FBI: We Need Wiretap-Ready Web Sites -- Now

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I was going to say something smart-ass about these statements made by the FBI but I have plans for the weekend that don't involve being detained in an undisclosed location. Well, at least not by the FBI. ;)

The FBI is asking Internet companies not to oppose a controversial proposal that would require the firms, including Microsoft, Facebook, Yahoo, and Google, to build in backdoors for government surveillance. In meetings with industry representatives, the White House, and U.S. senators, senior FBI officials argue the dramatic shift in communication from the telephone system to the Internet has made it far more difficult for agents to wiretap Americans suspected of illegal activities, CNET has learned.
 
If I was the head of any of those firms I would show up in a T-shirt with a big "F-U" on it.
 
I gather "suspected of illegal activities" aka "all communications so we can determine what is and what's not actually illegal".
Government, you've gotten too big for your britches....:rolleyes: There is only one thing the government I worried about, revolt!
 
It's called a warrant. But I guess those are pretty much non-existent with all these stories of taking down websites, putting GPS on peoples cars without warning, and being to detain people indefinitely.

What's one more drop in the bucket? :rolleyes:
 
I can't work up any sympathy for the FBI, for some reason. Wasn't the Patriot act enough of an overreach?
 
If someone hasn't already said it then I'm gonna', f' this country and what it's becoming.
 
Every internet connection needs to have a black box attached to it so that law enforcement can do it's job and look at everything we're doing anytime they suspect we're breaking law or conspiring to break the law.
 
I'm sure the Chinese would love this. Once they discover these backdoors they'll be able tto spy on everyone in the western world.

I wonder how enthusiastic the FBI would be about making a website where we can monitor every aspect of every agent's personal lives, just so we can check they're not doing anything illegal.
 
All those conspiracy theorists out there must be feeling validation in the last 5-10 years. The Government is certainly trying its best to turn into the giant information machine we all feared it would become.

Big brother is watching you.
 
This will of course make catching their own terror cells much easier. As we have seen the only terror plots the FBI can manage to foil are the ones they themselves create.

For freedomz.
 
If I could be wiretapped by any of those services then I'm going to quit them all entirely. Sorry but I never liked the idea of having my phone wiretapped without any warrant. Besides doesn't Facebook give them enough information as it is? You don't need a back door for that.
 
I'm sure the Chinese would love this. Once they discover these backdoors they'll be able tto spy on everyone in the western world.

I wonder how enthusiastic the FBI would be about making a website where we can monitor every aspect of every agent's personal lives, just so we can check they're not doing anything illegal.


I bet the Chinese, seeing as how keen they are on cyber warfare, probably already has the capacity of some form to spy on everyone already on the net.

It's plenty sad that the US government needs to rely on back doors to as a handicap to get these data. We're so screwed if WWIII happens, can anyone say, "Digital Pearl Harbour", folks?
 
Knee jerk reactions all around...

If you had read the article... you would have noted that they'll still require a warrant to get the data they want (for now). The biggest F-U to this request is that they'll require private companies to pay for this added back door (or worse... it'll come out of our pockets) and most likely pay to keep it in working order.

Another interesting tidbit of the article was that the law will only apply to a company who have a user-base above a certain limit. WTF would a criminal use said service when they know they can go completely unmonitored on a smaller tier service (below the required limit)?
 
The requirements apply only if a threshold of a certain number of users is exceeded
And I wonder what number that would be? 1?, including yourself?

Here is one step closer to living nude in a glass house people.

Heyyyy guyyyys, the government not here to fuck us silly, there's no need to worry.
129015502942402493.jpg

What harm can the FBI do?
 
Knee jerk reactions all around...

If you had read the article... you would have noted that they'll still require a warrant to get the data they want (for now). The biggest F-U to this request is that they'll require private companies to pay for this added back door (or worse... it'll come out of our pockets) and most likely pay to keep it in working order.

Another interesting tidbit of the article was that the law will only apply to a company who have a user-base above a certain limit. WTF would a criminal use said service when they know they can go completely unmonitored on a smaller tier service (below the required limit)?

Not if they can classify it as a threat to National Security which they do on the drop of a hat. The Patriot Act omits any requirements of a Warrant. And don't think that they do everything by the book either. You are idealist if you think the Government follows its own rules to a "T".

SO no , knee jerk reactions are understandable here.
 
Anyone who needs the security can just use point to point encryption.

They are probably going to require the keys to that, too.

What I don't get is the people defending this: they'll still need a warrant, etc.. It starts slowly, then they slowly weasel their way in more and more until they no longer need a warrant to crawl up your ass for a stool sample.
 
Not only are they trying to get their foot in the door for a police state that constantly monitors your internet bits, this backdoor is probably something that a hacker would love to find. Because we all know that gov't and software vendors are so good at securing their front doors from hackers :D.
 
They are probably going to require the keys to that, too.

What I don't get is the people defending this: they'll still need a warrant, etc.. It starts slowly, then they slowly weasel their way in more and more until they no longer need a warrant to crawl up your ass for a stool sample.

But they don't. That's the point. The individual user is not "Megaupload" and they can make up whatever reason they want to get it done if they feel its worth it. The NSA has been doing whatever the fuck it wants for decades but because its projects are unknown to anyone outside of key members of the Government there is no way to tell if rights were violated.

NSA is the current equivalent of the 1960's CIA. They do whatever they want with money that doesn't existing building places that don't exist. There is so much money in Government that even if you followed it you would end up at a dead end.

The only people who "need" warrants are local law enforcement.
 
I can't work up any sympathy for the FBI, for some reason. Wasn't the Patriot act enough of an overreach?

Well that managed to get passed without much of an uproar due to "patriotism". So why wouldn't this? Just say it's unamerican not to. :p
 
Also all of those products are international. You couldn't stick a backdoor for the FBI in the EU version. So wouldn't people in the US just use EU copies of windows/EU proxies (or windows 7...)

People who know what they are doing (the people hard to catch) can probably don't spend too much time on facebook plotting "terrorism" or whatever.
 
People who know what they are doing (the people hard to catch) can probably don't spend too much time on facebook plotting "terrorism" or whatever.

Nope, we use MySpace. No one goes there anymore! MUHAHAHAHA!
 
As a non-US citizen, all I can say is you guys need to fight this garbage. If the USA becomes a surveillance state and freedom is lost, the rest of the world is screwed too.
 
^^^ ya, i say it all the time....but seems so few are willing to go out and do anything about it, anything beyond complain on forums and sign useless online petitions.

If windows does this maybe the "year of linux on the desktop" could come sooner than later!
 
^^^ ya, i say it all the time....but seems so few are willing to go out and do anything about it, anything beyond complain on forums and sign useless online petitions.

If windows does this maybe the "year of linux on the desktop" could come sooner than later!

I tell people constantly to bug their elected officials, and I usually get the same lines: "The system is broke, the Democrats/Republicans (depending on who you're talking to) don't care and want to run everyone's lives," etc, etc, and then "Ron Paul is our only hope!" from the Libertarians... as if he had a snowball's chance in hell of actually being elected. If people aren't willing to even TRY then they only have themselves to blame. If they try and it does nothing, then other, more severe options would need to be considered. I don't think we're quite to that point. Getting closer each day, but not quite there yet. Pick up the phone, write an actual letter, and encourage your friends and relatives to do so. And, for God's sake people, VOTE, and after voting, keep the pressure up on whoever is in office. That's the only peaceful way to slow down the train wreck that civil rights are turning into in this country.
 
As soon as people hear of backdoors in software, an army of hackers will be trying to identify and exploit them.
I can see them now, "Our system is uncrackable." Right, I think Sony said the same thing.
 
But they don't. That's the point. The individual user is not "Megaupload" and they can make up whatever reason they want to get it done if they feel its worth it. The NSA has been doing whatever the fuck it wants for decades but because its projects are unknown to anyone outside of key members of the Government there is no way to tell if rights were violated.

NSA is the current equivalent of the 1960's CIA. They do whatever they want with money that doesn't existing building places that don't exist. There is so much money in Government that even if you followed it you would end up at a dead end.

The only people who "need" warrants are local law enforcement.

F agency also needs to go through a judge for a warrant.
 
I guess wiretapping at the network level via "deep packet inspection" isn't good enough?
 
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