Re: what can be done about US snooping?

On Thu, Jun 20, 2013 at 8:52 PM, Kiritkumar Lathia <[email protected]>wrote:

> See below from NY Times. This could used in the other thread concerning
> security as well and note the handicap India will have - US mega corp will
> never collaborate with Indian agencies!
>

But that is not such a bad thing, right ? With great power comes great
responsibility.

Also, a country with advanced technology never shares the full-scale
current-generation technology, even with it's best allies, so what India is
procuring in the name of CMS, will always be technically inferior compared
to the latest and greatest, and who knows, with couple of backdoors of it's
own, apart from deliberate handicaps.

Don't know who all are the vendors for CMS, and what all technologies go
into it, but thanks to the recent PRISM expose, I think suppliers from
America, Israel are as much suspect as vendors from China. OTOH, if the
security of the collected data, is similar to ICSE results (as seen in
another post today), it would be an unforgettable joke on us.


>  The Deepening Ties Between the N.S.A. and Silicon Valley<http://p.nytimes.com/email/re?location=YFuu/A194QEKjxV/ugpm0k9anQA2MM49IhNWGFarU5HPjzy2SurvpUaCg1tMG/GmnyuTMkbJaYqDVoZ2VVMKu9xQV95cTLmhdvzRF4ba89J816Y1vwjttel7t5VJt/ASOb+w8eCRNyrf3V6/zgQhv23CrAZnfUj5+Dp7oKfBG9mXfYC24TlAwtcsm3A77B0kuff9ckQ6AgQ=&campaign_id=688&instance_id=29875&segment_id=47727&user_id=137439fb1362c8f75ce661ad0663b428>
> | Increasingly deep connections between Silicon Valley and the National
> Security Agency<http://p.nytimes.com/email/re?location=vzewYO/FHLTwPZVO2nH9zd3pqc9G7QpdPk3reFpveyN4LX2H7iMYPKsKmghXRLWI+9gwvOyA3863MmBTyX6TTiMc1roke8HFoUYnLrYMXhgGSucMw1381fC9H2dClmWeu4RcI3o/PLvCcklgkZPTVA8f/lgMoMEfbcKsBmd9SPn4Onugp8Eb2Zd9gLbhOUDC1yybcDvsHSS59/1yRDoCBA==&campaign_id=688&instance_id=29875&segment_id=47727&user_id=137439fb1362c8f75ce661ad0663b428>reflect the degree to which they are now in the same business. Both hunt
> for ways to collect, analyze and exploit large pools of data about millions
> of Americans. The only difference is that the N.S.A. does it for
> intelligence, and Silicon Valley does it to make money, James Risen and
> Nick Wingfield report in The New York Times<http://p.nytimes.com/email/re?location=4z5Q7LhI+KVBjmEgFdYACPLKh239P3pgk6UxPXRxIzmVGP4N2xoe4AIM8Ln3y8AXYVqs6bHofqI59qR7L9M4BHtNLOYyzUFACODfsKgAKQT/P9aQ77LtcnUZNJ8LCdGZUeEWaviaEtcEPt5p3n4GBi+UGADt5ph46acs8OIaxGr2cn3dAX1/67+8ri6sT1qrt7w8NbQDMxvy4F7tzBqnEeFWKTRx8gfkWn0Avs5umiQ=&campaign_id=688&instance_id=29875&segment_id=47727&user_id=137439fb1362c8f75ce661ad0663b428>
> .
> Silicon Valley has what the National Security Agency wants: vast amounts
> of private data and the most sophisticated software available to analyze
> it. The agency in turn is one of Silicon Valley's largest customers for
> what is known as data analytics, one of the valley's fastest-growing
> markets. To get their hands on the latest software technology to manipulate
> and take advantage of large volumes of data, United States intelligence
> agencies invest in Silicon Valley start-ups, award classified contracts and
> recruit technology experts like Max Kelly, a former chief security officer
> for Facebook<http://p.nytimes.com/email/re?location=vzewYO/FHLTwPZVO2nH9zd3pqc9G7Qpd4urQSmZhkl8nacyM3UCdVMcSuu0ebQsEFQVuCK4p/GnNExwL34kk4FbRzhMV0g1ZfSEsJy8hapbKsIgr0E1x4kxGgLZk9qBFMI8PpOUugkHMUHrteNT+nRFta/hDHsVRXV8A+T8OrBA=&campaign_id=688&instance_id=29875&segment_id=47727&user_id=137439fb1362c8f75ce661ad0663b428>
> . "We are all in these Big Data business models," said Ray Wang, a
> technology analyst and chief executive of Constellation Research, based in
> San Francisco. "There are a lot of connections now because the data
> scientists and the folks who are building these systems have a lot of
> common interests."One example: When Mr. Kelly left Facebook in 2010, he
> did not go to Google<http://p.nytimes.com/email/re?location=vzewYO/FHLTwPZVO2nH9zd3pqc9G7Qpd4urQSmZhkl8nacyM3UCdVMcSuu0ebQsE8zok/w+uxX8rEtHF5OK4ELPb4lV8yfIpamkpubuTqczktLV9qw80yTgijY59k/YQ/bSnxwHwGKlCc4UxMKraD5q269334f4ZECr0JadzGWY=&campaign_id=688&instance_id=29875&segment_id=47727&user_id=137439fb1362c8f75ce661ad0663b428>,
> Twitter<http://p.nytimes.com/email/re?location=vzewYO/FHLTwPZVO2nH9zd3pqc9G7Qpd4urQSmZhkl8nacyM3UCdVMcSuu0ebQsEPDzpTdhuAZSCYn6qyrmbFSQcEVYYd/fa0yP6eLL7CRNH3Bnregk9zWvFQLi90dGBerTQZ5bfqRGRpmNpYgj6ysgDb41vn5hTWRanMw6M6Ow=&campaign_id=688&instance_id=29875&segment_id=47727&user_id=137439fb1362c8f75ce661ad0663b428>or a similar Silicon Valley concern. Instead, the man who was responsible
> for protecting the personal information of Facebook's more than one billion
> users from outside attacks went to work for another giant institution that
> manages and analyzes large pools of data: the National Security Agency.The
> disclosure of the spy agency's program called Prism, which is said to
> collect the e-mails and other Web activity of foreigners using major
> Internet companies like Google, Yahoo<http://p.nytimes.com/email/re?location=vzewYO/FHLTwPZVO2nH9zd3pqc9G7Qpd4urQSmZhkl8nacyM3UCdVMcSuu0ebQsEhMiyzBfv+diCnpAOLMWT5vBJQ7hjiSldZxKAhPwJPAI1gI/0CeOTF8v6lzDjWj9rI17xthJXiMdGVypokOY2BrBFYcOKAQo8x0h8x5MlcO4=&campaign_id=688&instance_id=29875&segment_id=47727&user_id=137439fb1362c8f75ce661ad0663b428>and Facebook, has prompted the companies to deny that the agency has direct
> access to their computers, even as they acknowledge complying with secret
> N.S.A. court orders for specific data.Yet technology experts and former
> intelligence officials say the convergence between Silicon Valley and the
> N.S.A. and the rise of data mining - both as an industry and as a crucial
> intelligence tool - have created a more complex reality."These worlds
> overlap," said Philipp S. Krüger, chief executive of Explorist, an Internet
> start-up in New York.
>
>
> On 19 June 2013 06:53, Banibrata Dutta <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> The PIL's motivation and energies seem to be somewhat misplaced. While US
>> could abuse the information siphoned-off from accounts of Indian citizen on
>> social-network sites, but whether they are going to come after someone, on
>> a foreign land, for speaking against their mega-corporations (and their
>> vile ways/intentions) or bipartisan politics seems a bit too much. I am
>> sure, they'd have a bigger hassle to deal with on similar subjects, in
>> their own country.
>>
>> Data backdoors (for snooping) are a bad idea, irrespective of whether
>> they lead back to the US, or India.  I do not think that abuse of such
>> powers has higher legitimacy if done by Indian govt. versus US govt. In
>> fact, what is worse is that we are setting a precedent by implying that it
>> is okay to snoop on your citizen (but not so for govt. in another country).
>>
>> BTW, backdoors don't only allow one to snoop, but even plant "evidence"
>> that can lead to incarceration of people who might otherwise be completely
>> innocent. So a witch-hunt for anti-establishment activists becomes all the
>> more easy, and a complete fascist regime is what could follow. It not only
>> be political opponents, but every whistle-blower and anybody who causes
>> embarrassment or inconvenience to whoever (or their friend) has a finger on
>> the button.
>>
>> Of course, government, snooping gear vendors and their cohorts are on a
>> hyper-drive to label anybody and everybody who shares such thoughts as
>> being retrogressive / anti-progress, commies out to spread FUD (Fear
>> Uncertainty Doubt) and create panic, while being just over-imaginative.
>> Shush...
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Jun 19, 2013 at 9:02 AM, Arun Mehta <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>> I have some ideas: if we look suspiciously at the software in telecom
>>> equipment coming from China, we should have the same attitude vis-a-vis any
>>> software that is not open source. In particular MS-Windows. It is a shame
>>> that decades after the invention of computer viruses, Windows still
>>> continues to be ridiculously vulnerable. For several years now, I have used
>>> dual boot netbooks in which I rarely boot into Windows. In all this time,
>>> there hasn't even been a whiff of a virus when running Linux. Why can we
>>> not follow the example of Brazil, and widely promote the use of Linux?
>>>
>>>
>>> At least, the government should direct that no sensitive information be
>>> processed on a machine running Windows. It is not much use if the office
>>> machine is protected, when the officer takes home her work on a USB stick.
>>>
>>>
>>> Should there not be a ban on government officers using gmail, yahoo mail
>>> hotmail or the like, since US and allied security agencies have total
>>> access to them?
>>>
>>>
>>> Arun Mehta
>>>
>>>
>>> http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/PIL-seeks-protection-of-Indian-govts-secret-data-from-US-snooping/articleshow/20656911.cms
>>>
>>>
>>> PIL seeks protection of Indian govt's secret data from US snooping
>>>
>>>
>>> Amid reports of US cyber intelligence units snooping on secret data
>>> worldwide, a PIL filed in the Supreme Court on Tuesday sought a direction
>>> to the Union government to take urgent steps to protect its official data
>>> stored on the internet and privacy of millions of Indians holding accounts
>>> on social networking sites.
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> India-gii mailing list
>>> [email protected]
>>> http://frodo.hserus.net/mailman/listinfo/india-gii
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> regards,
>> Banibrata
>> http://www.linkedin.com/in/bdutta
>> http://twitter.com/edgeliving
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> India-gii mailing list
>> [email protected]
>> http://frodo.hserus.net/mailman/listinfo/india-gii
>>
>>
>


-- 
regards,
Banibrata
http://www.linkedin.com/in/bdutta
http://twitter.com/edgeliving

_______________________________________________
India-gii mailing list
[email protected]
http://frodo.hserus.net/mailman/listinfo/india-gii