Full Disclosure mailing list archives
Re: Spy Agency Mined Vast Data Trove and other tales
From: Steve Kudlak <chromazine () sbcglobal net>
Date: Wed, 28 Dec 2005 22:01:01 -0800
It is kind of think it is a "UFO story" to say that PGP and the likes don't work and have been quietlty changed to make them easy to break. The inventors being compromised is pretty much an MIB story. It is open code so you can read it and see if it is possible to break and how easily given current open knowledge. Now if the mathematicians in the NSA know things about factoring we don't well oh well. What is depended on is that most people don't encrypt and most things are sent in the open. This includes most transactions that can be used to build a sort of profile. If I were to start spending other than cash quietly and using banks in any way at least my bankers would know some improvement had taken place and they at least have agreed to release a lot of information to competent authorities. Also this stuff is sent pretty much encrypted. SO there is a lot of information out there to gather and much of the idea about datamining is to get things out of easily available unencrypted sources. The same with phone calls. Very few people have STU phones or equivelent. it is amazing how stuff just gets known because people can't or most often won't be careful. The big problem with datamining is getting pattern out of data and telling what that pattern means. This is a problem in a lot of fields, there is a storm sitting out in the Pacific over a relatively sensor rich area and I have all sorts of information about its behavior, about SST (sea surface temperature) etc. but it is hard trying to figure out how that will impact where I live.
Those of us who have worked on big projects inside of large entities and the like know that the people there are often like you and me, despite what the X-Files and true believers say. But that scary stuff does make it more romantic. You are right that however that putting pressure on politicos will get them to change, and people in security agencies are human too and not inhuman monsters and many care a lot about the nature of their work and as onme might notice when someone goes too far little leaks sprout.
Have Fun, Sends Steve _______________________________________________ Full-Disclosure - We believe in it. Charter: http://lists.grok.org.uk/full-disclosure-charter.html Hosted and sponsored by Secunia - http://secunia.com/
Current thread:
- Re: Spy Agency Mined Vast Data Trove, (continued)
- Re: Spy Agency Mined Vast Data Trove Kurt Buff (Dec 27)
- Re: Spy Agency Mined Vast Data Trove Gary E. Miller (Dec 27)
- Re: Spy Agency Mined Vast Data Trove Paul Schmehl (Dec 27)
- Re: Spy Agency Mined Vast Data Trove Rodrigo Barbosa (Dec 27)
- Re: Spy Agency Mined Vast Data Trove coderman (Dec 27)
- Re: Spy Agency Mined Vast Data Trove Leif Ericksen (Dec 28)
- Re: Spy Agency Mined Vast Data Trove Rodrigo Barbosa (Dec 28)
- Re: Spy Agency Mined Vast Data Trove Leif Ericksen (Dec 28)
- Re: Spy Agency Mined Vast Data Trove Rodrigo Barbosa (Dec 28)
- Re: Spy Agency Mined Vast Data Trove Stan Bubrouski (Dec 28)
- Re: Spy Agency Mined Vast Data Trove and other tales Steve Kudlak (Dec 28)
- Re: Spy Agency Mined Vast Data Trove and other tales Leif Ericksen (Dec 29)
- Re: Spy Agency Mined Vast Data Trove Geo. (Dec 28)
- Re: Spy Agency Mined Vast Data Trove Rodrigo Barbosa (Dec 28)
- Re: Spy Agency Mined Vast Data Trove Joshua Levitsky (Dec 28)
- Re: Spy Agency Mined Vast Data Trove Leif Ericksen (Dec 28)
- Re: Spy Agency Mined Vast Data Trove Steve Kudlak (Dec 28)
- Re: Spy Agency Mined Vast Data Trove Leif Ericksen (Dec 28)
- Re: Spy Agency Mined Vast Data Trove GroundZero Security (Dec 28)
- Re: Spy Agency Mined Vast Data Trove Leif Ericksen (Dec 28)
- Re: Spy Agency Mined Vast Data Trove Stan Bubrouski (Dec 28)