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EPIC sues DHS. DHS stated that it will monitor postings of Facebook and Twitter users

H

Herr Heckler Koch

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https://epic.org/2011/12/epic-sues-dhs-over-covert-surv.html
EPIC.org said:
EPIC has filed a Freedom of information Act lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security to force disclosure of the details of the agency's social network monitoring program. In news reports and a Federal Register notice, the DHS has stated that it will routinely monitor the public postings of users on Twitter and Facebook. The agency plans to create fictitious user accounts and scan posts of users for key terms. User data will be stored for five years and shared with other government agencies.The legal authority for the DHS program remains unclear. EPIC filed the lawsuit after the DHS failed to reply to an April 2011 FOIA request. For more information, see EPIC: Social Networking Privacy.
Federal register notice
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2011/2011-2198.htm
DHS said:
The NOC will use Internet-based platforms that provide a variety of
ways to follow activity related to monitoring publicly available online
forums, blogs, public websites, and message boards. Through the use of
publicly available search engines and content aggregators the NOC will
monitor activities on social media for information that the NOC can use
to provide situational awareness and establish a common operating
picture. The NOC will gather, store, analyze, and disseminate relevant
and appropriate de-identified information to federal, state, local, and
foreign governments, and private sector partners authorized to receive
situational awareness and a common operating picture.
 

Jack House

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If it is in the public domain....tough toenails. You don't want Big Sis getting your stuff off the Interwebs, don't post your stuff on the Interwebs.

Funny how folks think, and complain about, that the stuff they toss out into the public 'Matrix' should be regarded as private data.
Are you also ok with the government posting cameras at every corner, on every street lamp?


Posted using my HTC Evo
 

Jack House

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Are you OK with your Carrier IQ rootkit phoning home with your most recent OCDO posting from your HTC Evo?
The rootkit doesn't work like that, and can be disabled. And no, I'm not ok with it.



Interesting segue from a person voluntarily posting data on a public Interwebs site to government installed video cameras on every light pole. If that works for you....
The argument's basic tenants are the same. Your argument is no different than the pro big brother arguments used to justify surveillance cameras.


Posted using my HTC Evo
 
H

Herr Heckler Koch

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sharkey

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Strangely, as anti-government as I am, I have no issue with this.

The argument's basic tenants are the same. Your argument is no different than the pro big brother arguments used to justify surveillance cameras.

The camera argument is not the same. I have no control over the camera or facial recognition scans. I do control what information I choose to disseminate and whom I share it with. If the government overrides those settings I have issue.
 
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09jisaac

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I think that most social networks are semi-public. If I want to gather 100 of my closest friends and family and tell them something don't mean that it should be public record.
 

Aknazer

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Strangely, as anti-government as I am, I have no issue with this.



The camera argument is not the same. I have no control over the camera or facial recognition scans. I do control what information I choose to disseminate and whom I share it with. If the government overrides those settings I have issue.

One could say that you choose to go into public much like one chooses to use the public domain. Both the cameras and the social networking monitoring at their base level revolves around the government gathering information on the general public in a public location and without a warrant, probable cause, or even any prior suspicions of a crime.
 

Citizen

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If it is in the public domain....tough toenails. You don't want Big Sis getting your stuff off the Interwebs, don't post your stuff on the Interwebs.

Funny how folks think, and complain about, that the stuff they toss out into the public 'Matrix' should be regarded as private data.

This view looks at only one angle of the issue, and skews the responsibility.

While the person who knowingly puts sensitive info into a system that can be monitored electronicly is responsible for putting it there, this in no way absolves snooping government who shouldn't be looking in the first place. It is one thing for government agents to attend a rally and just listen, it is something else for government to actively monitor all electronic communications looking for "key words."

Privacy only speaks to one aspect of the issue. Information is power. If the government is getting information it formerly had no legitimate access to without a warrant, it has gathered to itself more power.
 

sharkey

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One could say that you choose to go into public much like one chooses to use the public domain. Both the cameras and the social networking monitoring at their base level revolves around the government gathering information on the general public in a public location and without a warrant, probable cause, or even any prior suspicions of a crime.


Nah, that would be the argument if you said I could choose to stay off of social networking sites. The camera argument is only relevant if I can choose to shut off the camera's or have them blur my image when I enter an area and they are run by private citizens vs. the government. Totally different.
 

since9

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"the DHS has stated that it will routinely monitor the public postings of users on Twitter and Facebook."

My postings on Facebook are not public. They're shared only with my friends. I have the same reasonable expectation of privacy as I would if I and my friends were discussing the issues in a close room. They're free to re-post, as they would be free to repeat what I'd said to others outside the room.

The DHS's approach is akin to putting spies inside the room, thereby violating my reasonable expectation of privacy.
 

okboomer

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What is the latest "reasonable expectation of privacy" in regards to email?

I know that on a company 'puter/server it is not private as the company owns the units, but what about a privately held organization such as OCDO and their privately "bought and paid for server hosting"?

IIRC, it is the same as the privacy granted to a phone call?
 

sharkey

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"the DHS has stated that it will routinely monitor the public postings of users on Twitter and Facebook."

My postings on Facebook are not public. They're shared only with my friends. I have the same reasonable expectation of privacy as I would if I and my friends were discussing the issues in a close room. They're free to re-post, as they would be free to repeat what I'd said to others outside the room.

The DHS's approach is akin to putting spies inside the room, thereby violating my reasonable expectation of privacy.

Umm, no. Unless someone at DHS is on your friends list they won't see anything. If you allow friends to tag you in a post and said friend shares information publicly or you allow friends of friends to see content then there is potential for a breach.

So anyways, in your situation the spies aren't in the room, they're in the restaurant listening to your friends talk after the fact. OPSEC.
 

sharkey

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I think that most social networks are semi-public. If I want to gather 100 of my closest friends and family and tell them something don't mean that it should be public record.

In your example it's not public unless one of the 100 friends and family works for DHS.

Public means you share with everybody or have the misfortune of having a government agent as one of the people you voluntarily agreed to share with.

They are not hacking you or making (as far as we know) social networks hand over this information. They're getting it from you. If you have your settings correct and don't friend strangers you should be fine.
 

okboomer

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Well, Sharkey, that is part of the problem ... my friends on facebook are generally all associated with a craft I participate in, so very little off topic discussion - I should be good to go there. The real problem lies with the family members I have friended ... some of my family are FBwhores and will friend ANYONE without really knowing anything about them ... one niece has over 1000 friends and I know she has never met many of them face to face. I won't friend her or several others, but one's I have friended are friends with them, so there is a back door that I simply cannot control. Ugg, it is worse than a blabbermouth! I do keep my profile "private" and rarely post anything ... occassionally I will chat with someone, but mostly I pick up the phone and call.

Now, the other security hole I may have is the organization FB pages that I have friended/joined ... or the yahoo groups that require membership approval ... how are those to be classified: public or private?
 

sharkey

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OKboomer, you can put your settings to friends only instead of friends of friends.
As far as friending the FBI well ....... oh, you can change them to acquaintance and when you post something incriminating, I mean private, make sure to choose share with close friends only. FB has great settings. I don't know about any other service like linked in or twitter, I don't use them.

"The only secure computer is one that's unplugged" and with the cloud even that's not true.

Edit: I thought you said FBI not FB. Group the organizations into acquaintances. Don't use any apps like farmville etc. They all want way more information than they need. Why does every app want access to my posts and pictures?
 
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Jack House

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"The only secure computer is one that's unplugged" and with the cloud even that's not true.
facepalm_implied2.jpg




I don't think you understand what Cloud means. But I'm not really sure what the point of bringing that up is. If you're suggesting that a computer doesn't literally have to be plugged into a communication device/port(be it a phone line, modem, router etc) in order to have net access, you're correct. There are wireless methods for which one can connect to the internet. But that isn't a cloud. Nor is that what the quote means. A computer is insecure whether it is connected to a network or not. If you're using the true meaning, as in a computer not plugged into a power source, that is true. A computer is only fully secure when it has no power. But you're wrong that a Cloud can affect it then. As that would require the Cloud power the device and that simply isn't possible. Nor is that how a cloud functions anyway.
 
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MKEgal

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DHS plans to create fictitious user accounts and scan posts of users for key terms
Gee, isn't having a fake account against FB rules?
(Yes, I know it's laughable to expect DHS or any other alphabet soup agency to follow laws, let alone the rules of private companies.)

sharkey said:
The camera argument is only relevant if I can choose to shut off the camera's or have them blur my image when I enter an area and they are run by private citizens vs. the government.
Wouldn't that be a cool & completely maddening (to gov't agents) superpower?
Being able to cause any device to not be able to get a clear picture of you... if you wanted, of course.
School or family pictures wouldn't be affected.
Depending on how well controlled it was, it might be possible to selectively blur only certain parts of your body / the image.

As for the topic at hand, use those privacy settings, check them occasionally to make sure FB hasn't pulled a fast one, & be careful not only who you friend, but what you post. Never post anything that could possibly in any way be twisted & used against you.
 

sharkey

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I don't think you understand what Cloud means. But I'm not really sure what the point of bringing that up is. If you're suggesting that a computer doesn't literally have to be plugged into a communication device/port(be it a phone line, modem, router etc) in order to have net access, you're correct. There are wireless methods for which one can connect to the internet. But that isn't a cloud. Nor is that what the quote means. A computer is insecure whether it is connected to a network or not. If you're using the true meaning, as in a computer not plugged into a power source, that is true. A computer is only fully secure when it has no power. But you're wrong that a Cloud can affect it then. As that would require the Cloud power the device and that simply isn't possible. Nor is that how a cloud functions anyway.

Lets's use an iphone as an example. In the past if it was turned off there was no access to the data. Now that data is synced to the cloud. My linux computer syncs to the cloud. Now I have devices that were formally secure if off that can be compromised now because the data has been uploaded to a server on the internet.

I know what cloud means. Was that example simple enough to understand?

ETA: Technically you're correct as the device can not be compromised if there is no power but we're really talking about data and you're splitting hairs.
 
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