5 ms·
I can't imagine the type of espionage operations the various intelligence agencies can now run against each other. For example, the OPM database hack (by China
by hiram112 5y ago
I can't imagine the type of espionage operations the various intelligence agencies can now run against each other.
For example, the OPM database hack (by China, allegedly) leaked pretty much every single US citizen who holds a security clearance. A large power like China could simply hack into the travel databases of countries like Thailand, Netherlands, etc. which are known for vices like prostitution and drugs and send themselves notifications when a target enters an area known for "adult fun".
Blackmail has always been a tactic used by the clandestine intel services, but I imagine it was very expensive and time consuming to track the marks you're after.
But these days you'd be able to do it on a scale orders of magnitudes larger for a few thousands dollars per month in cloud costs, duct taping together some pipeline of the various hacked systems and databases with alerting notifications to your army of part-time "gig operatives" all over the world on your Mechanical Turk payroll, lol
- no_butterscotch 5y agoMy data was leaked in the OPM hack. I had security clearance at that time. I'm not entirely sure, but there's a part of me that's paranoid about visiting China. I'd like to for tourism reasons. But at the same time, something inside me says "what if?"
- malwarebytess 5y agoWhat are you afraid of?
- jdavis703 5y agoAt least personally I’m worried about being held on totally fictitious charges of espionage or sedition. I worked for a national security agency that they particularly despise. So yeah, I won’t be going there to find if they want to harass me or not. (I also don’t trust my own government to not make up fictitious petty crime charges against me, so maybe I’m paranoid.)
- no_butterscotch 5y agoThis is what I'm afraid of. I just worked for some stupid government contractor building web-apps of all things, albeit the product was for a US military branch. However consider the case of those Canadians held on trumped charges to get back at the US/Canada for arresting the Huawei executive.
- philliphaydon 5y agoThere’s also the American who’s sons are currently held in china trying to get the father to return to China on some fraud charges.
- pvarangot 5y agoHave you been to Taiwan? It's China and the government is not paranoid and obsessed about the US.
- BoHerfVJrEsq 5y agoTaiwan is not China.
- systemvoltage 5y agoTaiwan is most definitely not China and does not share passport/visitor data.
- jdavis703 5y agoI think they meant it’s cultural heritage is Chinese. Not that it’s part of the PRC government. At least that’s my good faith interpretation.
- systemvoltage 5y agoI think given the intense sensitivity around interpretation, please consider my comment as a clarification.
- jdavis703 5y agoI’m pretty sure even when the PRC calls them a “renegade” it’s because even they admit it’s a separatist government, even if they consider the separatists illegitimate. Nothing in my comment is insensitive to either government.
- pvarangot 5y agoIt calls itself China and I like to think about China as a culture/people that most of what I saw in Taiwan represents very well, so I call them China. Sorry if I offended your sensibilities.