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The reporter said "Develop and task key engineers" means surveillance but I don't think that's right. Task can be used multiple ways but I think that line is ta

by staunch 12y ago

The reporter said "Develop and task key engineers" means surveillance but I don't think that's right. Task can be used multiple ways but I think that line is talking about recruiting key engineers as agents, probably using bribery. I could be wrong but I thought Ali had an extremely guilty reaction. As if he was waiting for the reporter to accuse him of being an NSA asset. Which he very well may be.

rdl 12y ago
Yeah, that's usually what "develop" means in an intel context. It's "recruit". Although you'd probably start by developing a list of targets, then learning (open source, government records, etc.) as much as possible, then maybe task someone with observing or recruiting.
- zz1 12y ago
  Actively perusing their XKeyscore record wouldn't it be to "taks" them? And using TAO?
  - colinbartlett 12y ago
    Imagine how much information they could get on these engineers, who, as foreign nationals, are free game to warrantless surveillance. Facebook photos, emails, Android phone location history, MasterCard records. It would be easy to find something incriminating such as "You were at a hotel room for 4 hours in the middle of the day, how about you help us or we'll tell your wife?" or "You've got $25,000 in credit card debt and we can make that disappear if you change a few config files." This isn't crazy movie stuff, this is exactly how people are recruited.
    - zz1 12y ago
      Why just "Android phone location history"? Every phone location history. And pictures from that phone, and audio recordings too.
      - tacotime 12y ago
        Because android is a google run product/service and it is possible that our government could force google's hand into using it's presumed ability to compromise the security of an Android device via some custom patched system update or something that normally only google would have control over. Because our government may not have that same level of access/power over whatever the Chinese version of Android is.
        hnha 12y ago
        how can the government not do the same to Apple's iOS or blackberry or any other?
        zz1 12y ago
        Being Canadian, Blackberry isn't on the same level. But yes, clearly iOS is transparent to the NSA.
      - wastedhours 12y ago
        It's not a flamewar starter, it's using specific examples for a directed point (hence MasterCard and not credit card, Facebook photos rather than photos from any other cloud provider etc...)
        colinbartlett 12y ago
        Correct, I was just using a narrative technique, not implying any brands are more susceptible than others.
walshemj 12y ago
Or that you are realy a BND officer and you are dong it for the motherland - The KGB posed as Neo Nazi's to recruit some German spies back in the day.
mkal_tsr 12y ago
So aside from this video, what concrete proof do you have to make your wildly biased claim that he may be an NSA asset? I love your dripping tone of "I'm not saying he's an asset, but seriously, look at that guilt on his face. Again, not directly saying, but look at him." Maybe you're an NSA asset. You may very well be. Let's keep personal attacks down and talk about the issue at hand rather than go for character assassination.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- colinbartlett 12y ago
  There wasn't any personal attacks or character assassination, he or she was just stating what his or her interpretation of their reactions was. I actually thought the same. I kept thinking the whole point of the clip would be that they would see their own names and how they had been recruited. I, too, thought 'tasked' meant bribed/coerced. ... that's not character assassination, that's just like my opinion, man.
- rdtsc 12y ago
  That is an interesting and chilling read of what is happening. I think in this case the gp post was playing off the colloquial meaning of the trade-craft word "task". In intelligence communities of different countries they use jargon to mean specific things (just like lawyer like to use Latin words). Except in this case it is usually English words that have specified (overloaded) meaning that might or might not retain a relation to the colloquial meaning. But if we accept the translation and explanation from the video. Then "tasking" meaning to target specifically (focus on on detail so to speak). That is what I got from it.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
dobbsbob 12y ago
Snowden docs seem to indicate tasked means you task schedule their IP addresses into QUANTUM to wait to be pwned next time they go to Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube ect.

by staunch 12y ago

rdl 12y ago

Yeah, that's usually what "develop" means in an intel context. It's "recruit". Although you'd probably start by developing a list of targets, then learning (open source, government records, etc.) as much as possible, then maybe task someone with observing or recruiting.

zz1 12y ago
Actively perusing their XKeyscore record wouldn't it be to "taks" them? And using TAO?
- colinbartlett 12y ago
  Imagine how much information they could get on these engineers, who, as foreign nationals, are free game to warrantless surveillance. Facebook photos, emails, Android phone location history, MasterCard records. It would be easy to find something incriminating such as "You were at a hotel room for 4 hours in the middle of the day, how about you help us or we'll tell your wife?" or "You've got $25,000 in credit card debt and we can make that disappear if you change a few config files." This isn't crazy movie stuff, this is exactly how people are recruited.
  - zz1 12y ago
    Why just "Android phone location history"? Every phone location history. And pictures from that phone, and audio recordings too.
    - tacotime 12y ago
      Because android is a google run product/service and it is possible that our government could force google's hand into using it's presumed ability to compromise the security of an Android device via some custom patched system update or something that normally only google would have control over. Because our government may not have that same level of access/power over whatever the Chinese version of Android is.
      - hnha 12y ago
        how can the government not do the same to Apple's iOS or blackberry or any other?
        zz1 12y ago
        Being Canadian, Blackberry isn't on the same level. But yes, clearly iOS is transparent to the NSA.
    - wastedhours 12y ago
      It's not a flamewar starter, it's using specific examples for a directed point (hence MasterCard and not credit card, Facebook photos rather than photos from any other cloud provider etc...)
      - colinbartlett 12y ago
        Correct, I was just using a narrative technique, not implying any brands are more susceptible than others.

walshemj 12y ago

Or that you are realy a BND officer and you are dong it for the motherland - The KGB posed as Neo Nazi's to recruit some German spies back in the day.

mkal_tsr 12y ago

So aside from this video, what concrete proof do you have to make your wildly biased claim that he may be an NSA asset? I love your dripping tone of "I'm not saying he's an asset, but seriously, look at that guilt on his face. Again, not directly saying, but look at him." Maybe you're an NSA asset. You may very well be. Let's keep personal attacks down and talk about the issue at hand rather than go for character assassination.

deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
colinbartlett 12y ago
There wasn't any personal attacks or character assassination, he or she was just stating what his or her interpretation of their reactions was. I actually thought the same. I kept thinking the whole point of the clip would be that they would see their own names and how they had been recruited. I, too, thought 'tasked' meant bribed/coerced. ... that's not character assassination, that's just like my opinion, man.
rdtsc 12y ago
That is an interesting and chilling read of what is happening. I think in this case the gp post was playing off the colloquial meaning of the trade-craft word "task". In intelligence communities of different countries they use jargon to mean specific things (just like lawyer like to use Latin words). Except in this case it is usually English words that have specified (overloaded) meaning that might or might not retain a relation to the colloquial meaning. But if we accept the translation and explanation from the video. Then "tasking" meaning to target specifically (focus on on detail so to speak). That is what I got from it.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

dobbsbob 12y ago

Snowden docs seem to indicate tasked means you task schedule their IP addresses into QUANTUM to wait to be pwned next time they go to Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube ect.