Re: WorldNetDaily National Security Agency gets fix on Internet users

> Does this hold more credibility?
>
> http://tinyurl.com/8bmcy
>
> P
>
>
> Mark: Well given a premise that's it's for real, can it really be seen to
> be anything like an insiduous tool?  If so, why?

Copying directly from a mail I wrote elsewhere yesterday...

From what I can gather, it's quite clever really, it's like a radio
triangulation thing for the internet.

Picture this: Somebody's hacking into the Pentagon, they can see it
happening, they don't know where the hacker is, but they do know his IP.
The ISP can only provide a name and address for the account currently
logged into that IP, and even then they have to dig in their database.

So we know where these three computers are around the country, if we all
ping that IP and test the response time, we'll know the distance from each
of those computers. Draw a circle on a map around each of our known
computers and where they all cross we have our hacker.

Of course it's not QUITE that simple, cause the cables aren't straight so
the drawing a circle on the map doesn't really work, but the principle is
the same - in fact in theory it's easier, cause the number of routes
through the internet is finite.

The only thing I'm not sure about is how they account for bandwidth
bottlenecks but I'm sure that's part of the "invention" they're patenting.
I would hazard a guess it involves saying "it's within this area, let's
move our known computers to the edge in big black vans and try again."

The whole thing is very feasible BUT the potential for evil-doings is (as
ever) being overblown. Exactly what are they going to do to invade your
privacy? If they want to keep an eye on your activities, that's much
easier than what they're proposing here. The only purpose for this would
be to find someone very quickly because whatever they're trying to stop
them doing is time-critical.

P



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