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Does anyone find it hilariously convenient the timing that as soon as something expired ... this announcement goes to all the papers within a few days while the
by fweespeech 11y ago
Does anyone find it hilariously convenient the timing that as soon as something expired ... this announcement goes to all the papers within a few days while they basically pass a nearly identical thing?
- mmnnmmnn 11y agoI do. people predict it (this sort of timing), we all laugh it off, and then it happens anyway!
- logn 11y agoI do. Not only the timing of the Patriot Act expiration but also the recent NY Times/Snowden story (in which the government specifically cited state-sponsored cyber attacks as justification for mass surveillance). I read somewhere the actual breach was detected a month or two ago, so it doesn't seem that unreasonable they planned the announcement to coincide with the NY Times story and/or the Patriot Act end date. Also on all the cyber crimes I have a hard time believing anything. Definitely China's attacking us and we're attacking them, but on specific instances, we're never shown any proof at all. What are we to believe? And then I hear people asking about when a cyber attack constitutes an act of war. My god, I hope we don't go to war again on evidence that is unverified. And hopefully the media learned to be more skeptical of government claims after that whole Iraq WMD story, but it doesn't seem like it.
- nerdy 11y agoI'm not clear how the Patriot Act (if that's the "something" you mention) has anything to do with a state-sponsored advanced persistent threat. Can you explain?
- fweespeech 11y ago> The federal personnel office learned of the data breach after it began to toughen its cybersecurity defense system. When it discovered malicious activity, authorities used a detection system called EINSTEIN to unearth the information breach in April, the Department of Homeland Security said. http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/04/politics/federal-agency-hacked-personnel-management/ http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/04/politics/federal-agency-hacked... They waited until Thursday to reveal it. The timing is more than coincidence. Lol.
- nerdy 11y agoSo why not release it Monday/Tuesday? Thursday is sneakier?
- toomuchtodo 11y agoThey knew in April, they waited until right after Section 215 of the Patriot Act expired June 1st. Section 215 is the piece of legislation the NSA used as justification for its carte blanche collection of data in the US.
- nerdy 11y agoWhat I'm trying to say is that I don't think it furthers their goal. It isn't like some terrorist act occurred which would've been uncovered with Section 215 still active. This happened on their watch and under the so-called protection of the Patriot Act. To me, it seems like just another example of the Patriot Act not protecting people.
- toomuchtodo 11y agoYou're right on both counts, but keep in mind how few people are going to understand that. The media is going to report it as "rabble rabble rabble Chinese hackers because patriot act expired".
- fweespeech 11y agoHow much would you like to bet that this will be spun as they need more powers like Section 215 and people will believe them in large numbers?
- reagency 11y agoWouldn't they prefer to release the news before the vote?
- JupiterMoon 11y agoThe vote does not significantly affect their technical or legal capabilities. There are plenty of other laws they can invoke - or just relay the raw data feed to the UK and get the UK to do the dirty work. I think that it is principle of voting against surveillance that they want to quash before it becomes a habit.