Tempora, Prism's cousin across the pond.

Tempora is Brightens version of Prism, and it may be even worse then it's cousin across the pond. 

Rather than waste it's time going directly to sites like Facebook, Yahoo, and Google for their data, Tempora has found an easier way. It intercepts it on the world’s network of fiber-optic cables. According to NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, the British spy agency GCHQ has tapped 200 of the world’s fibre optic cables, and is surveilling more than 600 million “telephone events” a day. It can also intercept e-mails, check Internet users’ access of sites, and can keep tabs on what people are posting on Facebook, according to documents revealed by Snowden to the Guardian.

It has also been revealed that the Tempora program  is sharing it's data with 850,000 NSA employees and private contractors. Do you feel comfortable with that many people having access to your personal data?

Snowden’s documents indicate that GCHQ has built up It's capability over a five year time-span by signing secret agreements with data transmission companies to attach probes to the trans-Atlantic cables where they meet British soil.

A good chunk of what GCHQ is intercepting would be pretty difficult to understand, or use. Internet traffic can be encrypted, and the massive amount of data would be nearly impossible to decrypt in a useful time frame. However, much of the data would be in-the-clear, like metadata about phone calls, and more often then not, web browsing data about what sites you’ve visited. Your Facebook activity can also be sent unencrypted over ordinary HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol), although this can be fixed with a visit to Facebook’s security settings. You can enable secure browsing to encrypt your Facebook sessions, which would make them hard, but not imposable to understand.

When asked how many people Tempora has targeted, the agency’s lawyers replied that it would be impossible to say because “this would be an infinite list which we couldn’t manage.” Not very promising. 

How many other Countries also have equivalents to Prism and Tempora? 

Is there any way to protect our privicy?

                                        [Who's watching you?]

Obama changes his mind about "privacy", and "security" amidst NSA scandal.

It seems that Obama has changed his mind about "privacy", and "security" amidst the recent NSA scandals.

Back in 2007 Barack Obama had some very harsh words for president Bush (Who was having his own NSA scandal at the time) stating the following:    

"This Administration also puts forward a false choice between the liberties we cherish and the security we demand… That means no more illegal wire-tapping of American citizens. No more national security letters to spy on citizens who are not suspected of a crime. No more tracking citizens who do nothing more than protest a misguided war. No more ignoring the law when it is inconvenient. That is not who we are. And it is not what is necessary to defeat the terrorists… We will again set an example for the world that the law is not subject to the whims of stubborn rulers, and that justice is not arbitrary."

Today Obama changed his tune, as is clear in this more recent quote:

 Barack Obama: "I think it’s important to understand that you can’t have 100 percent security and then have 100 percent privacy and zero inconvenience. We’re going to have to make some choices as a society."

The CNN/ORC International survey, released Monday, finds that Obama's approval rating has fallen eight points to 45 percent, the lowest level in more than 18 months. There is no doubt that this drop in popularity has been triggered my the recent scandals surrounding the Obama administration. And with Edward Snowden, the man responsible for leaking the information that has brought the NSA scandal into the limelight now being called a hero by many Americans, it is unlikely that people will approve of the way he is being treated.

Speaker Of The House John Boehner has called Edward Snowden a "traitor", which does not sit well with those who are rallying in his defense.

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham has stated- "I hope we follow Mr. Snowden to the ends of the Earth to bring him to justice."  

U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell: "Given the scope of these programs, it’s understandable that many would be concerned about issues related to privacy. But what’s difficult to understand is the motivation of somebody who intentionally would seek to warn the nation’s enemies of lawful programs created to protect the American people. And I hope that he is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

And is seems U.S. Representative Peter King thinks reporters don't have the right to cover stories on the NSA, stating: "There is an obligation both moral, but also legal, I believe, against a reporter disclosing something which would so severely compromise national security."

And that isn't the worst of it. Director Of National Intelligence James Clapper had a very dodgy, and suspicious answer when he was asked about why he lied about the NSA spying in front of Congress: "I responded in what I thought was the most truthful, or least untruthful manner"

What's worse,  according to National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden: "The president has full faith in director Clapper and his leadership of the intelligence community" Something we should all be concerned about. 



                                               [Obama on NSA scandal]

Edward Snowden: An Uncertain Future

                                                                       [Edward Snowden]

At just 29, Edward Snowden had a comfortable salary, a good position as technical assistant for the CIA, and as the current employee of the defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton. Snowden has been working at the National Security Agency for the last four years as an employee of various outside contractors, including Booz Allen and Dell. But he is also the "whistleblower" responsible for bringing to light one of the most significant leaks in America's political history, and the NSA is not at all pleased.

despite the fact that he is shinning an unwanted light on the actions of the NSA, and possibly putting himself on the radar of a lot of unhappy and powerful men, he has opted out of anonymity, and chose to reveal his identity, stating the following:

"I have no intention of hiding who I am because I know I have done nothing wrong," he said.
In a note included in the first set of documents he provided, he wrote: "I understand that I will be made to suffer for my actions," but "I will be satisfied if the federation of secret law, unequal pardon and irresistible executive powers that rule the world that I love are revealed even for an instant."

While Snowden chose not to hide his identity, he has asked that media coverage focus on the Government, and not on him. "I don't want public attention because I don't want the story to be about me. I want it to be about what the US government is doing." But he claims that this is not because of fear, stating- "I know the media likes to personalize political debates, and I know the government will demonize me."

 "I really want the focus to be on these documents and the debate which I hope this will trigger among citizens around the globe about what kind of world we want to live in." He added: "My sole motive is to inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them."

It is not without great sacrifice that this information has come to us, Snowden had a comfortable life, a salary of $200,000, a girlfriend he shared a home with in Hawaii, and a loving family. "I'm willing to sacrifice all of that because I can't in good conscience allow the US government to destroy privacy, internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they're secretly building." He said.

After copying all the documents he planned to disclose, he told his NSA supervisor that he needed to be away from work for "a couple of weeks" in order to receive treatment for epilepsy, a condition he learned he suffers from after a series of seizures last year. He then went home, packed his bags, and told his girlfriend he had to leave for a few weeks, something he said was not all that unusual  for someone who has spent the last decade working in the intelligence world. On May 20, he boarded a flight to Hong Kong, where he has remained ever since. He said he chose Hong Kong because he believed that it was one of the few places in the world that both could and would resist the dictates of the US government. He has been staying in a hotel, and says he has left his room only a few times.

He has reason to fear. Having worked for the NSA for nearly a decade, he is well aware of just how powerful it is. And he knows the U.S. Government has no shortage of resources and technology that can assist in his capture. At this point his future is very uncertain.

"Yes, I could be rendered by the CIA. I could have people come after me. Or any of the third-party partners. They work closely with a number of other nations. Or they could pay off the Triads. Any of their agents or assets," he said.

"We have got a CIA station just up the road – the consulate here in Hong Kong – and I am sure they are going to be busy for the next week. And that is a concern I will live with for the rest of my life, however long that happens to be."

He thinks the government will launch an investigation and "say I have broken the Espionage Act and helped our enemies, but that can be used against anyone who points out how massive and invasive the system has become".

 "The only thing I fear is the harmful effects on my family, who I won't be able to help any more. That's what keeps me up at night," he said, his eyes welling up with tears.