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How is a company 10,000 miles away from you going to hurt you compared to a local one that has access to all government services (and vice versa)? I'd rather pr

How is a company 10,000 miles away from you going to hurt you compared to a local one that has access to all government services (and vice versa)? I'd rather prefer Chinese or Russian companies to spy on me because what are they going to do with it that would matter? Will I get more spam in Mandarin/Cyrillic I can't decipher anyway?

elefanten 3y ago
This is completely ignorant of how influence works and how espionage assets are developed. A foreign entity would have no obstructions to using collected information as ruthlessly as possible, whereas even a corrupt/politically-motivated/unrestrained domestic entity would have to weigh the comparatively massive risk of being implicated or exposed. “what are they going to do with it?” If you have valuable information or responsibilities, that could be motivation enough for foreign agents to seek leverage. If you don’t, then it’s equally fantastic to think the CIA gives a shit about you for some reason.
- treprinum 3y ago
  We are talking about a vacuum cleaner that is 99% of the time parked in some closet. What kind of valuable information are they going to get? Now compare it with Amazon Echo, your TV with a webcam/microphone, your smartphone - those are far higher risks.
outworlder 3y ago
> How is a company 10,000 miles away from you going to hurt you compared to a local one that has access to all government services (and vice versa)? I'd rather prefer Chinese or Russian companies to spy on me because what are they going to do with it that would matter? Will I get more spam in Mandarin/Cyrillic I can't decipher anyway? Don't forget – if someone unlocks your door and leaves it ajar, then anyone can get in. Chinese companies are not well known for their cyber security practices. Even if you don't care how they could use this information (either individually, or in the aggregate across millions of people), you should also care about who else would be able to hack into the feed. You don't want a "kia boyz" situation with a camera in your home. Imagine some kid finds an easily exploitable vulnerability and releases some software allowing anyone to tap into your camera? This has happened with security cameras already. It's even worse these days with cloud connected equipment, all you need is a vulnerability in the cloud command and control. And, although most US agencies are not allowed to collect data from citizens in US soil, they can (and have) collected data procured from elsewhere. The bottom line is, the same information can end up much, much closer to you.
- treprinum 3y ago
  Finding anything valuable in vacuum robot video feed might be similar to trying to find a needle in a haystack - who has the capacity to go through billions of hours of videos and analyzing if there is anything worth attention? Both companies and hackers would go bankrupt pretty quickly.

elefanten 3y ago

This is completely ignorant of how influence works and how espionage assets are developed. A foreign entity would have no obstructions to using collected information as ruthlessly as possible, whereas even a corrupt/politically-motivated/unrestrained domestic entity would have to weigh the comparatively massive risk of being implicated or exposed. “what are they going to do with it?” If you have valuable information or responsibilities, that could be motivation enough for foreign agents to seek leverage. If you don’t, then it’s equally fantastic to think the CIA gives a shit about you for some reason.

treprinum 3y ago
We are talking about a vacuum cleaner that is 99% of the time parked in some closet. What kind of valuable information are they going to get? Now compare it with Amazon Echo, your TV with a webcam/microphone, your smartphone - those are far higher risks.

outworlder 3y ago

> How is a company 10,000 miles away from you going to hurt you compared to a local one that has access to all government services (and vice versa)? I'd rather prefer Chinese or Russian companies to spy on me because what are they going to do with it that would matter? Will I get more spam in Mandarin/Cyrillic I can't decipher anyway? Don't forget – if someone unlocks your door and leaves it ajar, then anyone can get in. Chinese companies are not well known for their cyber security practices. Even if you don't care how they could use this information (either individually, or in the aggregate across millions of people), you should also care about who else would be able to hack into the feed. You don't want a "kia boyz" situation with a camera in your home. Imagine some kid finds an easily exploitable vulnerability and releases some software allowing anyone to tap into your camera? This has happened with security cameras already. It's even worse these days with cloud connected equipment, all you need is a vulnerability in the cloud command and control. And, although most US agencies are not allowed to collect data from citizens in US soil, they can (and have) collected data procured from elsewhere. The bottom line is, the same information can end up much, much closer to you.

treprinum 3y ago
Finding anything valuable in vacuum robot video feed might be similar to trying to find a needle in a haystack - who has the capacity to go through billions of hours of videos and analyzing if there is anything worth attention? Both companies and hackers would go bankrupt pretty quickly.