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If you want to look for examples of companies in the US and elsewhere engaging in activities mentioned in this article against political dissidents, look no fur
by streetnigga 13y ago
If you want to look for examples of companies in the US and elsewhere engaging in activities mentioned in this article against political dissidents, look no further than the HB Gary email leak of years back. I referenced such works here[0] after Obama's announcement of NSA 'reforms' that hinted at offloading more sensitive data to private companies.
I would like to bring the attention of people who read this article back to the tactics such as the real-time spying on Wikileaks viewers. Tactics discussed by the likes of HB Gary's Aaron Barr like going after activists by their families and careers, or the US Chamber of Commerce's interest in such work.
There is a profound amount of moral hazards here that companies are wading deep into for cash and possible immunity such as what AT&T was granted.
[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7078402 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7078402
- tptacek 13y ago23 skidoo!
- streetnigga 13y agoWhy did you make like light of Michael Hasting's death then denigrate Barrett Brown[0] after irrelevantly bringing up Monsanto and Nickelback[1] in that thread 36 days ago instead of discussing the topic (or not engaging) like a reasonable person? You could of had the advantage of people not knowing more about this type of work enlisted by governments/carried out by for-profit concerns, instead you choose to be highly corrosive in an attempt to elicit some reaction. But by golly here you are again doing the same. So while your attention is clearly engaged upon me, could you answer the question above? [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7084938 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7084938 [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7082094 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7082094
- tptacek 13y agoBecause Michael Hastings was killed for his unpublished work on chemtrails, not the reporting he'd done on CIA, and Barrett Brown is no hero: he's out to immanentize the eschaton! Hail Eris! If you're going to write a conspiracy theory for us, "streetnigga", at least do it with some style. Throw an "Ewige Blumenkraft" or two in there.
- rdl 13y agoHow many drinks have you had this evening?
- tptacek 13y agoZero, but thanks for putting the idea in my head. :) I have a very hard time taking people who believe in the Michael Hastings conspiracy seriously, and that's just one of the goofy conspiracy theories the parent commenter has promoted on HN.
- rdl 13y agoHappy to help. This is Free Liquor Week (aka RSA), but you're probably wise enough to avoid it. I agree the most likely situation with Hastings was he had personal issues, but maybe got spooked by someone calling him or otherwise being threatening, and crashed his car. After writing some pretty good articles. And Barrett Brown has some serious issues as well, although (like aaronsw and weev, and manning's pre-trial detention conditions) the way the legal system is being used is itself unconscionable. I still think "punch up" applies.
- tptacek 13y agoI would rather eat a live wriggling cockroach than attend RSA or, for that matter, be in the same city as RSA. I don't understand where you're even coming from regarding Hastings. He had a history of abusing drugs and alcohol. His car crashed. A bunch of Internet conspiracy theorists decided that crashed cars don't burst into flames the way video showed Hastings car had, even as other Internet people, including (here on HN) an EMT, pointed out that they actually do exactly that surprisingly often; some even presented videos. The LA Coroner released a report that pointed out Hastings had amphetamines and cannabis in his system when his car crashed. From where, exactly, do you get the notion that he received a threatening phone call? Is there any evidence anywhere at all that that ever happened, or does it just make for a good story?
- 13y ago
- FreakLegion 13y agoDo note that those emails were all talk. Other than the failed attempt to expose the "leadership" of Anonymous, none of Barr's big plans were even tried, let alone successfully carried out. His own employees (all two of them) mocked him and refused to participate. Aaron Barr was one guy, dealing with a failed marriage and a failing company, and he just lost the plot there for a bit.
- tptacek 13y agoSince this appears to be the basis of the notion that Palantir is a branch of the NSA: the one Palantir person known to have been involved was a 27 year old sales engineer who was subsequently terminated from the company and rehired after the legal investigation Palantir launched on itself for coming within a mile of Aaron Barr cleared him. (This is based on reporting of what happened, not any kind of firsthand knowledge about Palantir, of which I have none).
- streetnigga 13y agoPalantir is not a branch of the NSA, they are backed by the CIA[0]. [0] http://finance.yahoo.com/news/cia-backed-palantir-technologies-raises-200921615.html http://finance.yahoo.com/news/cia-backed-palantir-technologi...
- tptacek 13y agoSo was Decru. I suppose storage encryption is also a CIA plot. So was FireEye. I suppose killing zero-day is also a CIA plot. So was Inktomi. I suppose caching web traffic, &c &c. I could go on, if you like. In-Q-Tel has backed a lot of stuff.
- ChrisAntaki 13y agoIn-Q-Tel is an interesting company. They've invested in Google (OSINT), and Keyhole (GEOINT/IMINT). Google went on to acquire Keyhole, to create Google Earth [1]. [1] http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/07/exclusive-google-cia/ http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/07/exclusive-google-cia...
- aspensmonster 13y agoNice to tptacek is still alive and kicking. I kinda missed him.