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The NSA's story about how they need to secretly do these things to fight the war on terror makes less sense with each new revelation. Terrorists don't use VPN
by fragsworth 13y ago
The NSA's story about how they need to secretly do these things to fight the war on terror makes less sense with each new revelation.
Terrorists don't use VPN dongles.
What is really going on here?
- robszumski 13y agoTerrorists don't, but the banks that they use probably do. You've gotta break into a lot of systems before you get to the information you want.
- jlund 13y agoBusinesses use RSA VPN dongles, and the stories that are starting to surface now are more about economic espionage. "Follow the money" is a slippery slope.
- objclxt 13y agoYou are making an assumption that the primary target of SIGINT is terrorists, but in reality it's actually nation states. I think another story just came out today about GCHQ targeting EU officials and embassies.
- moocowduckquack 13y agoNation states are likely to roll their own dongles though. The folk that use these are bluechips meeting due diligence requirements.
- PeterisP 13y agoNSA also does commercial espionage to harm non-US bluechip companies, which are quite likely to use those dongles for internal data.
- jballanc 13y agoHeh...I certainly had a good chuckle at this comment. I don't honestly think that the NSA ever paid more than lip-service to the "war on terror". They've been doing the same job since long before Sept. 11, 2001. Before the "war on terror" it was the "cold war", there just happens to have been an awkward gap in between... The NSA is in the business of Signals Intelligence. Their job, plainly stated, is to have access to as much communication between non-US entities as humanly possible. What makes their job difficult is that, over the course of the last few decades, it's become increasingly the case that much of the communication between non-US entities travels via US-based channels using technology originated in the US. Somewhere along the line, when forced to balance "as much communication" and "non-US entities", the NSA clearly chose in favor of accessing those communications at any cost.
- angersock 13y agoThis is a very well-put comment. The core cause there would seem to be sharing comm channels with foriegn actors--the same thing that makes our position with regards to the 'net so awesome also means that the NSA is kind of forced to get involved closer to home. It's a tricky tradeoff.
- jballanc 13y agoIt's the same reason you never see James Bond negotiating with foreign heads of state. You don't send an assassin to do a diplomat's job. Everything that is being revealed about the NSA's actions, this buying of influence especially, is positively reprehensible...BUT it is important to keep an eye on where the blame really lies: with the people that let their assassins dictate their foreign policy and domestic priorities.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- aagha 13y agoIf "non-US entities" includes businesses outside the US as well, I'd agree. Revelations recently [1] that the spying went beyond countries/heads of state. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that companies were being targeted for US based companies' benefit. [1] http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/dec/20/gchq-targeted-aid-agencies-german-government-eu-commissioner http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/dec/20/gchq-targeted...
- ben1040 13y ago>Terrorists don't use VPN dongles. The story isn't about VPN dongles, it's about a backdoor in an encryption product sold by RSA.
- Spooky23 13y agoHow do you know? Even if you're right, Airbus does.