through maps.
In the last weeks foreign prospects have started to ask me if I can guarantee
me that their private data will never enter the US. I can't and my company will
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lose sales over this. These programs could lead to a mass exodus of foreign
customers using major Internet services by US corporations.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:53 p.m.
Lucas
RECOMMENDED
12
Washington, DC
Your concerns are valid and exactly why China and Russia are so eager
for this story to come out in as sensational and exaggerated a manner
as possible.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:14 p.m.
Richard Luettgen
New Jersey
It's bad enough that the billions that have been invested by industry to keep
proprietary and sensitive communications safe are now rendered largely
useless; but the elephant in the room is that if NSA has done it, you can bet
that the Chinese and Russians have, as well, and perhaps others. How can this
news NOT affect the candor business partners employ in everyday
communications?
Someone surely will argue that de-encryption methods are secret, and to this
one only needs to try not to suffer a stroke from laughing so hard -- they were
so "secret" that a pimply consultant not yet 30 made off with them on
notebooks and thumb drives.
Well, I guess we'll just need to re-invest those billions to come up with even
tougher encryption methodologies; and, unlike the last time, we'll also need to
treat the U.S. government as an adversary not to be handed a "back door" to
encrypted communications.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:53 p.m.
Taurean
RECOMMENDED
5
Queens, NY
The view that having achieved unique success in de-encryption
methods, the United States can remain unchallenged in this
achievement, is belied by the historical analogy of the development of
atomic/nuclear weapons. As you state, "the elephant in the room is that
if NSA has done it, you can bet that the Chinese and Russians have, as
well, and perhaps others." There are no permanently held, proprietary
secrets in this world.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:01 a.m.
Richard Luettgen
New Jersey
Taurean:
Yes, but your analogy may be a touch flawed, unless you assume that
it's inevitable that spying and treason will invalidate secrets. Our
monopoly on nuclear weapons was broken by both. Encryption
methods, eventually, will be broken by less disageeable means, but the
point is that those means shouldn't include government's introduction
of weaknesses in software that others might exploit -- and they have no
business reading my emails.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 10:32 p.m.
Nostranditmas
RECOMMENDED
1
Brooklyn
What scares me most of all is how many people will be comfortable with this
knowledge. Thanks to social media, the younger elements will be more
accepting of a life transparent to invisible and capricious powers and being
around longer, they will pave the way for this to become a universal norm.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:53 p.m.
Fred
RECOMMENDED
5
Cambridge, MA
Gee, I wonder why the US is so hated by the rest of the world? Is it because we
preach freedom and democracy to the rest of the world while continually
undermining it, from CIA coups to cozying up to Saddam Hussein to spying on
our allies as well as our enemies? I'm ashamed of my government, and
especially of politicians like Barack Obama, who campaigned on a platform of
openness and transparency, but who, once in office, found he loved his kill
lists and his drone strikes and his proxy wars in Yemen and his detention
without trial or even charge of anyone he pleases. Thank you, Edward
Snowden, for blowing the whistle on the corruption in our own government.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:53 p.m.
ScottW
RECOMMENDED
21
Chapel Hill, NC
One thing is crystal clear--it is Dir. of Intel Clapper who belongs in jail for
violating our rights to privacy, not Edward Snowden, who only exposed this
corrupt, immoral, treasonous individual. Sadly, Pres. Obama supports Clapper
and supports the complete destruction of any right to privacy. Both Obama
and Clapper should be sent packing for the harm they have inflicted on this
Country.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:52 p.m.
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Alex S
New York, N.Y.
One of the troubling aspects of this is that once the technology ecosystem has
been compromised, it's very hard to know that you've cleaned it up.
If your computer gets a virus, you can wipe it off and reinstall the operating
system, but that assumes the fresh install was safe. We don't have a safe place
to roll back to.
Years ago, a famous computer scientist named Ken Thompson told a story at
his Turing Award acceptance speech, about how he built a back door into a C
compiler. The compiler would put back doors into the Unix login program,
and it would even install the ability to insert those backdoors into new C
compilers that it was used to build.
The result of this was a system that would withstand code audits. Someone
could look at all of the lines of code in the login program, as well as in the
compiler, and see that there were no backdoors. Yet when the system was
deployed, the backdoors would be there.
The people at the NSA are very clever, and that's a famous story in
programming circles. So even open source systems like Linux or even
OpenBSD could very well be compromised in ways that would be very difficult
to detect.
The work done by the NSA to compromise computer security has been so
broad and so pervasive that it will be very hard to figure out how to recover.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:49 p.m.
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Lizardo
Prague
Yes, Terrence, the world is messy. Why institutionalize making it more
of a mess?
Maybe we can adopt some international open standard that can be
audited.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:01 p.m.
Mats Stenfeldt
RECOMMENDED
1
Sweden
You shall always perform your code audit with mixed c-code and
assembly view then you have a chance.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:44 p.m.
michael sangree
connecticut
from time to time i've heard stories re backdoors into ms-dos and
windows, as well as intel chips. since these products have proven to be
ridden with security flaws, it's plausible to imagine that some were
intentional,
what-if games nowadays posit backdoors in adobe products, which
certainly are ubiquitous. ditto for apple devices manufactured in china.
with this latest news, there really isn't a conspiracy theory that can be
proven patently false.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:35 p.m.
Michael Branagan
RECOMMENDED
1
Silver Spring, MD
Then does this ability cause the gov't or encryption company some sort of
criminal or civil liability in that the product does not perform as advertised?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:48 p.m.
Vincent
RECOMMENDED
3
Westfield, NJ
I wonder if the liberals at the NYT now understand the paranoia of the right
over the power of the federal government? Even they must be getting a bit
nervous. What do you call a government that doesn't represent the will of the
majority of the people? And now they want another war when the people are
telling them to stop. Isn't this the prelude to revolution?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:48 p.m.
P.Law
RECOMMENDED
2
Nashville
Liberals and civil libertarians have been leading the charge against this,
but we're glad to have any conservatives who want to join in. I hope it
doesn't come to that, but it may indeed be the prelude to revolution.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:22 p.m.
ronaldleewht661
RECOMMENDED
7
Eufaula, AL
Well, after all, the Internet, is owned, and maintained by The U. S.
Department of Commerce. Is it reasonable, to have ever expected any privacy,
from the outset?
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Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:48 p.m.
William Payne
RECOMMENDED
1
New York
I am struggling to comprehend the magnitude of this.
If back-doors have been inserted into a significant proportion of the
cryptosystems that we use to secure our computing infrastructure, then our
machines are a lot less secure than we thought, and the risk that they have
been compromised (by the NSA or by somebody else) is consequently much
higher.
So, the next time I make a decision based on a spreadsheet, or an email, or a
word document, how do I know that the figures that I am reading have not
been subverted somehow?
If the computer is a bicycle for the mind, a lot of us are going to have to learn
to become pedestrians again.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:47 p.m.
RECOMMENDED
86
READ ALL 4 REPLIES
Terrence
Maryland
Mr. Payne, You are trying to draw conclusions based on a few random
facts and without understanding computer communications or
intelligence. You leap from the defense of the US to your personal
spreadsheet. How you manage that is anybody's guess, it makes no
sense. Your last statement about dropping computer technology is just
plain silly. How about we all try to read experts' analysis and
conclusions,.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 10:12 a.m.
Grace
NY
Wouldn't that be wonderful. It's our job to keep the internet "free" and
not some tool of NSA wonks.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:16 p.m.
Desmo
Hamilton, OH
Or else finally realize that you have nothing worth being concerned
about.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:12 p.m.
Standards in Journalism
New York
We need to stop trying to give spy agencies total power to do their jobs,
because that defeats the purpose of our spy agencies, which is to protect our
rights and freedoms.
A smart intelligence agency excels with limited power; a dumb one needs to
attack rights and freedoms in order to maintain an edge. A dumb one needs to
become Big Brother -- and then what is the point???
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:47 p.m.
Priscilla
RECOMMENDED
5
Utah
I was born in 1950 so I grew up during the Cold War. When I think of
governments spying on their own citizens, the automatic mental response I
have is of Soviet controlled governments thwarting the desire of their citizens
to be free. That is not the government I want to pledge allegiance to.That is not
the government I want to pay my considerable taxes to.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:47 p.m.
Tim Lum
RECOMMENDED
35
Back from the 10th Century
SO, the big news here is that the eavesdropping and electronic countermeasures agency is breaking codes? That's what they are supposed to do,
right? I hope they do more of it to prevent Whacka-doodles like those wild and
crazy Cechnyan Bros from Beanton blowing up and dismembering children.
Didn't help much then. Maybe we would prefer paid neighborhood
surveillance teams of informants? Criminals have privacy rights to assume our
identities and empty our bank accounts, but NSA shouldn't have the right to
crack codes? The NSA, CIA, DEA, FBI can steal my secret marinade recipe and
posts to the NYTimes, but I doubt it would be a good career move. Go to work.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:47 p.m.
Rocketscientist
RECOMMENDED
1
Chicago, IL
I find it ironic that the NSA has control of private communication and yet Wall
Street bankers run free. Surely a communication between some fat cat in the
Hamptons and his off-shore banker in the City of London can't have gone
unnoticed. Or, does surveillance only apply to the "little people.?"
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:44 p.m.
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steve
Western MA
. It's clearly unacceptable on a public safety and law enforcement level to allow
instantaneous communications between multiple entities that are completely
unreadable by law enforcement. Command, control, and organization through
communication channels are the fundamentals of military (and any
organizational) action. world where adversaries have the unrestrained ability
to organize and collude without oversight or detection would be an alarming,
chaotic world in which peace would be constantly undermined by adversarial
group actions--whether criminal or military.Since there can be no putting the
crypographic genie back into the bottle, cryptanalysis is here to stay, and I for
one would choose the NSA over the Chinese intelligence agencies if i had the
power to pick who has this ability. Indeed, it's not clear that restraining the
NSA's ability would do anything to restrain our geopolitical adversaries'
abilities in this realm, and would potentially leave the country blind
informationally and strategically. Therefore, from even a strictly military or
defense perspective, either a back door or other program elements that allow
messages to be decrypted by appropriate agencies is necessary.
This certainly creates problems from the civil liberties standpoint (how to
assure that these powers are not misused or abused--as they certainly will be) .
But it seems to be the only realistic option on the plate, given the world we live
in...and there is no turning back the clock.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:44 p.m.
P.Law
RECOMMENDED
2
Nashville
I'm sorry, the best "instantaneous communication" is a face-to-face
conversation. Are you really suggesting that police should be able to
intrude on those conversations? The only difference between that and
your statement is the method.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:55 p.m.
Igidur
RECOMMENDED
7
Kansas City
I'm curious in which Chinese province is Western MA? You write as if
you are a Chinese Communist Party boss.
Your point about the communication control is straight out of Gestapo,
KGB, and Stasi handbooks. Can't you see that desiring this total control
will just make us (US that is) weaker? People will stop using our
services. People will stop trusting us with information. This totalitarina
approach will force them to develop new ways to avoid our "oversight"
and ultimately will cause our own companies grave harm.
If we don't protect the companies and allow the NSA to insert
back-door exploits, eventually the innovation will shift from US to
other countries and THAT will spell our demise.
For all we know, the Chinese hackers have already used these "back
doors" to steal our corporate secrets.
Something has to be done to reign in the secrecy because history has
ALWAYS shown that it results in NOTHING good.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:24 p.m.
iHeartChinese
RECOMMENDED
6
New York City
Igidur, you are too hard on steve. Yes, he overreached a bit, but,
generally, his analysis is quite shrewd. And I, for one, agree that, if a
nation is to have this ability, I would prefer the us over China.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:04 a.m.
Miketcha
Higganum CT
Rest assured, we have safeguards in place to protect our rights, I'm sure the
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance court will be issuing a ruling any day now.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:43 p.m.
YYL
RECOMMENDED
2
Florida
Introducing vulnerabilities into international encryption standards in order to
facilitate your own data collection, is evil in its very essence. It is evil
regardless what kind of lofty ideals you claim to achieve. This is something
that I used to think only terrorists would do. Now it is done by our own
government. I am speechless. How did our government go so wrong? It seems
that in the name of national protection, our government has forsaken the
noble principles that this nation was originally founded on, and drooped down
to the same level as the scoundrels that it is claiming to fight.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:43 p.m.
Niklas
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26
Easton, PA
They're ripping up the Constitution bit by bit. I find it amazing how
they can keep committing these acts of treason and get away with it.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:52 p.m.
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Kty47
Boston, MA
So a US spy agency has the ability to spy and spy well. I see this as a success
story - the US spy agencies are maligned for their ineffectiveness and taxpayer
waste. The NSA seems to have done a good job at what they've been tasked to
do. What's the problem?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:43 p.m.
P.Law
RECOMMENDED
3
Nashville
Yay! They're great at trampling privacy and the Constitution!
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:57 p.m.
Charles Swanson
RECOMMENDED
9
Green Valley, AZ
They are VIOLATING the Constitution . . . . . .
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:13 p.m.
Laird100
RECOMMENDED
7
New Orleans
I am sure the editors believe that the public had a "need to know" about this,
and acted in good faith when they published it. I have always been a big fan of
the NYTimes because I trusted them to do just that. However with this
decision the editors have lost their way. There are things we do not "need to
know"--that we as a nation are better off not knowing about. This is one of
them. I can understand that an immature boy like Snowden might not be able
to discern between the two. But I had higher expectations for the Editors of the
New York Times.
This decision to go public with this story, despite a request not to do so, is a
terrible mistake, one that weakens the republic. I hope one day the editors who
made this decision will understand just how badly they have mis-perceived the
lay of the land.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:43 p.m.
Frank
RECOMMENDED
3
San Diego
You may believe that we do not "need to know" that our Fourth
Amendment right of privacy has been trash-canned by the government.
A lot of others do think that is important. A great many people do not
like their government, knowing the facts but lying to them...again and
again and again. We were told our internet is secure. That was a lie as
we know now. We were told that China "hacking" was a threat to our
security. That was a lie as we know now. I think you have "misperceived
the lay of the land."
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:02 p.m.
Carolyn
RECOMMENDED
14
Saint Augustine
I thank the New York Times. We are indebted to it and all the other
news agencies that have exposed the NSA and by extension, our corrupt
government. We are indebted to Edward Snowden. But I want to make
sure that I thank the New York Times again for having the integrity to
report on this issue. I pray you are never intimidated into secrecy. The
majority of Americans stand with you, for that I am sure.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:11 p.m.
Carolyn
RECOMMENDED
16
Saint Augustine
If the government has the ability to pry into everything we do - and it does
have that capability - then essentially, it has walked us into a cell. The only way
to free ourselves is to disband or severely curtail the operations of this
monster. The NSA's invasion is insidious; it's immoral in a free society, and
what's more, the American people never gave permission to do it! We had no
idea! Now, as more and more information is coming to light, we are finding
that we are utterly vulnerable to the NSA, and the NSA is not even interested
in American protection. It would rather have weakened encryption so that it
can play peeping Tom instead of honorable cop. The NSA is a perverse entity.
This betrayal of American ideals is the result of too much power in the hands
of too few, who operate in secret, and luxuriate in those secrets, like our
corrupt president. We clearly have some evil people - and I don't use the term
"evil" lightly - that are so anxious to dominate society, intimidate people and
reduce sovereign nations to satellites, that they are willing to do anything. This
practice is beyond just a shrug and an "oh well." If it doesn't stop, there will be
no freedom, no privacy and no dignity for any of us or our children. I can't
believe that any of this is legal in the true sense of the word. All of this
happened through manipulated, twisted legalities and outright deceit.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:40 p.m.
RMarc
RECOMMENDED
20
Albany NY
"When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and waving a
cross"!
Fascism is already here and it's the NSA!
Americans should be in the streets but as usual, we are too busy shopping!
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Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:40 p.m.
Bert Thomas
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30
KY
The Snowden revelations are important for the public debate they are creating.
I am not naive about NSA's capabilities and mission, but there is something
deeply troubling to me about the increasing capabilities of our government to
reach into the private business of individuals and corporations here and
abroad, despite the assertions of built-in protections. The private company NSA nexus to subvert privacy, even with supposed safeguards, has risen to a
level much worse than the terror it was intended to prevent. Our personal
communications conducted by electronic means should be, I believe, just as
private as a conversation I might have during a walk in the woods. I have an
expectation that my lawful business is as private as I want it to be, but when
security vulnerabilities are built into software intentionally to make them
transparent to those with the means to exploit them, something has gotten
screwed up.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:39 p.m.
Norman
RECOMMENDED
7
Bloomfield, NJ
The NSA's actions have now tainted every US technology company. World
consumers will now assume, and rightly so, that all US software, computer
systems and computer service companies are complicit in the spying and will
avoid US products and services.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:39 p.m.
Craig
RECOMMENDED
30
Killingly, CT
The President and Congress need to stop this intrusion. This is not the
America I know and love.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:38 p.m.
J
RECOMMENDED
8
New York, NY
Thanks NYT for pushing this issue.
The government's gathering of information is completely
out of control.
The more we let it continue is the more our nation slips
into a police state that currently is somewhat benign for
most Americans but could easily be malignant with time.
Unless many of us get organized and start litigating with
the NSA, which will be expensive and possibly dangerous,
we are not likely to get any changes.
Our congress is rudderless, and our President thinks he
can control it. You can't.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:37 p.m.
Frank
RECOMMENDED
27
San Diego
Our integrity as a world leader has been called seriously into question,
particularly by young people around the world. We are so weakened
even the UN's Ban Ki Moon opposes the military strike. President
Obama, at the G20 summit, probably could not lead the hungry leaders
to lunch. Parenthetically, while the intelligence services know what I
had for dinner last night, they can't link the Syrian government to the
Sarin attack.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:18 p.m.
David Rea
RECOMMENDED
3
Boulder, CO
If the U.S. government can do it, how can we be sure the Chinese can't?
I'd rather have the NSA work *with* companies to increase protection.
Typical government arrogance.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:37 p.m.
GWS
RECOMMENDED
5
Southern California
Government agencies have been tracking us digitally for the better part of 30
years. While concerns about privacy, surveillance and cybercrime are
legitimate, the issues run much deeper than what we read or hear about in
even the most "progressive" media outlets. This about us, and what we are
willing to do as a People to protect our civil liberties and drive policy-decisions
beyond what the buffoons in Congress are sitting on as a result of bribes and
special lobbies. We need to wake up.
Between the NDAA language and myriad jabs at Constitutional amendments
(1st, 4th, 10th and so on), you can read all about how we've been stymied by
our "elected" leaders, on both sides of the aisle. Political parties mean nothing,
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just as government agencies -- lest the ones we know about -- are more or less
rogue operations. This is about policy, advocacy, and most of all, personal
responsibility. What are YOU willing to do to protect yourself, your friends
and your family without having to pick up a gun or protest in the streets? Are
you willing to do your research and network information?
Let's be honest: Terrorist networks and criminal organizations certainly exist,
but do they necessitate the kind of controls that have been implemented?
Further, what is the real context for those controls (i.e. is the government
actually conducting a war on terror, and/or, are certain factions within it
conducting a war on "us")?
Think and act accordingly. Peacefully.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:37 p.m.
Eric
RECOMMENDED
8
New York
I say, great news! I'm glad an intelligence agency is collecting and analyzing
this kind of information. It's used to identify potential threats. The people
analyzing this information are a far cry from the Gestapo.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:37 p.m.
P.Law
RECOMMENDED
3
Nashville
It's not that they're bad people, it's that power corrupts, i.e. good
people become corrupted by power. The Founders understood this.
You say it's used to identify potential threats, but how do you know
what it's used for? You're buying the word of a government that has lied
about, and continues to lie about to this day, this thing the whole time.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:00 p.m.
Tony
RECOMMENDED
3
California
People here also seem to forget that the US government started the Internet.
There would be no Internet without the US government money that funded it,
directed the research to create it, and helped set it up before many of you folks
were born. The ENTIRE original purpose of the Internet was to permit robust
US government communications in a time of war. That's it. Nothing more.
Solely for government communications. Not to watch videos of surfing dogs,
not to email your mother, not to shop on Amazon. All you folks who are using
the system that the US government put in place for its own purposes are now
complaining that the government is using the Internet for its own purposes.
This "mouth agape" stuff and "shocked and surprised" nonsense doesn't befit
an educated and knowledgeable readership. Read your history books folks.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:37 p.m.
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rms
GOTL, OH
Yes, read history.
The internet rests on three hundred years of science, mathematics, and
engineering. NSA and its ilk stand wobbling on the shoulder of giants.
There would be no internet if it were not for.men like Gauss, Fourier,
Ampere, Faraday, James Clark Maxwell, J. J. Thompson. (These men
were not even Americans!). Would we have an internet without M. I. T.,
Cambridge University, and all the great German universities?
Where would the internet be without the invention of computing
theory, vacuum tubes, transistors, printed circuits, and computers?
Have you forgotten Bell Labs and Silicon Valley? If left unaided the
Pentagon would be using slide rules and sending carrier pigeons.
The US government is us. We hire and pay it to do what we want. We
direct it and give it the tools and know-how to carry of OUR work.
Beware, Dog, lest you bite the very hand that supplies your daily
kibbles!
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:16 p.m.
Khadijah
Houston,TX
"People here also seem to forget that the US government started the
Internet. There would be no Internet without the US government
money that funded it, directed the research to create it, and helped set
it up before many of you folks were born."
Nonsense. The original purpose of ARPANET was file sharing between
national labs. The core protocols for what we *today* call the Internet
were developed not in the US, but in Switzerland. So, basically, we're
driving a Swiss car down a government-built electronic highway.
It is patent nonsense to believe that if the government hadn't built the
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road, private interests would *not* have built it. Humans are too
creative, and the internet too useful, for this not to occur. The US
investment sped up the process, but the investment would have been
made nontheless.
Sept. 7, 2013 at 5:42 a.m.
Robert Klute
San Jose, CA
ARPAnet may have won, but there were other networks contending.
Tymnet and BBN, as examples. So, even without government funding
there would be a global network today. Even so, that the publicly
funded technology prevailed implies no rights or entitlements are owed
to government bureaucracies.
Sept. 7, 2013 at 5:42 a.m.
Sarah
New York, NY
"Intelligence officials asked The Times and ProPublica not to publish this
article, saying that it might prompt foreign targets to switch to new forms of
encryption or communications that would be harder to collect or read. The
news organizations removed some specific facts but decided to publish the
article because of the value of a public debate about government actions that
weaken the most powerful tools for protecting the privacy of Americans and
others."
Thank you, New York Times, The Guardian, and ProPublica, for publishing
this article! You are doing the public a great service.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:36 p.m.
Cooky
RECOMMENDED
42
world citizen
We sincerely appreciate the NYT's publishing this. We were concerned it
would bend to govt. pressure, when we learned it had been provided some of
Mr. Snowden's documents. There is a proposal to do DNA testing on every
newborn (pilot programs already are in place). The data would go in one's
medical file. Under Obamacare, one's medical data will be widely shared with
all kinds of bureaucrats.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:34 p.m.
John Granatino
RECOMMENDED
4
Texas
Twelve years ago (next week), after planes were turned into bombs in
Manhattan, Virginia and Pennsylvania, some blame was assigned to U.S.
government agencies that did not fully anticipate the intent of the terrorists.
The Patriot Act was quickly passed to make sure this would not happen again,
and 9/11 became the end of an era, the era when we could assume that
anonymous communications via the internet would stay anonymous. How is
this a surprise to anyone today?
Do we need privacy? Absolutely. Do we need security? Unquestionably. We
need both, not just one or the other. But the more we have of one, the less we
have of the other. I of course reject the idea of an absolutist state in which our
every thought is turned against us. But I also reject the idea of internet
absolutists whose privacy-at-any-costs perspective could limit our ability to
fend off attacks. Can we take the angst and outrage being expressed in the
comments above and apply that energy toward achieving a world with room
for both privacy and security?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:34 p.m.
Phat Pony
colorado, USA
I'd rather risk the safety of my family and myself to the *possibility" of a
random act of terror (statistically less likely to happen than being struck by
lightning) than the certainty of losing my "inalienable rights" to a police state.
The saddest thing about this are all those who have given their life and limbs
to protect and uphold the Constitution and our way of life. This is how we
honor their memory and sacrifice. Nice.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:33 p.m.
Chris Koz
RECOMMENDED
43
Oregon
I began to read this article thinking a traditional 'man in the middle' attack
-compromising encryption protocols before or after data was encrypted; which
is quite simple to execute.
But, I assumed the NSA was operating, at least to some degree, within the law.
It is clear they are not...unless there's some secret constitution somewhere we,
as Americans, have not been told about.
"...by getting their voluntary collaboration, forcing their cooperation with
court orders or surreptitiously stealing their encryption keys or altering their
software or hardware." Umm, so stealing encryption keys or black mailing, or
using coercion are legal? In what sense?
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THIS goes far far beyond any mandate given by the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act (FISA). No reasonable person, upon a moment's reflection,
can read this story and think it is legal.
Q.) Where are our law-makers? A.) Knee-deep in private sector collusion to
their own benefit and/or afraid to protect our Democracy for fear of some
'terrorist' attack..and via their cowardice (or avarice) they destroy what this
country tried to stand for more than two centuries.
The more I read the more I am convinced Snowden broke the law for the
greater ideal of trying to save the Republic. Certainly that took more courage
than our representatives exercise...they're too busy gutting head start,
deregulating wall street, and planning for their next election.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:33 p.m.
Bill
RECOMMENDED
84
Iowa
What a disappointment the Obama administration and other branches of
government have become, undermining U.S. corporations ability to compete
in the global economy.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:33 p.m.
RECOMMENDED
Marc S. Lawrence
4
Chicago, IL
Just like his predecessor George W. Bush.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:48 p.m.
SNA
Westfield NJ
Can this story get any worse? Nothing we were told initially about the limits of
our privacy the NSA could breach has turned out to be true.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:31 p.m.
Emad
RECOMMENDED
32
Calgary, Canada
What if another "Snowden" appeard...but this time posting the decrypted data
of citizens all over the world? Why the NSA be trusted?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:31 p.m.
rwo
RECOMMENDED
1
Chicago
This sort of "covert nonsense" started back in the 70's and was explored in the
film, "Three Days of the Condor".
Near the end of the film CIA boss Cliff Robertson, explains to CIA employee,
Robert Redford that the CIA is excused from murdering its employees to
ensure that there is an uninterrupted stream of oil into the Unites States.
If the NSA is keeping us safe, I have no problem with them checking my emails
or doing whatever it is they do. I have nothing to hide.
This "privacy this and constitutionally-guaranteed right that" nonsense gets so
blown out of proportion.
Let these people do their job and quit complaining.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:28 p.m.
Ross Salinger
RECOMMENDED
2
Carlsbad Ca
It's really not the NSA you need to worry about here. It's what happens when
the people inside the NSA look at what you're doing and decide to blackmail
you or publish that politically incorrect comment you made (perhaps even in
jest) to all your friends. They know your friends because they can see who
you're sending email too and then hack into the email servers and so on. The
other thing you need to worry about is when a whistleblower leaks your
confidential information to Ruppert Murdoch's newspapers. To me I'd be
happy to trust the NSA if (big if) it wasn't made up of twenty thousand
individuals all with their own agendas. Information leaks -- it's inevitable so
having it all collected like this is like building a nuclear power plant in an area
plagued by earthquakes and tsunamis. We know that no one would ever do
something like that, don't we.
Rgrds-Ross
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:28 p.m.
Nancy
Great Neck
As though there were no privacy from government in America, let alone
abroad. As though the Constitution were of no meaning.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:28 p.m.
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JG
Denver, CO
The answer to this invasion of privacy is very simple. Go back to printing on
paper or memorize and send personal careers.
What is happening is an inherent consequence of using the digital medium. It
may produce some super brains that resemble a chess game. Whoever is one
step ahead will always win.
Even if we were to create the most sophisticated artificial language with the
most complex letters and symbols, eventually the supercomputers will be able
to figure it out.
Welcome to the dialectic of the mind. Humans are very creative they will
always find a way to get out of their impasses.
We should limit the phone and the Internet to trivial transfer of information
and messages. until there will come a time we're will be inserted with a chip
into our brains, even this may not work.
For the time being joy that cat and mouse chase!. It has just taken a different
shape.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:26 p.m.
Tony
California
To all the people who are surprised at this "revelation", do you know nothing
about world history? Are you really that ignorant? Let me educate you briefly the US, British (and German and Russian) governments have been cracking
encryption (with and without help) since before WWI, refined it to a science
during WWII, and turned it into an art form in the Cold War and afterwards.
Did all you folks really think that the government couldn't crack the weak a_s
encryption used in commercial products today when they've been cracking
military grade encryption for more than decades? Get real folks! Life goes on.
Children are born, grow old, and die. None of your stuff is that secret anyway.
The government isn't wasting its time to see what you had for lunch last week
and what friend you are badmouthing. The government thinks it is looking out
for you, in the ham-handed, misguided way they've always done it.
It's amazing that people will share every detail of their lives on Facebook and
Twitter, allow Google to scan every single email they send from their Android
phone or on Gmail and then are up all night worrying that the government
might look at their messages. So many other people are already looking at your
communications, with your willing consent, might as well let the government
in on the fun.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:26 p.m.
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255
READ ALL 22 REPLIES
Indiana Kurt
Bloomington
The problem with your historical analogy is that all those efforts were
against MILITARY communications. US citizens were not using
Enigma machines to write correspondence between each other or to
carry out bank transactions. The Enigma machine was not
manufactured and maintained by American companies.
This. undermines US interests because US companies will not be
trusted for any communications. This is precisely the problem that the
US accuses China of in dealing with American companies.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:34 p.m.
Joe G
RECOMMENDED
3
Houston
The human race has survived natural disasters, genocide, wars, slavery
and tyrannies and probably can survive anything but do you want to
live thru them? Life goes on you say.
Do you really want government and corporations to know every aspect
of your life? Think of the power you would give them. Is giving up your
freedom is worth it, to increase your purchasing power?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:21 p.m.
Steve B.
St. Louis, Missouri
This analysis is very popular, but it conflates private companies with
the GOVERNMENT. Private concerns do not have the power to
incarcerate, tax, go to war, nor do many other life changing (or life
ending, for that matter) things that governments can do. The
constriction was not written to protect us from from our neighbors,
banks, news companies, communication companies, etc.. The Bill of
Rights was designed to protect us from the heavy hand of government.
Period. If the Internet had not become so inextricably intertwined with
most aspects of modern life throughout the world, perhaps NSA's
antics would not be so troublesome. But living an internet free life is
not a real option for most folks living in non-agrarian cultures. The
nonchalance with which some view the loss of certain basic freedoms
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some of which were codified in the Magna Carta, for heaven's sake, is
terrifying.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 10:13 p.m.
SuperNaut
RECOMMENDED
3
The West
Keep off the network and exchange physical messages - got it.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:26 p.m.
Rich
RECOMMENDED
2
UES
There's no such thing as privacy on the Internet. Period.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:26 p.m.
Sergey Hazarov
RECOMMENDED
1
Redmond, WA
I don't care about this very much as long as my coputer standing in my
bedroom does not record me when I have sex with my wife and it is not going
to be published over internet for fun by another Snowden, just as a proove of
concept.
The next post is going to be that all smatphones are a actually constantly
listening to all conversations their respective owners do and record them in
database.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:25 p.m.
IowaBoy
RECOMMENDED
2
Heartland, USA
Sergey, you know how your smartphone battery never seems to last as
long as it used to? Yep. You got it.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:13 p.m.
Uga Muga
RECOMMENDED
4
Miami
With so much success in ongoing data capture by defeating encryption
attempts combined with the premise that secrecy is imperative to the efforts,
somehow those responsible for facets of NSA operations and internal
mandates did not anticipate a Snowden event. Regardless of what anyone
thinks about this agency, it needs to protect itself and the purposes it serves in
the way its targets apparently can't. Obviously that includes protocols to
control human interaction with its sensitive systems. I know this isn't a novel
observation but there must be some pretty red faces behind the curtain.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:25 p.m.
Frank
Batlimore
None of this is good. Thanks, Snowden for opening up a dialog that the
Government must now have with its citizens,
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:25 p.m.
Benito
RECOMMENDED
22
Oakland CA
This has been going on for decades. See the Puzzle Palace by James Bamford.
What is new is that the NSA has been joined by other players. Are those who
think they have nothing to hide from the US government also not worried
about the Chinese and Russians governments?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:24 p.m.
C. Whiting
Madison, WI
"...the N.S.A. shares decrypted messages with other agencies only if the keys
could have been acquired through legal means."
Is this statement, describing clearly ILLEGAl behavior, not enough to haul the
NSA leadership into court?
If not, we have now officially and on paper, become something other than a
democratic republic.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:22 p.m.
Jake
RECOMMENDED
35
New York
Thanks so much for sharing this with us and with our enemies. Great work.
Pulitzer in sight.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:21 p.m.
J. H
RECOMMENDED
3
New Haven, CT
First, a part of this debate should be whether we are OK with countries like
China and Russia developing cryptology technology that far outstrips that of
the U.S. China clearly is investing a lot in the ability to wage cyber espionage.
Would it comfort people to know that the U.S. government is technologically
unable to read their e-mail (or that of anyone else who uses the same
encryption) but the governments of foreign countries can? How about criminal
and terrorist groups? Yes, the risk to our liberty of U.S. government power is
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real, but please don't pretend like limiting the capabilities of the NSA would
not also have risks.
Second, I think that whatever your feelings about this revelation that people
are precise in how they react. What is revealed here is that the NSA has
successfully been developing the capability of cracking encoded messages, not
that it is spying on Americans and indiscriminately reading e-mails and other
private information.That is as important a distinction as between developing
advanced satellite technology (that can be used to monitor military
movements abroad) and using that same technology to catch an American
citizen cheating on their spouse. A tremendous number of people seem to be
drawing conclusions that this article provides no evidence for.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:21 p.m.
PK
RECOMMENDED
5
South Carolina
If Watson can analyze 10,000,000 financial reports in 15 seconds, and
1,000,000 medial records and analyze trends in the same 15 seconds, why
would any thinking person be surprised that the NSA can break an encryption
without breaking a sweat? What is disappointing is that people are surprised,
also that the government is obviously knowingly ignorant or willingly
complicit in this violation of one of our most basic Constitutional rights.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:21 p.m.
Bill
San Francisco
The reason we're surprised is that, as Barbie once said, "Math is Hard!"
Specifically, with encryption math, we can make accurate calculations
about how hard it is to break a specific message or key, and design
them to take hundreds of years, or in some cases billions of years, to
decrypt. That assumes that there aren't fundamental breakthroughs in
some particular math problems that we think are hard (and the
academic world has far more mathematicians than NSA does), and
more importantly, it assumes that they haven't found a way to simply
steal the keys instead of cracking them.
If the NSA could get Microsoft or Intel to send them a copy of every key
you hit on your keyboard, it doesn't matter how strong the encryption
is, because they can get the keys when you type them.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:34 p.m.
Dying Gaul
RECOMMENDED
2
Vermont
Distrust and deceit are not much to build a relationship on.
The paranoids are looking like the wise men,
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:19 p.m.
Dennis
RECOMMENDED
16
MD
"...publish the article because of the value of a public debate..."
A public debate is impossible. This article only reveals capabilities and
techniques. A debate would need to examine: actual effective exposure of
American privacy, operational successes against national security threats,
program history of success and failure in protecting American privacy, and
alternatives to NSA methods. The required information is classified. Like it or
not, we have to rely on our elected representatives (intelligence oversight
committees) to sort through this. It's not obvious to me that they have not
already done so.
I am certain that other foreign intelligence services are as clever as NSA.
Thanks to articles like this one they will probably be more successful in
obtaining funding for their activities.
If you have sensitive financial, economic, technical and personal data of
interest to a foreign intelligence organization, do not connect it to the Internet.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:19 p.m.
scottie
RECOMMENDED
52
san jose
With the size and scope of the burgeoning US legal system, and
legislators who are paid to create more laws, Americans on average
break two laws per day. Most of us NYT readers are more affluent, so
we break far more laws, since we are involved in commerce,
technology, have cars etc. So if you are an American, chances are you've
broken a law or two today. That Government agents should drag you
out of your home for violation of who knows what .......that should be
your main concern.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:14 p.m.
Phil
SD, CA
That's exactly what the US government did with their computers
containing sensitive diplomatic cables, war reports, etc. They weren't
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connected to the Internet. Ask them how that worked out.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 12:53 a.m.
Lynn
S.
Unless you're a drug dealer or other money launderer, there is no way
to avoid "connecting it to the internet" and function in modern society.
What, use a piggy bank? Cash your paper check at a check cashing store
to avoid online deposit or a bank and pay a huge fee - and probably
they keep an electronic record of the transaction as well as the issuing
bank.
The problem isn't with Americans "connecting to the internet" - the
problem is with our own government searching and seizing our private
records (as in we aren't doing business with the government when we
make a banking transaction with a private company) without
reasonable cause or warrant. They have no need for this and should be
protecting us from such use of technology - not subjecting us to it.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 11:09 p.m.
Independent
Maine
If we can't trust this government, then why should it be allowed to continue?
Any attempts to change it may be met with the full force of the Police State,
which obviously consider ALL of this country's citizens a threat. That's a
sickness.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:18 p.m.
Markus
RECOMMENDED
21
Boca Raton, Florida
Thanks for this most interesting article!
Intellectually, I find the ability to analyse encrypted internet traffic in real time
just amazing. It's a mind blowing feat.
Publicitywise, I am surprised that those programs coud be kept secret for so
long. Ironically, I think that this secrecy has kept our private data safe for
most, if not all, practical aspects.
Now however I am getting worried: Since everybody knows that private
information can be extracted from the internet, I expect that many will want it.
For example: government agencies (the IRS...), companies like your employer
or business partners, perhaps even neighbours, friends and enemies.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:18 p.m.
gnowxela
RECOMMENDED
1
NJ
So the “S” in NSA now stands for domestic industrial Sabotage – not that
different from (when you consider our increasing reliance on secure data
systems) secretly doping all steel so that all bridges are easier to blow up, on
the off chance that a bad guy might use a bridge somewhere. Problem is that it
makes it easier for anyone to blow up any bridge. And now who’s going to trust
you to build the next bridge? How much damage has this done to US industry?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:18 p.m.
Jon Webb
RECOMMENDED
4
Pittsburgh, PA
Seriously, "gobsmacked"?
I've always assumed the NSA was doing this. Otherwise, how could we possibly
be listening in on foreign conversations? Do people really think that foreign
governments cannot afford encryption technology?
I find it amazing that intelligent people working in the area of encryption are
surprised by the revelation.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:18 p.m.
BBo Enter
RECOMMENDED
3
undefined
I think the only people surprised were Snowden and the general public.
Every country of any importance has known about this and a lot more.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:33 p.m.
FEDUP
Sunshine State
AMERIKA....no longer the land of the free!
Since 9/11 the intel budget has grown from approx. $20 billion a year to
approx. $80 billion a year (Washington Post estimates)........not including the
dod and state department components which is likely to be another $20-30
billion .......IMO an unmitigated waste of taxpayer dollars.......
The time has come to both consolidate intel agencies/depts and as well cut by
50% or more their budget...enough baloney reports.....and sting type
operations on entrapment and little fish......end the intel fear factor madness
along with the endless and senseless wars ruining our ethics and helping to
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ruin our economy.
Time to end these endless and senseless wars on all fronts and cut defense, 146
security forces and 16 intel agencies/depts in half or more and close nearly all
700+ foreign military bases and cancel all three new aircraft carriers - we have
11 and the rest of world has four....and planes and weapons systems and focus
on becoming a peaceful nation.....developing trading partners instead of sabre
rattling, bullying and invading and killing and maiming......
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:18 p.m.
eric selby
RECOMMENDED
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miami beach, FL
Ah, how beyond Orwell we have become!
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:18 p.m.
Other Jersey Guy
RECOMMENDED
6
Monmouth County, NJ
The NSA has bullied Microsoft and other leading software companies into
programing secret "back doors" to their applications. These back doors permit
undetectable access to the information that is stored and/or transmitted. No
need to "crack" the code when you can easily read the content.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:17 p.m.
elim
RECOMMENDED
2
between the lines
Enabren Tain would have been proud.
It is so sad to see that the wealth of information about the fall of freedom will
be locked up in a computer system specifically designed to pry into every
persons communications, without their knowledge nor consent. It seems not
only information on the threats from abroad are locked up in these databases,
but possibly any rational argument about how to deal with such eavesdropping
between regular people. How long before these programs, with their lack of
oversight, run amok, possibly independently, and are used for all the wrong
reasons. Were the first targets of Bullrun and Manassas the people who could
pull the plug? Isn't it expected of a group of code makers and spy masters to
usurp the reigns from their bosses? Even if it's in name of a subjective greater
good? Have they drawn blood to ensure their own machinations survive? Have
they helped any of the regular people with their regular problems? Or is a
missing girl, an escaped criminal, a wrongly imprisoned poor man too small to
be considered worthy of their private journals?
Privacy is their private enemy, don't let them hear you.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:17 p.m.
Bob Sallamack
RECOMMENDED
2
New Jersey
"It does not appear that Mr. Snowden was among them, but he nonetheless
managed to obtain dozens of classified documents"
The usual pretense of reporters of advoiding the fact that Snowden simply
stole any document he could get his hands on.
And of course there is no mention that the United States for years have done
what ever they could to break the codes of adversaries. World War II was
shortened by the ability of the United States and England to break the codes of
Japan and Germany.
Terrorists do not carry business cards that identify themselves as terrorists
and almost the only way to identify terrorists is through being able to read the
communications of terrorists.
But I forgot the reporters of this article want to pretend there is no valid
reason for breaking the codes of adversaries.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:17 p.m.
Bill
RECOMMENDED
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San Francisco
Normally I'd call you on the usual pro-NSA troll of attacking Snowden
rather than addressing the facts he's revealed, and for treating the
American public like we're the "adversaries" here.
But if Snowden "simply stole any document he could get his hands on",
that means that the NSA was amazingly incompetent by leaving highly
classified documents in places that a newly hired contractor could get
his hands on them. Have you ever actually had a security clearance? All
that classification and "need to know" systems (and the fancier
keyword-named projects) are designed so that people who don't need
to know stuff can't get at it, and if a politically motivated patriot can
easily get a job that allows him to expose massive unconstitutional NSA
corruption, then a well-funded spy ought to be able to do a lot better
job of it.
Furthermore, Snowden or the reporters he's been working with have
been extremely careful in how they've picked the stories they've
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covered. They didn't just dump everything, exposing sources, methods,
names of spies, names of compromised officials in other governments
or in American, foreign, and multinational corporations, they've stuck
to the important parts about how the NSA is spying on citizens and on
"friendly" governments.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:44 p.m.
barcelona41
RECOMMENDED
14
New York
When I began watching "Person of Interest" two years ago I thought it was just
a really great drama. Now I realize it's actually a documentary.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:16 p.m.
magicisnotreal
RECOMMENDED
4
earth
This is a case of becoming complacent because of reliance on something
unreliable to do the hard work. It seems our spies have now forgotten how to
do their job.
For all of history spying was done without having any way to "know" about the
enemy or potential and that lack of knowledge served to cause all to be more
cautious. With the advent of the interweb and what that series of tubes have
given us we have the illusion of knowing that which we formerly could not
know, which has lead our hired hands to making all sorts of bad choices. Even
after 30 years they don't seem to have caught on to the fact that this illusory
access to "secrets" has not improved the choices based on that information. In
fact the "choices" being made are worse as are the results.
I say go back to relearn how they did it in 1960 with wits and courage and we
will all be better off.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:16 p.m.
Philihp
RECOMMENDED
1
USA
Is ANYONE going to hold Obama accountable for this outrage? Thank you,
Mr. Snowden. Please come back to the U.S. All is forgiven.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:14 p.m.
RECOMMENDED
John Granatino
9
Texas
This is hardly a partisan question. The Patriot Act that enabled NSA's
actions was signed into law by George W. Bush, and key portions were
later extended by Barack Obama. Both parties deserve credit/blame for
this one, depending on one's perspective.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:53 p.m.
Missouri Reader
RECOMMENDED
2
Missouri
On the one hand, “In the future, superpowers will be made or broken based on
the strength of their cryptanalytic programs,” but on the other hand the
liberties of Americans are at risk by such programs.
In other words, we face a situation where the strongest, most secure nation
can no longer be a nation that guarantees the rights of its citizens.
Privacy is not simply a convenience, but it is intimately linked to free speech
and to the future prospects for democracy in America. Key elements of the
Constitution provide a framework where incumbents can be challenged in free
elections, ensuring that better ideas and better leaders will become available to
guide the nation. But nobody can win an election against an incumbent with
unlimited access to the communications of its rivals. We're not there yet, but
the trend is in that direction.
It is high time that members of both parties in Congress get off of their high
horses and address this growing threat to our democracy. Technical and legal
hurdles must be cleared, and it may even be necessary to make significant
changes in the way the internet works. But time passes very quickly in the
technology world, and the clock has already been ticking for quite a long time.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:14 p.m.
judiann1
RECOMMENDED
162
The Great North Woods
The core of our Congress is run by corporate corruption and they are
not now or ever going to work for the people. The trend is in removing
them because no prod will turn those high horses except more of the
same fodder.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:49 p.m.
Marc S. Lawrence
Chicago, IL
Unfortunately, members of both parties are complicit in the crimes of
the NSA.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:37 p.m.
Lizardo
Prague
It's not just a matter of free speech and privacy, but the act of
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introducing vulnerabilities into basic infrastructure makes us all
vulnerable.
Once these vulnerabilities are understood by our enemies (and they will
be) they can be exploited.
It's like building a dam with a self destruct button under the welcome
mat.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:57 p.m.
Roger
Milwaukee
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and
effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated"
I find it astonishing that anyone could argue that what the NSA is doing is not
unconstitutional.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:13 p.m.
Floridarooster
RECOMMENDED
63
Bonita Springs, FL
This is real scary Orwellian stuff with Big Brother monitoring everything we
do, everything we say, everything we write or text, everywhere we go, and all
the money we spend or move. NSA, CIA, IRS and the rest of the federal
government tell us it is for our protection. They tell us we can trust them not to
misuse the information, and that if we aren't doing anything wrong, we have
nothing to fear. Do not believe them. It is big step towards tyranny.
This is the same government that is trying to take away our guns and ammo
for our own protection, yet domestic government agencies (mostly DHS) have
been stockpiling billions of rounds of ammo.
Do you see a pattern here?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:11 p.m.
Alan
RECOMMENDED
7
Milwaukee, WI
While I have been aghast to learn of some of the revelations of supposedly
proscribed *domestic* surveillance/data collection, I continue to be deeply
troubled by the Times' (et al.) seeming indifference to revealing intelligence/
cryptanalytic 'sources and methods' that are surely invaluable tools in largely
non-controversial *foreign* intelligence gathering and analysis. It seems to me
that a large percentage of the recent revelations (e.g., that NSA can eavesdrop
on certain foreign leaders, or was able to set up compromised electronic chat
rooms at foreign-sited diplomatic gatherings) amount to nothing more than
sensationalism, unless the real agenda is to suggest there is no legitimate place
in a democracy for clandestine foreign intelligence services. The latter seems
to me a bit of a stretch for a supposedly mainstream news organization.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:10 p.m.
timesrgood10
RECOMMENDED
2
Atlanta
Is this a good thing?
At least they are letting us know how they're spending the billions of taxpayer
dollars allotted to them.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:10 p.m.
Bob
Chicago
NYT: you did right thing to publish this, though it's probably only the tip of an
iceberg. Remarkable that U.S. government overtly intervened to try to stop
publication. What's next? Threats of prosecution of editors/journalists
(actually already happening) a la turque? (Turkey holds about a hundred
journalists in prison.)
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:08 p.m.
Mudflats47
RECOMMENDED
36
Alameda CA.
There is no such thing as "privacy." Get over it.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:08 p.m.
Charlie B
RECOMMENDED
1
USA
Having cracked an enemy's codes, it is vitally important that he be kept
unaware of that fact, so that he will therefore continue to use the compromised
codes to communicate his plans. It is for that reason, for example, that the
British project Ultra, which cracked the German Enigma machine, was among
the most closely guarded secrets of its time.
Imagine if there had been a Snowden working at Ultra, and a New York Times
to be an accessory to his crimes and publicize his stolen secrets.
I am not fully comfortable with NSA's use of its powers, but at least they are
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under the control of people that we elect to act in our best interests, however
imperfectly. Who is Snowden to decide what's fair game just because he was
clever enough to spy on his own country so successfully?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:08 p.m.
Huma Nboi
RECOMMENDED
6
Kent, WA
We all expect our intelligence agencies to spy on foreign entities.
Snowden leaked the information because the NSA has turned its spying
apparatus on us, instead of them. Our government is supposed to be
protecting our Constitution not subverting it any and every way it can
get away with. When government trampels the rights of its citizens in
this manner it isn't treason to betray such a government; it's
patriotism.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:28 p.m.
Charlie B
RECOMMENDED
7
USA
@Huma ---People who object to government intrusion and repression don't take
refuge in China and Russia, and attempt to do so in Cuba. What these
governments have in common, aside from their iron-fisted approach to
their own citizens, is antipathy to American values.
I think that tells us all we need to know about Snowden's real motives.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:25 p.m.
Neeraj
RECOMMENDED
2
Santa Clara, CA
Enigma was encryption technology used by an enemy who was at war
with Britain at the time. The NSA wants the capability to eavesdrop on
every citizen. There is no reason to cede this power to the NSA. The
very availability of this power can change your government's
relationship with you, making it less and less benign.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:28 p.m.
Scott
RECOMMENDED
6
NY
I agree with the posters who are taking apart the "If you are doing nothing
wrong, you have nothing to fear" argument, as governments have a way of
making previously legal activities (like protesting, see: Russia) into illegal
activities and criticism can be called subversive.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:07 p.m.
Frick
RECOMMENDED
53
Pittsburgh, PA
Don't they understand how damaging this is to American business?
Why would a foreign company trust the NSA not to decrypt information for
corporate espionage purposes? This gives foreign companies a reason not to
buy American - no Microsoft, Apple, Dell, Google, etc.
And what right do we have to object to the Chinese government inserting
backdoors into Chinese-produced electronics for corporate spying (which, for
them, is not much different than government spying)?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:05 p.m.
hank
RECOMMENDED
52
oneill
Why would any foreign corporation be so naive as to think the NSA
doesn't already decrypt information?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:34 p.m.
MKM
New York
I for one am very pleased the hard working, good looking and brilliant
employees of NSA have done so much to protect us, right guys – you all agree
too- right (wink). They really should pay these guys more.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:04 p.m.
Jim Ogle
RECOMMENDED
8
Baltimore
Good! Its the marketers and commercial interests that bother me , not NSA
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:04 p.m.
Suresh Kamath
Edison, NJ
Remember Some years back Google dramatically withdrew from China as the
Chinese government was trying to covertly access e-mails id dissidents?
Remember how Hilary Clinton lectured china on Free speech and Human
rights ? Now the same government wants has no qualms about covertly
accessing e-mails and tapping into phone calls of millions. So when US does it
is right and when china does it is a violation of Human right
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:03 p.m.
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pa2013
New York, New York
I have wondered whether Google's withdrawal from China was
engineered by the NSA, which wanted to maintain its exclusive access
to Google's information troves. I suspect that China demanded periodic
audits of Google's security infrastructure, which would have revealed
the NSA backdoors. The NSA, feeling threatened, certainly had the
means and motive to launch cyberattacks on Google and make it look
as if China were the culprit.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:31 p.m.
Bing
RECOMMENDED
6
Seattle, WA
I strongly disagree with the sentiment in your message. As an Chinese
who left a country that is so used to heavy handed tactics against its
own citizens, I really have to suppress my emotion writing this reply.
If your point is American grandstanding on Human Rights can be
hypocritical - you are right and I agree. However, if you extrapolate it to
extremes, you are really undermining your own argument.
You probably have never lived through the repression of dissent. I can
tell you it is suffocating. It is worse than what you read in "1984"
because it is real. Without that personal experience, I doubt you can
ever understand (hence speak to) the difference between "here" and
"there", thus equating one to the other.
What I am seeing in the NSA saga is not that different from the Gun
Control debate: the clash of individual liberty vs. the constraints we are
subject to once we agreed to form a Community (whether it is a condo
building, a city, or a nation). The debate will be going on, through one
topic or another, for as long as we call each "fellow-" something.
So let's temper down our passions and guard against paranoia, which
quite frankly I am seeing too much of.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:53 p.m.
J. Tse
RECOMMENDED
6
Flushing, NY
False equivalence much? How many Americans are actually rotting in
jail, under house arrest or torture for just talking about regime change?
How many books, movies and websites are banned here? (note:
banned, meaning you cannot access it, not porn, where you can still
access it).
Do we block weibo or xinhua? No. Do they block twitter, facebook,
youtube, bbc, and a huge number of other "sensitive" search terms, or
delete posts they find "unharmonious"?
No one is pretending America to be perfect example of democracy (I
mean if you look at the least corrupt countries, we easily fall behind
many scandinavian countries, canada and australia, though the US is
still in the top quartile), but I can't believe how many readers are so
gullible to such obvious false equivalence arguments.
At the end of the day, people vote with their feet, Mr. Kamath, from
Edison, New Jersey, not from Edison province of China. Don't believe
me? Go to chinatown and ask any Chinese immigrants, especially those
who suffered under Mao, why they don't go back.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:22 p.m.
Victor Ginsburgh
RECOMMENDED
5
Brussels, Belgium
I have absolutely no confidence in what these guys keep telling us. And this
includes taping and interpreting Assad's army, that I certainly do not like.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:03 p.m.
hank
RECOMMENDED
4
oneill
At some point the citizens of this country will come to realize it doesn't matter
who they elect or how loudly they complain- they have been had, had, had. The
government never deserved our trust, and nothing could possibly restore faith
that was misplaced to begin with. Focus on what matters- live life with
compassion and kindness. Be of meaningful service to your community. Help
those in need.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:02 p.m.
Chase
RECOMMENDED
31
California
I work in the IT industry. I don't want anyone here to underestimate what this
means. The scope of this is absolutely horrifying. Your data is not safe.
This is just what was revealed by Snowden, but I guarantee you the scope is
probably much greater. Everything you do online is being watched. And with
their new datacenters and supercomputers... I doubt even major encryption
standards like AES are safe.
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:02 p.m.
Jack
RECOMMENDED
227
Illinois
Then we must do what Chelsea and Eddie have recommended. Smash
all the computers.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:31 p.m.
hhk1984
New Jesry
I certainly agree. Everything that you type into the system is owned by
the system. Google and all other US corporations are mining (as in data
mining) what you think is private. E-mail, visits to sites, playing games,
user-ids, passwords. We have handed it all over to the Corporations of
America.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:34 p.m.
Lucas
Washington, DC
I am grateful for the NSA's capabilities and pleased that my hard earned tax
dollars are going to such an effective agency. We live in a dangerous world and
our nation is a constant target of espionage operations by hostile nation states.
While the debate about privacy in the USA is worthwhile, the NSA should have
free reign to collect intelligence abroad. I certainly have no expectation of
privacy from the Russian and Chinese intelligence agencies, both of which are
aggressive in their pursuit of American secrets.
As for Ed Snowden and Glenn Greenwald, they overstepped the bounds of
journalism by colluding with foreign powers and revealing American
international intelligence operations to foreign governments. I hope that both
stand trial for treason.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:02 p.m.
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K Henderson
NYC
So what part of the USA govt do you work for?
"the NSA should have free reign to collect intelligence abroad"
Geez Lucas, the hot-topic issue has never been that the USA spies on
other countries.
The issue is that the NSA broadly collects data from domestic American
citizens.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:14 p.m.
William Neil
RECOMMENDED
7
Rockville, Maryland
Lucas:
Please refresh my memory, but was J. Edgar Hoover ever prosecuted
for abuse of power, of collecting, how should I put it, "the moral debits"
on so many in power, or those who would aspire to it, and essentially
blackmailing them, if not conducting outright campaigns of character
defamation? The new technologies, which Snowden and others have
been slowly sketching out for us, offer the potential for similar abuses
on a scale J. Edgar couldn't have imagined, although he seemed to have
a file on nearly everyone in public life even without these technologies.
Now we don't know if the current collection powers have been put to
these uses, but it increasingly looks to me that Henry Adams was right
in his "Education," civilizations are carried away, in directions they
never imagined, by their ever increasing technological prowess.
Goodbye democratic republic.
The temptations for abuse offered by the collections we have now
learned about are a direct threat to the Fourth Amendment, and
unnecessary, even in an age dominated about fears of terrorism. The
FISA court has the power to tailor search and monitoring approvals,
upon a showing of probable cause, to those individuals or groups
directly involved. The notion that we should "sweep it all up" because
we now can and it might prove useful sometime in the future, is a
blatant invitation to construct a world we will all come to condemn.
Stop it now, along with the commercial abuses of data collection..
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:28 p.m.
Lucas
RECOMMENDED
3
Washington, DC
K Henderson---I do not and never have worked for the US government.
I have no personal connections to anyone who works in intelligence or
defense. I do, however, read widely and that includes the foreign press.
Glenn Greenwald is gleefully sharing American intelligence secrets with
the Brazilian government, which is a "hot-topic issue" indeed.
William Neil---Abuses of power are best addressed in the courts, not by
activist journalists and thieves who circumvent the checks and balances
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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of the American government. No one elected Greenwald or Snowden to
represent the interests of the American people or scatter our national
secrets abroad. Who is holding them accountable? Like it or not, the
domestic aspect of the NSA's program was approved by the executive,
legislative and judicial branches of government and the FISA court did
curtail NSA activities that it believed had gone too far. If you are
angered by the NSA surveillance, then contact your elected officials.
Encouraging ego-maniacal, anarchistic individuals accountable to no
one is not the way to address concerns in a democratic nation.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:01 p.m.
John
RECOMMENDED
1
Cincinnati
The U.S. government says it needs to spy on all communications to protect us
from "terrorism." Thus, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY.
The U.S. government needs to attack Syria, because ... [reasons unclear]. Thus,
WAR IS PEACE.
It is considered unpatriotic to doubt for even a second that the U.S. is the
greatest nation on Earth. Thus, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH.
Congratulations, my fellow Americans. You voted for this.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:02 p.m.
Jrcync
RECOMMENDED
81
brooklyn
I didn't vote for this. And, by the way, what's the choice? The other
side?
New politicians are not going to get us out of this. We need new laws
and systems of law enforcement.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:33 p.m.
J
US of A
Good. Keep at it NSA!
I prefer my fellow Americans not to be blown up on the streets where they live.
Some others,presumably, would rather see attacks on our soil and make life
easier for those that would harm us.
I have nothing to hide.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:02 p.m.
William Ward
RECOMMENDED
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New York, NY
Good for you. Some of us do have things to hide. We were told from
very young that the 4th Amendment would guarantee we could do so.
Not really "fair" to have the contract broken by the other party. Not
very sporting of them to do it under the cover of darkness, and certainly
bad for morale.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:23 p.m.
AB
RECOMMENDED
15
Highland, NY
J, the fact that I can reply to you is proof of at least a minimal amount
of influence I can apply. Like the quote someone posted earlier said,
like Lady Diana's death, the influence of others has an impact on each
of us. Privacy is freedom from that influence. Without privacy there is
no freedom.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:04 a.m.
exilarch
somewhere on this planet
So you mean my gpg key is useless?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:02 p.m.
BlueMoose
Binghamton NY
This is a complicated issue. On the one hand, law-abiding citizens of the US
and other countries rely on Internet encryption to protect financial and other
personal information. On the other, Internet encryption allows groups like al
Qaeda the communicate freely without free of being intercepted. It is worth
remembering that had the US and the UK not been able to break German and
Japanese encryption systems during World War II the outcome of that conflict
might have been very different. It seems to me that it is in the US national
interest for NSA to be able to access encrypted Internet communications, so
long as they do so only in accordance with US law.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:02 p.m.
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9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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GLC
USA
Who oversees the NSA to make sure that it acts only in accordance with
US law? The CIA? The FBI?
That's right. The NSA oversees the NSA. No check or balance there.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:09 p.m.
John Burke
RECOMMENDED
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New York
Exactly. It's only in the past 15 years that we have had internet
communications available to everyone worldwide. Indeed, it's likely
that a group like al Qaeda could not plan and inspire attacks globally
without the internet! The failure to have the capacity to monitor their
communications -- and those of other foreign targets -- would be
intolerable incompetence. Al Qaeda is not going to communicate by
phone over copper wires, send letters in the post or broadcast on radio,
as if this were 1970.
But NSA's capacity to access communications does not mean that it
does without legal authority. In 1970, it had the capacity to tap my
phone but it didn't. This obvious, elementary fact is lost in ginned up
hysteria.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:12 p.m.
Steve
Calgary, AB, Canada
But this article already shows that when the law gets in the way, they
simply work around it. So how do you propose to keep them in check?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:18 p.m.
dc lambert
RECOMMENDED
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nj
Top investigative reporting. Bravo.
This is frightening for any number of reasons--to be honest, I'm hesitant to
post my thoughts here, for probably the first time ever. So it begins.
Knowledge is power. This is not just about the very serious issue of a
government drunk on power, violating our Constitution & democracy.
Since absolute power corrupts absolutely, & technology is only in its infancy right now it is almost an infinite tool for power - what we have is the potential
for the most corrupt despotism & fascism aligned with oligarchic financial
powers to transform our society into the dystopia many of us imagine in our
worst nightmares. I'm not being hyperbolic.
Our entire world economy is increasingly reliant on the internet & computers,
so in the short run, this has the power to destroy whole economies. And why
would this technology stay in the NSA? Like a virus, it will spread.
But in the longer run, this has the power to make virtual slaves of us. For
instance, many are predicting a fusion of internet/computers & human
intelligence, if by actual implants or internet-controlled direction (like the
latest breakthrough of one person giving another person the impulse to use
their hand).
Who will control the technology? Who controls it has the potential to control
the world. Civilizations will rise or fall, for good or evil, before this is
stabilized. We can hasten the stabilization by shining a light on this as the
Times does--evil thrives in darkness.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:01 p.m.
Tom Carberry
RECOMMENDED
55
Denver
No one should expect any privacy in the American police state. Wealthy white
Americans finally feel a tiny bit of the force of the American police state that
has goose stepped its way through poor communities for generations.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:01 p.m.
blackh
RECOMMENDED
13
NOLA
The government itself has a really cool coded communication system hiding in
plain sight. It uses pictographs and photographic setups in newspapers and
blogs. Street agents use coded apparel logos , coded catch phrases , sign
language, licence plates and truck door graphics coordinated and combined to
make picture sentances.
If the message isnt intended for you , you dont see it. If you do see it and its
not for you, you cant decode it. if you do decode it the government calls you
nuts. Its mainly used for blackmarket coordinatiion and false flag attacks and
government murder claims.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:01 p.m.
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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Phil Greene
Houston, Texas
Apples new phone will be unlocked by your fingerprint and so the NSA will get
your e-mail and your fingerprint too. A new data bank will contain the
fingerprints for all users of Apple customer's prints. Of course Apple will sell
this as a security measure as they comply with Secret Court Orders. That way
we all will be kept safe????
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:00 p.m.
K. Liu
RECOMMENDED
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US
This article is nothing but a mess of generalities.
It mentioned PGP. It never mentioned whether PGP is still secure (it is). It
mentioned the NSA internal e-mail that said "This can't be good." But did not
elaborate.
As someone with extensive experience in cryptography and security, I want to
point out a few things. Nobody, not even the NSA can arbitrarily crack
anything. When done correctly, even if the NSA set every computer on the
planet to work on brute-forcing an encrypted message, it won't be done in the
next million years. If the NSA is able to break into communications, it does so
through less magical means, like using a National Security Letter to demand
that data be handed over, stealing a key from a user, even having agents who
physically pilfer keys and data. While the NYT does make mentions of these
alternate methods, it muddies it all up and fails to draw distinctions.
E.g.: the weaknesses in NSA-sanctioned algorithms like AES and SHA that the
article alluded to? Yes, those can make brute-force cracking go much faster,
but the attacks aren't practical because they will STILL take millions of years
(if not much more).
The NSA story is important, and deserves the attention of the public. But the
NYT does nobody a favor by presenting an article so fraught with technical
ignorance that makes it sound like all encryption is down the drain (they're
not) or that no web transactions are private (most still are) and that the sky is
falling (nope).
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:00 p.m.
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550
READ ALL 51 REPLIES
Max
Jersey
I am astonished at the certainty that K Liu ascribes to the opinion that
some codes remain and will remain unbreakable. The same was
initially claimed for the (now) standard 125-bit encryption people use
to shop on line or deal with their financial institutions. The claim
preceded the publication of an obscure paper entitled
"Polynomial-Time Algorithm for Breaking the Basic Merkle-Hellman
Cryptosystem" which demolished the notion that brute force was the
only and ultimately impracticable way to break a complex code. Things
have come a long way since that paper was published in 1984. On the
hardware side, advances have included the marketing of the first
quantum based computers which, for certain operations, are anywhere
from 30,000 to 40,000 times faster than the most powerful machines
routinely used up until nowby the the NSA . These machines are just in
their infancy. Therefore, PGP is nowhere near immune since part of its
structure depends on Merkle-Hellman type keys. Be sure, then, that the
fundamental right to privacy will only be protected by a public
committed to it rather than by technology.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:17 p.m.
Jess
New York
It doesn't sound like they're using brute force in the instances cited int
he article, it sounds like they're bullying companies into building
back-doors into their products or handing over decryption keys so that
more time-consuming methods of decryption won't be necessary.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 9:11 p.m.
Steve B.
St. Louis, Missouri
Unless you are intimately familiar with the NSA's cryptanalysis
operations and capacities, how could you possibly know whether
encryption is or is close to being "down the drain?" And if you are
intimately familiar with NSA's efforts, then, ipso facto, you are not
credible.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 9:50 p.m.
Nina
New York, NY
Wow. It's way past time to rise up and sabotage, hack, undermine by any
means. 1984 was almost 30 years ago. If you don't hear from me any more it's
because the NSA got rid of me.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:59 p.m.
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craig geary
redlands fl
I'd recommend you but I'd be next.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:14 p.m.
Oort Cloud
RECOMMENDED
5
Boston
This is Innuendo, speculation, and scare mongering.
- they built superfast computers to break code. Not from everything I've ever
read. Technology is not yet up to breaking secure code for any signficant
number of messages. That may change with quantum computing.
- "Some of the agency’s most intensive efforts have focused on the encryption
in universal use in the United States, including Secure Sockets Layer, or SSL,
virtual private networks, or VPNs, and the protection used on fourth
generation, or 4G, smartphones." -- This says "EFFORTS" -- not
"SUCCESSES." This is obviously sensationalist.
- "has been looking for ways into protected traffic of the most popular Internet
companies" -- NO SUCCESS mentiond.
- "“The risk is that when you build a back door into systems, you’re not the
only one to exploit it,” said Matthew D. Green, a cryptography researcher at
Johns Hopkins University." -- This is HYPOTHETICAL.
-"The files show that the agency is still stymied by some encryption," = by how
much? Most?
--"The full extent of the N.S.A.’s decoding capabilities is known only to a
limited group of top analysts from the so-called Five Eyes:" = The NYT doesn't
really know.
- "At Microsoft, as The Guardian has reported, the N.S.A. worked with
company officials to get pre-encryption access to Microsoft’s most popular
services, including Outlook e-mail, Skype Internet phone calls and chats, and
SkyDrive, the company’s cloud storage service."
etc.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:59 p.m.
K Henderson
RECOMMENDED
8
NYC
- "“The risk is that when you build a back door into systems, you’re not
the only one to exploit it,” said Matthew D. Green, a cryptography
researcher at Johns Hopkins University." -- This is HYPOTHETICAL. "
Yikes.
IT guy here: Oort, by saying "hypothetical" to to this, truly you
invalidate anything else you said.
Sorry but there are so many real-world instances to back-doors later
being exploited. Google a bit to learn more.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:31 p.m.
Oort Cloud
RECOMMENDED
3
Boston
Dear KH -- I did not mean that if a back door is there that they will not
use it -- I meant that the existence of any back doors is hypothetical -they identify none.
The last item on my list is the only thing actually identified.
The article had other sensationalist statements that were speculation.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 12:49 a.m.
Bob
Bloomington, Indiana
And the 2010 NSA slide stating, "Vast amounts of encrypted Internet
data which have up till now been discarded are now exploitable." seems
hypothetical, unsuccessful and theoretical to you also?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:11 p.m.
C. Whiting
Madison, WI
The article states:
"Having lost a public battle in the 1990s to insert its own “back door” in all
encryption, it set out to accomplish the same goal by stealth."
In other words: what the NSA couldn't do legally, with the consent of the
public, it went ahead and did illegally.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:59 p.m.
Steve
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Calgary, AB, Canada
Is this a big surprise? It has been pretty obvious for a while that this is
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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an agency that has run amuck from normal checks and balances, an
agency that sets its own rules (despite protestations to the contrary) ...
an agency that is totally out of control.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:18 p.m.
Lone_Observer
RECOMMENDED
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UK
We already know this, haven't you seen The Avengers? Most people assume
that national security has the ability to monitor everything we do - I assume
they're looking through my webcam right now, I'm waving at them now.
But, seriously folks, if they couldn't crack our email encryption codes wouldn't
that be more concerning? We need to get clearer about what the 'good guys'
look like, how they can operate and what they can use the information for.
Is it really so naive to believe that if I'm not doing anything wrong then I
shouldn't have anything to worry about? Truth will out? No?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:59 p.m.
Cooky
RECOMMENDED
1
world citizen
"Not doing anything wrong" is not the issue. Your communications
reveal your associations. If you associate with folks the admin doesn't
like, you can be targeted. Did you miss the IRS targeting the admin
considered potential political adversaries?
Your financial transactions show what you buy. When you seek
permission to get surgery or dental treatment, maybe you will be
denied because there is a record that you bought too much sugary and
fatty food. Your emails and social networking activity will show your
hard partying ways. And what would be "wrong" with partying and
eating candy bars?
It's not far-fetched at all. You may lead a squeaky clean life, whatever
that is, but most people do things they wouldn't want disclosed, and I'm
not talking about illegal activity.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:21 p.m.
Howie Lisnoff
RECOMMENDED
4
Massachusetts
The NSA is as rogue an agency as there ever was! Their national police spying
makes 1984 look like child's play!
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:59 p.m.
Steve
RECOMMENDED
23
San Mateo, CA
One of the many legacies of the attacks on 9/11 was to give the government
carte blache to ride roughshod over whichever personal liberties they selected,
all in the name of "security" - Benjamin Franklin warned us centuries ago that
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety,
deserve neither liberty nor safety."
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:57 p.m.
Tim Kern
RECOMMENDED
6
Indiana
In real life, that's called blackmail, and it's illegal. When the N.S.A. does it, it's
called "national security," and it's OK. Except for the Fourth Amendment in
our pesky little Constitution.
Then, there's "Only a small cadre of trusted contractors were allowed to join
Bullrun. It does not appear that Mr. Snowden was among them, but he
nonetheless managed to obtain dozens of classified documents referring to the
program’s capabilities, methods and sources."
But, but, but... So, it must not have happened. End of story?
No one knows who fed those items to Snowden. Presumably, that person is
higher up, and still there. Sleep well, America.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:57 p.m.
Concernicus
RECOMMENDED
5
Southern Arizona
So, theoretically my investment portfolio accumulated over 50+ years could
vanish without a trace and the well known firm where that portfolio resides
could be compelled not to help me when trying to figure "what happened to
my portfolio?"
I must admit the "under the mattress" approach does have merit.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:57 p.m.
dubious
RECOMMENDED
3
new york
So who is happy with voting for the Democratic President Now? The
Republicans may be worse but boy didn't this anti-war, pro-privacy President
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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disappoint us all. It did me to an extent that as a protest vote I'll go Republican
unless Nader runs again.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:57 p.m.
djg
RECOMMENDED
7
Tuscon, AZ
and this is the core of the problem - even voting based upon the lesser
of two evils approach which many intelligent people made decisions by
- is now confirmed NO difference whatsoever - the Fascists have
complete control and are installing their systems and military for world
wide lockdown
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:11 p.m.
Quisp
RECOMMENDED
4
New York, NY
This structure was built by the Republicans and then happily inhabited
by the Democrats.
And the rest of us are left out in the cold, exposed.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:24 p.m.
Hugo
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6
NYC
I may be swimming against the tide here, but I'm pretty certain that if we had
another terrorist attack here in the US and afterwards found out that the
government failed to notice the internet traffic that occurred prior to the act,
we'd all be screaming about our inept government agencies.
Yes, I'd rather they just track/monitor the "bad" guys - but tell me how to
pinpoint when a "good" guy becomes a "bad" guy?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:57 p.m.
Susan
RECOMMENDED
3
nyc
And how, precisely, does NSA protect their illegal code-cracking systems? It
hardly inspires confidence in the face of Snowdon, Manning, et al. God only
knows who has access to your data, courtesy of the NSA.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:56 p.m.
Louis A
RECOMMENDED
4
Brooklyn NY
Seriously, we need to tell our enemies more of our secrets. They have their
constitutional rights too. Lets just take the entire curtain down and tell them
everything.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:56 p.m.
Phil Greene
Houston, Texas
Our enemies are our government.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:04 a.m.
Steve
Colorado
I think its really important that the NY Times keeps publishing stories like
this. It reminds America that the government doesn't always look out for our
best interests.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:56 p.m.
Wendi
RECOMMENDED
26
Chico,ca
There is this thing called the Patriot Act that renders American’s privacy null
and void. Unless this Act is repealed Americans will continue to give up their
privacy on a daily basis.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:55 p.m.
FreeOregon
RECOMMENDED
6
Ectopia
Without trade secrets and privacy businesses will need to find new ways to
protect themselves.
Would you want an anonymous person to know your formulas, or the
technical steps you've invented or the new process that give you an edge?
What happens when "proprietary" ceases to have meaning?
If you work years for your own benefit or for your company's benefit, do you
want your work published without your consent?
How can anyone do business at all if there's a possibility, legal or otherwise,
someone will know and give or sell your secrets to others?
Once there's no longer equal opportunity to excel, but rather equal
opportunity to exploit, enterprise and free no longer link.
The NSA has disrupted the flow of information.
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The downward economic spiral is accelerating. The NSA is at least in part
responsible.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:55 p.m.
Susan
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3
nyc
Simple rule of thumb: don't put anything in email or on the internet that you
wouldn't want to see on the front page of the New York Times. This includes
internet shopping, internet banking, and personal or business matters that
you prefer to keep private. The lunatics are running the asylum.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:52 p.m.
SJK
RECOMMENDED
5
Nueva Jersey
This encryption and whole folly of programs that General Alexander at
the NSA runs is much wider than you think, Susan. This means don't
use a telephone, don't use any internet connected devices, and don't use
a personal computer. Cell phone networks are encrypted, WiFi signals
are encrypted, and many files and drives on your computer can be
encrypted. The NSA can snoop into all of these.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:07 p.m.
Tara
RECOMMENDED
3
Japan
That is next to impossible in this day and age, and everybody knows it.
We may have a few Luddite holdouts, but life is lived, at least in part,
through the Internet.
That argument is as specious as those claiming that, by choosing to ride
the NYC subway, you agree to have your bag searched. If there were an
alternate subway system, then it would be a choice. Pretending that
business or personal communications and tasks can be carried out
equally well off-line is ridiculous.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:23 p.m.
Nina
RECOMMENDED
5
New York, NY
This makes me furious. We should all send emails jammed full of homeland
security's tagged words in order to run the NSA and its tentacles around a
fast-turning axle. Unbelievable.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:52 p.m.
Cooky
RECOMMENDED
22
world citizen
Many have been doing that for quite a while. It's a good idea.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:25 p.m.
MD in NYC
RECOMMENDED
5
New York, NY
All patriots should make a point of creating fictional personas and
populating social media, etc. on a daily basis. muddy the waters.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:46 p.m.
usa
RECOMMENDED
2
world
Nothing surprising here...
Who should decide what authorized data access or unauthorized data access
is? These terms seem undefinable when a bomb may go off anywhere at any
time based on collection or non-collection activities...or so we're told...
Fingers crossed that governmental unfettered access to (non-terrorist related)
communications can be lessened sometime in the future...
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:52 p.m.
Chris Lang
New Albany, Indiana
Mr. Snowden has now done an extraordinary amount of damage to US
intelligence capability by revealing this. We need oversight of the NSA and
assurance that the agency will not violate Americans' rights and privacy. But
we need effective signals intelligence and cryptography to protect our country,
and allowing our enemies to know about the capabilities of the NSA damages
this--just as the Walker spy case damaged our intelligence capabilities by
revealing to the Soviets that our spy satellites used synthetic aperture radar to
produce high-resolution imagery at night and in cloudy conditions. I no longer
have sympathy to Mr. Snowden and his alleged desire to be a whistleblower.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:52 p.m.
Tom Carberry
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4
Denver
And we should applaud Snowden for doing this damage. The US
"intelligence" community acts as a force of repression and evil around
the world. The US has murdered over 30 million innocent people since
WWII, aided by this intelligence community.
People have a right to privacy. The US has become the most massive
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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police state in the history of the world, all for the purpose of protecting
a few elitist rich people, while the rest of the world, including most
Americans, suffers in poverty.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:59 p.m.
cme
RECOMMENDED
26
seattle
Frankly, good. Our country's intelligence agencies have led us down
dark paths (or completely failed) as much if not more than they have
succeeded. They need to be gutted and rebuilt to a much higher
Constitutional standard.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:05 p.m.
Camilo Blanco
RECOMMENDED
17
Miami, Fl
This is the kind of behaviour that no one has to accept, what has given the NSA
to eavesdrop each of our communications, our payments, our private life, no
one, but one General (in the same way Mr Curtis Lemay some years ago) tries
to create the "fear of" in order to be able to violate the rights of each citizen in
the world, being good or bad, just because each human being should be
suspected of any subversive activity, when the subversives are the ones that try
to create this unfounded fear. Mr Lemay thought that having the ability to
wipe-out humanity from planet earth guaranteed the survival of the US, the
Director of the NSA thinks that being able to spy on each one of us (by means
of a robotic program) will give the advantage of security to the US, the
problem is that this guy forgets that each one of us have a computer and that
computer coupled with a brilliant mind will be able to thwart their efforts,
leaving spies in the dark and allowing a technical prowess terrorist to attack
the US or its "allies" with a clever cyber weapon...Mr Lemay had the advantage
that not a lot of people was able to make nukes and planes, but in this era....all
you need is a capable computer and your brain...
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:52 p.m.
Zac
RECOMMENDED
3
New York, NY
The state has declared war on its citizenry and has thrown the constitution out
the window. I posit that this is just the tip of the iceberg -- there are more
egregious violations to come.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:51 p.m.
Michael S.
RECOMMENDED
39
Oak Park, IL
Living in a corporatist country that remains in constant war and with the one
percent holding most of the wealth, we gotta be dead serious about security.
The one percent's property must be protected, at any cost.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:51 p.m.
Jeff Collins
RECOMMENDED
8
Woodstock, NY
My biggest surprise is that people are surprised by this. So far as I know, there
is no encryption algorithm currently in widespread use that is not able to be
cracked by a sufficiently powerful computer.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:50 p.m.
Tracy Beth Mitrano
RECOMMENDED
1
Ithaca, New York
For all of its faults, historic and contemporary, I am on balance relieved to
know that the U.S. Government has this ability because I believe the threats to
our national security are such that we would greatly handicap ourselves
economically and militarily if we did not pursue these means -- encryption
decoding -- to the ends of protecting our country and allies.
That said, I do not understand the persistent drive for secrecy about these
operations. A democracy requires that the operations be transparent to the
public.
I appreciate the efforts of the Fourth Estate, the Press, to bring this issue out
in the open. And it remains to the Fifth Estate, citizens, to discuss the full
scope and ramifications of these kinds of operations, keeping in mind all of the
issues on the broad spectrum from personal privacy to national security.
Technology such as encryption decoding requires legal and policy balances
from the Fourth Amendment to consumer protection to assure the public that
these tools are being used to protect citizens and not against us by either
terrorists or tyrannical government.
That is the key issue, not the technology per se.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:50 p.m.
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Jerry Engelbach
Pátzcuaro, México
Sorry, but the government has no business cracking the codes that
encrypt my private data.
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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If you really believe they are doing this for "national security" you are
hopelessly naive.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:12 p.m.
steve
asheville
I make a distinction between surveillance of everybody and everything
and selective surveillance.
The listeners are after all humans with flaws. It is a given that some
misuse will be made of the knowledge they gather.
I feel the same way about the government actions that the government
feels about the activities of Manning, Snowden and Assange.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 9:31 p.m.
Absolute Relativity
Pittsburgh, PA
Do you realize how important simple and unbreakable encryption is to
the US and global economy? Any online financial transaction is
dependent on this technology. The NSA's decryption technology in the
wrong hands could shut down Wallstreet and crash the global economy
in a matter of hours. If they created such technology through illegal or
covert means other people can do the same thing, but our national
interests at risk. The national interest is best served by protecting US
companies from such attacks, not by enabling them.
There are other ways for the NSA to access the communication of terror
suspects that don't have the side of enabling criminals and foreign
intelligence agencies.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 9:50 p.m.
Rich
Philadelphia
This is a living nightmare.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:48 p.m.
Citizen
RECOMMENDED
34
Texas
And you can bet that it's going to get a lot worse before it gets any
better, if at all.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:10 p.m.
1leafar
San Juan, PR
This seems to be a point of no return: May God Bless Democratic America!
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:48 p.m.
mattheww
RECOMMENDED
4
90027
The overriding irony of the Snowden-NSA story is that both the agency and
the public are freaking out over essentially the same thing: Our most closelyguarded information is being stolen and used against us!
It's hard to imagine anything successfully restraining the NSA over the long
term, but proliferation of the technology they themselves spearhead may well
lead to a day when the NSA knows everything, but everyone knows everything
they know.
I will grant you that's a fairly dull-grey silver lining in the scheme of things.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:45 p.m.
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danarlington
mass
Another irony: Seems like NSA doesn't encrypt its own stuff strongly
enough to keep the Snowdens from reading it.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:30 p.m.
Lynn
RECOMMENDED
1
S.
So true!!!! Thank you for pointing this out. Ironic that it's not working
out for the NSA...to have no privacy.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:30 p.m.
Christopher Hobe Morrison
Lake Katrine, NY
"Ahh, but they know that you know, that they know..."
Romanov and Juliet
Sept. 6, 2013 at 11:09 p.m.
Josh Hill
New London
Thanks, guys, for publishing this.
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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-Al Qaeda
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:44 p.m.
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Michael S.
Oak Park, IL
Josh, I, as a taxpayer, prefer to know.
I also believe that our growing police state is a belated victory for bin
Laden.
After the ugly McCarthy & Nixon years, It's difficult to understand that
I have fellow citizens that welcome this invasion of privacy. The cost of
total security costs too much for a democracy.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:55 p.m.
Josh Hill
RECOMMENDED
9
New London
Michael S., *What* invasion of privacy? I keep asking that and getting
no answer. I just read a tinfoil hat post in which people were afraid that
the NSA was going to move money out of their bank accounts!
The government has *always* had the ability to spy on us using the
technology of the time. What restrains it are law, ethics, and the fear of
being found out, as Nixon was. That's all the NSA is doing here,
maintaining the ability to spy. Which is its job. And it can't do that
effectively if the terrorists and other targets know precisely what our
capabilities are.
There's no evidence that the domestic activities of law-abiding
American citizens are being snooped on as in the Hoover or Watergate
eras -- but you'd never get that from these fear-mongering articles, or at
least the way people interpret them.
As to knowing, some things have to be classified for fear of tipping off
the enemy. So important was the WWII code breaking effort to the
survival of Britain that Churchill made its disclosure a capital offense.
Code breaking is one of the most powerful tools in the armory, one that
has changed the outcome of major wars. And in this case, it can't be
used effectively now that Al Qaeda and its ilk -- never the brightest to
begin with -- know what some of our capabilities are.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 12:37 a.m.
Broom-Z
RECOMMENDED
1
Midwest
I love it when people act like "the government" is this singular
benevolent all-knowing Father in Heaven. All this work is contracted
out. Some 200,000 or more contractors now have access to your
financial and medical records. It was already revealed that the most
common infringement (at least what was self-reported) by NSA
employees was "relationship-spying". It is not wearing a tin-foil hat to
imagine how ripe for abuses such a system is. You better hope you
never have a divorce or child-custody lawsuit with an ex who has a
friend or relative among these employees. I'm sure, given the
opportunity to find out anything about anyone, none of these
employees will ever transgress the proper use of their powers. Because
that wouldn't be like human nature or anything.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:42 p.m.
Valerie Navarro
RECOMMENDED
2
Copenhagen
I shared this on facebook and my contact stream suddenly faded out. Can
someone explain this?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:44 p.m.
Richard Altman
RECOMMENDED
3
New York
My reaction to this latest realization of the fantasy of total control of every
authoritarian ruler in human history is summed up in this prescient comment
from 1964:
"The man who is compelled to live every minute of his life among others and
whose every need, thought, desire, fancy or gratification is subject to public
scrutiny, has been deprived of his individuality and human dignity. Such an
individual merges with the mass. His opinions, being public, tend never to be
different; his aspirations, being known, tend always to be conventionally
accepted ones; his feelings, being openly exhibited, tend to lose their quality of
unique personal warmth and to become the feelings of every man. Such a
being, although sentient, is fungible; he is not an individual." Bloustein,
Privacy as an Aspect of Human Dignity: An Answer to Dean Prosser, 39 N. Y.
U. L. Rev. 962, 1003 (1964).
Welcome to the cowardly new world.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:44 p.m.
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Tim B
Seattle
A superb quote, timely in its day and so much so for our times.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:48 p.m.
hhk1984
RECOMMENDED
6
New Jesry
Thank you. This is so true.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:35 p.m.
jayhawkmd
RECOMMENDED
2
Kansas City
After initially feeling that Snowden acted as a traitor to his country, I have
increasingly become convinced that he is/was a whistleblower in the truest
sense. The NSA and governmental agencies complicit with them are becoming
the true traitors in this story. They have repeatedly and habitually violated the
American public's trust and confidence, and deserved to be brought to account
for doing so.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:44 p.m.
Lucas
RECOMMENDED
611
Washington, DC
What whistleblower flees to the protection of an authoritarian
government that bears a deep grudge against his homeland and
represents everything that Snowden claims he is against? How many
journalists has Putin harassed, jailed, beaten and assassinated?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:28 p.m.
C. Whiting
RECOMMENDED
3
Madison, WI
The fact that you've come around on Snowden suggests that there
remain open minds in America, and there is still some spark of freedom
in the press.
We should blow on that glowing ember, so that reporters will no longer
have to cower under the threat of an abused espionage act, and we
should encourage more whistle-blowers like Snowden and Manning by
treating these folks --who have paid an enormously high price for their
acts of concscience-- as patriotic bell-weathers of the state of our
democracy.
Thanks for your honesty.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:47 p.m.
wizard149
RECOMMENDED
7
New York
So our government finally reaches a goal in a complete and effective way,
exactly as required.
Why did it have to be this?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:43 p.m.
SeattleExplorer
RECOMMENDED
7
Seattle
Dear Mr President.
Please address the issue of the NSA's spying on Americans - your distractions
are getting tiresome.
It's more the issue that we've been lied to by you, other leaders and the NSA
that's disturbing. We need to have the information on programs like this (in
general anyway) so as that when we vote, we can vote with full knowledge of
what you and other elected officials are going to support.
Though I voted for you previously, I can say you mislead me on this and on
your stance on helping Main Street America through the recession. These
deceptions are not healthy for you nor the citizens of the US.
I stand very disappointed.
Rob
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:41 p.m.
BlameTheBird
RECOMMENDED
243
Florida
Geez, though I agree with your sentiments, in general, I sure hope you
don't get a knock on the door.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:59 p.m.
The Almond
Continental US
Thank you Rob! Good wording! You might want to turn this into a
white house petition!
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:55 p.m.
jenniferlila
los angeles
I stand with Rob as extremely disappointed and disillusioned with you
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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Mr. President. And frankly, although Syria is not directly related to our
out-of-control and unconstitutional spying programs, because you have
allowed this to happen on your watch Mr. Obama, my trust in you is
severely diminished. I may have considered standing by your decision
to attack Syria for its use of CW -- but now I do not. And I don't think
it's paranoid to consider your sudden decision to thrust Syria onto the
front burner has something to do with diverting our attention from the
NSA's mission to demolish any possibility of private communication.
Please NYTimes, keep this surveillance issue front and center.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 10:12 a.m.
Brett
RECOMMENDED
1
Houston
Unreal. They hack into American companies to obtain encryption keys so that
they can spy on those customer's communications? The NSA is absolutely
lawless. Heads should be rolling for this -- people should be going to jail for
ordering them to turn their powers on Americans.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:41 p.m.
MD in NYC
RECOMMENDED
313
New York, NY
Whose heads? Who is going to jail them? Why would they ever do that?
Who do you think these people are working for?
Not saying it shouldn't happen, because it should, but let's not be naive
about the whys and wherefores of what's going on. This genie is
completely out of the bottle and there's no way to put this toothpaste
back in the tube, and that's no accident. Sorry about the mixed
metaphors.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:10 p.m.
Thomas
RECOMMENDED
2
Oklahoma and New Hampshire
Well, duh ... Ever since the Digital Millennial Act, if you paid attention, you
would have realized that the NSA was extremely worried about effective
encryption. As but one example, the "AES" encryption everyone uses on their
home wireless routers is wide open to the NSA, and less secure than the older
TKIP -- less secure in that the NSA has a 'back door' key that lets their
machines decrypt it much faster. The introduction of AES by the government
was one strong reason that law moved forward -- the NSA wanted an excuse to
push the encryption scheme on the industry with less than obvious fanfare.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:41 p.m.
Fiona
RECOMMENDED
8
New York
I think the choice of "Bullrun" an interesting one. However heartbreaking the
recent massacres in Syria, I might suggest that President Obama and Congress
turn their attention from civil wars in the Middle East and address the
problems that their lies and abuse of power have created at home or they may
face a civil war here. That is not, by the way, a threat, but simply an
observation. I do not believe that individuals or business will allow themselves
to be spied upon by unknowable agencies or committees that should not exist
and that cannot be supervised because no one "needs to know." Our
Constitution gives us the right to know and indeed depends on our exercising
that right to avoid abuse of the power we give our government.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:41 p.m.
Ken Belcher
RECOMMENDED
85
Chicago
Having lost a public battle in the 1990s to insert its own “back door” in all
encryption, it set out to accomplish the same goal by stealth.
The agency... began collaborating with technology companies in the United
States and abroad to build entry points into their products.
This seems to me to amount to a crime. We "successfully" fought the "back
door", "won" our battle, and they did it anyway.
We also desperately need to revisit the encryption standard. Much of our
infrastructure (power, water, sewage, bridge lifts and traffic signals) is
connected to the internet, as are the controls for heating and cooling in
buildings, and security systems. All of these are vulnerable BECAUSE of a
government program that had been forbidden. Our democracy does not mean
anything if our supposedly successful campaigns are overridden in secret.
I want to see people go to jail over this. The first step is to defeat the reelection
of all senators and representatives who vote to oppose shutting this whole
program down.
But perhaps elections are no longer under our control, since of course many
voting machines are also internet connected; if the NSA subverted the
encryption standard "for our own good" how do we know they are not
selecting members of congress and presidents with the same "admirable
goal?"
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:40 p.m.
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pa2013
New York, New York
This is a very important point; the NSA obviously has the means and
the motive to subvert the voting process. They can surreptitiously keep
themselves and their allies in the finance, intelligence, and military
communities in power indefinitely.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:23 p.m.
Future Focused
RECOMMENDED
10
Syracuse,NY
The statement " if you have nothing to hide then you should not care" is
now finally laid to rest as false. We need to wake up and quick
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:39 p.m.
jenniferlila
RECOMMENDED
6
los angeles
There would have been a time when I would have called Ken Belcher a
paranoid conspiracy theorist for saying electronic voting machines
might be subverted "for our own good." Today, it's totally reasonable. I
mean if the spy agencies are so concerned about their powers being
limited, that the country's standing depends on being able to save and
decode every single piece of communication, why wouldn't they fix an
election, if they felt an outcome would constrain their powers??? I
mean they already proved they are going to proceed with their
diabolical plans no matter what the people say.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:43 a.m.
furious
RECOMMENDED
4
usa
This is disturbing beyond words. Tell me again what freedoms and rights we
just spent trillions of dollars and thousands of American soldiers defending. It
wasn't the right to a fair trial. It sure wasn't a country with equal justice under
the law (0 bankers in jail for the crisis). You can now be illegally detained and
tortured. And of course, you now have no right to privacy. Again, where,
exactly, are all these rights and freedoms that make us feel holier-than-thou
and entitled to export our democracy at gunpoint?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:40 p.m.
Judy
RECOMMENDED
572
Sacramento, CA
In my opinion, we only go to war to protect American interests
(imperialism and/or corporate profits). Wars get sold (via lies) to the
American public based on patriotism. Not having a draft makes it easy
for most folks to feel a distance from all the wars we've been
having....so easy to be misled. The supposed "free press" is now
controlled by a handful of corporations.
Our infrastructure is crumbling....yet there is always money for
war...look to see who profits.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:02 p.m.
June
RECOMMENDED
5
Charleston, SC
We still have our guns!
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:19 p.m.
Saima
Egypt
or you can be killed by a drone without trial, if your king decides you
are a threat to the country, and his word is all that matters. Welcome to
Egypt... I mean US of A.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:50 p.m.
Sunny
Edison, NJ
Leaving NSA aside, one would be naive to believe that the data we send across
the internet is really secure. In reality, we are just creating these barriers called
"encryption" so that ordinary folks dont see our data and then we riding on
luck hoping that the super genius guy who can break the encryption does not
turn out to be an evil one.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:40 p.m.
CL
RECOMMENDED
7
Boulder, CO
And has the super genius guy not turned out to be an evil one?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:50 p.m.
PBL
RECOMMENDED
1
St.John's, NL
This information that the NSA has run roughshod over any privacy rights we
as American citizens might think we have has changed everything. I'm going to
stop using the Internet for bank transactions and private communications.
I also suspect that any corporation in the US that holds trade secrets must be
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concerned that they have laid those secrets bare to the whims of the NSA
technocrats. Integrity is hard to earn, but once it is lost, there is little that can
be done to bring it back. The NSA has lost its integrity in the name of
terrorism and has become worse, far worse, than any threat that we could
imagine or face.
Surely there was a way to maintain reasonable safety without annihilating our
basic rights to privacy, as it seems the NSA has done.
It is certainly unfortunate that our government is non-functional---basically a
failed state---and are impotent to take any believable measures to curb this
unbridled , unprecedented power.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:40 p.m.
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Publius
New York
What, you think if you stop using the Internet for bank transactions the
NSA can't still grab all the information from the bank's computers? You
cannot hide from them, unless you want to keep all your money in your
mattress. So why give up the convenience of online banking?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:49 p.m.
ROB B
SF
Look, if you think that the NSA is the only one doing this then you are
naive... the Chinese, and possibly a Latvian hacker, may know what's in
your bank account.
It's a new world , and everybody who thinks that the internet is such a
whizzy good thing may have to think again. The cat's out of the bag.
MY view is that we may want to use our post office and cash for
transactions. And then take a nap and go for a walk.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Old Merchant Mariner
Portland, Oregon
One the Button- PBL. Additionally, there are two more points:
The integrity knot-knife. The people breaking the constitution ... in
many cases ... have vowed to protect and defend it. Thus our protectors
MUST have broken their integrity to work for us.
The time trap: What are tools for? Yes US taxpayers are paying for
creating a violation of their founding document and violating
everyone's privacy in doing so. But some people are focused vary
narrowly and can only see what is down their own pipe. The NSA is
producing tools to violate our privacy and sooner, or later someone will
use them. It is in the nature of tools and man. Tools are used.
In my view only morality can stop this technological scope creep. We
are paying for the creation of our own downfall.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:16 p.m.
howard roark
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2
pittsburgh
This article tips the balance for me as to whether Snowden is a criminal or a
serious useful informant to the abuses of government. He is no longer a
criminal to me.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:40 p.m.
Carlos
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440
Long Island, NY
Definitely is not a surprise at all but a renew indignation to know big
government is breathing on my back.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:40 p.m.
Jeff
RECOMMENDED
7
Gudt
My mouth is agape. With names like "Bullrun" and "Manassas" for these
programs, NSA is now (inadvertently) telling us they consider themselves to
be battling a civil war... with the citizens of the United States.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:40 p.m.
RECOMMENDED
1210
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Uga Muga
Miami
Perhaps all the negative responders to NSA hegemony can grant their
own code name for the perceived betrayal of public trust harking back
to an earlier betrayal, The Trail of Tears.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 7:07 p.m.
YouNo
RECOMMENDED
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NoWayLand
ROB BNo, I'd be demanding the heads of the people who planned and acted
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the attack.
Your presumption is that Government is here to keep us safe.
That is flawed, since;
1. I am the only active protection I have 24/7.
2. I am the Government (We the People).
We organize government to better function in our own government, not
to over-ride our own just government.
Thanks for asking.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:16 p.m.
AKLady
RECOMMENDED
1
AK
Yes, Jeff, some of the enemies this country faces are citizens -- they are
traitors who care nothing for the freedoms they enjoy.
Sept. 7, 2013 at 12:00 a.m.
ando arike
Brooklyn, NY
What form of government do we have when the state considers all citizens to
be potential enemies, and when it uses every tool its disposal to pry into their
private correspondence? The ongoing revelations regarding the NSA describe
a state not too much different from that of Orwell's "1984" -- i.e. totalitarian.
Next thing you know, the president will be telling us that "War is peace"...
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:39 p.m.
Daniel
RECOMMENDED
69
Earth
They've been saying 'war is peace' for more than a decade now.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:24 p.m.
Steve
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Calgary, AB, Canada
Well John Kerry is already saying that, after a fashion. After all "We are
not going to war with Syria." Oh, yeah, and how do you rationalize that
one when Obama is already calling for secondary targets?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:18 p.m.
G.
Brooklyn, NY
Bravura reporting by the NYT. We live in a surveillance state - get used to it. If
- heaven forbid - an executive with despotic tendencies gains control of the
White House, you can kiss your constitutional rights goodbye (the ones that
haven't already been shredded, that is).
I'm proposing a new literary genre: Sci-Non-Fi.
Welcome to the Panopticon.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:39 p.m.
Vincent
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Westfield, NJ
Ah, I think this scenario is already in place.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:49 p.m.
Myles Standish
Massachusetts
"If you haven't done anything wrong, you have no reason to be concerned."
Funny how the founders had a different idea when they wrote the Bill of
Rights.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:39 p.m.
Josh Hill
RECOMMENDED
362
New London
You're saying that the founders didn't make provisions for law
enforcement? They extended protections, yes, but not a right to
criminality. Since a warrant is still required to spy on domestic
communications, I see no evidence that the protections in the Bill of
Rights are being circumvented here. The real threats to our privacy -hackers, corporate snoops, the Chinese, for that matter police
departments that consider the email on your email server public after
six months -- are curiously absent from these fact-free posts.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:58 a.m.
kat
New England
That nonsense about only people who've done wrong need be
concerned is just that, nonsense. Unless the writer of that thinks we
should all be required to walk naked in the streets. I guess that's
coming next.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:32 a.m.
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Guy L. Smith
New York
Bumper sticker on my car: "If you have nothing to hide then your
government has no reason to search you"
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:53 p.m.
ben commons
philadelphia
While I am a big supporter of freedom of the press and the need for an
informed citizenry. I have to wonder about the value of printing in the
newspaper the methodology that our law enforcement and, quite frankly
national security apparatus uses to catch terrorists, money laundering and
other assorted bad acts which can often only be caught by these very
clandestine methods. Would you publish plan troop movements during war
time if you could scoop the other papers by snagging a copy of the plans before
the invasion?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:39 p.m.
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SeattleExplorer
Seattle
Over the years we seem to have been able to catch terrorists, money
launderers and other bad actors - without invading EVERYONE'S
privacy.
The problem I have with this is - what's next? When are corporations
going to be able to buy this information? How do we not know that
Halliburton and others don't have spies in the NSA that are now able to
gather details on our government? If Snowden took the information for
"good" purposes - how many others are planted there who use the
information they mine for bad purposes?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:08 p.m.
Cooky
RECOMMENDED
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world citizen
Law enforcement is subject to the limits in the Constitution. The spying
is a violation of at least the Fourth Amendment. And this is not about
terrorism--didn't you read? It's spying on every domestic email and
transaction and phone call. It has access to all your financial data and
health data.
Law enforcement can't monitor our every move 24/7, just waiting to
catch us violating some law or regulation, not legally, anyway.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:08 p.m.
Peter
RECOMMENDED
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Metro Boston
"I have to wonder about the value of printing in the newspaper the
methodology that our law enforcement and, quite frankly national
security apparatus uses to catch terrorists...."
Anyone who cares about protecting the secrecy of their
communications will learn nothing from reading this article. There is
no list of broken algorithms, for instance. Many of us have wondered
for some time whether the NSA has the ability to break the AES256
algorithm that was adopted as the Federal encryption standard a few
years back. Even as recently as a year ago, an expert like Bruce Schneier
thought that AES256 was probably still secure
(http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2012/03
/can_the_nsa_bre.html). I'll be curious to read what he thinks now.
I knew right away that the oversight panel recently appointed by the
President is just a sham when it consists entirely of lawyers and
Beltway insiders and includes no one with the technical expertise and
independence of someone like Mr. Schneier. He would have been my
number-one nominee for a seat at that table.
It's well known that the NSA decrypts large portions of Internet traffic
in real-time, and that the construction of the large facility in Utah is
designed to facilitate that activity (http://www.wired.com/threatlevel
/2012/03/ff_nsadatacenter/all/1). For people who pay any attention at
all to these issues, there is little new in this "revelation."
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:23 p.m.
Amazed
RECOMMENDED
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Ohio
Sadly, all I can say is, "...whatever...."
Does anyone, anywhere, trust their Governments (and most Institutions)
anymore?
I know that I have lost most faith, over the last 30 years.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:39 p.m.
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Tara
Japan
No, we don't trust our governments - and that is exactly why we need to
keep them from having these kinds of capabilities. No government can
ever be trusted enough to merit handing over all of the secrets of our
intellectual, social, and financial lives.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:17 p.m.
CatChen
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Rockville, MD
I"m not sure who is going to be hurt more, US companies like Cisco and
Microsoft who will have more trouble selling their products abroad, or the US
citizens who are going to watch what they write or say from now on. Today, the
government is spying on terrorists, tomorrow they will spy on suspected
communists and eventually, anyone who disagrees with the government.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:39 p.m.
RECOMMENDED
PierreGarenne
210
France
they will spy on suspected communists and eventually, anyone who
disagrees with the government
Been there! Done that!
Sept. 6, 2013 at 10:12 a.m.
kat
New England
"Today, the government is spying on terrorists"
No, today the government is spying on everyone. Did you miss that
part?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 1:46 p.m.
lydgate
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Virginia
You are quite the optimist if you think that the government is not
already spying on anyone who disagrees or might disagree with any
aspect of government policy: civil rights supporters, environmentalists,
civil libertarians, Occupy Wall Street supporters, Syrians living in the
United States, etc., etc.. Nothing new about that -- look at how the FBI
spied on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and others in the 1960s -- but now
the government has the capacity to do so on an unprecedented scale
and without any of the traditional safeguards.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:45 p.m.
Susan
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nyc
Regulations mandating electronic medical records must be rescinded until the
absolute confidentiality of such sensitive data can be assured.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:39 p.m.
Leo
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Florida
There are no absolutes in computer security.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:44 p.m.
Jack Walsh
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Lexington, MA
I'm sure we will be assured that the records are absolutely confidential.
And, why on earth would NSA want to snoop in our medical records?
I'm old enough to remember when we all found out about Thomas
Eagleton's depression when his records magically appeared in
newspapers. McGovern was doomed, Nixon went on to Watergate, and
the damn war continued for three more years.
Records were absolutely confidential then, too.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:32 a.m.
Ladislav Nemec
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Big Bear, CA
I would like my recent medical records become 100% public to reveal
misdiagnosis suppressed, so far, completely.
Opionions, obviously, vary.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:50 p.m.
too close for comfort
Virginia
Remember strong encryption appears to work, just encrypt the file yourself on
a computer not connected to the internet before you send it. This is an insane
state of affairs in a putatively "free country.' President Obama will go down in
history with this as his legacy. What a tragedy for all concerned.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:39 p.m.
Huma Nboi
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Kent, WA
Strong encryption works, but which algorithms have the NSA had their
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hands in? And how can we be sure? No one sane is going to use AES
anymore, but what else should we be avoiding?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:46 p.m.
pa2013
RECOMMENDED
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New York, New York
But this article argues that it is not so easy for us to know what counts
as "strong encryption." The NSA has been working to muddy the waters
and corrupt the algorithmic and hardware building blocks of strong
encryption. We need to get the top cryptographers of the NSA in front
of a special prosecutor testifying under oath as to what algorithms are
safe for Americans to use to secure their Fourth Amendment rights.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:26 p.m.
Ken Belcher
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Chicago
So save your old computers - they may be valuable in the future!
If you sufficiently strongly encrypt on pre-NSA infiltration hardware
that might be safe, but if the keyboard you use stores your keystrokes,
use of it on another computer would allow the keystrokes to be
collected. The same applies to any transfer hardware you use (so use
short messages and retype the encrypted results.)
Sept. 5, 2013 at 11:13 p.m.
Neil Robbins
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Riverdale, Bronx,NY
Privacy no longer exists anywhere in society. Thus I have no grave concerns
regarding anything about me being available to my country.I also believe that
there are internal guidelines and safeguards to keep any oversight on target
and limit misuse. If this is what's needed to increase greater security and
access for our Security agencies to protect us from those who wish our demise;
so be it
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:39 p.m.
AB
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Highland, NY
Neil, is there any evidence "that there are internal guidelines and
safeguards to keep any oversight on target and limit misuse"?
Look around - the government does not have a good track record of
funding oversight.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:52 a.m.
chickenlover
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Massachusetts
And now all we need is for another rogue agent or agency in the USA or in
some other country to get access to this material!
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:39 p.m.
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Christian Haesemeyer
Los Angeles
4
So suppose you believe that you "had nothing to hide". Well, this article
implies that tens of thousands of spooks and contractors have access to
Allstate information you don't have to hide: your credit information, bank
account information, medical records... all the things you think are secure can
be accessed by hordes of poorly supervised people, working in secret. If you
believe some of tem won't make money out of this opportunity, you are naive.
So even if your politics are the blandest white bread imaginable, you should be
very afraid indeed.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:39 p.m.
Ladislav Nemec
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Big Bear, CA
And that's news? It has been generally known for some time that a brute
computing power can crack virtually any code. Smarts also help, during WWII
Turing helped to crack the German Enigma code and books have been written
about that.
It is generally a good thing if you are not obsessed with your private secrets the
NSA is definitely not after.
Repeating well known facts (with some details added) is probably necessary.
There is NO PRIVACY and we have to live with this basic fact.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:38 p.m.
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Christian Haesemeyer
2
Los Angeles
Not true. Did you read the article? It is very clear that the NSA cannot
in fact crack "virtually any code" which is why thy resort to theft, false
flag lobbying and other blatantly illegal methods, alongside a use of the
unlimited legal power of our authoritarian police state.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:44 p.m.
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Ladislav Nemec
Big Bear, CA
To CH from LA: What is NOT TRUE?
So we are now a Police State? One learns something new every day
from fellow readers if not from an article.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:48 p.m.
War Eagle
Auburn, AL
Our government can undertake these mind-boggling measures to spy on us,
yet cannot prevent robo-calls?
Seems like misplaced priorities.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:38 p.m.
Bev
RECOMMENDED
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New York
Shocking I suppose..certainly questionable ethics.. on the other hand, now the
government ought to be able to know who is hiding money in tax shelters
overseas and how much back taxes they should pay.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:38 p.m.
Abraham
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Fremont, CA
Duh... So what did you think?
They would be negligent if they did not do it.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:38 p.m.
drollere
sebastopol
the damage snowden has inflicted on the security interests of this country is
incalculable. that is always the main theme.
the issues of oversight and legality fundamentally go to the issue of democratic
governance and the electorate's trust in the rule of law, the judgment of elected
representatives and the integrity of their appointees.
america now has two problems to solve, in governance and in security, where
before we had only one. but it does show the 18th century lesson that when
governance fails the security of the nation goes with it, almost as a law of
nature.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:38 p.m.
Aristotle
RECOMMENDED
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Washington
The only thing surprising here is that people are still surprised by the
espionage proclivities of the state. There is no reason to believe that these
'cryptanalysis' programs are limited to the national security sphere and do not
extend into systematic warrantless purely domestic law enforcement
surveillance. Forget the Fourth Amendment. Furthermore, Mr. Snowden has
demonstrated what a savvy insider can do without authorization. It would be
foolish to assume that he is the only person in the various intelligence agencies
with such abilities -- this is his real message. That a liberal constitutional law
professor like Mr. Obama merrily presides over this dangerous devolution of
privacy is ironic and sad.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:38 p.m.
pa2013
RECOMMENDED
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New York, New York
And in addition to the "insider threats" that you allude to, imagine what
could result should a hostile state, a greedy corporation, or organized
crime launched a campaign to infiltrate the NSA. Who is to say it hasn't
already happened?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:37 p.m.
AB
RECOMMENDED
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Highland, NY
@pa2013 - on the contrary, i'm sure it HAS already happened!
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:57 p.m.
R.V.Garvin
Sarasota, FL
I am encouraged by the success and ingenuity of the NSA in its surveillance of
electronic communications to and from suspicious cites outside the United
States, and by its and the CIA's gathering of intelligence around the world.
That's what I want from American intelligence services.
Edward Snowden and PFC Manning have revealed that this goes on, and have
probably made it more difficult to do successfully — a negative to the United
States. The only "harm" they have revealed is that this surveillance is going on.
I can accept that for the occasional benefit, about which we will never hear
very much.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:38 p.m.
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kleeneth
Montclair,NJ
We should remember that the Second World War would probably have
been lost to Germany and Japan had the British and Americans not
successfully cracked enemy encryption with great investment of human
and material resources. The emergence of severe terrorist threats from
non-state actors combined with the availability of advanced encryption
techniques to such individuals and groups means these recent activities
by the NSA are regrettably necessary.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:45 p.m.
Absolute Relativity
RECOMMENDED
2
Pittsburgh, PA
There is no way that creating vulnerabilities which enable identity
theft, intellectual property theft, and increase cyber crime across the
board are in the best interest of the United States. Even if the NSA is
using such vulnerabilities for good (which I don't think they are), a lot
of people out there (starting with foreign intelligence agencies) will use
the same vulnerabilities for evil.
The NSA creating vulnerabilities for Chinese hackers to exploit is
counter to US national interest no matter what your politics are, or
what your view of the NSA is. Given the secrecy of this program the
security holes the NSA created were probably used against other parts
of the US government by foreign intelligence agencies. A program like
this could not be more short sighted and counter to US long term
national interests.
I have no problem the NSA attempting to do this, but the best things
they could do with such information is publish which encryption
methods and providers are vulnerable so US corporations and other
branches of the government can take appropriate precautions against
foreign intelligence agencies and malicious hackers exploiting the same
vulnerabilities.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 9:32 p.m.
AKLady
RECOMMENDED
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AK
Amen.
We will never know the full extent of the benefit. To advertise the
success would be to inform the enemy as to the manner in which they
were identified and traced.
I have never considered computer communications to be private. The
Internet is comprised of millions of computers, at every one of which
there is someone who could access the communication.
Sept. 7, 2013 at 12:00 a.m.
Rima Regas
Mission Viejo, CA
A nation is in serious trouble when it's elected leaders treat those who put
them into office as the enemy.
Where are the philosophers and ethicists? Why aren't they weighing in on this
and educating the people? The Times should commission a series of opinion
pieces from the nation's best-known academics to write some of the same
types of pieces first year philosophy students read and debate in their classes.
This is a necessary discussion that no one is leading at the moment. Please do
this, at the very least as a public service.
Thank you.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:35 p.m.
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AB
Highland, NY
@Josh Hill What part of "absolute power corrupts" don't you understand?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:57 p.m.
Roger Binion
RECOMMENDED
2
Moscow
Josh,
You simply don't know who they are spying on because everything they
do is secret.
And collecting Verizon phone records is spying on Al Qaeda how,
exactly?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:41 p.m.
steve
RECOMMENDED
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asheville
I think a measure of the sad state plight of our nation that these
obvious criminal acts would require any hard thinking to prevent, let
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alone "fix".
By the nation, I mean the voters who support political parties, vote
against their own interests and place into office incompetent ideologues
and attractive, "charismatic" boobs interested only in selling
themselves to the highest bidder.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 8:53 p.m.
Jonathan
NYC
The info they get could be used for security and counterespionage, but not for
criminal cases. The opposing attornies would threaten to use discovery against
them.
Of course, they could identify criminal activity and then gather evidence in
other ways.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:34 p.m.
Web
RECOMMENDED
2
Alaska
Bull Run and Manassas, LOL. Those are two names for the same battle
location where in 1861-2 the rebels routed the Union forces. Now NSA aims to
rout the Union, too. The Spy Agencies are the new Confederacy bent on
subverting our constitutional government by shredding the Bill of Rights.
Clapper spies and Obama claps.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:32 p.m.
Josh Hill
RECOMMENDED
16
New London
Yeah, right, they've violated the bill of rights. Except there's no
evidence they have. Doesn't seem to matter anymore, I guess facts are
passe.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:45 a.m.
John Swords
Hoboken, NJ
So are you saying that PGP AES encryption has a backdoor?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:32 p.m.
John Doe
RECOMMENDED
1
Palo Alto
This seems like a poorly reported / dumbed down story. Can we get details on
what algorithms, key lengths, etc. were actually broken and how someone
might protect against the NSA? Did the NSA develop implementation exploits
or mathematical breakthroughs?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:31 p.m.
Josh Hill
RECOMMENDED
4
New London
To the extent that information was in the document, it was likely in the
information excised at the behest of the government.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:43 a.m.
Socrates
Downtown Verona NJ
At least change the name of the National Security Agency to the National
Spying Agency.
There's nothing more irritating than doublespeak, euphemisms and verbal
gymnastics.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:31 p.m.
Pete
RECOMMENDED
319
Southern Calif.
And while we're at it, change the name of the "Defense Department"
back to what it was originally, "The War Department". Truth in
labeling.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:37 p.m.
Barbara
RECOMMENDED
31
L.A.
It is all so creepy and scary. Small wonder they call them spooks.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:30 p.m.
Tibby Elgato
RECOMMENDED
1
West County
If the NSA is storing the email of private citizens, not to mention members of
Congress, it is probably engaged a criminal activitiy, in violation of the
Constitution and also likely in violation of various treaties. Hopefully the
Justice Department will quickly begin an investigation and prosecution.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:29 p.m.
Citizen
RECOMMENDED
4
Texas
Excuse me. You really think that the Justice Department is any less
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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guilty than all the rest of these Cretans. This is why nothing ever gets
done in Washington; they are all a bunch of crooks, liars and snake oil
salesmen. None of them can be trusted to do their jobs. Period. The
sooner we all realize this fact and try to do something about it, the
better. These people in the government, that supposedly work for us,
could care less about any of us, pure and simple.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:32 a.m.
alansky
RECOMMENDED
1
Marin County, CA
Unfortunately, the majority of Americans evidently don't care that the NSA is
routinely engaging in criminal activity aimed at ordinary citizens who have
done nothing wrong. They're much too busy tweeting inane messages to their
equally clueless friends.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:29 p.m.
Andrew Rodgers
RECOMMENDED
11
Brooklyn, NY
Open Bag, Exit Cat
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:29 p.m.
Greg
RECOMMENDED
31
NY, NY
Well, as a concerned citizen, the only response that comes to mind is to quote
that internal N.S.A. memo, “This can’t be good.”
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:27 p.m.
skier
RECOMMENDED
8
vermont
Wow. So the NSA can go into my online bank account, with a backdoor, to
SSL, and remove or transfer funds at will. Time to move my banking offline..
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:27 p.m.
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34
READ ALL 6 REPLIES
Greg
NY, NY
Bank offline = money in mattress.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 10:58 p.m.
Josh Hill
RECOMMENDED
3
New London
Good Lord. Maybe it can, but why would it? It would be illegal and
purposeless.
The real threat to your bank account is from hackers, many of them
privateers in Russia. That's the real danger. But I guess it doesn't sell
papers, because while one sees the occasional article on it, the news
that the NSA is spying on Al Qaeda (oh horrors) is what's splashed
across the front pages.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 12:27 a.m.
Andy Hain
RECOMMENDED
2
Carmel, CA
Most offline banks went out of business. Exactly how does a bank earn
a profit unless it's on a wire to somewhere? In addition, I'm guessing
the NSA can crack the code and enter any bank vault door.
And, why would the NSA care about your account, as long as major
companies have billions and billions just a keystroke away, with no
more luck complaining to a bank about their missing funds than you
would have?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:52 a.m.
Harold R. Berk
RECOMMENDED
1
Ambler, PA
So the N.S.A. is now working to "insert vulnerabilities in Internet protection
products." When we acquire viruses and malware in our computers, we may
have the N.S.A. to thank for inserting these vulnerabilities in products we
bought to protect our Internet and computer systems. How exactly is this
activity protecting the national interests of the United States when it interferes
in commercially available Internet protection products that U.S. citizens buy
and use thinking, apparently erroneously, that we are protecting our
computers?
Did N.S.A. disclose this interference with Internet protection programs to the
Congress? I doubt it.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:27 p.m.
RECOMMENDED
719
READ ALL 10 REPLIES
Jeff Utz
Brooklyn, NY
That's a secret that the NSA can't answer under law.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:48 p.m.
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ibeetb
nj
"...now working..?" This has been going on for years. The gov't was
instrumental in creating the internet. They used it long before we
consumers have. So if they created it, of course they would know its
vulnerabilities. They have known since the 60s/70s when they were
using it before we even knew what it was
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:11 p.m.
chris columbus
marfa, texas
Why report this NSA Internet interference to Congress ?? Congress
don't work .....
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:47 p.m.
Almost Anonymous
Chicago
"Intelligence officials asked The Times and ProPublica not to publish this
article, saying that it might prompt foreign targets to switch to new forms of
encryption or communications that would be harder to collect or read."
Or - more likely - it's because they didn't want people in this country learning
even more about the depths to which these lies go.
The "terrorism" excuse is only going to get you so far, guys.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:27 p.m.
multnomah9
RECOMMENDED
58
Oregon
This citizen wants them to do their work and thanks them for doing it.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:27 p.m.
DaveD
RECOMMENDED
4
Wisconsin
Then let them put a camera in your house.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 1:36 p.m.
AF
RECOMMENDED
2
Cincinnati, Ohio
Good thing the NSA doesn't lie to congress or ingage in questionale collection
of massive amounts of data.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:27 p.m.
John
RECOMMENDED
16
Morristown, NJ
Good for the NSA. They keep me safe and for that I am thankful.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:27 p.m.
RECOMMENDED
5
READ ALL 4 REPLIES
Josh Hill
New London
JR, these article must be very poorly written because you don't seem to
have read the parts about when they spy on Americans -- which is very
limited. Basically with a warrant, or when making international
communications.
And there is no violation of constitutional rights in that. It's no
different than a wiretap or someone opening your mail.
I just don't get the disconnect between the typical comment here and
reality.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 12:25 a.m.
Roger Binion
RECOMMENDED
1
Moscow
But these warrants are secret, Josh. And even when they are issued, the
company being given the warrant can't even say they received one.
That is a violation of every principle the US was founded on. It's worse
than the Stasi in East Germany.
I'm, well, gobsmacked that you can't see that.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 3:41 p.m.
Citizen
RECOMMENDED
3
Texas
Josh,
Please. You and all the rest of us know they are breaking the laws and
lying and spying. Your defense of their efforts is misguided and wrong.
They have been caught lying. They need to be brought under control,
pure and simple. If they are doing such a fantastic job in protecting this
country, they need to prove it with something than a simple "trust us."
They need to put up or shut up!
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:52 p.m.
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9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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cme
seattle
Unsurprising and terrifying.
...in other words, business as usual with our government.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:27 p.m.
gerry
RECOMMENDED
3
princeton
It is interesting that the capacity to spy is similar to power. Power corrupts ,
absolute power corrupts absolutely. We are now in the " absolutely " stage of
spying.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:27 p.m.
wut
RECOMMENDED
8
.......
We should be able to hide our stuff from them.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:26 p.m.
Sal Ruibal
RECOMMENDED
6
DC area
It this is so, why couldn't they immediately "see" what was happening on Wall
Street in the years, months before the Great Ripoff? Why aren't financial
terrorists held to the same standard as other terrorists? How could Madoff be
invisible to the NSA? The World Trade Center has been rebuilt, the Financial
District is humming, yet the economy for the rest of us is still a smoking ruin.
Why does President Obama stay silent about these people, who have killed the
dreams and ambitions of many million Americans while he plans to enrich his
own family and friends when he retires or is fired.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:26 p.m.
John Cashman
RECOMMENDED
16
Boston
"Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls
the past."
Often quoted by Orwell by conspiracy theorists. The NSA has indeed shaped
past decisions on security and will profit for decades. It is not practical to
replace internationally accepted encryption standards. Bravo to the NSA, but it
is a sad day for the Internet. Our technological future depends on trustworthy
encryption and digital security. Thanks to the NSA our position as an Internet
service superpower is in threat. 20 years from now, when the largest tech
companies are no longer US-based, we will ask if it was worth it?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:26 p.m.
Bill
RECOMMENDED
6
Austin, Texas
"When the British analysts, who often work side by side with N.S.A. officers,
were first told about the program, another memo said, “those not already
briefed were gobsmacked!” This from a country bristling with government
security cameras. You know things are screwed up when the American
government intrudes more on Americans than the British government spies on
their own citizens.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:26 p.m.
Frank
RECOMMENDED
7
Princeton, NJ
Why are we letting everyone know abut this?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:23 p.m.
SL
RECOMMENDED
3
United States
Because it's a "free" country.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:39 p.m.
viator1
RECOMMENDED
22
Plainfield, NJ
The part that worries me about this is "mission creep". What happens when
"terrorist" is expanded to people who don't agree with the government and
want to engage in non-violent protest? Or people who are on the wrong side of
the Drug War?
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:22 p.m.
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Huma Nboi
Kent, WA
Josh Hill, we've already seen mission creep and outright malfeasance in
the terrorism fusion centers.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/03/us/inquiry-cites-flawsin-regional-cou...
viator1 is right to worry. Trusting the government to get it right with
this much information is a terrible mistake. The potential for abuse is
overwhelming. The information simply should not be collected.
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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Sept. 6, 2013 at 12:53 a.m.
Josh Hill
RECOMMENDED
12
New London
Huma Nboi,
That article is a source of concern, of course, and is precisely the kind of
information that we do need to know. But I don't see that it has
anything to do with these disclosures about the NSA, which, to the
extent the disclosures in the article indicate was merely doing its very
valuable job according to law.
Taking a slippery-slope approach here is I think like saying that
soldiers shouldn't have rifles because they might use them
irresponsibly. Well, occasionally they do, and in an ideal world, there
would be no need for such tools. But as it is, we need the tools of
spycraft to deal with Al Qaeda and other threats. Then it's our
responsibility to insure that they're used according to the Constitution
and the law.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:34 a.m.
viator1
RECOMMENDED
1
Plainfield, NJ
The one example I can think of off the top of my head is RICO laws.
Those were originally created to go after the Mafia and has since been
used to go after a whole lot of non-mafia targets.
Another one specific to terrorism is the expansion of "terrorist" to
include people who take unflattering pictures at animal factories.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/07/us/taping-of-farm-crueltyis-becoming-...
The reason this is a concern in regards to the NSA is because it shows a
pattern that repeats over and over again. When the government gets a
power it does not only use it in the way that it says it will and we need
to keep that in mind when we talk about what the government can and
can't do.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:44 p.m.
Thomas Field
Dallas
You better watch out, you better not cry, you better be good I'm telling you
why...the NSA is reading your mail.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:22 p.m.
Arpit Chauhan
RECOMMENDED
9
United States
THIS was one thing I thought will be a nightmare. If the NSA can really break
the leading cryptographic standards like AES and RSA (which are utilized in
SSL), then the whole point of encryption becomes moot. This is really
horrifying.
Something really needs to be done to rein in the surveillance state. What I
worry about is that I don't really expect that something substantive will
happen unless an anti-surveillance President is elected in 2016.
Every new story makes me feel that the world is closer to 1984 than previously
thought.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:22 p.m.
RECOMMENDED
Concerned Citizen
48
New York, NY
There's nothing in this story that suggests that the NSA can "break"
AES or RSA. All I'm reading is that they can go around it if it's through
an American company (or British, or Canadian, etc.).
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:07 a.m.
emily
Portland, OR
My head is spinning...
Thank you Edward Snowden, and Glenn Greenwald, and The New York Times,
and all who have assisted in bringing this to light.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:21 p.m.
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Josh Hill
New London
Eli, I assumed they were putting in backdoors. That's a necessary
strategy. Essentially, they did what an agency that was charged with
their mandate would have to do, given the impossibility of a frontal
assault on well-executed modern encryption.
This stuff becomes less frightening if you go back a few years and ask
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
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what the analogies were when technology was more primitive, e.g.,
what facilities the government used to tap phones. It really is no
different. What matters is whether the activities are conducted
according to law, the Constitution, and responsibly, and I haven't seen
any significant evidence that they haven't been. And yet people here
seem to think the NSA is reading their email and even taking money
out of their bank accounts, or that they must be doing something illegal
and nefarious -- otherwise, why the splashy headlines?
There's something seriously wrong with our country, but it isn't the
NSA, it's us, and our compulsion to transmute a program that is
protecting us from the likes of Al Qaeda into some kind of black
helicopter conspiracy. We're literally eating ourselves alive with
self-suspicion and hate, and that goes for the liberal Times reader as
surely as it does for the rabid Tea Partier.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 2:01 a.m.
Roger Binion
RECOMMENDED
1
Moscow
Josh Hill,
The problem is how do you know they AREN'T breaking the law?
Do you just trust the government blindly? Do you just believe
everything that comes out of DC? Did you believe that Saddam Hussein
had WMDs?
Since the NSA is so cloaked in total secrecy, you would never even
know if they were breaking the law. You would never even know if they
had, in fact, invaded your privacy.
The NSA is overreaching and it basically out of control and needs to,
must, be reined in.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 4:36 p.m.
db
RECOMMENDED
3
West
Some people seem to think that subverting security so that it can be
more easily cracked.... improves security... There's a certain illogic to all
this...
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:12 p.m.
scrappy
RECOMMENDED
1
Noho
Being omniscient is a "vital capability?" It's a great argument--if coming from
a supreme being.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:21 p.m.
db
RECOMMENDED
7
west
And if there ever were such a supreme being, hopefully it would not be
prone to abusing that power against us all, like it is prone for.. well.. all
humans. That's why there's the saying "Power corrupts, absolute power
corrupts absolutely" for us mortal humans. That's why this is a bad idea
for governments made up of such humans.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:11 p.m.
Lisa Ulery
RECOMMENDED
1
University School
both names refer to the smae civil war battle.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:20 p.m.
mford
RECOMMENDED
2
ATL
It's certainly fascinating, but again I say it is no great surprise. Who really
assumed that certain government entities couldn't crack any codes they want
on the Internet? They invented it for crying out loud! The spawn of DARPA is
now the very thing on which most of us rely for entertainment and
communication, not mention our very livelihoods.
There's no turning back the clock on this one folks. The Internet is the US
govt's gift to the world. Use at your own risk!
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:20 p.m.
Huma Nboi
RECOMMENDED
1
Kent, WA
If they were actually cracking codes I'd be impressed. What they are
doing is bribing and theatening executives to a) hand over information,
b) boobytrap their own products, and c) keep quiet about it, all in the
name of national security. The mob could do that.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 12:53 a.m.
Spirit
RECOMMENDED
16
Illinois
I guess that I will stop using my Captain Crunch secret decoder ring.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:20 p.m.
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22
9/8/2013 2:18 PM
N.S.A. Able to Foil Basic Safeguards of Privacy on Web - NYTimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/us/nsa-foils-much-internet-encryp...
Adrianne
Massachusetts
And are we surprised? All that data storage is not for phone calls people.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:19 p.m.
2L
RECOMMENDED
3
Boston
What you're describing is exactly what I have always both assumed and
wanted the NSA to be able to do.
Showing that the NSA has developed the potential to invade people's privacy
does not bother me. If you show me that they wrongly exploited that potential,
I'd be bothered.
None of Snowdon's "revelations" have done anything beyond describe a
competent government agency. Where are Nixon's plumbers or the FBI's
wiretaps of MLK? So far this just seems like good intelligence gathering. Sure
we've snooped on allies, but that's what the NSA and CIA are suppose to be
doing.
Sept. 5, 2013 at 9:19 p.m.
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READ ALL 7 REPLIES
db
West
Josh, not according to the authors of those laws... Perhaps you've heard
of Rep. Sensenbrenner?
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:08 p.m.
Citizen
RECOMMENDED
1
Texas
Josh,
Sounds to me that you are a lawyer on the payroll of the National
Security Agency's General Council. If not, someone has certainly pulled
the wool over your eyes. They are breaking the law and they lie!
Sept. 6, 2013 at 5:46 p.m.
Citizen
Texas
Josh Hill,
Just because it's a law, doesn't make it a good law. Some things need to
be resisted and vigorously sometimes. This is one of those times. This
organization is making J. Edgar look like a light weight.
Sept. 6, 2013 at 6:34 p.m.
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