Posted on 03/21/2013 3:59:59 PM PDT by upchuck
The U.S. government is expanding a cybersecurity program that scans Internet traffic headed into and out of defense contractors to include far more of the country's private, civilian-run infrastructure.
As a result, more private sector employees than ever before, including those at big banks, utilities and key transportation companies, will have their emails and Web surfing scanned as a precaution against cyber attacks.
Under last month's White House executive order on cybersecurity, the scans will be driven by classified information provided by U.S. intelligence agencies — including data from the National Security Agency (NSA) — on new or especially serious espionage threats and other hacking attempts. U.S. spy chiefs said on March 12 that cyber attacks have supplanted terrorism as the top threat to the country.
The Department of Homeland Security will gather the secret data and pass it to a small group of telecommunication companies and cyber security providers that have employees holding security clearances, government and industry officials said. Those companies will then offer to process email and other Internet transmissions for critical infrastructure customers that choose to participate in the program.
DHS as the middleman By using DHS as the middleman, the Obama administration hopes to bring the formidable overseas intelligence-gathering of the NSA closer to ordinary U.S. residents without triggering an outcry from privacy advocates who have long been leery of the spy agency's eavesdropping.
The telecom companies will not report back to the government on what they see, except in aggregate statistics, a senior DHS official said in an interview granted on condition he not be identified.
George Orwell was so brilliant!
Make up some fake email addresses and add key words such as ...you know ... put them in a knicker twist over it.
translate all your emails to arabic
and send them - the feds will ignore them
The Blaze has a news show called “for the record” which covered some aspects of what they are collecting...
If a Republican was in the presidency, the Democrats would all be up in arms about how this violates their rights.
I think I speak for all FReepers when I say that you have nothing to worry about if you have nothing to hide.
Worrying about this just means you’re buying into Losertarian conspiracy kookery.
The government loves you and just wants to save you from the evildoers doing terrorism.
Fear what the government tells you to fear and you’ll be OK.
FReeper orthodoxy must be maintained.
So does this mean we all should use things like Tor and encrypted email? Pointless? I don’t actually have anything incriminating to hide, but I would like to put a finger in the budding police state’s eye at every opportunity.
“The telecom companies will not report back to the government on what they see, except in aggregate statistics, a senior DHS official said in an interview granted on condition he not be identified.”
No one with an IQ over 80 should actually believe the above statement.
Also, I think that the official needs to be identified.
“So does this mean we all should use things like Tor...”
I believe that a good number of the Tor relays are not what they seem to be.
Very true. Where are all of the liberals who were so bent out of shape over the Patriot Act? How come they're not raising hell over this?
No Secrets Anywhere?
I have no plans to encrypt or otherwise try to hide the contents of my emails. I’m sure they would be very boring to an outside party.
My stick in the eye to the guvament is the “screw you” comment. I doubt very seriously they are interested in my emails but that will serve the purpose of getting the word out.
read later
Justice Department Expands Hunt for Data on Cellphones ttp://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/26/justice-department-expands-hunt-for-data-on-cellphones/
Obama’s NSA eavesdropping goes beyond that of Bush... after campaigning on the promise of: “ No warrantless wiretaps if you elect me!”
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9845595-7.html
headlines read: “NSA Exceeds Legal Limits In Eavesdropping Program”, “ U.S. phone intercepts go beyond legal limits” , and “NSA Found Improperly Spying on Americans”.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123985123667923961.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
http://uk.reuters.com/article/burningIssues/idUKTRE53F09820090416
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/04/15/justice-dept-nsa-improperly-spied-americans/
where’s the outcry from the left? are they all busy suing cities that had manger scenes?
The Obama administration is repeating steps Germany followed to spy on her citizens starting in the late 1920s...Janet Napolitano is becoming more butch...however, she still takes orders from Obama, not the other way around. Segregation is a live and well....only now it is called bias.
Scan This!
Check this out ===>> Why You Should Start Using a VPN (and How to Choose the Best One for Your Needs)
'Course, it won't help much once the Drone King decides to go full-on totalitarian. For instance, VPNs are illegal in Iran and it's got the muscle to back it up. Penalties are severe for both VPN operators and end users, and it routinely blocks and inteferes with VPN service. But until then...
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