Here is my fifth list of good stuff on our surveillance society that I’d like talk about but only have time to recommend with a quick comment.
Washington Post – NSA infiltrate links to Yahoo, Google data centers worldwide, Snowden documents say – The NSA is listening and gathering data from inside the Yahoo and Google servers. As Bruce Schneier points out in the next link and this article also says, this is applying the Cold-War spy techniques the NSA used against the Soviet Union and applying them to U.S. corporations.
Schneier on Security – NSA Eavesdropping on Google and Yahoo Networks – We should assume that NSA has listening/vacuuming tools inside all the other major services: Facebook, Twitter, Apple, Microsoft, etc. He repeats his recommendation that to clean up this mess will require a special prosecutor with power to subpoena, indict, and try. Also this:
We also need something like South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, where both government and corporate employees can come forward and tell their stories about NSA eavesdropping without fear of reprisal.
Wall Street Journal – Memo to Workers: The Boss is Watching – Companies are increasingly using technology to monitor blue-collar workers in the field.
Schneier on Security – Metadata Equals Surveillance – The accumulation of who you called, when, and how long you talked is the equivalent of putting a detective on your trail 24/7. Having the content of each call pales in comparison to knowing every person you talked to. To explain why the federal spying programs are a problem, try this formula: “metadata = surveillance.”
Wall Street Journal – For African Generals, Drones Are The Latest Thing – A number of African countries are building up their own drone operations. Used for watching jihadists, but also checking out possible pirate ships and big game poachers. Not sure what to make of this. It is a part of the massive change taking place around us.